Black Shark or MI8?

I already fly the Huey, which I really enjoy.

I fancy buying one of the Russian choppers. Not sure whether to go with the BS or the Mi8.

Any thoughts and recommendations on the differences between them?

The shark is... let say rottary version of the a10 and you are heavily armed your missions will be mainly a2g strikes.

mi8 is more like huey, bigger and a little more complex to learn but you will do more or less the same as what you do with huey. Sling load troops transport..

While it has weapons its main purpose is not to attack

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BS is a fire platform can be very accurate, wich need lot of concentration from one pilot and advanced electronic system. but i don"t really enjoy it. It's slow.

Mi8 is a powerfull transport Helo. (My best loved module so far). love to fly it in mountains and follow the ground or land in small valley or climb easily a "wall" where huey or other helo will stay here.

you can have up to 120 Rocket, witch can be a blast of power if used with concentration. but firinig platform is less less acurate than a BS of course.

sling load and troops transport is the best mission for it.

i made the same transition, got the UH first and then the BS. in my optionen they are worlds apart, flying wise.

UH1 is more muscle memory while the BS feels like a discussion with the Autopilot and trim system about the flight direction.

i do not own the MI8 but coming from the UH1 you will have to relearn how to handle a Helo + all the electronic gizmos.

But still i would recommend the BS in your case, simply because the MI is similar in role to the UH1 and the BS will give you a complete new expierience.

Also, go ony youtube and watch some videos to get a an idea what the bird is about

ka50 is a more powerful helicopter and the autopilot/trim system is fantactic. It enables humans to fly fluently without being birds.

But mi 8 is more fun to fly, its more complicated andthe flight dynamics are diffirent. Autopilots are also very good. You have to plan everything. unlike the ka50 which allows you pull out a lot of things easy and without planning.

I like both in their own roles. Really depends on what you want.

I think the Shark can haul loads now too? At least the assignments have appeared in the Ka-50 section, haven't actually tried it yet.

while the BS feels like a discussion with the Autopilot and trim system about the flight direction.

:lol: best description yet!

As others have said, depends on what you want or looking for..I say.. they are on sale so get them both!

they are on opposite extreme ends of the ladder !

I love to FLY the Mi-8 around and carry troops and also love the battling power of the Ka.

I would not know which one I would take to an remote island..honestly..GET BOTH ;)

I purchased all of but the gazelle and don't regret it for a moment.

Ka-50 all the way! Apart of my personal addiction it offers much more diversity of roles and missions in DCS.

The two helos could not be more different, apart from both being labeled "helicopter".

The Mi8 is a traditional transport helo. So you will be doing what you did in the Huey, but the Russian way, with a Russian system layout and instruments. It handels well with the autopilot help, which will make it feel different and more refined than the Huey. But still, it's an old transport helo.

The Shark is something completely different. Different task (attack!), different concept (co-axial, so very different flight behavior), different era (electronic gizmos).

The first question you should answer is: Do I want to fly transport or combat?

I purchased all of but the gazelle

Ah! - You wimped out! :D

The Shark is an awesome module, I absolutely love it for the combat.

Also it was DCS flagship product, even before modules with BS1 - for their high fidelity combat flight sim genre. Not too difficult to learn to fly - mainly once you get the autopilot down ( using the trimmer).

Imho two must have modules for DCS that truly showcase what the sim is all about are the KA-50 and A-10C.

 

I would not know which one I would take to an remote island..honestly..GET BOTH ;)

This! Both are awesome, but completely different beasts. Choosing one over another would be a very difficult choice to make.

KA-50 BS no question. It is a high fidelity simulation of a Russian Coaxial attack helicopter! IMHO no question the BS first but I have both ;)

Ka-50. A lot to learn but once you do...WOW!!!!!!

I think the Shark can haul loads now too? At least the assignments have appeared in the Ka-50 section, haven't actually tried it yet.

Yes, Ka-50 can do "sling load".

I've owned both modules from near enough release date.

Since owning the Mi-8, I rarely choose to fly the Ka-50. Hard to say why, but I get more a sense of satisfaction with the Hip. I like the big weighty feel of it. If you want to blow things up with efficiency and precision, and less effort actually flying, you need the Ka-50. With the Ka-50s autopilot system, you can fly it with just a dual analogue gamepad; it's that good. With the Mi-8, I found I needed rudder pedals. Also worth mentioning, navigation is much easier with the Ka-50 and it's ABRIS moving map system.

The question is if you're interested in more combat missions for a change? If yes then go with Ka-50. Consider however that flying it IMO is a totally opposite experience to Huey or Mi-8. The fun comes from Ka-50 ability to employ weapons and applying tactics rather than from enjoying its flight characteristics. In other words, it's not soo much fun just to fly which mostly comes from the fact that a lot of the work is done by the autopilot.

Mi-8 as far as great it is, it has the same role as Huey. It's a bit faster, more stable and can carry more armament then Huey but from the application perspective you'll fly similar type of transport missions.

Personally I would recommend both but first the Ka-50 for a change. I have both transport helicopters but in reality, I've ended up flying only one of them when I'm in a mood for a transport missions.

As far as the flying portion go, I find the Mi-8 to be significantly more fun one, but that is personal taste, and is subject to vary between people.

As modules, they are both excellent. Mi-8 beingg the newer one, is graphically better though.

If, however, what you are looking for is blowing hell of a lot of stuff up, even consideribly high-ish threat ones at that, Kamov wins by a large margin.

They are both pretty great to be honest.

Well this thread has motivated me, already have the KA-50 so took advantage of the sale and grabbed the MI-8.

Can't have too many helos!

The Ka-50 has been the most rewarding module for me to learn in DCS and I'm still learning a lot every time I fly it.

The auto pilot, coax rotor, powerful engines and systems makes it easy to pick up, fly and employ successfully from the moment you first get into the cockpit.

So getting it from A to B and back to A in some fashion is easy to do and I think many people mistake its initial ease of use for a shallow flying experience.

The fun comes from Ka-50 ability to employ weapons and applying tactics rather than from enjoying its flight characteristics. In other words, it's not soo much fun just to fly which mostly comes from the fact that a lot of the work is done by the autopilot.

Hmm, I find that the Ka requires a lot more attention from the pilot order to control it cleanly during fast manoeuvring and also knowledge of its distinctive handling quirks and limitations during different modes of flight with various ap channels engaged/disengaged. Staying in control and using the ap to enhance the handling within it's larger flight envelope compared to mi-8/Huey is the reason I find it so much fun to just fly about even in non combat situations.

I'd recommend the Kamov but I do love both helicopters, just maybe not equally as much much. :D

...Hmm, I find that the Ka requires a lot more attention from the pilot order to control it cleanly during fast manoeuvring and also knowledge of its distinctive handling quirks and limitations during different modes of flight with various ap channels engaged/disengaged. Staying in control and using the ap to enhance the handling within it's larger flight envelope compared to mi-8/Huey is the reason I find it so much fun to just fly about even in non combat situations. ...

Agresive flying, low and fast will always consume a lot of attention. Still, compared to Huey or Mi-8 the Ka-50 is much easier to control in pretty much every phase of the flight. For instance, you really need to take a lot of effort to bring Ka-50 into VRS while Mi-8 requires a lot of attention to the flight parameters in order not to bring it into VRS. Hovering, especially when transitioning from a level flight into a hover or keeping a steady hover is just a breeze. Even maintaining a leveled, straight flight or making coordinated turns is much easier. To picture it, the difference between flying Ka-50 and Huey is almost like between Mirage and P-51.

Please don’t get me wrong, it's not a criticism. There are good reasons why most of the gunships have a pilot and a weapons officer. Ka-50 was designed with a goal to be operated by a single man, allowing him to focus on all other tasks rather than fighting with the thing to keep it from crushing into the ground. With Huey or Hip most of the time attention is consumed by controlling it. At least until spending so much time that flying it becomes almost a second nature.

From the other perspective, if you have a good experience with UH-1 or Mi-8, after defeating first confusion made by how the autopilot channels and modes in Ka-50 work, learning to fly it will take just a few moments. I don't think it would work so easy the opposite way. That’s actually also an positive as it gives more time to study other great things about Ka-50 like the data link, ABRIS, weapon systems, tactics etc.

I already fly the Huey, which I really enjoy.

I fancy buying one of the Russian choppers. Not sure whether to go with the BS or the Mi8.

Any thoughts and recommendations on the differences between them?

There's a recent video about it: