Conure

Hi guys, I decided I'd give starting the Shark from cold a go - no better way to learn the systems than to switch them on one by one..Maybe.. I found a few really good lists a few days ago, which describe where the buttons are (such as front panel, rear left panel etc) but now I can't find them! Could anybody link me to a decent one? Thanks!

Darwined! That is brilliant...I'd like to think that after enough study and time on the sim, I could at least get the real chopper in the air and perform some very basic operations...Or, at least, better equipped than most to do so! ....Doubt I'll get the chance though :D

Are these sims actually so realistic that you can learn to play the game from the official flight manuals and books that describe the real aircraft?

Hi Luza, I had a similar problem! I had to go into the controls, change the tab to 'axis', and then change the collective control to 'joystick Z axis'. That's the one that worked for me! If that fails, go through the Axis one by one and test them, until you find the one that is for your throttle.

Okay everybody, huge huge thanks to you all! With your help I have finished the intro mission, and learnt a few of the systems and landed for the first time! It took 2 days, but was definitely worth it :D

Thanks for that :) I've got my rockets and missiles going now, but how do I select my cannon? It doesn't seem to be a standard hard point! Thanks

hi Dooom! Funny you should say that, I've just finished the first part of that mission! It's very tough to get those tanks in the tiny targetting box at range, especially when the chopper bobs up and down! It was extremely satisfying to take them out. One thing that isn't explained in the tutorial though, is, that for some reason after I've enabled my weapons system, it kinda messes with my GPS. The waypoints no longer work! Is that easily fixed? I'm going to check through that website now....In 2 days I've learnt more than on any other game, this makes MFSX and Eve Online look like a simple toys... Thanks very much for the link, conure

Cheers for the info :) Do you use TrackIR??

Hey, What I'm finding is the hat switch isn't sensitive enough to stop on the enemy, it tends to move quickly and skip over the target if that makes sense? The mouse lets me move the helmet mounted sight a lot smoother, so to speak.. I think to be honest I'm a bit confused about the systems. Pressing and holding O (i've mapped it to a joystick button) locks the 'screen' to the helmet mounted sight, and releasing it seems to lock the view I had. The problem is, when moving the helicopter its really difficult to get my eye piece over an enemy, let alone lock onto it. I think perhaps I'm doing something wrong, or just mal-coordinated! Thanks :)

Another quick one - Should I always be targetting from the hover position, or will I be required to target on the move? It's close to impossible to target things using the mouse with the left hand! Thanks

Thank you for the responses :) do you guys find you have to use the mouse to target things? it's very tough left handed! or should all my targetting me done when I'm hovering and have my hands free?

Hi guys, Thanks again for all the help. I played for quite a long time last night, but found myself getting very frustrated! I've been playing the training mission which comes with a guide as to how to do it, i.e following the waypoints then taking out the tanks. I'm getting to grips with the handling, I think, but I'm having a few problems which may or may not be solvable - I've had a look in the manual but due to it's size I'm not totally sure where to look. Anyway, I'll list the problems I'm having here. First, is that I think I can now correctly pitch the chopper on the horizontal axis, I've started to switch on the autopilot altitude hold, trim it during the turn then release the trim when the copper is stable. That's all great, but the problem I have is with the vertical trim. I can hold the chopper facing one way, but it will always move forward or backwards and the trim seems to have little effect in changing that - is there another type of trim for the vertical axis? Secondly, I think that this is a TrackIR issue, because I imagine it being much easier with it. Basically, (I'll use my mission example) when I approach the hill with the tanks on the other side, my first issue is to bring the heli to a full stop and hover whilst I activate my weapon systems (which I can't do particularly effectively atm as I explained in the last paragraph!). Then, I have to control the heli with my right hand, whilst increasing the throttle (tough as I have one hand on the joystick!) whilst holding a button down to slave the monitor to the eye piece...I'll sum it up to explain the difficulty.. Right hand: Joystick Right fingers: Holding down a 'slave to screen button' left hand: controlling mouse (not too well as I'm right handed!) Left fingers (trying to click the 'lock target' button when I have managed to get my reticle over the tank which is rapidly blowing me out the sky.. Right, so I'm appreciating the realism and challenge of this sim, and I would imagine heli pilots IRL have to train themselves to use both hands, but is there an easier way to do it? One thing I was thinking is, is there a way to click a button which slaves the screen to the eyepiece, with just one press? That would save me holding it, and free up a finger for 'other things'.. Finally, I've got a spare 19 inch monitor I could plug into my PC. I'm using a 24" display at the moment - I think I read that I could put the shkyval (is that it? it's the black and white display which I use to target) display on the second monitor, but not sure where I read that. That would make things easier (and possibly more atmospheric). Is that possible, and do you recommend it? Really sorry for so many questions but thought I'd get a days worth into one big post! Thanks very much for reading, I really do appreciate it! (I will be helping people like myself in no time :) )

Those Youtube videos are excellent! Tonight is going to involve a laptop, my desktop, and a lot of learning! Thanks very much, can't wait to get started! Conure

Thanks again mate, I think I'll leave it for now then and just focus on Black Shark. I just found out they removed the tutorial missions in 1.02, that's annoying as I've heard it has a lot of big improvements. Nevermind! Speaking of playing online, is it a very active community? I've love to start playing online when I've got to grips with the Shark. Do you play online? would be great to join some of you guys at some point... Cheers, Conure

Thanks very much, you guys are invaluable! One last question though (I promise).. This is my first real heli sim, and I'm a huge fan of fixed wing aircraft. I've just seen an advert for Flaming Cliffs 2 - Is this a product in itself, or an addon? It says something about it being an update to the original. I understand that it isn't quite as realistic as this, due to the number of aircraft. Is it still very realistic? Finally, is it better to just focus on black shark for now? I realise I've got a lot to learn in this and don't want to overwhelm myself, perhaps also getting Flaming Cliffs 2 will be a bit too much! Advice appreciated and I will ask no further questions!! Thank you

Thank you very much, that has been extremely useful. The Rotor Vortex Ring State you mentioned is what I think I suffered first time - I've been trying to recreate it so I can try to recover, but no luck yet! I'm finding on simulator settings what the machine is still quite easy to control, and strangely similar to a normal airplane. I think I have all sim settings on, but I remember playing a game a LONG time ago, in which even taking off was extremely difficult (Apache Versus Havoc, I think it was called). Is the handling pretty similar to a plane? Tilt forward to speed up, rudder left and right to turn (but more so in a heli). - I think I'm decent enough at flying to start learning some other stuff now..Where to start!

I just checked out TrackIR....It looks incredible..If only I had the money...Nevermind, for now I can practice just turning the heli on!

Thanks astrospud, I'll check that out - it looks like it's basically a toned down version of TrackIR using a webcam, is that right?

I'll definitely look into the TrackIR when funds allow (I am a poor student at the moment!). Does anybody have any techniques for learning how to effectively fly the chopper? I'm trying to memorise sections of the cockpit at the moment, but still suffering from things like 'now it's flying, now it isn't, and I've got absolutely no clue why!'. I sense many, many hours of learning ahead.

Thanks very much for the reply :) In the tutorials, the pilots head moves around to look at various instruments, not the standard hatswitch movement, but physically within the cockpit. I'm under the impression this is something to do with trackIR? I don't have that, is it possible to move around the cockpit with keyboard commands? Thanks

Hi all, Thought I'd introduce myself as is the only polite thing to do before asking endless questions... I've been into flight sims for about a decade now (and think I just missed the Jane's sims people talk about!). I've played a fair bit of each MSF as they have come out, and a small amount of IL2. I decided I wanted a new one and came across Wings of Prey, which whilst fun (and beautiful) didn't really have any depth for realism. After a bit of a search I came to this, and think I've jumped in at the deep end, especially after watching the startup tutorial! Anyway, my only question right now is: Just how realistic is this? I understand most of us haven't ever flown a real Russian attack chopper, but is this generally regarded as the most realistic chopper sim? Thanks all, Conure