[MarkToo]

Originally Posted by Jiver

As a beginner, when in a panic situation, usually the throttle is cut instantly, as you realize with negative pitch, the helicopter will slam into the ground!

I don't totally agree with this - so long as we're both talking flying in normal mode.

When you pull the power off, you are effectively in autorotation mode, as you are not powering the heli into the ground. Personally (and take it for what it's worth), I would not fly without negative pitch built in, as pulling the power will result in a complete decay of the rotor head speed, and ultimately a crash. I in fact used to practice autos in normal mode by just pulling the power off - when at about 20 feet altitude, I'd just smoothly apply power and abort the auto.

Having said this, yes, you can drive the heli into the ground too quickly with negative pitch if you're only hovering a couple feet up - absolutely. At any sort of regular flying altitude though, the negative pitch at throttle off gives you a no hassle pseudo auto.

I'm still learning myself, but have been lucky enough to get good advice from some great fliers along the way - but even so, take the above for what it's worth, and give it a try if you're comfortable.

Mark

[Jiver]

Once again, in a panic mode, the beginner will panic and cut throttle. Yes, once the throttle is cut, you in auto mode! I agree. However, auto aside, setting up a helicopter for a beginner, intermediate, and advance pilots should and will be different.

For a beginner, the set up should aid the new pilot to get acquainted with the helicopter and should provide a simple and easy learning curve. Once he/she gets past the learning/hovering stage, then, yes, a little negative pitch is fine and advised. Learning to Auto is a skill that an intermediate pilot should learn after the initial panic/learning/hovering stages... beginners have enough skills to learn!

Thanks,

Gordon

[4wdmt]

I know my post won't take much weight since I am just a newbie with heli.

From my experience...I started with -1 as recommended in helifreak finless bob video for beginners. It was good when I was practicing hovering since the heli don't slam the ground when chopping the throttle. But as I go high and getting more airtime and doing some FF, I noticed I have difficulty bringing the heli down when I need to when there is wind gustiness around. After reading that you need at least -3 pitch to fly in some gust of wind, I tried it myself and found the heli more predictable.