One important tip...

[gitbse]

It's been a quiet forum around here. Hopefully everybody is out flying, and flying well.
It's also been IRCHA week, and preparation week... so that probably helps as well.

Soooo... for the quiet forum I wanted to bring up one important tip. It's got nothing directly to do with flying. No maneuver tips, no control schemes, nothing.


Tension.

I had a guitar teacher awhile ago who, before every lesson, made me go through every muscle group one by one, from my neck down through the shoulders, through the entire arm, all the way out to the fingers. It wasn't a long process, just a conscious "glance" at the muscles, making sure there is ZERO tension. I found, to my absolute surprise, that my shoulders were SO TENSE, he could barely move my arms.
He would also stop me mid lesson a few times, and reinforce zero tension. I haven't taken lessons in years, but still do that when I play to this day.

This I believe is both something that 99% of RC pilots suffer from, and could benefit greatly from relieving.
Tension in the fingers doesn't start in the fingers. It starts all the way up in the shoulders, and neck. You know that tense "shrug" you do when your machine is about to hit the ground? I would put money on it that most pilots are in a constant (albeit lower) state of that tension.
Test yourself before taking off, and during the flight. All sticks will have a center point on each axis, no matter the quality of the TX. Can you feel when the pot hits that center point? Can you feel the spring tension? If not, you're doing it wrong. I modified my left stick to have a small notch at midstick, for zero collective. It's a very light feel though. I know that if I can't feel that, I have too much tension going on.

So next time before you start flying, do a little personal muscle check. Start in your neck. Any tension? Go to the shoulders, down your upper arms, lower arms, and out through your hands and fingers. Release ANY tension you have, in the entire chain. Halfway through a battery, take a solid hover or even ground the heli, and do another quick check. Make sure there is zero tension ALL THE WAY. Relaxing your fingers without the rest is a waste of time.

I promise it will help everybodys' flying. If you can't hold a solid hover, it's most likely because you're too tense. You aren't able to make fine enough corrections on the sticks. Once you start PAYING ATTENTION to the tension level in your whole arm "chain"... you will be amazed how much you may have been muscling the sticks around. Finesse in flying comes from finesse in your hands.

Happy Flying

Keep us updated, I'd be curious to see what everybody finds, and the results that come from it.

[CZorzella]

Thank you! I'm sure these hints will help me next time I fly.

[ArchmageAU]

Originally Posted by gitbse

...
Soooo... for the quiet forum I wanted to bring up one important tip. It's got nothing directly to do with flying. No maneuver tips, no control schemes, nothing.


Tension.
....

Great tip.

In fact is has EVERYTHING to do with flying. The pilots free movement of the controls is as important as a correct heli mechanical/electrical setup. (It's brain to hand mechanical setup )

I will have to consciously focus on this before flights.

Font of wisdom as always. Thanks Gitbse.

[gitbse]

That's why I threw that "directly" in there

[Joce]

Agree 100%. I had the same with my piano teacher. The point is your tensions have direct impact on sound quality. The point is to be able to be constantly is this relaxed state. It is easy to feel when you think about it but it disappears as soon as you concentrate on flight. I tried sometimes ago to work on that but didn't manage to keep the feeling.

[aterren]

Perfectly timed advice. This weekend i found my left pinky twitching and that i was leaning on forward cyclic and could not feel center. I'll try these techniques next weekend. .

[gitbse]

Originally Posted by aterren

Perfectly timed advice. This weekend i found my left pinky twitching and that i was leaning on forward cyclic and could not feel center. I'll try these techniques next weekend. .

"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear."

lol

[NSFlyer12]

Great post gitsbe.

As a fellow guitar player, I can relate to this. When I first started flying, I was very tense with the tx which resulted in poor inputs. As I relaxed, I became more comfortable and had better control.

[Luigi_tuga]

Nice advice. I feel the neck very stiff sometimes when flying, and the flight is not so fluid when i'm like this.
I notice this a lot on very windy days, hard to relax.
On no wind days, the fingers just fly so smooth on the gimbals

[aterren]

Originally Posted by gitbse

"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear."

Quite true

[MS60]

I try to consciously let go of the sticks to let them center thought the flight.

[FailureToFly]

I would personally never get in the habit of doing this; just learn where they centre and move them back as you need too.

Originally Posted by farkas

I try to consciously let go of the sticks to let them center thought the flight.

[ArchmageAU]

Originally Posted by farkas

I try to consciously let go of the sticks to let them center thought the flight.

Originally Posted by FailureToFly

I would personally never get in the habit of doing this; just learn where they centre and move them back as you need too.

I think this is in aid of relaxing more than centering sticks.

Using pinch (thumbs with assist), my fingers know the feel of centre, and never have an issue finding it. I still have to focus on relaxing though.

[jcoop65]

Wow excellent point. I have always carried a lot of tension in my shoulders, to the point of having surgery on one. I will definitely try your approach next flight.

[Obijuan Kenobe]

A new guy, I am challenged to 're-relax' after any pseudo orientation loss or incorrect correction...and I find focusing on relaxing my shoulders and back after such a moment is key. I also do some sort of re-relax just before releasing TH on each new battery.

I see it like the dribbles before a free-throw in basketball. It should be a ritual that is the same every time (one bounce with one hand, spin in your hand, two bounces with two hands...then shoot, for example), leading your mind and body to the same place more or less. I usually use the need to check my surroundings for people to relax my neck and shoulders left...and right...roll my shoulders a couple times, reposition my fingers one last time...then go.

Very very good post. I have to do this all the time, everyday at work...and now while flying. But it is nice to hear I am not crazy.

obi

[aterren]

Gitbse

Any new tips as we head into the fall and winter periods?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[gitbse]

Originally Posted by aterren

Gitbse

Any new tips as we head into the fall and winter periods?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Don't drink and drive. The roads are bad enough in the winter.

[neverland]

don't drink OR drive.

[aterren]

With the holiday season coming it seems once again that "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear."

[360Wings]

I think tension is why many people suffer from being able to fly ok in the sim and the "feel" changes when they fly at the field. That change in "feel" is most likely tension build up that isnt present when on the sim and the root cause of many incidents.

The hardest obstacle is not wanting to crash.. Often that is peoples goal when they go fly.. "I dont wnat to crash" or "I havent crashed for XXX weeks or months".. Pilots need to accept that you will crash you heli. It might be pilot error, electrical or mechanical. It is going to happen. Once you have really grasped that you will relax and fly better and improve faster..

Whist the fear of crashing is present you instantly have a massive mental barrier which reduces or prevents you from pushing past your comfort zone and thats where you learning and improvements come from.

Relax. Its a hobby.