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Landing
Level the helicopter into a steady hover and slowly decrease power until the
helicopter settles onto the ground.
Basic Maneuvers
Once you become comfortable with hovering at different orientations and
landing, it’s time to move on to more advanced maneuvers.
Slow Pirouettes –
Add a small amount of tail rotor (left or right) and try rotating
the helicopter slightly sideways and see if you can hold it there. If you feel
uncomfortable, then bring the tail back toward you. Once you start getting
comfortable, try moving the helicopter to the side. Then turn back and fl y back
to the other side in straight lines. Then work into rotating the helicopter around
360°, which is called a pirouette. The helicopter can drift during these so make
sure you have plenty of room when you fi rst start practicing.
Nose-in Hovering –
After pirouettes it’s time to move on to nose-in hovering.
Take off and climb to 10 feet [3m]. Practice half pirouettes from tail in to nose-
in hovering and try to lengthen the delay in between. This will give you a little
practice nose-in and still give you a chance to get out of trouble. As your skills
improve you’ll remain nose-in for longer periods of time.
Forward Flight –
Now it’s time to work into basic forward fl ight. Just take the
basic hovering maneuvers listed above and slowly fl y out farther and faster
and always bring the helicopter back after one pass. Practice controlled slow
fl ight in close as well. The more time you spend practicing here the easier
things will be later on.
GOOD LUCK AND GREAT FLYING!
