Ground School - How To Hold The Transmitter Sticks

What's the best way? Today we'll be talking about holding the transmitter sticks for 3D Flying. Welcome to HeliDaniel.com Ground School - Where discuss tips on RC Helicopter Setup (i.e. Things you should know before you takeoff your heli.).

This Is How We Do It
Well start off with an excellent Mode 2 (Collective and Rudder on Left Stick) example by Daniel Jetschin of Team Mikado:



Note that if you just started RC Heli flying, it could be quite a while before you work the sticks like that (without sacrificing your heli - See Gentle Is Good below).

Next, we'll take a look at another two awesome examples Alan Szabo and Bobby Watts:




As you can see, almost all the pros hold the sticks with their thumbs and index fingers. I started just using thumbs, but switched to thumbs and index after a few scary slips - so pinching your sticks is very highly recommended.

An Awesome Thumber
But if you are a thumb fan here's the 2008 3D Masters Winner Lucas Riva working with thumbs only:



If you were very attentive, you'll note that Lucas has his collective reversed! Pushing the stick up makes his heli go down (when upright)!

Mode 2 or 1 - The Choice Is Yours!
Now, why I only have good examples of Mode 2 stick work? Well, I could only find these fine examples, but I'm sure there are many good Mode 1 pilots out there too! But I'm a mode 2 flyer too - the choice is yours! ;)

Gentle Is Good
Okay, now we're all excited about some serious stick banging, but before we get rough, we need a little gentle touch first. Take a look at the videos again - this time zoom in on the parts where they aren't banging on the sticks, typically when there's a pause or a section of fast flight, you'll note that unless we want the heli to really turn on a dime, we really need to move the sticks a little only - especially the collective! Since the collective governs the lift your heli needs to avoid the ground, learning to be on top of your collective is key!

Exponetial Expo-sed
In my opinion, using expo on your transmitter is not critical on most helis - but it definitely helps to smooth things out! I normally use -15 to -25% expo (the values will be positive for JR radios) for the Cyclics (aileron and elevator) and anywhere from 0% to -45% on the rudder (it really depends on your gyro!) For the rudder I try to get it such that a small movement on the rudder stick will get a corresponding small change in rotation rate for most of the stick travel. In other words, I don't want a drastic change in yaw rotation rate when I just push the stick a little more. For the Cyclics, I find that some expo will help to make the hover and flying around more locked-in by making the controls less sensitive in the center - incidentally it also helps to lessen the cross-control issue most of us face - for example when you move the aileron left and right, most of us will tend to nudge the stick a little up and down too, expo helps to lessen it's effect. Of course it's best to train your fingers till robotic precision so that no cross-control happens, but who are we kidding?

SIM-plify Your Learning
Practice practice practice on your Simulator before all else, you'll save heaps of cash that you'll miss otherwise. Though it may get boring for some, there's no quicker or easier way for a start. Experiment with different ways to hold your sticks and see which way you like best and get used to it. Make your decision carefully or you'll find it very frustrating to change later!

I'll leave you with a cute line - We bang sticks on the tranny, and not our helis on the tarmac.