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Introduction
Do not stress out over inverted flying. Now with
simulators, learning inverted hovering and flight is
easier than ever before. It is just a matter of
going out to the field and doing it. Also, a heading
hold gyro will make inverted flying a lot simpler
because you don't have to worry about the tail
drifting.
Some prerequisites are required to "safely" hover
inverted. You should have mastered nose-in by now. I
have heard about people who have learned inverted
flight not knowing nose-in, but if they ever got in
trouble they might make a bad situation worse.
Also, nose-in is fun! ;o) Also, maybe some rolls,
loops and stall turns should probably be in your
arsenal.( This only my opinion) You should be able
to fly the helicopter all over the sky in forward
flight comfortably.
It will make you more confident in your skills to
tackle the demon that is inverted flying.
Setup
The helicopter should be setup 3D. This means
that at half stick on throttle/collective, pitch is
0 degrees and 50% throttle. At 3/4 stick is hovering
pitch(+5 or +6) throttle should be about 55% to 60%.
At full stick the pitch should be + 9 or +10 and
full throttle. At 1/4 stick should be your inverted
hovering pitch( -5 or -6) and 55% or 60% throttle.
At full bottom stick the pitch should be at -9 or
-10 and full throttle. Now the pitch and throttle
curve looks like a "V". This should be setup on an
Idle up 1 or 2 switch on the transmitter.
The Big Day
Now, there are two different techniques to
getting into inverted flight. One technique is to do
a loop and "hang" it at the top. Gradually, you can
hold it up there longer and longer. This method
seems better if you don't have a simulator.
Otherwise, you can practice hovering inverted on the
simulator and you will be able to hover inverted on
your real helicopter very easily.
I learned tail-in inverted hovering on the
simulator and then I went out to the field and got
some altitude and took a deep breath and flipped the
heli over. It was a piece of cake.
In a matter of three flights I was tail-in
hovering inverted 5 feet off the ground in front of
me.
Controls for inverted hovering.
Tail-in inverted hovering
- Left and right cyclic is normal.
- Forward and aft cyclic is reversed.
- Collective is reversed ( moving
throttle/collective stick down, the helicopter
climbs)
- Rudder is reversed (move the rudder to the
left, the nose goes right.)
Nose-in inverted hovering
- Left and right cyclic is reversed.
- Forward and aft cyclic is normal.
- Collective is still reversed.
- Rudder is normal ( move the rudder to the
left, the nose goes left.)
To this date there is no sure way how to learn
inverted hovering and flight, but these are the two
best methods.
Also, always have an escape plan. My escape plan
was to give full throttle inverted and pull back on
the cyclic. It is an easy escape route because you
don't loose much altitude and timing of cyclic to
roll rate is less critical.
Remember altitude is your friend, but don't go so
high that the helicopter looks like a dot in the
sky.
Do it at a comfortable altitude and Have fun.
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