It's like learning to ride a bike - impossible till you can do it, and then you wonder what on earth the difficulty was. It takes a while, especially in the twitchy little R22, and you'll get on better if you can relax and accept that it's going to take a while. You're learning to manipulate three different and very sensitive controls, which all affect each other, and which all have a lag in them. So of course it's difficult! And you can't do it with your brain; you have to somehow get the messages to your hands and feet, so that they know when to react to a small movement of the helicopter, and which control to move and by how much. It's as though you're creating new reflexes.
Everyone learns differently, but for most people I don't think a lot of explanation really helps. So all I can really do is give you a few hints on how not to get in your own way....
1) If you try to relax and don't worry too much, it seems to help the creating-new-reflex process. Yes, I KNOW this is impossible!
2) Little and often is the best way. You're probably doing this anyway, right? A few minutes at the end of each lesson is the usual way, because you get too tired and tense after a few minutes, and it's counter-productive. So in fact you haven't done that much so far, just several few minute sessions.
3) Look well ahead, and keep reminding yourself to do that.
4) Don't get frustrated when all of the above doesn't seem to work.
5) Remember, you're supposed to be enjoying this, and it's not a competition. People learn to hover at very different rates, and it doesn't mean a thing, so don't worry about it.
And come back and tell us when you've cracked it...then go out in a gusty crosswind like we had last weekend, and you'll realise you hadn't.
