DCS: AH-64D Discussion Thread

[Rogue Trooper]

On 2/18/2021 at 10:59 AM, Lurker said:

 

The AH64D is going to make the Hornet look like a walk in the park, where system modeling is concerned. Unless they add an option to offload a large part of this on the AI co-pilot, it's going to be a non-starter for many. (Myself included) I avoid modules which require significant interaction with the cockpit or a very large number of bound keys. It is simply too much work in VR. I don't want to use Voice Attack, and removing my hands from the HOTAS to blindly grope for keys and the mouse while trying not to crash is tiresome. 

I will be getting a trackball at some point, so I can use the mouse with my left hand while not moving it away too much from my throttle, but I will still avoid modules where it's a lot of work to simply get your weapons to bear. 

I reckon I will learn to pull this war bird into an attack position in amongst a dense city, 10 metres off the floor, 3 or 4 meters clearance from the surrounding buildings and at the same time I will be working the pit to configure the weapon to my required attack mode for the enemy I am hunting.

I will pull her into a hover and quickly start to pop up for a weapon release..... In my solid fixed gaming chair, my skull and body will be rotating and swivelling hard the entire time in VR.. checking tail and rotor clearance as I ascend and rotate the airframe to face a pre saved target position. 

 

For a chopper pilot it is simply a challenge that will be overcome and learnt like second nature...... To a non chopper pilot it is all but impossible.

 

It is all in the language.

 

looking forward to Hell Fire ripple fire..... all 16 of them!

 

Edited February 20, 2021 by Rogue Trooper

[cordite]

On 2/19/2021 at 3:45 PM, Dragon1-1 said:

Why would it be? Things released on the site so far are all free.

 

I meant Valhalla not Valkyrie, BTW, Valkyrie was the guy who made TM-alike pendular rudder.

Only certain ones. The maker is on this forum, and can clarify if she wishes. And I knew which one you meant.

[ruprecht]

All those hours flying LB2 with the 404th in the 90s, and I've been waiting for a Longbow to be done by DCS since Flexman's Combat Helo sadly went dark. Bring it on and thanks ED!

[nima2014]

Just in case, someone missed it

[Sinclair_76]

A 130% dual engine overtorque with the collective in that position? I guess the flight model needs some work.

[fabio.dangelo]

[fabio.dangelo]

From news letters....

 

Here are some of the features that we are currently working on for Early Access. We look forward to giving you an exact date when pre-orders will begin. We expect it to be in the first week of May 2021.

Aircraft Systems

• Powerplants and related systems
• Fuel system
• Hydraulic and pressurised air systems
• Electrical system
• Lighting
• Flight Instruments
• Auxiliary Power Unit (APU)
• Flight Control System
• Multipurpose display
• MPD pages (ENG, FUEL, etc.)
• Keyboard Unit
• Enhanced Up Front Display

The AH-64D is equipped with advanced sensors capable of target detection and engagement at long ranges. Here are some of the Early Access features;

Avionics

• Navigation Subsystem
  • Embedded Global Positioning
  • Inertial Navigation system
  • Doppler radar velocity sensor
• Air Data system
• Radar Altimeter
• Automatic Direction Finder (ADF)
• MPD Tactical Situation Display (TSD)
• Communication systems

The AH-64D is capable of adapting to several roles within the context of close air support tasking. In addition to the 30 mm M230 single-barrel chain-driven autocannon, it can carry external stores and weapons on its stub-wing pylons. Equipment we are planning to release includes;

Mission Equipment

• Sighting Subsystem
  • Integrated Helmet and Display Sight System (IHADSS)
  • Modernized Pilot Night Vision Sensor (MPNVS)
  • Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight (MTADS)
  • Night Vision Goggles (NVG)

• Armament Systems
  • Area Weapons System (M230E1 Automatic Gun)
  • Rocket Management Subsystem (2.75 Inch Aerial Rocket)
  • Hellfire Missile (Semi-Active Laser)
  • Weapons page

• Defensive Systems
  • One chaff and two flare dispensers
  • Airborne Survivability Equipment (ASE) page
  • Common Missile Warning System (CMWS)
  • Radar Warning Receiver (RWR)

Dedicated designers are also working on photo-realistic cockpit details and labels. In parallel, work continues on the external model textures.

The flight model and flight control system are highly complex and demanding. Much more information on the development of this sophisticated attack helicopter will be coming soon.

 

therefore no Radar version?!?!?! I hope only in EA

Furthermore,

The MTADS and NPVS release in 2005 

Source Lockheed Martin

 

Edited February 26, 2021 by fabio.dangelo

[fabio.dangelo]

If it has already been clarified, I apologize. but I have the following doubt

Will TEDAC be included with MTADS?

[Rogue Trooper]

I hope so too that no Radar is only EA.

 

Good to see those images show a nice used and worn cockpit.

 

Edited February 26, 2021 by Rogue Trooper

[TZeer]

Quote

Here are some of the features that we are currently working on for Early Access. 

 

Here are some of the Early Access features;

 

I'm hoping it's due to early access that the radar is not included. And that it follows same procedure as with the fighters, where the radar is implemented at a later time in the development cycle of the module.

[Rogue Trooper]

Yeah it will be exactly that TZeer.

The Radar will probably take a while before we get it, should help in learning such a complex machine.

Edited February 26, 2021 by Rogue Trooper

[Silver_Dragon]

3 hours ago, Sinclair_76 said:

A 130% dual engine overtorque with the collective in that position? I guess the flight model needs some work.

WIP pics

[S. Low]

It’s a D model so there will have to be Radar eventually. My guess is they wanted it released by Christmas 2021, so they were targeting a sort of “A” version in EA that will become the D within a couple years.

 

30 mike, semi active hellfire, plus the ihadss, pnvs, and tads are what  I want anyways, which Is why I always asked for an A model because that’s I believe your basic a model stuff plus the rockets. D model goodies are just icing on my dream cake. I’ve already spent plenty of time in the arma 2 and 3 realism mods which are helpful only in some tactical ideas. But I’ve been drooling for a full fidelity dcs Apache for years now.

 

This and the Kiowa are the sort of things that’ll make me get into multiplayer. Buddy lazing and battlefield control is where it’s at.

 

The Kiowa will be cool on its own as a laser marker for jets. But since you can do it with the Apache that’s just extra coolness. Plus I think once we get the D model toys I *think* it can just upload targeting information to awacs or other jets.

[Kev2go]

this is very much a pleasant surprise. Initially they said they were basing it on a 2002 Ah64D block 2

 

This is definitely  later and better than a 02 model given AAR57 CMWS, and of course MPTADS/MPNVS

Edited February 27, 2021 by Kev2go

[cfrag]

On 2/15/2021 at 8:51 PM, Rick50 said:

A very very long time ago... in a forum far far away... they used to talk of a "virtual battlefield" in which different modules could all fly in the same map, at the same time.  In those days, your program had one aircraft with a moderate FC-3 level of complexity and a bunch of AI's... or you had ALL the aircraft with no complexity and almost no realism but a fair amount of fun (looking at those EA titles from the late 90's and early 2000's). 

 

And then the market for sims dwindled as other types of gaming entertainment exploded in popularity. That "virtual battlefield" idea seemed... unlikely.

 

And yet here we are, now with most of the aircraft from old sims, but all able to fly in the same map, online, with better visuals and more realism than we ever had any right to dream of... 

 

ED and it's 3rd party partners have the cool jets of 80's through today, and a few from WW2. Others have covered WW-1, WW-2, and the civilian world. Soon, maybe 3 years from now, it might be time to start making more maps, and start on the Cold War era!  Germany, Corsairs over Korea, fly everything over Vietnam, the Nordic region (I want to fly in the Fjords of Norway in my Eurofighter!), fly Mirage III's against Mig's in the Middle East. I guess I'm greedy that way!

 

Damn! I thought I was the only old geezer to have flown Parsoft's A-10 and who dreamt the dream of digital battlefields where you could jump into any chit representing a unit. I was hooked on flight sims since the first time I ran A2FS1 in 1981 - but to me (a Mac head at that time) GraphSims Hellcats/FA-18 and Parker's (who used to be a GraphSim employee) A-10 were the first 'real' combat flight sims (which is probably why I imagine nods to these classic sims everywhere in DCS), followed by Falcon 4. 

 

And then, of course came Enemy Engaged: Apache vs. Havoc, the reason I spend a fortune on a Thrustmaster A-10 HOTAS w/ Paddles for the Mac. 

 

Now, it seems, Apache will again be the reason for me to upgrade my rig - since knowing the AH-64 is coming, I find myself browsing Virpil's rudder pages waaaaay too often these days.

 

[SouthernChap]

On 2/18/2021 at 10:59 AM, Lurker said:

 

The AH64D is going to make the Hornet look like a walk in the park, where system modeling is concerned. Unless they add an option to offload a large part of this on the AI co-pilot, it's going to be a non-starter for many. (Myself included) I avoid modules which require significant interaction with the cockpit or a very large number of bound keys. It is simply too much work in VR. I don't want to use Voice Attack, and removing my hands from the HOTAS to blindly grope for keys and the mouse while trying not to crash is tiresome. 

I will be getting a trackball at some point, so I can use the mouse with my left hand while not moving it away too much from my throttle, but I will still avoid modules where it's a lot of work to simply get your weapons to bear. 

 

https://pointctrl.com/

 

Although you are right that a competent AI CP/G is going to be essential.

 

[Rick50]

On 2/27/2021 at 3:04 AM, cfrag said:

 

Damn! I thought I was the only old geezer to have flown Parsoft's A-10 and who dreamt the dream of digital battlefields where you could jump into any chit representing a unit. I was hooked on flight sims since the first time I ran A2FS1 in 1981 - but to me (a Mac head at that time) GraphSims Hellcats/FA-18 and Parker's (who used to be a GraphSim employee) A-10 were the first 'real' combat flight sims (which is probably why I imagine nods to these classic sims everywhere in DCS), followed by Falcon 4. 

 

And then, of course came Enemy Engaged: Apache vs. Havoc, the reason I spend a fortune on a Thrustmaster A-10 HOTAS w/ Paddles for the Mac. 

 

Now, it seems, Apache will again be the reason for me to upgrade my rig - since knowing the AH-64 is coming, I find myself browsing Virpil's rudder pages waaaaay too often these days.

 

 

I always loved trying to hunt down the Antonov's doing paradrops, in a brick powered by turbofans!!!  Far from real but lots o' fun!

 

The ones that annoyed me were the "USAF", "USNFighters" series, with no 3d rendering, just oversize sprites that gave no impression of speed... but they were lots of fun for my buddy who loved dogfighting in 'em!  Actually, my first "flightsim" was EF2000 the first one in DOS... flying multirole long range strike in Norway was seriously immersive... especially that one night when you've barely closed canopy to taxi out, and your wingmen explode from the airstrike the enemy delivered that you barely survived!! 

 

But even in those days, the "SSI SU-27 Flanker" sim, was the most sophisticated in all but the textures (16 textures, not 16 bit textures, but maybe 16 colors total!!). I remember reading it's paper printed book manual, and being awwed at the description of the S-300 SAM system... "USNavy Fighters" had nothing even in common, other than a vague sense of military aircraft...

 

But yea, got to fly all those you mentioned, and some more!  But the "virtual battlefield" idea really got going in forum discussions in around '99, and people imagined either the Falcon or Flanker guys were the ones to build it. And as we know, it was indeed the Flanker guys, Eagle Dynamics, who made it happen! And then surpassed what we thought was achievable...

[Northstar98]

According to what SilverDragon just posted in his unofficial roadmap for DCS, the Apache is stated to be an AH-64D Block II circa 2007.

[Hellfire]

Callsign comes from Microprose Gunship. Pieces of passwords go back to that also.

Seems like they would just do an A variant then bring the Bow later.

[Csgo GE oh yeah]

On 2/11/2021 at 10:55 PM, Kev2go said:

 

 

 

 

ahhh so it finally make sense why ED called the DCS A10C II "tank killer" instead of just retaining the warthog in the title like A10C I.

 

Looks like they wanted to pay homage to an older game.

 

bish please ... (edit* ok i quoted the wrong person)

 

 

Edited March 2, 2021 by Csgo GE oh yeah

[Jackjack171]

I have never really been into Army aviation, but this looks amazing! I will pre-order when the time is right! 

[Rick50]

 

If you look at the Hornet development, it's radar modes have been dramatically increased in stages. It didn't have sea mode or terrain map mode when it first was introduced. It seems to maybe require quite a lot of coding and testing for quality control. Sure, we likely won't get a radar right off the bat, but AI might be able to radar designate for us through datalink (possibly). 

 

Also, we could also get the Kiowa in-game, with human pilots painting targets for us from behind hills trees and buildings. I don't know for sure when Kiowa gets to the store, but I'm guessing before the Apache Longbow does (or soon after at the very latest). 

[Csgo GE oh yeah]

Do you desperately need a set of rudder-pedals for flying heli's or is it do-able with a twist stick ? 

Edited March 8, 2021 by Csgo GE oh yeah

[fargo007]

2 minutes ago, Csgo GE oh yeah said:

Do you desperately need a set of rudder-pedals for flying heli's or is it do-able with a twist stick ? 

 

 

You need the pedals.

[Mogster]

On 2/23/2021 at 2:59 AM, ruprecht said:

All those hours flying LB2 with the 404th in the 90s, and I've been waiting for a Longbow to be done by DCS since Flexman's Combat Helo sadly went dark. Bring it on and thanks ED!

Someone suggested that Hawley (Flexman) was involved with this project. I’ve no idea if it’s true or not.