Circles, Figure 8s, Loops
Sorry for the delay. My mom had surgery (knee) today in TN and I've been waiting around this evening to make sure all is well, which it is. Also I needed some time to setup my trex 150 and get things prepared for an electronics install for a new heli tomorrow. But got to take out the E5 10 or so times today and worked on some things I thought I would discuss in the opening "chapter" on basics.
First and foremost, I cannot take any credit for what I am about to disclose. All of these tips derived from Matt when he was kind enough to take me in as a student back in October for his clinic (which I hope to still be a student of his when he has time!) and from the DVDs from Bert as well as the Eckstein Freestyle book. Only difference is I am describing my process and not the way they described things.
First, I am not going to go over set-ups because I am the least skilled in this regard on the entire Synergy Forum. I think I learned a lot from Todd, Nick and Matt; but I just don't think the way an engineer or designer would think. I approach things from a martial arts background (Shichidan in Bujinkan) and from teaching music in Academia. But I must say it is a great bonus to have someone ELSE look over your set up because they will catch things you may not have. So check things each day you are going to fly; and that is all I am qualified to say about that.
I spent most of this year working on tricks because I made a curriculum for myself that I was dedicated to. Three years ago I spent my first 5 months doing nothing but hovering…and repairing. Then I finally started working on figure eights, forwards and backwards flight. I do not think I attempted my first flips for a little over a year. Then I started working on inverted flying. I progressed very slow in the beginning, but now things are going faster. On Bert's DVD he asked people if they worked on basics and they said no. As boring as basics might be they are very important. And I got away from it. I say this because I thought the 2 years I spent on basics was all I needed once I could flip and roll consistently. I was wrong.
Matt knew what tricks I had a handle on, so he didn't work with any of us on what we could already do. He worked with us on collective management. I was instantly afraid. I started flying a lot higher up this year so I could escape from crashes, and the theory worked. But I was taking everything too fast. During the clinic everything was slow and smooth and I absolutely loved the feel of it. It was like I was flying again for the first time.
The first things I would like everyone to try, those who are reading this, are some basic SLOW circles. I saw slow because going slow and big was something I hadn't done in a couple of years and I was uncomfortable with it because I stopped practicing that. Next begin to do some figure 8s… going one direction, then do the opposite. Really slow.
With some momentum I could do these fine, but going slow and really big required a lot smaller motion and I was losing my track. Even though I had Rail blades on. (hahaha, I'm cheesy). What I realized was the problem as I processed the information is I got nervous doing the move, which led to me not using both sticks. It sounds obvious, but if you are having trouble with the slow and big figure 8, make sure both sticks are moving an equal distance.
Once you have your figure 8s pretty good, act as if you are standing in the middle of a football field. When you reach the 50 yard line do an aileron roll.
The next step is to then do the figure 8s backwards and add the roll after you have that down. Then I would work on forward inverted figure 8s and backwards inverted figure 8s with the same formula. Once you have the heli moving faster it will then seem easier because you went slow at first.
Next, work on big loops. When that is pretty good, sustain the inverted portion and at the "50 Yard Line" do a piro, then continue the rest of the loop. One variation I started working on last month is to do a roll at the spot I would do the piro.
Working on all of this will help, even though it seems like it won't. Even though I perform advanced literature for concerts, I still go back to some basic things every now and then because you can still learn something from that.
The key is to not get stagnated and to always keep learning. Practice is the other big thing. Even if the weather is crappo, I try to get on the sim each day. The more you practice, the faster you will advance. I am incredibly busy, but I think if you want to see improvement you should get in at least 5 days a week of practice time. Real heli is great (on a Synergy even better), but if you get on the sim that is still something. Consistency not just in executing the move, but in daily application.
