grasshopper
Well-Known Member
Hi all,
My only flight experience in life will probably be limited to Microsoft Flight sim, but to make my helicopter practice as realistic as possible, I acquired a cyclic, collective with twist-grip throttle and rudder pedals from Go Flight, and all my scenery is projected to fill a 12-foot square wall, as opposed to me squinting at a tiny computer screen.
I noticed during my many hours of hovering practice and flying that on some occasions I am definitely "in the zone", where my cyclic inputs are precise and subtle enough to be barely visible, enabling me to set the R22 down light as a feather on rooftops in the excellent Manhattan Scenery produced by Aerosoft for FS 2004.
On other occasions, though, I find myself over-correcting with the cyclic and basically flailing all over the place in hovers or when coming in for a landing flare, which on such days I generally overdo, causing the bird to backslide.
I am a bit baffled as to why my control touch can be so smooth on one day, and then utterly inept in the next practice session, so I thought I'd ask here if such motor control variations also occur in the process of learning to fly a real helicopter.
When I first started out practicing with the realistic controls I use with my home helicopter simulator, I assumed that there would be a smooth learning curve till I reached the point where all control inputs become instinctive and consistent, but this has not turned out to be the case, due to this " good day-bad day " syndrome I have noticed, and this got me curious enough to ask here if it is in fact common for helicopter pilot trainees to progress in such fits and starts, rather than in a predictable refinement from novice to expert.
Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks.
My only flight experience in life will probably be limited to Microsoft Flight sim, but to make my helicopter practice as realistic as possible, I acquired a cyclic, collective with twist-grip throttle and rudder pedals from Go Flight, and all my scenery is projected to fill a 12-foot square wall, as opposed to me squinting at a tiny computer screen.
I noticed during my many hours of hovering practice and flying that on some occasions I am definitely "in the zone", where my cyclic inputs are precise and subtle enough to be barely visible, enabling me to set the R22 down light as a feather on rooftops in the excellent Manhattan Scenery produced by Aerosoft for FS 2004.
On other occasions, though, I find myself over-correcting with the cyclic and basically flailing all over the place in hovers or when coming in for a landing flare, which on such days I generally overdo, causing the bird to backslide.
I am a bit baffled as to why my control touch can be so smooth on one day, and then utterly inept in the next practice session, so I thought I'd ask here if such motor control variations also occur in the process of learning to fly a real helicopter.
When I first started out practicing with the realistic controls I use with my home helicopter simulator, I assumed that there would be a smooth learning curve till I reached the point where all control inputs become instinctive and consistent, but this has not turned out to be the case, due to this " good day-bad day " syndrome I have noticed, and this got me curious enough to ask here if it is in fact common for helicopter pilot trainees to progress in such fits and starts, rather than in a predictable refinement from novice to expert.
Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks.
)
