I didn’t learn on a simulator, I taught myself on an old blade 450 3D flybar. I rebuilt that thing so many times I can do it with my eyes closed. Im hard headed and giving up isn’t in my blood.
Before I stoped flying 12 years ago I was just starting to do loops and rolls .was getting to nose in . Now I’m back into it I joind a club again . Found a old friend who I flew with . Still flying . He gave me a goblin 380 buddy I just had to add radio and servos. But I’m starting back to basics. Hoving . Nose in .Now doing figure 8s and at 100 feet nose in . I think to be a pro flyer is tons of stick time and not be afraid to crash it . Thank you for a great video .
That’s awesome! He hooked you up. The 380 is an awesome helicopter! Pushing yourself every time you fly is more beneficial I think than anything else. But doing it in a three mistakes High, so you can save it from a crash so you’re not always crashing. But yes! To become the next level, you need to not be afraid to crash and push yourself even harder. I’m glad the video was helpful!
@@westhobbiesrc8051 one of the guys at my field was sponsored by futaba and he flys like a pro . So he setup my 380 for me . And will stand next to me when I start flying I. Forward flight .
Fly it closer, but don't practice "nose-in" yet. You must master the sideways in both left side and right. You already know that the heli like to lean a certain way. Now you have to watch and correct with the cyclic. Turn the rudder slowly and always in that "same" direction either CW or CCW. It makes a difference. Once you master that then it's just 90 deg to go into tail-in. Ofcourse, everything mentioned here...do it on the sim, first. You know that right. Have fun.
One tip I got from an excellent flyer, early on is “upright you rudder the far side of the rotor disc, inverted is the near side”. Worked for me. Good vid Jeff
@@westhobbiesrc8051 I fly the same way except my first is canopy orientation and then tail. I "steer" the heli with the tail but always know where the canopy is in relation. At some point, it becomes a "feel" for it vs a "knowledge" but having the basic skill sets down is crucial!
100% Great advice. Also, to add, stay away from small, crowded and or tree filled areas when new. You simply will not learn well in those area and the constant crashes will be painful and expensive. I still do it, but I am ok with knowing I won't progress like this. I just find it easy and convenient to fly in my "hell yard" .
That is a great point! I learned how to fly in my front yard of a crowded neighborhood lol so I don’t mind flying with a lot of objects butts! They could definitely be very distracting for a newcomer!
One of my favorite videos of yours! I don't want to do any more than you just did. Just a bit more than scale flying. I especially like how you explained the loop as you were doing it. Thanks!!! I got to hit that sim more.
I’m glad you enjoyed this video! I plan on making more basic 3-D videos with a stick cam and explaining the maneuvers throughout the video. Sim is extremely important!
So I suppose you could say the real secret is learn the basics really well. There's a saying that captures this really well. And it goes something like this, becoming a master does not mean practicing 1000 different moves but practicing 1 move 1000 times. Learn the basics and connect the dots. That's my advice to any new or aspiring pilots.
Exactly! Learning the basics is the fundamental grounds to progressing and learning any maneuver in the Hobby. The basics are more important than anything else you can learn! You will be incredibly surprised at how many maneuvers are built off just basic orientations.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 I think we could all use the advice of going back to the basics from time to time. Even the most expert of pilots can benefit from this. Because its part of staying sharp.
Everybody learns at their own rate, but if you have that bass knowledge, I think you will progressive become much better. Learning the orientations is so important and widely forgotten because everybody just wants to fly 3-D..
I cannot agree more! It takes time...unless you are a gifted young person with great eyes and great hands, it just takes time! Simulator time is the cheapest. It has taken me years to get to where I can just fly one around and do simple rolls and flips, nose in hover, side hover, inverted hover. The next thing I want to tackle is flying one backwards and inverted flight. Lots of sim time! I actually like the sim time, it's fun to try new things and not destroy a heli in the process!
Excellent video! Flew my M1 EVO, love this damn thing its so stable and NOT intimidating. Every time i go out to fly a couple packs, i do nose-in, tail-in, side-in, left circuit(very slow), right circuit(very slow) and try to do at least 1 forward flip and/ or roll. Damn i love this hobby. :)
Absolutely!! The only way to become a better pilot is to do it! I have years on my belt but not much stick time and it shows!! I fly better in real life than in the sim, but the sim gives me confidence! This year my goal is to get some 3d under my belt. I started the hobby 13 years ago, started with a 120sr, was then encouraged to get a hk450pro and had a bad experience with it, kept crashing due to a fake receiver (I didn’t know at the time) I thought I sucked and so dropped it. I picked it back up again 2 years ago with an older 230s and love it, grabbed a sim last year due to not being able to get out much due to poor weather/work.
Come on. How can you fly better in real than on a sim. Have you not discovered how to "tweak" the physics setting of the sim model? You can "try" to fly inverted on the sim or work on your auto-rotation landing. You can't just do that in real without crashing. Right?
I'm on my first helicopter now, I've had great luck with the blade 230 s smart, very easy to fly, and is 3D capable (i have not done 3D yet) its a great beginner medium/small size rig in my opinion, i could not recommend it more.
The blade 230s was definitely a good choice before the M2 and S2 came out. Only advantage is the 230 is slightly bigger. But now it’s lacking quite a few things. It will definitely teach you how to fly and it will do slight 3D. But if you want a heli that’s incredibly stable, flys way better then a 230 ever could and do smack 3D. Look into a M2 EVO or S2.
just keep trying new things and building on what you can already do. i've spent the last few months learning inverted forwards and upright backwards flying, just have backwards inverted to learn and then i'll be able to do all the basic stuff in all 4 orientations. I'll think about what i want to do after that when i get there. I don't bother with simulators cause i find them really boring, i'm happy enough learning on my 550x, just keeping it a bit higher than i would normally fly until i'm confident enough with whatever im learning.
This is the same exact learning path I took. Right side up forward and right side up inverted on a nano CPS, then a 230s let me do that confidently, started both orientations backwards then went to a 360 belt drive tail so I could do that confidently too. A sim is needed for just getting an idea of how to do the crazy stuff. But yeah all my flights look very similar, a little different here and there, last months about the same as this months but look back a year and those are far different. Just take it slow and stick to what you’re comfortable with. Repetition of the basics is the right path and it clears your mind so you can move on and actively make corrections when you do something new. So tomorrow’s flights… a lot of what I’ve been doing the last 2 years but I’ll add in a few 4point tick tock reps and piro-flip or 2 but I’ll be high and I won’t push it and those will be done with right rudder because that’s all I can do without crashing lol. Started in 2017 btw.
I’m personally not a simulator person myself I’ve learned in progress faster with real life flying. Of course lots of crashes too! But even now when I want to practice or try new things, I just go up high and practice a bail out procedures and as long as you push yourself every time you fly, you will become a much better pilot quicker.
Simulators are great for that! Everybody learns their own way. Personally, I’m not a huge simulator person as I learn better in real life but they are 100% helpful!
Another great video, very well explained to new people in the hobby. Jeff, if you don't mind me asking, what's the "tame" pitch angles/ range you got going there ?
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the video. On this particular helicopter, I set a linear pitch curve of 12° positive and negative. But in normal mode I took out 30% at the bottom of the curve so it is a 30-40-50-75-100 curve for pitch. So there is not a ton of negative pitch
This is such good advice. I've been trying and failing at this hobby for over a decade. This time, I committed to really actually learning how to fly. And a couple of months in, I'm still just practicing tail in and side in (both sides) hovering and moving the helicopter around slowly and with purpose. I gave up so many times because I was trying to push my progression too quickly, and crashed A LOT. Since starting up again, I haven't crashed at all and am progressing much more quickly. Patience! If you wouldn't mind, what are the tame settings you dialed in for this Heli? Thanks for great RC Heli content! Awesome stuff!
Good grief! Buying a simulator is something I never thought of before thinking of buying first heli, which I have not done yet. Reading below, I believe you are recommending Real Flight for a first timer, correct?
A sim is a fantastic learning tool. Real flight is the easiest plug and play sim. I like real flight and ACCURC but ACCURC is had a complex setup curve.
How close is a sim to the characteristics of the real model? I see people doing crazy things in a sim that they can't do at the field like you just get good at the game !
Okay so I’m torn between a raw 700 piuma or the 580 gonna run 6s easy 3d I already got a nx6 radio so my question is the sights say 7ch for the 700 6 for the 580 it’s been 12 years getting back into the hobby plan on ikon2 will I be able to have rescue with my nx6 can I run both helis with the nx6
Je suis debutant avec. Un xk 110s. Depuis peu Je travaille mes piro stationaire Mais le truck c’est que j’ai pas de PC Donc j’ai pas de simulateur et surtout Je ne pourais pas en avoir 1 maitenant surtout que ma radio n’est pas vraiment top qualité pour le simu 😅 Radio xk x6 s fhSS protocole Penser vous que je peut aprendre a fair des flip et rainbow ,huricanne sans simulateur ?
Practice, Practice, Practice Wax on, wax off. That's how you get better with anything in RC. Yeah, it's boring but simple truth is that's how you get better.
3D is mostly in the eye of the beholder. If you can hover, go up, down, left, right, forward, backwards, pirouette, you have made the helicopter fly in 3 dimensions.
@@larryhawkes1347 thank you Larry! I appreciate that, I personally would not call myself a pro pilot, a professional, none of that. I simply love this hobby having an extreme passion for it, and I want to help others learn from my mistakes so they don’t make the same ones that I have. Some people would call me a pro but I definitely don’t call myself one.
Maybe because there are people out there that can't even hover? or know anything basic of flying/hovering a heli? or have no sense of direction of which way to go/start to achieve their goals? This man has dedicated himself to helping others despite people like "You" who shit on him for his efforts to help others,he initially announced that he is not a "Pro" but yet here you are "Hating" on him! Maybe you can contribute something to all these people who want to learn to fly heli's? I'm sure someone like you who likes to spew garbage out of their "Anus" can contribute something constructive to others who want to learn?????? No????? Than maybe you should go back to playing with your "Ken" barbie dolls,until you have something to share with us in terms of learning, in the meantime maybe you should just ...."STFU"!!! and before you go off on a tangent about me,yes I do know how to fly a heli 3D style and would most likely outfly you even on my worst flying day! Now get lost....Karen!
Hello, Jeff: Awesome Video along with some very good advice. I wish it were possible to spend a week or two with you to just learn about R.C. Heli Build Techniques. I have quite a way to go to learn basic Heli Flying Skills. As you had indicated, it takes lots, and lots of stick time both on the simulator and real life heli practise and lots of that as well. I am picking up what it takes to build a heli for it to fly well. If you don't have a good flying heli, all the stick time in the world won't help. Learning what makes a good flying Heli is just as much Key to learning as is the amount of stck time we devote to learning. I am picking up that knowledge little by little and it's taking longer that I would like. I do belong to a flying club and there is only 1 other pilot in the club who also Flys R.C. Helicopters. Ŵe discuss from time to time what we have learned so we can share information. Problem is we're both newbies and we're both from Northern Indiana which has a not so long of a flying season. I do have a simulator, did I mention that already so in the off season I use the simulator and attemp to repair my small fleet of helis to get them and me ready for the upcoming season.
I didn’t learn on a simulator, I taught myself on an old blade 450 3D flybar. I rebuilt that thing so many times I can do it with my eyes closed. Im hard headed and giving up isn’t in my blood.
That was me to a T. Oh the money.
That is exactly how I learned lol except the helicopter I learned on was an Old GMP cricket with no tail. Gyro in every part had to be handmade!
I was happy to hear the secret is there is no secret.. just dedication and hard work on the fundamentals.. let’s go!
Before I stoped flying 12 years ago I was just starting to do loops and rolls .was getting to nose in . Now I’m back into it I joind a club again . Found a old friend who I flew with . Still flying . He gave me a goblin 380 buddy I just had to add radio and servos. But I’m starting back to basics. Hoving . Nose in .Now doing figure 8s and at 100 feet nose in .
I think to be a pro flyer is tons of stick time and not be afraid to crash it . Thank you for a great video .
That’s awesome! He hooked you up. The 380 is an awesome helicopter! Pushing yourself every time you fly is more beneficial I think than anything else. But doing it in a three mistakes High, so you can save it from a crash so you’re not always crashing. But yes! To become the next level, you need to not be afraid to crash and push yourself even harder. I’m glad the video was helpful!
@@westhobbiesrc8051 one of the guys at my field was sponsored by futaba and he flys like a pro . So he setup my 380 for me .
And will stand next to me when I start flying I. Forward flight .
Fly it closer, but don't practice "nose-in" yet. You must master the sideways in both left side and right. You already know that the heli like to lean a certain way. Now you have to watch and correct with the cyclic. Turn the rudder slowly and always in that "same" direction either CW or CCW. It makes a difference.
Once you master that then it's just 90 deg to go into tail-in.
Ofcourse, everything mentioned here...do it on the sim, first. You know that right. Have fun.
One tip I got from an excellent flyer, early on is “upright you rudder the far side of the rotor disc, inverted is the near side”. Worked for me. Good vid Jeff
That is a great tip! I’m weird and I fly based off the tail orientation lol. And then my second is canopy orientation
@@westhobbiesrc8051 I fly the same way except my first is canopy orientation and then tail. I "steer" the heli with the tail but always know where the canopy is in relation. At some point, it becomes a "feel" for it vs a "knowledge" but having the basic skill sets down is crucial!
100% Great advice. Also, to add, stay away from small, crowded and or tree filled areas when new. You simply will not learn well in those area and the constant crashes will be painful and expensive. I still do it, but I am ok with knowing I won't progress like this. I just find it easy and convenient to fly in my "hell yard" .
That is a great point! I learned how to fly in my front yard of a crowded neighborhood lol so I don’t mind flying with a lot of objects butts! They could definitely be very distracting for a newcomer!
One of my favorite videos of yours! I don't want to do any more than you just did. Just a bit more than scale flying. I especially like how you explained the loop as you were doing it. Thanks!!! I got to hit that sim more.
I’m glad you enjoyed this video! I plan on making more basic 3-D videos with a stick cam and explaining the maneuvers throughout the video. Sim is extremely important!
So I suppose you could say the real secret is learn the basics really well. There's a saying that captures this really well. And it goes something like this, becoming a master does not mean practicing 1000 different moves but practicing 1 move 1000 times. Learn the basics and connect the dots. That's my advice to any new or aspiring pilots.
Exactly! Learning the basics is the fundamental grounds to progressing and learning any maneuver in the Hobby. The basics are more important than anything else you can learn! You will be incredibly surprised at how many maneuvers are built off just basic orientations.
@@westhobbiesrc8051 I think we could all use the advice of going back to the basics from time to time. Even the most expert of pilots can benefit from this. Because its part of staying sharp.
Absolutely BEST ADVICE right here JEFF, this is EXACTLY what I teach new fliers! Absolutely AWESOME HERE!
Everybody learns at their own rate, but if you have that bass knowledge, I think you will progressive become much better. Learning the orientations is so important and widely forgotten because everybody just wants to fly 3-D..
@@westhobbiesrc8051 Agreed 10000%
I agree, yet at the same time u gotta find ur style, how u like to fly
I cannot agree more! It takes time...unless you are a gifted young person with great eyes and great hands, it just takes time! Simulator time is the cheapest. It has taken me years to get to where I can just fly one around and do simple rolls and flips, nose in hover, side hover, inverted hover. The next thing I want to tackle is flying one backwards and inverted flight. Lots of sim time! I actually like the sim time, it's fun to try new things and not destroy a heli in the process!
Excellent video! Flew my M1 EVO, love this damn thing its so stable and NOT intimidating. Every time i go out to fly a couple packs, i do nose-in, tail-in, side-in, left circuit(very slow), right circuit(very slow) and try to do at least 1 forward flip and/ or roll. Damn i love this hobby. :)
That is the best way to learn and progress! Keep doing what you’re doing pack after pack and you will become better and better every flight!
Good advice nothing beats practice 15min at a time works for me.
Absolutely!! The only way to become a better pilot is to do it!
I have years on my belt but not much stick time and it shows!!
I fly better in real life than in the sim, but the sim gives me confidence!
This year my goal is to get some 3d under my belt.
I started the hobby 13 years ago, started with a 120sr, was then encouraged to get a hk450pro and had a bad experience with it, kept crashing due to a fake receiver (I didn’t know at the time) I thought I sucked and so dropped it.
I picked it back up again 2 years ago with an older 230s and love it, grabbed a sim last year due to not being able to get out much due to poor weather/work.
Come on.
How can you fly better in real than on a sim.
Have you not discovered how to "tweak" the physics setting of the sim model?
You can "try" to fly inverted on the sim or work on your auto-rotation landing. You can't just do that in real without crashing. Right?
I'm on my first helicopter now, I've had great luck with the blade 230 s smart, very easy to fly, and is 3D capable (i have not done 3D yet) its a great beginner medium/small size rig in my opinion, i could not recommend it more.
The blade 230s was definitely a good choice before the M2 and S2 came out. Only advantage is the 230 is slightly bigger. But now it’s lacking quite a few things. It will definitely teach you how to fly and it will do slight 3D. But if you want a heli that’s incredibly stable, flys way better then a 230 ever could and do smack 3D. Look into a M2 EVO or S2.
Excellent vid Jeff - thank you - u r absolutely correct - there is no secret and the best tip? Master the basics and give yaself time. That's it!
just keep trying new things and building on what you can already do. i've spent the last few months learning inverted forwards and upright backwards flying, just have backwards inverted to learn and then i'll be able to do all the basic stuff in all 4 orientations. I'll think about what i want to do after that when i get there. I don't bother with simulators cause i find them really boring, i'm happy enough learning on my 550x, just keeping it a bit higher than i would normally fly until i'm confident enough with whatever im learning.
This is the same exact learning path I took. Right side up forward and right side up inverted on a nano CPS, then a 230s let me do that confidently, started both orientations backwards then went to a 360 belt drive tail so I could do that confidently too. A sim is needed for just getting an idea of how to do the crazy stuff. But yeah all my flights look very similar, a little different here and there, last months about the same as this months but look back a year and those are far different.
Just take it slow and stick to what you’re comfortable with. Repetition of the basics is the right path and it clears your mind so you can move on and actively make corrections when you do something new.
So tomorrow’s flights… a lot of what I’ve been doing the last 2 years but I’ll add in a few 4point tick tock reps and piro-flip or 2 but I’ll be high and I won’t push it and those will be done with right rudder because that’s all I can do without crashing lol. Started in 2017 btw.
I’m personally not a simulator person myself I’ve learned in progress faster with real life flying. Of course lots of crashes too! But even now when I want to practice or try new things, I just go up high and practice a bail out procedures and as long as you push yourself every time you fly, you will become a much better pilot quicker.
Most definitely simulator time, FREE crashes for everyone!
Simulators are great for that! Everybody learns their own way. Personally, I’m not a huge simulator person as I learn better in real life but they are 100% helpful!
Thank you for the very good advise !!!😊
as always, great stuff. I just signed up on your Patreon. Thanks for doing these!
Thank you very much! I greatly appreciate the support!
Dude thanks alot for advice also that helicoper is bad azz
You’re welcome! Thank you for watching! SAB always does a great job with there models and schemes.
Yes you are correct they are out of business and no longer support phoenix but it’s still online for free with all updates illegitimately
I’ll have to give them a shot!
Another great video, very well explained to new people in the hobby. Jeff, if you don't mind me asking, what's the "tame" pitch angles/ range you got going there ?
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the video. On this particular helicopter, I set a linear pitch curve of 12° positive and negative. But in normal mode I took out 30% at the bottom of the curve so it is a 30-40-50-75-100 curve for pitch. So there is not a ton of negative pitch
leaning or learning?
Good catch!
The turbine was so small and quiet. It was like it wasn't even there!
It’s a micro turbine! Lol don’t worry! That build is starting soon!
@@westhobbiesrc8051 Can't wait to see it. I'm very curious!
This is such good advice. I've been trying and failing at this hobby for over a decade. This time, I committed to really actually learning how to fly. And a couple of months in, I'm still just practicing tail in and side in (both sides) hovering and moving the helicopter around slowly and with purpose. I gave up so many times because I was trying to push my progression too quickly, and crashed A LOT. Since starting up again, I haven't crashed at all and am progressing much more quickly. Patience! If you wouldn't mind, what are the tame settings you dialed in for this Heli? Thanks for great RC Heli content! Awesome stuff!
There is: Stick Time, Stick Time, Stick Time!
What would a “tame” set up be?
Low head speed so around 1500-1700 RPM and +/- 10-12 degrees of pitch with a slow rotation rate of the helicopter.
Great tips. What head speed would you run for this type of flying with the Raw 420?
AccuRC is my go to, but they haven't updated it for almost 2 years. Just promises.
Thank you! On a 420 for a tame setup I would say something like 2200-2400-2600 RPM.
So what would be a mild to medium head speeds on the blade fusion 360 (N, S1, S2)?
Thanks in advance.
Larry
Good grief! Buying a simulator is something I never thought of before thinking of buying first heli, which I have not done yet. Reading below, I believe you are recommending Real Flight for a first timer, correct?
A sim is a fantastic learning tool. Real flight is the easiest plug and play sim. I like real flight and ACCURC but ACCURC is had a complex setup curve.
How close is a sim to the characteristics of the real model? I see people doing crazy things in a sim that they can't do at the field like you just get good at the game !
Love this click bait. But yet so true. There is NO short cut or secret. Only practice, practice, practice and, you guessed it, more practice
Okay so I’m torn between a raw 700 piuma or the 580 gonna run 6s easy 3d I already got a nx6 radio so my question is the sights say 7ch for the 700 6 for the 580 it’s been 12 years getting back into the hobby plan on ikon2 will I be able to have rescue with my nx6 can I run both helis with the nx6
Me Me Me @ 3:06 :)
You can do it!
What sim would you recommend?
Get the REAL FLIGHT WITH THE radio supplied. 💪🏽💪🏽
ACCURC is a great simulater
AccuRC is my go to, but they haven't updated it for almost 2 years. Just promises. (copied from my prior reply)
Next and heli x. Stay away from accu rc. Worst sim there is in my experience.
Like ACCURC but it’s a pain to setup or Heli X! Or easy is Real flight.
Je suis debutant avec. Un xk 110s. Depuis peu
Je travaille mes piro stationaire
Mais le truck c’est que j’ai pas de PC
Donc j’ai pas de simulateur et surtout
Je ne pourais pas en avoir 1 maitenant surtout que ma radio n’est pas vraiment top qualité pour le simu 😅
Radio xk x6 s fhSS protocole
Penser vous que je peut aprendre a fair des flip et rainbow ,huricanne sans simulateur ?
Practice, Practice, Practice
Wax on, wax off.
That's how you get better with anything in RC. Yeah, it's boring but simple truth is that's how you get better.
@@jeffbrundt7740 that’s exactly it!
a missing R - HELP
Missing R?
@@westhobbiesrc8051 leaRning 3D - im a torque natzi 😂
Practice????? But....
Lots of practice
Great advice but terrible clickbait title.
I didn’t think it’s click bit at all.
You dont have to 3D to be a pro
No you don’t! There is many (including Myself) who are not pros at all and can do 3D.
3D is mostly in the eye of the beholder. If you can hover, go up, down, left, right, forward, backwards, pirouette, you have made the helicopter fly in 3 dimensions.
Then if your not a pro pilot that you stated in this video
Why are you giving the advice to others in becoming a better pilot as a 3d.
Because I want to.
You don't have to be a pro to give and share advice from your own experience. I very much appreciate his personal insight that he is sharing.
@@larryhawkes1347 thank you Larry! I appreciate that, I personally would not call myself a pro pilot, a professional, none of that. I simply love this hobby having an extreme passion for it, and I want to help others learn from my mistakes so they don’t make the same ones that I have. Some people would call me a pro but I definitely don’t call myself one.
Maybe because there are people out there that can't even hover? or know anything basic of flying/hovering a heli? or have no sense of direction of which way to go/start to achieve their goals? This man has dedicated himself to helping others despite people like "You" who shit on him for his efforts to help others,he initially announced that he is not a "Pro" but yet here you are "Hating" on him! Maybe you can contribute something to all these people who want to learn to fly heli's? I'm sure someone like you who likes to spew garbage out of their "Anus" can contribute something constructive to others who want to learn?????? No????? Than maybe you should go back to playing with your "Ken" barbie dolls,until you have something to share with us in terms of learning, in the meantime maybe you should just ...."STFU"!!! and before you go off on a tangent about me,yes I do know how to fly a heli 3D style and would most likely outfly you even on my worst flying day! Now get lost....Karen!
Matt botos borientation is how to get better fast.
They are great!
Hello, Jeff:
Awesome Video along with some very good advice. I wish it were possible to spend a week or two with you to just learn about R.C. Heli Build Techniques. I have quite a way to go to learn basic Heli Flying Skills. As you had indicated, it takes lots, and lots of stick time both on the simulator and real life heli practise and lots of that as well. I am picking up what it takes to build a heli for it to fly well. If you don't have a good flying heli, all the stick time in the world won't help. Learning what makes a good flying Heli is just as much Key to learning as is the amount of stck time we devote to learning. I am picking up that knowledge little by little and it's taking longer that I would like. I do belong to a flying club and there is only 1 other pilot in the club who also Flys R.C. Helicopters. Ŵe discuss from time to time what we have learned so we can share information. Problem is we're both newbies and we're both from Northern Indiana which has a not so long of a flying season. I do have a simulator, did I mention that already so in the off season I use the simulator and attemp to repair my small fleet of helis to get them and me ready for the upcoming season.