Any tips for improving perception of heli orientation?

[McBrain]

Hi Folks,

I feel I'm going pretty well so far. Total beginner and I've probably got 14-16 battery packs worth of flying under my belt on my Tarot 450 pro V2 FBL.

I'm quite confident with hovering and I can move about well tail-in, side on.

I have a sim and I can do a lot more on that. Inverted, circuits, etc, etc.

The next step in the real world is to try and get flat figure 8s, I just want to fly back and forth infront of me and spin it 180 at each end and then progress to end turns.

Anyway, I was flying at the weekend and the heli was further away from me and higher than usual. I had a bit of a problem with depth perception as I flew it into a tree . I cut the throttle and it fell about 8m dead. Not too much damage - bent boom, mainshaft, etc.

What I need some advice on is this: Are there any tips for dealing with depth and orientation perception? Maybe I'm getting old but once the heli gets more than 25-30m away from me I find it increasingly difficult to judge whether it's tail in or not and obviously how close I am to trees.

I guess I can do more sim practice a greater distances. Flying at a field where there is always clear sky behind the heli would help too. Any other tips?

Cheers
McBrain

[Russell Harding]

You're on the right track.

First, visual: It wouldn't hurt to plaster your heli with bright colors. Contrasting tail fin, tail blades, canopy, and skids. Make it look different colors from different orientations. Non-natural colors can help.

Next: Site selection: Everyone has their preferences, but flying around sunset/sunrise with the sun at your back and a clear blue sky is best for me. If you've got trees around, fly higher than them. Wear sunglasses (good for safety anyway).

Lastly: Practice. Just like everything else in the hobby, practice is best. The more you anticipate your heli's reaction to your input, the better you will be able to 'see' which way it is pointed. The better I've gotten at flying, the better I can fly in low light, at high speed, dusk, etc.

If you get disoriented, try spinning the rudder to 'unlock' your brain.

[LN400]

A bright coloured canopy, ugly as sin but real easy to see. Bright orange, perhaps.

A tip for judging distance that will probably sound silly but came to me when I walked past this golf course with the practice range with distance signs put up, I stopped and tried to memorize what I saw and later during the walk I would guesstimate random distances to random stuff I saw along the way :
Up close, like 3 feet, just look at the heli, get a good idea of how big it seems up close, how much of your field of vision it covers. Next place the heli on the ground at some distance, like say 10 feet, measure the distance, and again notice how much smaller the heli seems to be, notice how much of your field of vision it covers. Place it on the ground at ever increasing distances, 20 feet, 30, 40, 50, 75, 100. Get used to how small the heli seems at those distances.

Next, place the heli on the ground at a random distance. Now estimate the actual distance. Then measure it, see how close you got.

That said, depth is the trickiest for me too.

[McBrain]

Thanks LN400 and Code3Medic

Originally Posted by Code3Medic

If you get disoriented, try spinning the rudder to 'unlock' your brain.

Yep, this is what I tend to do, do it flying planks: Give it a bit of a nudge and if it moves differently from expected then the orientation is different. This is easier with planes as they are more forgiving.

Just had a good idea about the colours. I've still got the training gear on, if I make the two balls on the left one bright colour, the two on the right a different bright colour that would work reall well as they are a long way out from the centre of the heli. (maybe even bright LEDs!!)

[Crash_Expert]

Here's my heli, very easy to see.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[ArchmageAU]

Originally Posted by McBrain

...

Just had a good idea about the colours. I've still got the training gear on, if I make the two balls on the left one bright colour, the two on the right a different bright colour that would work reall well as they are a long way out from the centre of the heli. (maybe even bright LEDs!!)

You have the right ideas.

• Different colours for canopy (top/bottom / left/right).
• Different colours for tail fin (left/right)
• Different colours for main blades (top/bottom)
• Different colours for tail blades (left/right)

Use high contrast colours that also make the heli stand out from the background.

"Be seen, be safe".

[RogerRabit]

The key for orientation is the nose in hovering.

When you are far away you can swing the tail and suddenly your brain sees " nose in " situation.
Then you just push cyclic a little till you see the tail above the heli and wait till it aproaches you.

[McBrain]

Hey crash_expert, that looks pretty ugly! :-)

...but very effective.

That second pick could easily be coming towards the camera but the colours make it's orientation easy to see.

[Flooznie]

Originally Posted by Crash_Expert

Here's my heli, very easy to see.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Very easy to see, but red is port, and green is starboard. Sorry, I'm in the Navy and couldn't resist that one!

[Tasteles]

Originally Posted by Flooznie

Very easy to see, but red is port, and green is starboard. Sorry, I'm in the Navy and couldn't resist that one!

lol, Most land lovers don't know what port and starbord is either! For those that don't know, port is left and starboard is right.

[ArchmageAU]

Originally Posted by Tasteles

lol, Most land lovers don't know what port and starbord is either! For those that don't know, port is left and starboard is right.

"Any red port left in the can?" (btw, you can get white port - fortified wine - but it is usually red, dont know of any green).

However in aviation, like maritime, red is left and green is right. Look at the navigation lights on a plane.

[HeliSmith]

Anytime I lose track of the heli in my mind I can pile it up. Don't lose orientation in your mind and learn to trust that you know where it is. Bright canopies are helpful during the learning phase I painted my two 450 helis bright orange with bright yellow you can see them here
Http://www.helismith.com

[RogerRabit]

Best tip is to use a 100 size all black with a black canopy on the field.
That teaches you to look for the motion and path and rely on your virtual heli in your brain.

Latest when you fly pirofunnels the look for orientation is no option. You have to see the heli with closed eyes.

Tip if your mental image is confused the brain locs up and you cannot sync with the helis picture, just spin the tail.
The brain will unlock immedeate in most cases and your thumbs will do the rest .

[gitbse]

Highlight the tail as much as possible. That will be the best visual guideline. And when you become a more advanced pilot, you will start to cue off the tail anyways, so it will get you started. Bright orange KBDD tail blades work best, and spraypaint the fin bright orange.

[clicky]

This is scary. I have listened your advice - 4 or 5 years ago!

[SMOKEMASTER60]

I learned by doing a lot or pirouettes and doing a lot of flips/rolls. I like to do flips/rolls and practice leveling the heli as fast as possible after the flip. Do it from random orientations and level it quick. After a while, u can level it no matter what is happening without much thought.

[McBrain]

I think it's much easier to regain control when the heli is moving around alot. For example if I am flying all over the place on the sim like crazy I rarely lose orientation. But when I am flying in the real world, concentrating on flying steady, less turns, slower speed, there are less visual clues.

[HeliSmith]

Sometimes if I keep trying to do something I lose the ability to even hover. It's the trying to hard effect and the only advice I have is to put it down for awhile then try again.

[Chevy2035]

My advise, Fly it more within your comfort range, After a while you stop paying attention to the orientation of the heli, and just pay attention Height and dept, Your brain will know what orientation your heli is in by the way it is moving with the inputs your giving it. (Sorry best attempt to explain it)
A few people told me this 8 months ago and i thought they where crazy, Now I understand.

[mcarter76]

Lot's of great ideas. There's no cure for not being in the cockpit, but you start to develop a feel for how fast it's going and where it's going to. You'll develop a certain amount of trust that you have set your heading correctly and not to second guess it. It never hurts to wag the tail a little if you blank out, or get it tail-in when in doubt.

I don't like flying in cloudy/overcast conditions or at sundown... shadows get weird and or everything starts to have the same level contrast. The bright blue sky is great for getting orientation.