RC Helicopter Flying Tips

Before You Fly

1. Always check/tighten all the important screws before you fly.

2. Make sure you have the correct flight mode selected before you fly. If you use a simulator or have different ‘birds’ this is especially important.

3. If your radio has lots of switches, set it so that when you start all your switches are pointing the same direction.

4. Check your radio’s range.

5. Make a checklist and stick to it.

6. Always ensure that your linkages are secure. Sometimes, when making adjustments, one end will unscrew more than the other and is just hanging on by a thread. If it slips off during the flight, it could be a very expensive and dangerous lesson. Check them quickly before you spool up.

7. Make sure your receiver and transmitter batteries are fully charged. A dead battery can really wreak havoc in the air.

8. Whenever you start your helicopter, whether it’s nitro, gasser or electric, always hold the blade grips tightly. If your throttle is not all the way down, or there’s a glitch, your heli can spin out of control and cause serious damage.

Flying Tips

1. If something looks to be wrong with your heli, land right away to find out what it is. It’s not going to go away on its own.

2. Fly the nose, not the tail unless you want to become totally disoriented.

3. If your RC heli gets the shakes, land and check to see if your blades are balanced and track properly. Other causes can be blade pitch, weight imbalance, RPM and so on.

4. When flying non-electric RC helicopters, always make sure you can see smoke coming out of the heli. If there’s no smoke, it’s likely that you’re engine is running too lean. Too lean means too much heat which can destroy the engine.

5. Be sure that no loose wiring rubs against the frame. You can use a nylon braid to protect it.

6. Don’t let metal or carbon fiber parts rub against each other. It can cause RF interference which can lead to a crash.

7. Monitor your battery’s voltage with a battery monitor or by timing known flight times.

8. Experiment all you like – in a simulator where crashing doesn’t cost a significant amount of time ort money.

9. When you’re done flying your nitro or gasser for the day, tilt the heli backward after flying to drain the sticky stuff out of the muffler. This will protect your car from nasty drippage.

by Bret Frix