This is just as important as your helicopter itself, as this is what you will control the copter with.  Ensure all of the sticks move the control surfaces in the correct direction.  For example, if you give a forward cyclic command, make sure your swashplate tilts forwards, not sideways or backwards.  Tilt your sticks left and right, and see if the swashplate responds respectively to the commands. Increase the throttle stick.  This should show an increase in both the engine speed and collective pitch on your swashplate. Give a right tail rotor command and see how your helicopter responds.  The pitch of the tail rotor blades should change so that they are blowing air out the right, which in turn thrusts the tail boom to the left.  Similarly, a left tail rotor command should blow air out the left side, thrusting the tail boom to the right. Hold the helicopter by the middle of the rotor blades.  Tile the blades so that one is pointing straight down, while the other is pointing straight up.  If the CG is top heavy, the tail boom will rotate upwards.  If the CG is bottom heavy, the nose will rotate upwards.  A perfect CG is when the body of the helicopter sits perfectly perpendicular to that of the rotor blades.  Another method to use is to hold your helicopter by the fly bar (if equipped with one).  The helicopter will begin to pivot back and forth.  If it begins to tilt backwards or forwards permanently, the CG is off. If your CG is off, you will need to remove and position the battery pack in a more equidistant position.  This could mean removing it with a screwdriver, or a pair of pliers, depending on how your battery pack is attached. If you are using a gas powered helicopter, it is even more important to consistently check the CG.  Small changes in the amount of fuel can drastically change the center of gravity. The single bolt and lock nut hold together the main and tail rotor blades.  If you over or under tighten these blades, it could cause your helicopter to not function properly.  A simple way to check the tightness is to hold your helicopter outright, perpendicular to the ground.  The bolts should be tight enough that the blades don't pivot downwards by the pull of gravity, but loose enough so that they will move when you give the helicopter a minor shake. The larger your helicopter is, the more secure you will want to make the rotor blades.  This is especially true when the blade size reaches over 750mm.  Smaller helicopters will need looser blades. Use your wrench to tighten or loosen the secure bolt, depending on the size of your helicopter.

Summary: Play around with your radio transmitter. Check the center of gravity (CG). Tighten your rotor blades.


Using emotion-regulation skills can reduce mood swings. Regulating your emotions is about learning to change the situation you are in or the emotion you are having.  One way to regulate your emotions is to use positive self-talk. For example, if you are feeling very sad you can tell yourself, "It's going to be okay. I'm sad right now but I can get through this." You may find that using positive self-talk can help to reduce whatever negative emotion you are experiencing. Sometimes you can’t stop your emotions even if you want to. If you feel emotional, but are in a bad environment to express yourself – change your environment if you can. Perhaps go to your car, the bathroom, or somewhere else that you can be alone. If you give yourself a few minutes to let some emotions out (i.e through being tearful), you may feel better and be able to go back to your day. This is one helpful way you can regulate your emotions, by letting a little bit out at at time. One way to cope with negative emotions is to postpone dealing with your feelings in order to continue being productive or until you can get to a safe place to express them. This is a helpful technique because not all places are appropriate to express certain emotions. For example, you wouldn’t necessarily want to let out your anger or tears in a crowded office building with your coworkers present. This could lead to negative occupational consequences.   Distracting yourself is a great way to postpone dealing with a particular emotion. A good distraction technique is to focus on your responsibilities or work projects. You can also tell yourself, "I know I have some emotions to deal with, but I need to focus right now." Set a time to stress out or deal with the negative emotion. For example, literally write into your schedule "emotional time" from 6 - 6:30 pm. This way you are planning to healthfully express your emotions at a later moment. Avoid completely detaching from your emotions because this can be dangerous and can lead to lack of empathy and crimes or violence against others.  If you feel numb or emotionless, contact a mental health professional for assistance. Anger management is about dealing with your anger before it blows up and becomes a rage. The anger escalation model is a helpful idea that shows how your anger can slowly increase throughout the day. If you don’t notice it and cope with it appropriately, it can end up building until it finally blows up and you end up yelling or doing another aggressive action.  Accept that anger is a normal emotion and it is okay to feel sometimes. Many things can make us angry. It’s what we do with our anger that makes the difference. Good ways to cope with and release anger are: talking to a friend, hitting a pillow (or another soft object that won’t cause harm), screaming into a pillow, exercising, and boxing (safely). The personal meaning you give your emotions can either increase or decrease your mood swings. This is because your thoughts directly influence your feelings and behaviors. Thus, your beliefs about emotions can directly influence your mood swings.   Look at your feelings as information instead of thinking of them as terrible things that you need to avoid. Think, "I am feeling a strong emotion. I can try to understand what it means and how I can cope with it." Use your wise mind by analyzing and questioning your thoughts and emotions logically. Ask yourself questions such as:  What am I thinking and feeling? What are the words that my mind is saying? Are the thoughts descriptions or evaluations? Accurate or inaccurate? Helpful or unhelpful? Is this thought fact or opinion? Where is my focus of attention? What can I do to cope? Ironically, the more you try to control or fix your emotions, the more mood swings you might have.  Sometimes you may want to control your emotions because they are painful and difficult to deal with.  Counterproductive attempts at control are classified as either ascent behaviors (increasing activation), or descent behaviors (decreasing activation).
Summary: Regulate your emotions. Postpone the emotion. Manage your anger. Change the way you interpret your emotions. Give up control and accept your emotions.