Getting into helicopters

Seeing all the replies I’m sure you’ve got your answer. Just wanted to add that there’s an infinite medevac user mission file for the Huey in the files section of dcs world website. I recommend the Persian gulf variation for more challenging landings.

Flying that mission while listening to music for hours has been some of the most relaxing flight sim experience ever.

I fully agree to what Relic said. Must have Mission for Helis :thumbup:

oh great. Can you link to the mission?

I'm playing through the campaign at the moment and starting to get a hang of the landings :)

Thanks for the info.

 

I went with the Huey this weekend and already have around 8 hours of flight on it. Practice goes rather well except for hovering... That still requires some practice .

 

Just did my first campaign mission for the Huey. Wasn't expecting such a long mission... Took me almost 90 min but used those 90 min to practice trimming the Huey. At the end she could fly almost by herself with me just a very gentle touch of the joystick :)

 

The KA looks great as well. Could also be a nice step stone to the jets as the weapons and systems of the KA are more complex than on the Huey and probably resembles more the complexity of the modern jets.

The Blackshark is a monster. Tons of firepower.. the helmet mounted sight is cool with trackIR, but really shines with VR. It's something else to just look at your target and start unloading cannon rounds on it or to quickly lock it up for a Vikhr.

The KA-50 is pretty big on it's auto pilot and trim functions.

The KA looks amazing but one thing that will hold me back is that the cockpit is russian and I can't understand that... This means learning everything by heart.... Even now in the Huey, I rely a lot on what is printed in the cockpit...

The KA looks amazing but one thing that will hold me back is that the cockpit is russian and I can't understand that... This means learning everything by heart.... Even now in the Huey, I rely a lot on what is printed in the cockpit...

Oh cool... then it’s a no brainer :)

oh great. Can you link to the mission?

I'm playing through the campaign at the moment and starting to get a hang of the landings :)

Batumi/Caucuses (updated by different author) https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3306234/

Dubai/Persian Gulf https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3305576/

Batumi/Caucuses Original https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3305114/

"Through the Inferno" missions also have a huge amount of helicopter work implemented. The CTLD script provides lot's of transportation and logistics options (sling loads). With a Mi-8 you can drop 23 man squads into battle and command them afterwards with the Combined Arms module, or just drop a mortar squad at safe range from the AO? Build a FOB? Plenty of options and fun...

IMO the biggest problem in flying helicopters with HOTAS is that the throttle of the HOTAS doesn’t give the feel of a collective. You can use it vertically by screwing it to some wooden board like I do when flying rotary wings (I had threaded holes in the throttle originally: I haven’t drilled them) or you could just velcro it somewhere. It won’t be as good as a collective lever bit it will improve the simulation.

Most of us will actually never experience the "real feel" of a collective so is that bad? If we aim for 100% accuracy... Yes maybe but in the end it's a simulator because we simply can't do it IRL... I'm happy with my hotas and heli at the moment...

Perhaps if there is 3th party collective that's not that expensive I might invest in it later on but these things are expensive...

Anyway... I tried the Batumi/Caucuses mission and it's great. My first rescue was easy... Getting someone from the beach.

My second one not so much... Had to get 3 patients from a ship who was doing 20 knots... Never tried a landing on a ship so I crashed and burned :)

My second one not so much... Had to get 3 patients from a ship who was doing 20 knots... Never tried a landing on a ship so I crashed and burned :)

This can be helped by learning to hover. Honestly what helped me the most to develop a light touch was learning to taxi the Huey around a runway.. but I was also aided by my MSFFB2 in that regard.. as the day I got it transitioning to a hover got so much easier.

The thing is, I can get it into a hover but usually not at the right spot or the right height :P

I need to be more patient and go around if I miss the spot...

The thing is, I can get it into a hover but usually not at the right spot or the right height :P

 

I need to be more patient and go around if I miss the spot...

Very slight adjustments to the "collective", keeping in mind that your x56 throttle has a fraction of the range of an actual collective due to the length of the collective.

And with the huey, adjusting the collective also changes the orientation of the helicopter, unlike say the Ka-50 which has a lot of auto pilot function.

Every aspect of the collective/cyclic requires being able to make tiny tiny adjustments, moving one generally requires movement from the other.. and in many cases it takes just the slightest nudge.

Learning ground control (taxiing around the runway) can go a long way imo.

Taxiing at low speed then? Because as soon as you hit 40+ knots, it becomes much more stable and rudder is almost not needed anymore.

I personally do the taxiing exercise also moving laterally and backwards, like I was driving a car in reverse.

Well landing on the back on a ship is an extra step in your rotary wing advancement. I'm not a good teacher in this regard, but one trick is to come to a hover parallel to the landing pad (to the left or right of it) and then match the speed of the ship. Once you're in a comfortable slow speed , matching the ship, and at a low altitude, just shift over to the pad and touch down quickly.

Taxiing at low speed then? Because as soon as you hit 40+ knots, it becomes much more stable and rudder is almost not needed anymore.

Yeah low speed controlled taxiing. Hovering and taxiing require exerting a combination of Rudder, cyclic, and collective. It's a bit of a balancing act so to speak. Controlling a chopper between 0-15 knots close to the ground is a developed and necessary skill. Ground control is an essential part of the piloting experience. No instructor IRL would let you take a helo up solo without first showing confidence in this ability. Trim for hover (slightly aft and left cyclic, apply a bit of left rudder)

Having rudder pedals helps a lot in this regard too.. even if it's just to extend the left leg a hair. I have loved my MFG Crosswinds since day one, and to this day I appreciate the smoothness of the cam design compared to plastic pedals I've used. If you're attempting this with the twist function of your stick.. do make sure you add plenty of curve.. even then it will likely feel a bit awkward.

It really teaches you just how little you actually have to move the controls to achieve a shift in direction. Doing so with a light spring like say on my Logitech Extreme 3d pro is probably a lot easier than with my TM Warthog...msffb2 allows for a lighter touch than both, and when you engage the trim button, there's no centering force what so ever until you disengage the button.. really allowing for fine control.

Without FFB however, you're able to add curves or reduce y saturation on the cyclic axes so it won't be quite as touchy.. I don't recommend curves on the collective personally as I prefer the 1:1 ratio for every part of my throttle's range. Helps me to know what to expect when I move my throttle at any position. And most adjustments are very slight.

In other words, just got to give the cyclic a little tappy tap. Minimal adjustments.

While I don't recommend the SA342 Gazelle module until Polychop demonstrates what they can do with the Kiowa, and afterwards fix the little Gaz.. here's a video of me demonstrating some ground control in the Gazelle, strafing, circling, and coming to a soft controlled landing. My friend said he was struggling with controlling the bird.. so I made this video to demonstrate how little I'm actually moving the cyclic.. pay attention to the control surface indicator in the bottom left corner. Pardon my Aussie buddy dropping the F-bomb, as apparently I was on discord when I made this. YMMV in other DCS helicopters.. but.. less is more when it comes to hovering and ground control. Flying the Gaz I literally just lightly tap the stick with a finger in a lot of cases, albeit frequently.

Here are my curves for the UH-1H Huey. Be aware I have cheap stick/throttle, but high end rudder pedals:

Collective-

Deadzone: 0

Sat x: 100

Sat y: 100

Curvature: -14

Slider: Check

Cyclic Pitch-

Deadzone: 5

Sat X: 100

Sat y: 85

Curvature: 0

Cyclic Roll-

Deadzone: 5

Sat x: 100

Sat y: 85

Curvature: 0

Rudder-

Deadzone: 0

Sat x: 100

Sat y: 100

Curvature: -20

Just posting this in case a new helo pilot wants some help with making the controls more manageable. Some of this was pulled from Chuck's guide and then modified. The rudder curvature is specifically my own to combat the low responsiveness of the sim rudder.

Here are my curves for the UH-1H Huey. Be aware I have cheap stick/throttle, but high end rudder pedals:

 

Collective-

Deadzone: 0

Sat x: 100

Sat y: 100

Curvature: -14

Slider: Check

YMMV but I don't like curves on my collective/throttle axes. Might be because the TMWH throttle has a longer throw than most setups I've used but I also just find more consistency in managing the collective with a linear axis as opposed to a different feel depending on whether my throttle was centered or towards the extremities. Came to the same conclusion with fixed wings, especially when attempting close formation or AAR. Just feels like I know more what to expect out of a given range of motion. Where when not using FFB, curves on a stick and rudder pedals are generally helpful.

Others may feel differently, but if you can manage a light touch.. worth checking into imo.

like I said ymmv.. nothing wrong with preferring curves if you prefer them.

One thing I did notice with helicopters is that they don't seem that popular in squadrons. Many focus on the F18, F16, A-10C and they don't focus a lot on helis...

I've been in touch with a couple of groups and the message was always the same... On their servers they have missions that don't really include much for helis...

That won't stop me from flying them :)

Still working through the UN campaign with the Huey.

One thing I did notice with helicopters is that they don't seem that popular in squadrons. Many focus on the F18, F16, A-10C and they don't focus a lot on helis...

 

I've been in touch with a couple of groups and the message was always the same... On their servers they have missions that don't really include much for helis...

 

That won't stop me from flying them :)

Still working through the UN campaign with the Huey.

the DDCS server is the only server where I've personally flown the Ka-50 or the huey much at all. Mostly the Huey for slinging crates and deploying units. Though I did once get to fly out with several Ka-50's for some ground attack. Most of the MP action is about the fixed wings tho.

YMMV but I don't like curves on my collective/throttle axes. Might be because the TMWH throttle has a longer throw than most setups I've used but I also just find more consistency in managing the collective with a linear axis as opposed to a different feel depending on whether my throttle was centered or towards the extremities. Came to the same conclusion with fixed wings, especially when attempting close formation or AAR. Just feels like I know more what to expect out of a given range of motion. Where when not using FFB, curves on a stick and rudder pedals are generally helpful.

 

Others may feel differently, but if you can manage a light touch.. worth checking into imo.

 

like I said ymmv.. nothing wrong with preferring curves if you prefer them.

The negative curve makes the collective/throttle more responsive in the most important area IMO: down low.

Well landing on the back on a ship is an extra step in your rotary wing advancement. I'm not a good teacher in this regard, but one trick is to come to a hover parallel to the landing pad (to the left or right of it) and then match the speed of the ship. Once you're in a comfortable slow speed , matching the ship, and at a low altitude, just shift over to the pad and touch down quickly.

That's pretty much how you land on a real ship...