Learning to hover

[cptamerica2]

So I've only got a few days under my belt in primary. I know hovering will come at some point, but right now it's impossible! Any tips from some veteran aviators? Thanks in advance.

[Lindsey]

Yes, relax. It will come. I promise. The more stressed out you get and the more pressure you put yourself under, the longer it will take you to "get it." You'll just flip a switch at some point and suddenly be able to do it, perhaps even without realizing until your IP points out that you're hovering (at which point you'll likely tense up in shock and your IP will have to take back the controls hehe).

 

Just try to enjoy the flight and know it will eventually come. The best pilots are the most seemingly relaxed in the cockpit.

[akscott60]

Its just one of those things unique to flying a helicopter. Some people take longer than others, but you WILL learn.

 

Just letting you know, ALL the advanced aircraft are easier to hover than a 67. Haha.

[Lindsey]

I've never heard of anyone getting kicked out of flight school for inability to hover. Because you will eventually get it.

[Yamer]

What flight are you in?

[Wally]

Anybody who can walk, upright, can hover, I promise. Relaxation works for everybody at every level, tension/nerves make smooth small motion extremely difficult. Relax your cyclic and collective hands, put your heels on the floor, consciously RELAX and try to catch small changes with minimal, slow movements.

I'm somewhere north of 60,000 landings and that principle still works. When I find myself wrestling with the aircraft at a hover, abrupt, jerky and tense, I get a little altitude, "shake it out", concentrate on relaxed slow aircraft movements and go back... works every time.

[cptamerica2]

Not stressing out about it at all, just curious about different techniques. Thanks for the advice all.

[dirtyfoot]

[Adsfbike]

Is this typically a hard concept/skill for most people to get down? This is an ignorant question coming from a prospective applicant for woft.

[cptamerica2]

What flight are you in?

Stingray

[Eric Hunt]

Forget about trying to stay in one spot. Concentrate instead on the attitude in the window out the front. If it changes, fix it. it changed again. Fix it again. Don't sit there looking at a window full of grass or sky, and thinking "This is OK, we haven't moved yet!" because 2 poofteenths of a second later, you will be moving.

 

Just reset the hover attitude, and try to keep it there in the window with small corrections.

 

The most important control in the hover is the pedals. If you can't keep it pointed at some chosen feature, you will NEVER be able to hover. Doesn't matter if you are the ace from space on the rest of them, if you are spinning, you ain't winning.

 

So, to hover properly:

Make it point

Keep it flat

Fix the height.

 

You will never hit the ground in the hover - you will see the ground approaching and jerk up on the lever to soar into the sky to 30' and spin around. Stop the turn, reset the hover attitude, then slowly let it settle, 1cm of collective movement - wait- 1cm - wait - keep hovering lower until the ground takes the weight.

 

Piece of cake.

[Flim]

HA, I was a stingray guy as well.... it's a good flight to be in. You have to relax in your sitting position as well. I had my legs resting against the sides of the cockpit so I'm not holding them up. Use a light 3 finger grip and don't move your arm, just wrist. Try not to look out the chin bubble while hovering... until you get better and then you can challenge your IP who can stay in one place.

[Yamer]

Stingray

My friend/neighbor is in bandit. Just curious.

[Lindsey]

Not stressing out about it at all, just curious about different techniques. Thanks for the advice all.

But ya see, that *is* the technique.

[SBuzzkill]

I never found the hover button, I just got less terrible at it day by day and eventually could hover.

[WolftalonID]

Man...I was able to hover from day one....I hovered over here, then over there, then back over here, then up there....rather rapidly in fact....

 

12 hours later I could hover really boringly...like in one place....sorta

 

Ahhh the good ol days of the first days....

 

Now I can hover pretty decently... My students seem to think so at least.

Edited August 23, 2015 by WolftalonID

[brackac]

Relax and slouch in the seat. Go full noodle in the seat with heels on the floor and butterfly toes on the pedals.

 

If that doesn't work, just move the cycle vigorously in all directions simultaneously.

[TachedOutOffRoad]

What helped me the most in every aspect of the all-weather-attack-67 was: ease in the power until it's light on the skids (30-35%??) stop, .5 second break/ mental prep, THEN pull the other 30-40%. It's a smoother, easier transition to hovering, airspeed over altitude, anything really.

[dirtyfoot]

Don't hover the aircraft. BE the aircraft. Release yourself from the bonds of gravitational slavery. Escape your ground surface confinement.

The journey is the destination.

 

Also, have a far reference point, use tiny little cyclic movements, and know that any power adjustment will likely require some pedalwork. The magic will inevitably happen.

[Wally]

Don't hover the aircraft. BE the aircraft. Release yourself from the bonds of gravitational slavery. Escape your ground surface confinement.

The journey is the destination.

 

Also, have a far reference point, use tiny little cyclic movements, and know that any power adjustment will likely require some pedalwork. The magic will inevitably happen.

 

"BE the aircraft" at a certain altitude (height above the ground) and heading. If YOU move inadvertently, fix it with small slow movements. I don't find attitude useful, a tail or crosswind stationary hover will require different attitudes than nose into the wind. Movement, rathe lack of motionlessness is absolute. If you move fix it quickly with the smallest motion possible. It's like standing still, you correct by small cues indicating divergence.

None of the controls is independent. Power affects pedal, which affects cyclic... on and on and on, and round and round. After you start catching small changes that will trend towards a change from the theoretical stationary hover, you'll need to start anticipating the corrections to your correction. When the thought crosses your mind to consider the secondary control to make the desired change, ie, power to change yaw heading, you're just about there.

There is no such thing as a stationary hover, you're always fixing things, and the smaller the better. Where your head is at that point, moving the aircraft secondary to holding the position, is when you've found the secret. Relaxed controls and eyes out is the answer...

[Eric Hunt]

Wally, in the early stages, attitude is all-important. If the student's eyes are looking at the grass between his toes, trying to hold it still, he will fail.

 

Once you can CONTROL the attitude, in quite a large sense, then the tiny smaller attitude changes (crosswind, tailwind etc) are corrected more by PRESSURE on the cyclic. Sure, the attitude will change a little, but the overall attitude is pretty constant. There will always be pressure on the cyclic into the wind.

[SuperJas]

Everyone's already said it, relax. Try to be mindful of how tight your butthole is clenched, cause that means you're tight on the ctrls too haha. Continuously tell yourself, out loud, to relax.

 

I'm dealing with the same thing right now in Apache bag phase, it feels like I'm starting over again and it's frustrating to say the least. You're IP won't let you kill yourselves, try rto keep that in mind.

 

I was in stingrays sister, raven

[apacheguy]

Everyone's already said it, relax. Try to be mindful of how tight your butthole is clenched, cause that means you're tight on the ctrls too haha. Continuously tell yourself, out loud, to relax.

 

I'm dealing with the same thing right now in Apache bag phase, it feels like I'm starting over again and it's frustrating to say the least. You're IP won't let you kill yourselves, try rto keep that in mind.

 

I was in stingrays sister, raven

 

The bag is rough, hang in there and you'll get it. Plus, you'll never have to do it again after school.

 

The biggest thing that helped me learn to hover was my IP telling me NOT to move the cyclic/collective, just THINK about moving the controls. Like most guys I was trying to muscle the aircraft into submission when more subtle control touch was needed. Relax. Goozfrabba.

[walkerman180]

What on Earth is this "bag" I keep hearing about?

[SuperJas]

From Google images, your sitting in the back, with all windows covered