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Helicopters are TOUGH!!

Pips

Pips

Charter Member
Not normally my thing but I found a really nice Huey port over (the sound is superb) that works like a treat in FSX and have been trying these past few days to master the 'black art' of flying without wings. :)

But it's all just so alien.

I crab around the sky, climb when I should be lowering, lowering when I should be climbing and level fight?? What's that?:isadizzy:

My take-off's would scare the living daylights outta any sensible person and my landings are, well ....... I just arrive - very heavily!! Achieving that final flare is bloody tough.

Fixed wing is sooooo much easier.
 
I firmly believe that helicopters fly because they are so ugly that earth repels them from it's gravity. I just haven't found how to make them pretty for landing. :costumes:
 
A good link for helo sim flight is here:

http://www.hovercontrol.com/

It is mainly for FS9 but I found that the sensitivity control options for the joystick and pedals suggested by these guys help a lot in controlling those beasts. I do however agree with Pips. Fixed is better.
 
Ah well keep on flying the bird and once you get the hang of it there's nothing really like a good river run through a valley low and fast.
 
Ahhh you have been missing one of the true joys of FS aviation.

Helo's are my #1 love followed closely by naval aviation.

You have to learn to love to hover. Once you master that (no small feat) it will change the way you fly. I take no small measure of pride in my ability to maneuver a helo with a great deal of finesse.

Make the commitment & take the challenge to master a helo. It will change your FS habits forever.
 
I have just been sent (unsolicitied, I think they're fishing for a review ;)) a copy of Abacus Military Helicopters 2, repackaged and rebranded by First Class Simulations in the UK. Being a normal Abacus detractor, I was slightly surprised by this one that all the models included are FSX native, rather than ports and they're actually not bad (for the price). I've flown them all for a while now apart from the VH-3D and wouldn't be massively unhappy if I'd paid for them.

The reason I mention them is because the developers appear to have simplified the flight dynamics on them. For those of us used to more realistic "twitchy" helicopters, it can be a bit irritating as they take an eternity to slow down, but for someone who is just learning, it might be a reasonable set to look at. They didn't tip on takeoff, I could hover them (too) easily and land them spot perfect where I wanted them. The set has 7 helos, with a variety of model variants for most and the panels are useable, but not good. Some of them (the Huey and the Gazelle) have limited VC click spots, most have none and need to be ctrl-e + alt-f4 started or a visit to the 2d panel, but there are probably about ten or twelve models in there for £25, or about £2 to £2.50 a model, which isn't bad.

For most people around here, they won't cut the mustard. They're similar in functionality to the old Alphasim sub £10 models (i.e. some custom gauges but not many, no clickable VC, passable external models with few to no "gimmicks"). For a beginner, however, they might be worth looking at.

http://www.abacuspub.com or www.firstclass-simulations.com for more info.
 
I still think that helos aren't really flying. It's all mass hypnotism to make everyone THINK they are.

I think the saying in the USN Rotarywing community was, "If it doesn't hover, it sucks!"

NC
 
Navy Chief, you are correct among others that can't be repeated in a public forum.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:eek:ffice:eek:ffice" /><o:p></o:p>
 
Dimus said:
A good link for helo sim flight is here:

http://www.hovercontrol.com/

It is mainly for FS9 but I found that the sensitivity control options for the joystick and pedals suggested by these guys help a lot in controlling those beasts. I do however agree with Pips. Fixed is better.
Click to expand...


good advice.

***on a related note, you guys know they call us "plankers", right?

:costumes:
 
To fly an airplane is like riding a unicycle, To fly a slingwing is to ride a unicycle on top of a big beach ball. Flew in a couple choppers while having fun in good old VN. Scared the hell out of me, safer on the ground. It was a H-21. :faint:
Bob
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC3LQoDOH_c&feature=channel_page

Or flying in a Apache in real life http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIdJDfMrtsQ&feature=channel_page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn7t1cCbSXU&feature=related

The best payware Helos that to me are worth the money are the ones by Alphasim. The Blackhawk is a real challenge to fly. When we get board at night me and a few buddies wi;; jump in to a session on FSX and do some river runs or hide and seek depending on how the scenery is we are flying in. Looks good when you have 3-4 choppers low and fast. Ask some Vietnam vets what they thought of Helicopters.
 
Have to say I find helicopters much easier in real life than in flight sims. The lack of peripheral vision makes it almost impossible to apply all the proper techniques, not that my instructors ever thought I did anyway.....
 
Being a total Roter head, it's the only way to go, definitely a challenge to learn it, you have to keep your input suttle, try not to over correct. You definitely want to have your sensitivity and null zones tuned in, And practice, practice, practice!!!

Marvin Carter
 
That Huey in the YouTube video is the FS9 version of the one in the pack I posted about, Shylock... The FSX version doesn't suffer from the same ground shadow problem (fat blades) and is one of the better aircraft in the pack, alongside the Gazelles.

I've put together a quick review of the pack for simFlight, which I'll send to them later this evening.
 
It is even harder to design one; I have not seen any documentation or tools on doing so. Have been looking at other's models to learn.

It helps to move your sliders all the way to easy; I think there is a helicopter setting in the aircraft.cfg file that kicks in when you do. In the example I am working on; I don't think it moved in roll, just yaw and pitch. I am hoping it will be easier to fly.

This is a Gyrodyne QH-50C unmanned helicopter built for the U.S. Navy. I started out building it as a CFS2 aircraft, but will also include a FS8/FS9 version as well. The FS8/FS9 version will have working lights and fixed weapons; the CFS2 will not have lights, but have working weapons.

Here are some older shots in FS8:





And here it is in CFS2. The too-long torpedoes are Mark 14s from a Swordfish model:





I have since added details to the rotor head and some more "black boxes"; the antenna rotates down now with the gear command. I then need to model the weapons, and refine the damage boxes. EDIT: Oh, and both of my brothers are helio pilots; one says MSFS helicopter models are terrible; he prefers X-plane.

-James
 
Somebody had taken the Huey Ian once before and put it up on simviation for download and it was up for a few weeks. I was able to get it before they took it down. Its fun to fly and sounds great as well as looks great.
 
Helicopters are cool :D

I'm trying to master it's systems :173go1: :help:

ScreenShot_009.jpg


ScreenShot_011.jpg
 
Hey pis its like tis. NAd mind you i am no expert but had plenty of chopper rides. When you start taking off, increase your throttle slowly, the engine torque will start to make the chopper rotate so add a little rudder ( cyclic ??) ( whatever they call it ), to keep the chopper straight, then comes the funny part, the engine need to provide lift and speed / forward motion, so whenever you do one it takes from the other. So as you go forward you need to add throttle to maintain lift, then if you wish to climb you need to add throttle to maintain your speed, requires a lot of instrument looking. Of course the inverse happens, if you level off from a climb you speed will increase because you have more power then before and if you nose up to slow down you will climb for same reason. Takes a little coordonation, to remove a little and add a little when needed but that is the basics.
 
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