Originally Posted by
OldDog4NewTricks
Good morning all,
"Mature" student here just learning to fly helicopters for fun and to be able to do a couple of hours each month once / if I get my PPL (H).
I have done almost 20 hours now, great instructor, very patient and encouraging etc and I have been making good progress with the exercises up to now Exercise 11 Hovering!
I am starting to seriously worry I may not ever get how to hover.
In an effort to get the neural pathways burned in I booked in a couple of hours of just hover and I must have had in total with the little bits at ends of lessons close to 5 hours of hover training and I am still unable to master it.
I can do pedals on own and, getting better on pedals and collective but as soon as I go near the cyclic I am all over the place!
So, serious question for those of you with way more experience, is there any practical tips on how I can practice at home so as to maximise time with rotors turning or, if I haven't got it by now do you think it is a lost cause? Is about 5 hours of just hover training a lot? How long is the average etc. Thanks for any advice offered.
Old Dog
Don't worry about it. The worst thing you can do is focus a whole lesson on hovering. As AC has suggested, it kinda comes, and you can't really force it. Just do a little bit in every lesson. If you're a normal student, you're probably in for 50-60 hours to crack the whole thing anyway, so there's no rush.
If you want a cheap home trainer get a bosu ball or one of several equivalents. If you're struggling with the rest of it, there may be a point where it's nature's way of telling you that helicoptering isn't for you, but it sounds like you're not there yet. I can assure you the first day it happens is worth the wait.
In the meantime, for the rest of us, if you want to remind yourself what not being able to hover is like, swap hands. Might be good to have a friend in the cockpit when you do that !
PS I assume your instructor is doing the pedals and collective for you, so you can sort out the balance issues with the cyclic ?