12
Flight Tips
Wind
: Basically, these are (approximately) 1/40th scale helicopters. Full sized helicopters
can’t fl y in high winds – and neither can these 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 a lot 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
: If you’re using more than one helicopter in a space at once, be very
careful when setting the controller band and pairing them to the helicopters. You may fi nd
that the more than one helicopter will be controlled by a single controller, and this 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 14.
CAUTION
: Do not touch the running rotors.
Do not fl y above or near someone’s head.
Adult supervision is required at all times.
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