Basically (and briefly) put, bumping up your "realism" settings will indeed lead to more responsiveness in the helicopter, and just a generally more....realistic...interaction with the environment.
On that note, I would advise against getting that slider all the way to 100%. Like I said, bump it back a notch or two so that it's VERY close to 100, but not quite there.
In FS, a full 100 setting with helicopters will make them TOO sensitive...and a bit hard to handle. Adjusting the setting back will provide that balance between realistic control input response and FS flight dynamic behavior.
You will need all of your stick's axises at your disposal for helicopter flying.
Rudder (twist grip) = Anti-torque pedals. (controlling tailrotor blade angle)
Throttle = Collective (controlling main blades pitch angle)
X/Y Axis = Cyclic (controlling main blades pitch/swash plate attitude for lack of a better term)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_flight_controlsThe important stuff:
(read over but don't worry too much about the throttle aspect in FS....the sim is weird that way)
Cyclic
The cyclic control is usually located between the pilot's legs and is commonly called the cyclic stick or just cyclic. On most helicopters, the cyclic is similar in appearance to a joystick in a conventional aircraft. By contrast, the Robinson R22 and Robinson R44 have a unique teetering bar cyclic control system and a few early helicopters have had a cyclic control that descended into the cockpit from overhead, one example being the HC-2 "Heli Baby", HC-102. [3] The control is called the cyclic because it changes the pitch of the rotor blades cyclically. That is, the pitch or feathering angle of the rotor blades changes depending upon their position as they rotate around the hub so that all blades will change their angle the same amount at the same point in the cycle. The change in cyclic pitch has the effect of changing the angle of attack and thus the lift generated by a single blade as it moves around the rotor disk. This in turn causes the blades to fly up or down in sequence, depending on the changes in lift affecting each individual blade.
The result is to tilt the rotor disk in a particular direction, resulting in the helicopter moving in that direction. If the pilot pushes the cyclic forward, the rotor disk tilts forward, and the rotor produces a thrust vector in the forward direction. If the pilot pushes the cyclic to the right, the rotor disk tilts to the right and produces thrust in that direction, causing the helicopter to move sideways in a hover or to roll into a right turn during forward flight, much as in a conventional aircraft.
On any rotor system there is a delay between the point in rotation where a change in pitch is introduced by the flight controls and the point where the desired change is manifest in the rotor blade's flight. While often discussed as gyroscopic precession for ease of teaching,[4] this phase lag varies with the geometry of the rotor system and is the angular difference between the point of application of a cyclic pitch change and the point where the effect of that pitch change reaches maximum amplitude. This lag is an example of a dynamic system in resonance but is never more than ninety degrees.[citation needed]
[edit] Collective
The collective pitch control, or collective lever, is normally located on the left side of the pilot's seat with an adjustable friction control to prevent inadvertent movement. The collective changes the pitch angle of all the main rotor blades collectively (i.e., all at the same time) and independent of their position. Therefore, if a collective input is made, all the blades change equally, and the result is the helicopter increases or decreases its total lift derived from the rotor. In level flight this would cause a climb or descent, while with the helicopter pitched forward an increase in total lift would produce an acceleration together with a given amount of ascent.
[edit] Anti-torque pedals
The anti-torque pedals are located in the same position as the rudder pedals in an aeroplane, and serve a similar purpose, namely to control the direction in which the nose of the aircraft is pointed. Application of the pedal in a given direction changes the pitch of the tail rotor blades, increasing or reducing the thrust produced by the tail rotor and causing the nose to yaw in the direction of the applied pedal. The pedals mechanically change the pitch of the tail rotor altering the amount of thrust produced.
[edit] Throttle
Helicopter rotors are designed to operate at a specific rotational speed. The throttle controls the power produced by the engine, which is connected to the rotor by a transmission. The purpose of the throttle is to maintain enough engine power to keep the rotor speed within allowable limits in order to keep the rotor producing enough lift for flight. In single-engine helicopters, the throttle control is a motorcycle-style twist grip mounted on the collective control, while dual-engine helicopters have power levers.
In many piston engine-powered helicopters, the pilot manipulates the throttle to maintain rotor speed. Turbine engine helicopters, and some piston helicopters, use governors or other electro-mechanical control systems to maintain rotor speed and relieve the pilot of routine responsibility for that task. (There is normally also a manual reversion available in the event of a governor failure.)
.......................Some final notes.......
A significant portion of simulator helicopter flying is just a matter of practice, then asking questions when something happens that is unclear. Take that Bell 206 up, and just see what happens with various control inputs.
I'll monitor this thread as much as possible, so feel free to ask any questions at all. I'm not a real world licensed helicopter pilot (only have a fixed-wing rating so far), but I have a good chunk of stick time in one of these here in the USA....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurocopter_AS365_Dauphin....and have been flying helicopters in the FS series for quite a while, just for your assurance that I'm not pulling facts and flying tips out of my rear!
Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 3:44 pm
