Hovering?

idontknow · June 27, 2015

I have one hour of flight time in a R22. My instructor took off and we were flying for about 3-5 minutes when she handed me the controls. I was able to fly straight and I was flying for about 90 percent of the time during the one hour flight. Around the thirty minute mark my instructor allowed me to try hovering. I could only hover for about 5 seconds. I just can't get the hang of it. I tried small movements but the helicopter kept going to the right. Why does this happen?

Wally · June 28, 2015

What

I have one hour of flight time in a R22. My instructor took off and we were flying for about 3-5 minutes when she handed me the controls. I was able to fly straight and I was flying for about 90 percent of the time during the one hour flight. Around the thirty minute mark my instructor allowed me to try hovering. I could only hover for about 5 seconds. I just can't get the hang of it. I tried small movements but the helicopter kept going to the right. Why does this happen?

What did the instructor offer as suggested correction? Hovering is about more than small corrections, you have to anticipate the aircraft by analyzing very small cues and deciding what to do to correct back to the desired static position. Expecting the same exact aircraft attitude, control and power setting to result in a stationary hover is the first mistake.

eagle5 · June 28, 2015

5 seconds huh? That's about 4 seconds longer than I lasted on my first hover attempt!

By the way its not about how small your movements are with the cyclic, its the timing of them. Like riding a bike you're trying perform a balancing act, and that will only come with practice. Hover taxi in a straight line for a short distance then stop. Doing that forwards and sideways over and over is what helped me.

Eric Hunt · June 28, 2015

Hovering is all about controlling the attitude, not trying to maintain a position. If the attitude changes, fix it. You will have drifted a little over the ground, doesn't matter. Just work on getting back to that flat hover attitude . Once you have the attitude under control (about 2-3 hours) you can then use the attitude by making small changes to get back to the ground position again. But only by working on that flat attitude.

And if you can't control the direction with pedals, you will never be able to hover. Make it point. Keep it flat. Then fix the height. In that order.

Wally · June 28, 2015

Gotta disagree with 'keeping it flat' as a priority, theoretical and practical. I don't know about Robinsons, but:

Not uncommon for helicopters to have deck angles that aren't flat in the hover even in absolute calm and all have some angle in the disk to offset tail rotor thrust;

Absolute calm almost never exists, so even if the aircraft somehow hovered flat in that condition, you will always be holding position by correcting for wind.

Keep it stationary by catching small changes trending from stationary, quickly, and making lesser and lesser corrections as your skill increases. This works no matter your loading or climactic conditions.

eagle5 · June 28, 2015

Thing is about hovering. You can try all the techniques and ideas you want while learning, but once you get it, you've got it, and you never need think about it again. Hovering becomes second nature.

Won2Be · June 29, 2015

I have one hour of flight time in a R22. My instructor took off and we were flying for about 3-5 minutes when she handed me the controls. I was able to fly straight and I was flying for about 90 percent of the time during the one hour flight. Around the thirty minute mark my instructor allowed me to try hovering. I could only hover for about 5 seconds. I just can't get the hang of it. I tried small movements but the helicopter kept going to the right. Why does this happen?

If it is any help, I also had a hell of a time with the hover (I'm told its the hardest thing to master), specially in the R22 (don't have exp in other airframes).

I finally semi-got it when my new instructor told me how to actually USE the "don't look down! focus WAY out there!!" they kept shouting at me. I'm like "I'M FOCUSING OKAY?!" but for the life of me I couldn't keep the thing straight, level, OR stationary. Turns out I was focusing alright, but I was neglecting my peripheral vision. Your peripheral vision is an objective way to identify if the ship is moving relative to the focus point. It is similiar to using your compass in straight/level flight. You are comparing the position of your compass with the horizon. if the relative position changes, you know something is about to move (losing power, slowing down, whatever) and make a small correction before the move actually happens.

In hover you have even more points of reference. So, when you are focusing on a distant point, what you are actually doing is identifying the position of the windshield/compass/dashboard/trim strings, whatever is in your peripheral vision (peripheral vision items--pick two or three that you can easily and automatically detect with your peripheral vision) inside the ship to the point in the distance you are focusing on.

To practice. take a paper towel roll and attach it to your face (like a telescope). hold it to your eye and make sure the tube stays stationary on your face (don't let the tube compensate, force your head to move rather than the tube). now go outside and pick a point and start walking sideways. Focus on that point through the tube with your other eye closed (imagine trying to aim a rifle scope at a moving target). Your objective is to keep the point exactly centered in the tube. This excercise can help you visualize what you are trying to accomplish while hovering. Instead of the tube, you are trying to make the focus point exactly centered inside your peripheral vision items (the compass/windshield/trim strings). Also, the further away you focus, the earlier you can detect that your peripheral vision items are moving relative to the focus point and your corrections will be smaller, smoother, and more accurate/precise.

Once you know what you are looking for, its just a matter of muscle memory after that. Take one control at a time and eventually you should get it. That's my take on it. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Flying Pig · June 29, 2015

Ive found hovering to be one of those things that people just need to figure out. After a few short hours, it will just happen. I find that most people make it way harder than it needs to be. Reading "techniques" at this point is making it hard because you'll be trying to think about what you've read. Just listen to your instructor. You just need to find your happy place.

June 29, 2015

hovering is easy once ya stop trying to do it

Pohi · June 29, 2015

Those 22's don't have an auto hover button?

eagle5 · June 29, 2015

Its on voice command. Just say, "you have the controls"

whoknows idont · July 2, 2015

Ive found hovering to be one of those things that people just need to figure out. After a few short hours, it will just happen. I find that most people make it way harder than it needs to be. Reading "techniques" at this point is making it hard because you'll be trying to think about what you've read. Just listen to your instructor. You just need to find your happy place.

Word!

Don't overthink it. Just take a couple of lessons in a not too long time frame. If you are not happy with your progress learn to be patient and give yourself the time to figure it out.

It's pretty much like learning to ride a bike: In the beginning it seems like the most difficult thing in the world. Once you got it you won't have to think about the riding itself and quickly gain confidence and security. Then you will need to figure out how to navigate, avoid other traffic, follow the rules and so on. Very similar in my eyes.