Draganfly DraganFlyer V Ti, Manual

30

Flight Training

continued

Lesson 5: Climbs and Descents

Now you are ready to begin flying the Draganflyer V Ti at higher altitudes.  The helicopter does not
know it has gone any higher, so the only real factor here your own nerves.  Climbing is easy; just
add power and it will smoothly climb out. Reduce the throttle setting to hover, and the climb will
stop naturally.(Remember, small movements are key)  Descending is more difficult.  Because the
Draganflyer V Ti forces air downwards to generate the lift it needs to fly(this is called downwash),
as you descend vertically, you will pass into air that is moving downwards, causing the helicopter
to accelerate as it descends.  To counter this, you can either begin the descent and then add small
amounts of power as necessary to offset the downwards acceleration, or you can descend while mov-
ing the Draganflyer V Ti forwards, backwards, left, or right.  Descending in this manner will allow
you to fly outside of the downwash the helicopter generates. Set up for this lesson by first making
sure your batteries are fully charged(because you will now be flying higher above the ground, the
risk is greater if the batteries die unexpectedly), then prepare the Draganflyer V Ti for flight and trim
it out as you have done in previous lessons.  Stand well away, as you will be passing through your
eye level, and make sure any spectators are also a safe distance away.  Start by establishing a hover,
then add power to climb to just above your head.  Reduce power to stop the climb, settle back into
a hover, then slowly descend.  Keep the front of the Draganflyer V Ti away from yourself at all
times.  Repeat this process until you can climb and descend comfortably.  Now you can begin climb-
ing higher and faster, however keep in mind that the higher you fly, the greater the risk of causing
damage in a crash.  As well, you should keep the remaining power in the battery in mind, as you
will be drawing more power from the flight battery by climbing repeatedly.

CONGRATULATIONS

. You have now learned to fly the Draganflyer V Ti.  The abilities to tran-

sition from a hover to a climb or sideways movement while maintaining directional control are the
essential skills needed to fly.   You should now be able to take off, land, and fly around at will.  Keep
practicing, you will soon be flying just like the professional pilots in our videos!

DF5_manual_Imposed_Jan4_05  1/7/05  10:38 AM  Page 20