Rob, don't dispair, I haven't flown the helicopters now for several years but it took me 12 months of constant flight each weekend to master free flight.
I started off like most, at the Croyon park near the old aerodrome, gently lifting my Hirobo Shuttle helicopter off the ground in a controlled hover, tie a hoop to the underside, it really does minimise the amount of damage at the start.
From there I found it best to take off some 6 feet up then gently move foreward landing some 12 feet away. Of course once you master that then its a gentle circuit, (and when the heli changes direction I found it best to imagine sitting in it, that way you won't forget which direction to move the joysticks in) and finally a figure of 8. By that time some 12 months had gone by and I had the heli some hundred feet up when it really became exiting.
I got my two heli's from a Bromley radio controlled shop, can't remember the name but their excellent and always willing to help you fix your machine, they also run the Bromley Heli and fixed wing club (needless to say I was at first in the shop all the time and it cost me a small fortune in repairs).
I also suspect that a radio controlled Pug with working roof would gain as many admirers as the real thing.
Robbie.
