Mini-HowTo BoneDoc's 3D Clinic: Hovering 101 - Finding Your Rhythm

[BoneDoc]

Hi guys, welcome to another 3D clinic with BoneDoc and my lovely wife, Inn.
For this edition, let’s talk about hovering. Without a doubt, hovering is a signature move that sport pilots most easily recognize as being 3D. It’s something all of us 3D pilots try to learn, and do well. Here’s my take on it:


Harrier, Harrier, Harrier

Hovering, in essence, is an extension of harrier flight. As you pitch the nose higher in harrier flight, you will eventually slow down enough where air speed = wind speed, hence a hover. This is why when someone asks me “how do I hover,” my question back to them is “How is your harrier?” Your skill in harrier flight will be directly related to your skill in hovering. Altitude management (a combination of throttle and elevator input), wind & torque correction (right aileron management) are all integral skills in harrier flight that transfer directly when you attempt hovering.

Do not be satisfied with merely being able to assume a harrier attitude, but challenge yourself to be able to control direction, ATtitude, and ALtitude. The better you are at doing that, the better your control in hover be. As you get better in harrier, then start pitching your nose higher. As you pitch the nose higher, you will notice two things:
1. You have to put in more right aileron to counter the torque of the propeller
2. You will need to make more correction, which brings us to the second point...


I've Got Rhythm
Another important key in successful hovering is finding your rhythm. Hovering is an act of balancing, and constant corrections are needed to keep the plane balanced in hover. As you get better you will notice that you are going to make smaller and smaller corrections, but one thing remain: RHYTHM!

First, banish the thought "locking in" a hover. People who can "lock in" to a hover simply have gotten good enough that their rhythm became natural to them (hence, they don't think about it anymore). I have seen a common thread in aspiring 3D pilots who struggle with their hovering . They usually try to hold the plane in place, and make corrections only after the plane has drifted enough. However, when you do it this way, you're going to get behind the curve and over-corrects in the process. Instead, try constantly moving your fingers all the time in a regular rhythm. When done this way, you are going to be better prepared to make instant changes on the fly.

Various plane, skill level, as well as wind condition (especially turbulence), demand different rhythm. In general, you never go wrong by opting for a faster rhythm. You'll find though that with giant scales, as well as in calmer condition, you can get away with a slower rhythm. Also as your skill improves, you can assume a slower rhythm. But any time you feel that you don't have full control of the plane, speed up your rhythm.
Ok then, that's all for now. On the next episodes, we'll discuss about more advanced aspects of hovering, such as controlling altitude (and bringing it down on the deck), entry and exits, as well as ... tail touching .

Hovering 101: Finding Your Rhythm in HiDef
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Hovering 101: Finding Your Rhythm in Standard...
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Special thanks again to:
My lovely wife, Inn
3D Hobby Shop
Hitec
Neu Motors
3dEPP


I Love You Josie & Gracie!

[manta1]

Very nice Josh,Mrs.Inn,and the lil ones.Thankyou for doing these how-to videos.

[ShoGinn]

I have to give you tons of credit for flying with exam gloves on in 18f weather Awesome video, trust me im taking notes. My EPP yak has made me think all 3d flight will be that easy!

These last 2 days have been great here in CSprings just wish work didn't get in the way! This would be a great weekend to fly, maybe when i get off my mid Sunday morning i'll go flying in our nice 53F predicted weather!

[gapple12]

AWESOME JOSH, great info. and video.

[jpearson]

Nicely done video....Very helpful too....

[Trouble Maker]

Josh,
I just had a chance to review the video. Very nice job and the picture quality is excellent. The overlay for stick movements is really nice. Thanks for putting these together for the 3D community!

[refugeefromcalif]

Very Nice instructional video Josh.
(I Loved your landing on the Slick).
Showing the different sized planes and the stick movements, was Great.

Can't wait for the next one.

George

[grimgrinnin]

Nice, but when are we going to learn how to 'Hanger'?

[dabrandt22]

I've been hovering on the sim all winter long, and Josh is spot on when you he says "how's your harrier". Essentially learning one aids tremendously in the other, and vice versa.

The real question is whether to try my first real live hovering attempts with my 50cc planes, or the lower cost glow planes??

[AllBread]

Nicely done -Josh!

I think that one key aspect that wasn't covered is radio set-up - mainly expo. I'm curious to know how much expo you generally run on your high rates for hovering and if it's different than the amount that you use for other 3D maneuvers (such as rolling harriers). You spoke of finding your rhythm and I've found (through experimenting with my expo settings) that your rhythm is largely dictated by the amount of expo that you are using. I'm still trying to get it dialed in and have been using my three way switch on my JR to do one low rate, one high rate with lots of expo (70 - 75%) and then the same high rates with less expo (65% or so) just so I can switch back and forth and see what more or less expo does for me. I'm sure you've done plenty of experimenting in that regards - care to chime in on the topic?

[wbdah]

Generally, I dont use expo in 3d mode except for a little on the ailerons. A good friend of mine asked me a question. " Why did you spend so much money buying very fast, high torque, servoes just to slow them down." His point being, with using expo, you have to put more input on the stick to accomplish the same thing, with less input, without expo. I think you will find that once you give it a little practice, you will find out that you are much faster without expo, and wont get behind and over control the plane. You will be flying the plane instead of it flying you. Good luch and I hope this helps, and keep it on the deck!

[stommerd27]

	Quote: Originally Posted by dabrandt22
	I've been hovering on the sim all winter long, and Josh is spot on when you he says "how's your harrier". Essentially learning one aids tremendously in the other, and vice versa. The real question is whether to try my first real live hovering attempts with my 50cc planes, or the lower cost glow planes??

If you are able to do it with your smaller glow planes it will seem easy with your 50cc plane. The smaller the plane the quicker on the sticks you have to be. Going right back to his point. If you can stay ahead of your small plane you will easily stay ahead of you bigger planes.

[Oilsands]

Another excellent Clinic and video, thank Josh. Keep them coming.

[DoubleA]

Is there anyway I might be able to put in a request for touching on something in the next clinic??? I don't know why, someone may be able to clear it up for me. But, for some reason every time I go belly in I get disoriented. I can harrier straight towards me with no issue. But, when I go into a hover and start to torque roll I keep falling out with the belly in. Like I said just asking if anyone can clear that up for me.

Also great clinic?

[WrongWayRC]

Love that vid....need more...any comment on flying and hovering at the altitudes?

Also noteworthy to tell the newbie as they come completely off of the harrier and loose all the help from the wing that it is necessary to go up more on the power to keep it there. Once I got that idea it helped me with my anticipation on power application.