AW139

So something strange is happening with the speed brake on the F18. It was fine for as long as I have been playing DCS, but for whatever reason is glitched now. I have a 2 position toggle switch on my Virpil throttle assigned for the speed break. One position is assigned to "EXTEND", and the other position is assigned to "RETRACT/OFF". Previously it worked great. Any time I flip the switch forward, the brake extends all the way, and when flipped back it fully retracts. I don't care about modulating the brake, and I don't need to fumble with holding down a button. Now, the break will extend, but will not retract at all. The only way I can retract it is to assign a keyboard button to "RETRACT" or "RETRACT/OFF". The physical button is working fine, and I'm able to assign it to the "RETRACT/OFF" function fine, but when flying it won't do what it is assigned to. Anyone encounter anything similar?

The range circle is in the HSI page. Not sure if there is any way to have it in the SA page as well.

I don't see how anyone can fly the ball in VR (at least with a Valve Index) without using the IFLOLS overlay that pops up. I guess with the Reverb it may be possible, but I can't distinguish any usable information from the lights until I'm basically landing. On flat screen it's fine.

Disable how? Like have no ground crew waiting to help launch? Yeah, it would be cool to be able to configure it exactly how you want.

For some reason I thought you could toggle them on or off? I must have been mistaken.

You can already walk outside, if you press EJECT 3 times!

I agree, but now I just use the same basic template for most missions. Now that I know the time and distances needed for each unit, it's fast to set up.

The airplane doesn't know, or care, what the wind is doing (as long as it isn't turbulent). Your approach speed and AOA is exactly the same with a 30 kt headwind as it is with a 30 kt tailwind, or 30 kt crosswind. The reason you want to land into wind is to 1) reduce the speed difference between your plane and whatever it is you're landing on, and 2) to keep your plane pointed in the right direction while landing. For a carrier obviously you want to touch down at the minimum GROUNDSPEED as possible, so to help you do that while still maintaining the same AIRSPEED, the carrier will point into the wind, and maintain a specific speed.

Weird, I have never entered wake turbulence anywhere near the tanker. The only time I encounter it is if I’m dicking around and approach from right behind and above, and descend through behind them. Under normal refuelling conditions, I never encounter it.

Anyone else have this issue with JDAMs? Whenever I put drop JDAMS even in moderate winds, they don't hit on target and get blown downwind. I was bombing from 20,000 feet and they were hitting 50 feet away, entirely missing their targets. Removing the wind, and they hit dead center of the target.

I had the same issue. I just want a helicopter to sit 500 feet of the starboard beam, and track with the carrier for the entire mission. Matching speeds didn’t work, and matching arrival times didn’t work. The helicopter is always a slightly different speed vs the boat. I did find a solution though, but it take a bit of trial and error. 1) Set up your carrier, and put a helicopter abeam at whatever distance and altitude you want. 2) Set each one with a waypoint down range, spaced the same distance apart as they were in the start. I used 500’. This should be “Waypoint 1” for each vehicle. 3) Change the waypoint setting so they both are arrival time, not speeds. Set the same arrival time for both helicopter and carrier. In theory, this should be all you need, but it’s not. 4) Load the mission, and go to BOAT VIEW (F9 I think). Move around the viewpoint so the helicopter is positioned in front of the carrier. Time warp to max, and watch and and see if the helicopter moves forward or backwards in comprising to the carrier. Likely the helicopter is moving faster. If so; 5) Go back to the editor and move waypoint 1 for the HELICOPTER closer to its starting position. For my 90 NM leg, I needed to move it back by about 6.5 miles. That’s around 7% of the track, so start with 7% of your total track to get you in the ballpark. 6) After you moved the waypoint, load the mission and repeat step 4. Is the helicopter still faster? If yes, keep moving the helicopter waypoint closer to the start. If the helicopter is slower, move the helicopter waypoint farther away. 7) Keep doing this until the helicopter has no movement in relation to the boat. It took me about 6 or so adjustments until the helicopter was completely stationary. As a final test I loaded the mission and time accelerated, then came back a few minutes later. The helicopter was still dead abeam the ship. Yes this is annoying to do, but so is having the helicopter be in wrong place when you come back from an hour long sortie.

Yeah, the amount of oscillation is not realistic at all unfortunately. In cruise they are very stable, and don't movie very much. A little bit, but no where near what is simulated in DCS.

I know this is an older thread, but the collective doesn't need to be held during flight to keep from falling. There is a set amount of built-in collective friction (I can't remember the number off-hand), as well as an adjustable friction knob located at the base of the collective. If the collective is dropping while not being held, there is something very wrong with the built-in friction, and maintenance needs to figure it out. I have about 3000 hours flying the Bell Huey family of helicopters.