Basic Fundamentals: Ka 50 Waypoints and the PVI 800

Good Day, Everyone! In this video, we'll go over how to enter, edit, clear, and navigate waypoints using the ABRIS and the PVI 800 navigation system. I hope you enjoy!

Some things I'd like to point out:

1. At 1:04, it's true that the ABRIS is not linked to the PVI-800 except in one case: when creating a nav target. If you create a nav target through the PVI-800 then select it, it will display on the ABRIS as a square with the nav target number in it. This is a great way to see the coordinates on the moving map, for example if someone feeds you the coordinates of a ground target for attack.

2. At 2:21, in addition to pressing the push buttons, right clicking on the right ABRIS wheel when you have a menu item selected will also select it. This can save time if you're already using the wheel to change the menu item.

3. At 5:09, holding the mouse and dragging on the right ABRIS wheel will scroll it faster with better control than scrolling the mouse wheel. This is useful if you're trying to move the line a long distance.

4. At 10:40, the autopilot is not overridden at over 20%. It always has 20% control authority, and will always pull the helicopter towards the last trimmed position unless disabled. This is what people usually mean when they say they're "fighting the auto-pilot" in the Ka-50; unlike the fixed wing aircraft in DCS, the autopilot does not disable once you exceed a certain threshold.

5. At 12:17, I wouldn't sweat rounding off the number in most cases. The difference between 1 second in coordinates is only 100 feet or 31 meters, which is close enough for most purposes.

6. At 13:11, it might be important to emphasize that "always N and E" only applies to the Caucasus and Persian Gulf maps. For the Nevada map, it's always N and W.

7. At 14:38, the dim light is due to the broken cockpit lighting which hopefully will be fixed sometime this year. In 1.5.x, it was very visible when lit.

8. At 14:50, it's not specifically mentioned, but he's copying the coordinates from the ABRIS to the PVI-800. You need to do this because the ABRIS is a separate system from the aircraft and does not control anything on the helicopter, whereas the PVI-800 is the actual navigation system. You can think of it as a GPS device that you put on your dash; it's not linked to your car.

9. At 15:49, to clarify, there is no backspace key if you screw up the number input. If you input a wrong number, you have to hit Reset and start the input all over again.

10. At 17:39, to be more specific, the autopilot channels consists of two functions: a stability augmentation system that smooths the pilot's inputs, and the autopilot hold, which tries to hold the attitude of the aircraft at the last trimmed position. The Flight Director button disables the autopilot hold, but keeps the SAS on. If you ever feel like you're fighting the auto-pilot, turning on the Flight Director will usually make the helicopter feel like how you'd expect it to.

11. At 20:00, that's another instance of lighting issues with the Ka-50. This also occurs with some of the other aircraft, where the anti-collision beacon shines through the cockpit as if it's transparent.

12. At 20:43, you are correct. With the altitude hold channel engaged, the collective brake will set the desired altitude when it's released. In the real aircraft, this is not something you need to think about because in order to move the collective, you need to squeeze the brake. However, in the sim, you can move the collective without squeezing the brake, so what I usually do is just tap the collective brake to set the altitude once I get the collective where I want it.

13. At 25:15, an alternative to holding down the trim button the entire time is to turn on Flight Director, get the helicopter to the attitude you want it to be in, press the trim button, then turn off Flight Director. I find this a little easier because I don't have to constantly hold a button down.

14. At 25:28, you mention "right where I want her, rudder and everything". To clarify, the rudder position is only saved as part of the trim if you enable rudder trimmer in the special options for the Ka-50. Otherwise, you will have to hold the rudder even after trimming. Without the rudder trimmer option enabled, you'll either want to constantly hold the rudder position, or get the helicopter trimmed so that you don't have to apply any rudder once trimmed.

Thank you - usefull video.

Can anyone tell me why if you use a route set in the Mission editor and follow it, it will advance to the next way point automatically

eg I have selected WP2 I am enroute to it with route mode on, it gets to WP2 then auto changes to WP3 and turn toward WP3

But if I enter a course manually into ABRIS and the P800 I have to advance to the next waypoint manually

Can anyone tell me why if you use a route set in the Mission editor and follow it, it will advance to the next way point automatically

eg I have selected WP2 I am enroute to it with route mode on, it gets to WP2 then auto changes to WP3 and turn toward WP3

 

 

But if I enter a course manually into ABRIS and the P800 I have to advance to the next waypoint manually

You have to create the WP Sequence. Check pg 320 of the BS Manual Changing the WP sequence

Thanks for replying, so entering the Waypoints into the PVI800 has "no order" , just read the manual page I will try tonight, appreciate the help