How to fly

[captainherc]

Hi everyone.
Have added some nice choppers to my hanger. The gmax bell 222b and the Hovercontrol_412_PersonalEdition. All I need to know now is how to fly them.
I only have a Logitech extreme 3D pro joy stick. Any help much appreciated as looking forward to doing some heli tours and low flying.
Cheers,
Adrian.

[SeanTK]

Does this joystick have a rudder input of some sort (twist grip)?

Helicopter flying can be frustrating at first, but it's very fun once you get used to it!

I would suggest looking up some real world aviation resources on how helicopters fly, and then going from there.
Also, an excellent flight simulator resource can be found in the Hovercontrol.com community.
http://hovercontrol.com/

A few initial tips:

I would suggest making sure all of your realism settings are on the highest setting (full right I believe). EXCEPT, bump your "general/overall" slider one notch down to 99% or so. (I don't have the sim in front of me, cant remember the menu terminology).
Also remember, helicopters do not require any significant degree of input in order to control. A feather-lite touch is a must. Small control movements and corrections here....
I would also suggest learning helicopter flight in the default Bell 206 before moving onto your addon helicopters.

[captainherc]

Sean thanks for the quick reply. Yes my stick has twist/rudder function.
I will look at the settings. What does making them 100% do. I sit more responcive?
Cheers,
Adrian.

[Ian Warren]

Rudders are a primary , Adrian , with your modeling skills you would be able to build a wicked set

[SeanTK]

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_controls

The 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!

[Timmo]

Specifically related to the HoverControl 412, don't overspeed it! Both in terms of VNE and torque- It's an easy copter to destroy and one of the harder ones to fly in FS. Practicing in the R22 is a good start- Lots of small control inputs are key

[SeanTK]

^^ It certainly wouldn't hurt to try out the R22, but it operates very differently from the 206. I would suggest starting with the 206 due to the fact that the VAST majority of addon helicopters are using a turbine model over the R22's piston engine flight system.

Everything else before that I agree with....the 412 can be a challenge!

[Charl]

Something that helped me initially was to get a HUD which allows you to concentrate on the flying.
There are several, here's one for the B206 at Hovercontrol:
http://www.hovercontrol.com/cgi-bin/ifolio...ip&bool=and

[Timmo]

QUOTE (SeanTK @ May 3 2011,6:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

^^ It certainly wouldn't hurt to try out the R22, but it operates very differently from the 206. I would suggest starting with the 206 due to the fact that the VAST majority of addon helicopters are using a turbine model over the R22's piston engine flight system.

Everything else before that I agree with....the 412 can be a challenge!

hmm true. To be honest, I'm always a bit disappointed with choppers in FSX, piston or turbine....they just don't seem to 'fly' like a helicopter, there isn't that 'floating on a cushion of air' feeling.

[Bandit]

As has been said. Small adjustments are the key.

The other really hard thing I find is judging distance when coming in to land.

The 412 is a real handful. Especially if you get the speed up to much and get the tail wiggle happening.

I'm really partial to the Nemeths H500, check it out if you haven't already.

[Rotordude]

The FSX helo engine is how would you say "cr@p"
If you are seriously looking at rotors, invest in FSUIPC if you haven't already got it and download Helicopter Total Realism by Frederic Naar. set up your rotorcraft with those two and you wont look back. The most fun you can have in FSX with ya pants on.
Even in external view they look like as Timmo says "Floating on a cushion of air" you dont get that default FSX "teeter totter" effect.
My personal fav is the Cera 212 with all the above.

Cera212
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=105DkCglRGg

[Chairman]

Something else I would add, on the subject of rudder control and the twist axis.

[long version]
1 - You're trying to control an entire axis, something that demands the same precision as the elevators / ailerons (or cyclic) which you have maybe 15cm of joystick travel for, with something that twists through maybe a 1 cm travel.

2 - If you twist the joystick AT ALL, even if you didn't mean to, even if you don't realise you're doing it, the helicopter will rotate.

Go into joystick calibration where you can see in undisputable numbers whether or not you're twisting the joystick then spend several minutes moving the stick in all the combinations of left right back and forward the way you would have to move a cyclic to fly a helicopter, while you're operating the other controls with your other hand the way you will while simming, and make sure you can do this without twisting the joystick even the slightest little bit because if you can't the helicopter will be all over the sky like you are dancing on the pedals.

If you can't do it without twisting the joystick then disable that axis and assign a couple of keys instead. Not as realistic but a damn sight more controllable.
[/long version]

[short version]
Don't Use The Twist Axis On Your Joystick !!! Ever !!!!!
[/short version]

[Charl]

QUOTE (Chairman @ May 5 2011,1:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

...Don't Use The Twist Axis On Your Joystick !!! Ever !!!!!

Not sure how you turn the corners, then, or manoeuvre at low speed...
As mentioned (several times) above, it's all about lots of constant, tiny corrections to pitch, roll and yaw.
And unlike fixed-wing, the collective (= your throttle control) is constantly moving as well.
Many a time when the thing wants to go crazy, backing off the throttle saves the day.
Don't be afraid to move stuff!

Something that was a game-changer for me was switching to a Force-feedback stick.
The spring on a non-FFB tends to be too strongly centred for helo flying.
(The cheap cure for a Saitek is to pinch a couple of the coils in a bulldog clip to make it "softer")

The topic is headed FS9 so you're in with a better chance.
The reason is that while you're doing all that micro-correcting, your computer needs to respond instantly to make it all work.
Even micro-stuttering will ruin it.

I've always found the FSX helos particularly difficult for that reason, all the machines I've run it on can't process fast enough to provide the necessary instant reaction.

[captainherc]

Hi, Thanks for all your comments. I had flown about 35minutes as a student in a R22 so know abit ( some say a bit is dangerous ).
Am still trying with concentrating more than on the fixed wing and this is helping. Alos have downloaded the HUD so will give it a try.
Will get there in the end.
Thanks for all you help.
Adrian.

[towerguy]

helicopters don't fly - the earth rejects them!

[creator2003]

Old joke sourced from hovercontrol.com in 2003 there was one about planes aswell somewhere ..


Why are helicopters better than women ??


1. A helicopter will kill you quickly ..
2 Helicopters can be turned on by a flick of a switch .
3 A helicopter does not get mad if you "touch and go.
4 A helicopter does not object to a preflight inspection.
5 Helicopters come with manuals .
6 Helicopters have strict weight and balance limits
7 You can fly a helicopter any time of the month .
8. Helicopters do not come with in-laws
9. Helicopters dont whine unless something is really wrong .
10. Helicopters dont care how many helicopters you have flown .
11. When out flying you and your helicopter arrive at the same time .
12 Helicopters dont mind if you look at other helicopters ,or if you buy helicopter magazines.
13 Its ok to use tie downs on your helicopter.

my misses says they wont keep you warm at night but she doesnt know they come with heaters ..

[Ian Warren]

Now that,s what i like about Helicopters rather than go round and round and round about a whined up