STEVE Hislop, the champion motorcyclist killed in a helicopter crash last week, was apparently warned not to fly the aircraft by his instructor days before the fatal accident.

Hislop, who died when his Robinson R44 helicopter came down in a remote valley at Teviothead near his home town of Hawick in the Scottish Borders last Wednesday, was the reigning British Superbike champion and 11 times Isle of Man TT winner.

News of the warning emerged as final preparations were being made for his funeral today.

Norman Bailey, the 41-year-old's flying instructor, told Motorcycle News that he had indicated to Hislop that he should wait until he had more experience before flying the Robinson R44 which he had hired from an air park in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

Mr Bailey, who runs the Manchester Helicopter Centre Ltd, said: ''Steve was a relative novice as a pilot and the Robinson can be a handling challenge. It is a very responsive, zippy, and fast helicopter, but for a low-time pilot it is not very forgiving.''

Investigators are trying to piece together the actual cause of the incident which happened three miles from Hawick. The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) told the motorcycle magazine that it could be four months before its findings were made public.

The AAIB's investigation is understood to be focusing on mechanical failure or pilot error. An airworthiness directive was issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration last year because of concerns over bearings in the helicopter's pitch control mechanisms, which had caused loss of control in some cases.

However, some people believe bad weather may have also contributed to the fatal crash.

Mr Bailey dismissed the possibility that his former student would have flown if there had been any low-lying cloud and mist present that day.

''Steve just wasn't a risk taker when it came to flying. I've heard about the poor weather but I just can't believe that Steve would have flown knowing conditions were bad.

''He told me that in racing he had to take risks, but he was not one to do the same in the air,'' he said

Mr Bailey revealed Hislop, who gained his pilot's licence in March this year, had not completed any of his flight training in the cockpit of a Robinson R44.

Instead he did so in an Enstrom helicopter which, according to flight instructors, is an easier aircraft to fly.

Mr Bailey added: ''He wasn't vastly experienced, but he was incredibly competent.''

Hislop, a father of two young boys, Aaron, five, and Connor, three lived on the Isle of Man and was flying to Carlisle to visit friends when the crash happened.

The motorcyclist won his first of two British Superbike titles in 1995.

The Robinson R44

The Robinson R44 is a four-seater, light piston-engined helicopter, designed in the United States more than 10 years ago.

With its fuel-injected, angle-valve, Lycoming engine, the Robinson R44 is fast and highly responsive.

The 2500lbs machine costs approximately (pounds) 220,000.

This makes it difficult for less experienced pilots to fly.

Its average cruise speed is 135mph, its maximum range is 400 miles, and its maximum operating altitude is 14000ft.