8
Flight Tips
Wind
: Basically, these are (approximately) 1/40th scale helicopters. Full sized helicopters
can’t fl y in high winds – and neither can the models. If a full sized helicopter has diffi
culty
overcoming 50mph winds, then the model will have the same diffi
culty with 1~2 mph winds
(i.e. 1/40th as much). There’s nothing that can be done about this, it’s just physics.
Air conditioning
: Hot air rises and cool air falls – this creates movement in the air, leading
to an eff ect called “wind shear”. Basically, this is when there’s a column of hot air going up next
to cold air going down. Many full-scale aircraft accidents have been caused by wind shear. Air
conditioners create heaps of wind shear. If the helicopter fl ies through wind shear, it will seem
to suddenly fl y up or down (depending on the direction of the wind shear).
The Ground Eff ect
: When the helicopter is near the ground, the air it pushes down with its
rotor has nowhere to go – the ground is in the way. Some of this air bounces back, this pushes
the helicopter up. When the helicopter is near the ground, it will get slightly more lift than it
normally would. This is something to keep in mind when landing.
The Ceiling Eff ect
: Conversely to the ground eff ect, when you fl y too close to a ceiling, a
small pocket of low pressure is created above the helicopter, and it will be sucked upwards.
This could be bad – if you hit the ceiling, the helicopter will stall, fall and possibly be damaged.
Multiple Helicopters
: You can’t use more than one helicopter in a space at once, unless
you’re absolutely sure that they use diff erent control frequencies. The control frequency of
this helicopter is 27MHz (it’s written on a sticker on the rear of the controller). Attempting to
fl y multiple helicopters using a single controller is quite dangerous, and can lead to crashes,
accidents, injuries or other very undesirable outcomes.
Places to Fly
: Because high winds can be a problem, we recommend fl ying indoors. However,
you really do need a bit of space to get the most out of the helicopter. Some places which are
good for fl ight include large garages (whilst the car’s not parked there), indoor sports areas,
aircraft hangars, secret underground submarine pens and so on (though why you’d fl y a toy
helicopter in your secret underground submarine pen is beyond us). Or a large lounge room
with delicate items stashed somewhere out of the way - whatever you’ve got.
Low Battery
: To get the longest possible life from the built-in battery, never completely
discharge it. As soon as the helicopter shows any sign of running low on power (such as
responding slowly or being unable to maintain altitude easily) turn it off and charge it as
soon as practicable. For more information about battery care, see
“Helicopter Battery
Warnings” on page 10
.
5
Control
Forward, Backwards
The right stick (the rudder) on the controller
aff ects the helicopter’s direction, kind of like
the right stick on a video game controller.
Forwards
: Pushing the right stick up will pitch
the nose of the helicopter down and move the
helicopter forward.
Backwards
: Pulling the right stick down will
pitch the nose of the helicopter up and move
the helicopter backwards.
Up/Down (Ascend/Descend)
The height the helicopter fl ies is controlled
by the throttle which varies the speed of the
spinning rotors.
Ascend
: Push the throttle UP gently to
increase the spinning speed of the rotors and
make the helicopter ascend.
Descend
: Push the throttle DOWN to reduce
the speed of the spinning rotors and make the
helicopter descend.
To get good results, be gentle and subtle. Small
adjustments made slowly and carefully are the
best way to get the helicopter to fl y well.
Rotating the helicopter left and right
The rudder can be used to turn the helicopter
to the left or right. When hovering, this will
make it rotate but when the helicopter is in
motion, this can be used to perform tricks like
spiralling to the left or right.
Rotate/Turn Right
: To make the helicopter
turn to the right, push the right stick (the
rudder) to the right.
Rotate/Turn Left
: To make the helicopter
turn to the left, push the right stick (the rudder)
to the left.
