I'm wondering where all the good fliers focus on their heli when flying it.

I'm just learning and I've been watching the skids mostly. There are times when I watch the rotor disk. I've been trying to look at the canopy thinking that since I've read so much about you guy's painting yours different colors you must be focusing on that.

I've gone as far as putting orange tracking tape on one skid which has helped in nose right and left hover practice since I've been watching the skids for orientation.

canopy...

If you get any decent altitude for room for mistakes, you usually can't see the tail.

i'm spraying my new one now.. same as old one, just different paint manufacturer and clearing it now..

"Sunbeam" yellow by Krylon Fusion, with a Testor's Black Metallic windshield.

- Dan Goldstein
Team Revolectrix

It's best to not develop a fixation for any part of the heli. Once you transition to 3D, you'll need to be able to determine position and movement from any part of the heli that you can focus on.

This is a learned skill, as most things in this hobby are. Try focusing on different parts of the model during normal flight maneuvers. If this sounds difficult, try it in the sim first.

Once you break the dependence on focusing on specific parts of the heli, you'll recognize that the most important thing is to recognize what the heli is DOING and how that relates to the sticks at any point in time.

Leif

100% with Leif when it is over head it looks different
than low and far away for me it is what these old eyes can
see the canopy or disk mostly that's why I like neon colors

.

You don't stop laughing because you grow old, you grow old because you stopped laughing.

I remember being fixated on certain heli parts thinking it would
help me fly better, once after a rebuild I decided some trim tape on the boom, etc. would really help and look cool too, crashed it soon after trying to fly over my ability.
I remember looking at my new trim scheme all screwed up
What happened is I got too dependent on them and would waste valuable reaction time trying to see if it was lined up properly,
also when the heli got out of position I felt like I out of control.

You need to look at the whole picture and a bright contrasting
paint scheme helps a lot.
Keep practicing in various positions, light conditions, cloudy days etc.
burn fuel and your orientation will come.

On the sim I find that I can get myself out of most bad conditions. In real life I guess it's all about not wanting to crash (again). On the sim I would take it up to altitude, close my eyes and start pulling and pushing and then open my eyes and recover. Never a problem "on the sim". I tried this practice after a crash in which it felt like I had closed my eyes, it got out of whack so quickly.

You've all answered my question. I'll try to start looking at various positions on the heli during practice so that I don't get in the habbit of concentrating on a specific spot.

Thanks again for the advise.

Don

Like the others said, you need to kind of look at the whole thing. White blades are better than black, and a bright canopy helps. I've found painted fins better than black carbon high up, and the same with white skids over black. As far as all the trim tape and neon this, that, and the other all over the skids and boom, I never used it and others that I have seen do it never outgrow it. I think it's best not to do it at all if you can because you become to dependent on the "gimmicks".