How do you prefer to hold your transmitter?

Pilot-294

Senior Member
I was sitting here and thinking, both how people prefer to hold the sticks of there controller, and how to ask them that question in a family friendly matter without sounding dirty.

I gave up on the second part...

But back to the first part! How do you use your transmitters?

I prefer most of the time to use my thumbs like a game controller, and occasionally I use my index and middle finger and thumb to hold the aileron and elevator stick to get a better hold when I'm trying new things, cant feel my fingers in the cold or wanna feel like I have more control. But my left thumb never seems to leave the throttle rudder stick.

Is there a right way to do this? Or is it just personal preference like I figure it is?

Oh! And who uses a neck strap and who doesn't?

I tend to drop things so I definately do haha (killed a really nice Futaba t6xa dropping it once...)
 
Neckstrap and thumbs.

The tricky part for me to learn is when I'm controlling my rudder to try to not affect the throttle.
 

fred0000

Senior Member
no neckstrap (I do have the neckstrap of awesomeness) I really should get in the habbit of using one. I fly with my thumbs, I can fly "pinching" the sticks but its tougher for me, the local flying group insists the "pinching" method is better but I think its personal prefferance.
 

glydr

How many letters do we ge
Neckstrap: yes
Mode 1: Thumbs (preferred by far)
Mode 2: Pinch (it helps me remember I'm flying the wrong mode)
 

jetpackninja

More combat please...
Mentor
No neckstrap
Pinch the right stick, thumb the left.
Probably a habit from flying combat and mostly three channel planes
 

Ak Flyer

Fly the wings off
Mentor
Neck strap, (spektrum and neckstrap of awesomeness) Pinch method. Works better for me. I know really good pilots that fly with their thumbs, and Alan Szabo jr (World Champ 3D Heli Pilot) flies pinch method. It's just personal preference.
 

Fishbonez

Active member
Definitly a neckstrap because I too have atendance to drop things. At fist I used pinch because my thumbs were moving the sticks diagnol causing me to constantly crash but now Im all thumbs :cool:
 

bicyclemonkey

Flying Derp
Mentor
Thumbs...with or without neckstrap.

It kinda drives me nuts seeing people pinching the sticks and holding the Tx so the antenna is pointing straight down.
 

pgerts

Old age member
Mentor
Neckstrap - it it really hard to do anything else in the winter when the TX is in its "bag".
Like Pilot-294 i think i use the thumb supported by the index finger for ele-aile and thumb for thro-rudd most of the time.
 

Klonas

Senior Member
Neckstrap with thumbs. Always thumbs... I can't imagine how my friend uses pinch because I just can't "feel" the plane that way...
 

Brian fred carr

Site Moderator
Mentor
Neckstrap and thumbs ............after thirty years working with tin my hands have been cut
so many times that i cant manage the pinch because like Klonas i cant "feel" the plane
 

colorex

Rotor Riot!
Mentor
Wow. So many using the Josh Scott method. I just use the Josh Bixler method. It gives me more control. Oh, and I ddn't have a strap so a piece of string had to do. Neckstrap on it's way
 

Pilot-294

Senior Member
It's cool to see all the different ways people do things. And all the reasons too. Thanks do far for all your input!
 

pgerts

Old age member
Mentor
Not straight down, more flat like this guy. He seems to have plenty of control.
Thank YOU!
That was interesting.
I had the impression that "pen grip" was for slow exact movements but this has changed my opinion.
I was impressed with the "vibrating" maneuver more making sound than actually changing the copters position.

For the antenna direction - people say that you shall not point the antenna towards the plane but 90 degrees from - making the antenna down just as good as antenna up or left or right - but not straight out.
antenna_pat.jpg
L-over2-rad-pat-per.jpg
 

colorex

Rotor Riot!
Mentor
I think the "feel" has to do with how tight the sticks are... There seems to be some kind of limit that helps the stick stay centered, like doing elevator, without affecting ailerons. If this adjustment is too loose, and you use the thumbs, you need to practice that precision.

It's all about practice.
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Let's be honest, here. The only way that guy is keeping the helicopter in the air is by confusing the HECK out of gravity! It doesn't know what to do with that thing! :p