Flying Upside-Down

Flying Upside-Down

Flying inverted is a lot of fun, and it’s a basic requirement if you want to execute some of the more difficult 3D maneuvers. Learning to fly inverted will take you back to those days when you learned to hover with your training gear attached! As you might expect, it’s a bit tricky at first because when the model is upside-down, many of the control inputs are different from when upright. Here’s what happens:

Aileron. This is exactly the same as upright flying. If the heli is inverted nose-in, treat the aileron the same as you would if it was upright nose-in.

Elevator. When the model is inverted, elevator input will be the exact opposite of when the model is upright. When the heli is inverted nose-in, push the stick to push the heli away from you and pull the stick to pull it to you. When the model is inverted and facing tail-in, of course, this is reversed. This is the trickiest part of inverted flight; when you master it, you will progress quickly!

Pitch. When the model is inverted, the pitch is also reversed. Learning pitch orientation is critical to your success. When you develop the correct eye/hand coordination with the pitch, you’ll then be able to save the model while practicing virtually any maneuver. Learn this, and you’ll save yourself a bunch of parts down the road!

Rudder. This is also altered during inverted flight. For example, when your heli is nose-in and you want the nose to turn to your right, push the rudder right. If you want it to go to your left, push the rudder left. This also works when the heli is tail-in; if you want the tail to move to the right, move the rudder to the right. Sounds simple on paper, but it takes a little practice to master.

BY LEN SABATO

Updated: July 23, 2015 — 4:23 PM
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