Now it’s time to start practicing keeping that tail in one spot. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? This is not only the hardest thing that I had to learn about a helicopter, but it’s also one of the most important. Unlike an airplane, you have to use the rudder in order to control a helicopter. So, it’s only natural that you start out learning how to control that tail.
With your helicopter sitting on the box with the X in it, slowly start so spool the helicopter up until you start to see the skids move. When you are spooling it up slowly, try to keep that tail pointed towards you. This is called “tail inâ€. Once you see the skids start to move from the heli getting lift, lower the throttle all the way until the blades stop. Then, do it again and try to hold the tail in one spot. Keep doing this until you feel comfortable enough you can hold the tail in one spot during a quicker spool up.
Next, we are going to get familiar with how the tail moves. Now, I want you to spool the helicopter up until you see it getting light on the skids, then move the helicopter rudder left and right to get a feel for it. Start by moving the helicopter rudder to the right. This will make the helicopter rotate clockwise. Stop the tail when it’s at a 45* angle to you. Then, return the helicopter to tail in. Then, rotate the helicopter to the left or counter-clockwise until the tail is at a 45* angle to you, and return it back to center. Keep doing this until you feel that you can move the tail faster and faster and that you can stop it where you want it to stop. You may find that you need to lower your travel adjustment to slow down the piro rate to make it a little more agile so you can control it. I run my rudder on 70% and I think it’s perfect.
Keep doing these spool-up and tail exercises until you feel that you are ready to move on. If you move on, and your hands are still shaking and your heart is still racing, then the results can be costly. Only move on when you are ready.
