How long to switch stick mode

I don't know, Robert -- a lot depends on you.

Just pulling this out of my -- uh -- ear, but if you set up the simulator for really, really, gusty conditions you'll get into more of those unexpected situations, and have more practice getting out of them without thinking.

Maybe put the simulator into "follow the plane" mode, and with the gusts turned up and the plane way high, close your eyes for a time (count it out, but I'm not sure if you want a ten-count or a two-count!). Then open them and recover as fast as you can. The "follow the plane" mode will make sure that you don't spend time finding the plane, so you'll be practicing the hard part -- unthinking recovery of the plane ASAP.

snip....

How long does it take to learn something? Depends on you. How long does it take to unlearn something? Depends on you.

How did you end up learning to fly in Mode 4 on planes and mode 2 on Helis?

Ed

I have now tried the gusty conditions a bit. It does have value, but mainly during landing. In the air, there is just too much time to think before something goes wrong.

I have not tried this, but I imagine it won't be effective. Not knowing *what* will happen is not so bad when you exactly *when* something is going to happen.

I have now practiced quite a bit with the "Yak 54 3D" (In Realflight G5). It is set up with extreme control sensitivity and is quite tail heavy. This seems to be good, as even the slightest subconscious mistake becomes obviously visible. I am struggling a lot with hovering. Earlier, that was a breeze, as the controls in mode 4 were exactly the same as a helicopter in mode 2, so my helicopter reflexes worked "out of the box". Hovering seems to be a good exercise, since it requires extremely quick and accurate corrections to maintain balance.

All in all, it seems there is no quick and easy way. The only thing that works is to put in the hours. Also, it seems the reflexes to some degree are separate for each different maneuver. I can now maintain a reasonably stable hover, but if I transition from level flight into a vertical climb, the tiny rudder corrections needed to keep the climb vertical are still often done with the right hand.

Maybe slow rolling circles will be my next exercise. That requires good rudder control, and combined with lots of elevator work, it adds to the workload.

When I started with planes, I had heard someone say (and it seemed to make sense) to have the main controls on separate sticks, so that it would be easier to adjust one without disturbing the other. That was, of course, with slow, stable trainers that mostly fly themselves, so that only occasional inputs are necessary.

When I got to try helicopters, it seemed to make sense to control the rotor disc (cyclic) with one stick, visualizing the transmitter stick was mounted on top of the rotor head. I tried it and it felt right.

I never had an instructor. It was just me and a couple of equally inexperienced friends trying to figure it out as we went along.

Actually, you are flying Mode 3 for airplanes.

Mode 1 is rudder/elevator on left, throttle/ailerons on right Mode 3 is opposite of that.

Mode 4 is ailerons/elevator on left, throttle/rudder on right. Opposite of Mode 2.

Not according my transmitter (JR 9x2) software or its manual. A quick search gets this page that also disagrees with you:

Here's another link of interest: This paper also discusses which mode is best and why. Quite interesting. It does, however, not consider pilots who fly both helis and planes.