Volk.

Interesting. TBH I haven't gone back to logs for both Mi-8 and Ka-50 since inception. I've also heard someone else say they've overheated the Mi-8, and others say they never could. The Mi-8 I only tried one flight, but it kinda sucks testing the Mi-8 in that fashion purely for proving overheating - the Shark you only occasionally need to correct flight parameters and can then fast-forward. Mi-8 is every couple of minutes and the RBS limit creeps up a bit faster too (well from changes in flight path fast-forwarded). But yeah, at the moment those needles stay put, even the slightly-in-the-red left panel temps. I did do the HIP at extreme ambient temps, can't remember if I did it at altitude though. But I think testing the HIP in these ways is best done while actually flying it for fun or an op and then intentionally running heavy on collective, probably multi-sortie. Shark I ran in 40deg ambient temp, on Nevada, the airbase about 900' ASL, then spiralling upwards max collective & throttle (EEGs on) up to just over 3100' depending on the loop, refuelled 4 times and it never peaked. I don't know about any loss of lift from decaying rotors or other strange factors, but the compressor output didn't decay in that time. Other single-sortie missions were at 14000 ft, 50 degrees heat, different icing/dust switches etc. which the EEG's always limited to avoid failure. Dust typically causes vibration, but in certain circumstances can also lead to a disconnect between engine heat / output (I mean a 10-20% difference, not the normal subtle difference in response/output). There's also some stuff that can happen with dust and spiking temps, which if combined with maneuvers could maybe spike it. Dust damage is cumulative, so maybe that caused the rapid heat buildup. ps. mentioned 89 tests for dust above, it's actually 59 (stupidly double counted file types), but still running more. Out of interest, do you maybe have a trackfile/tacview on that Nevada hunt? Seems I've turned into medical detective trying to figure out why it falls outta the sky. Or more info on which mountains, average AGL, anything else? I'm assuming your EEGs were on - because typically it won't keep increasing beyond the limits with them off, but the altitudes + maneuvers may push it over the limit. Though unless that subtle difference between the two engines happened to fall on that heat limit, typically both engines go out from heat, not just one. At least with my tests now - can't comment on what would happen in previous DCS versions - one might need to track both Shark changes and general changes in DCS - so maybe it could die from that previously. Whether it should be able to die (IRL) from heat with EEGs on I can't comment.

Starting a new series of smaller vids on the little ways you can wreck the Ka-50 outside of combat or mating with a tree. First up is overheating. Which is a thing and it isn't. But it could be. Not very common, but I need to get through it so I can explain dust, which is up next. I just need to run a few more tests on that (I say when there's already over 89 on it). After that, either icing or RPM and rotor intersections.

Wow - picked an old thread to resurrect. Yeah the tuts and vanilla campaigns aren't the most welcoming teacher. I've found most of them I tried in the last 6 months to be buggy somewhere - you might be expected to have AI wingmen do scouting or assist with shooting as you simply lack the munitions but then they either don't respond or go suicidal. Or other triggers that are meant to happen like ground forces moving in don't happen. I think through versions of DCS the logic in the old campaigns gets broken, but it's possibly a lesser priority. To learn it I'd rather recommend Chuck's guide, youtube tutorials and maybe the loose standing missions. That and maybe joining a multiplayer group that can then add polish if you don't prefer solo. Not ideal, but what we got atm.

In high wind,somewhere between I think 20 & 40 metres per second, if you're not facing the wind direction, then all bets are off with autopilot modes - their ~20% control authority just isn't enough to fight the wind. Manual cyclic & rudder will then be the better way and the only way. You can trim the cyclic and hold a steady rudder once you feel out the right direction (or use rudder trim), but even then you may still be losing ground from getting pushed slightly or losing your angle on the target, so you'll likely need to be less aggressive with hugging nap of the earth and dangerous obstacles in high wind.

Thanks. This vid also had less in-depth stuff to cover, so I could space it out more. You'll need Pitch & Bank tilting you down into the wind direction to avoid it pushing you (in terms of the point on the ground you're trying to hover over). But for strong wind you absolutely need rudder - heading hold channel (and by extension all autopilot modes) just won't have enough authority. Typically the ruddering is in the opposite direction you're banking into. So usually wind from your right, means level pitch, but banking left to stop it pushing you right, and then right rudder to avoid the Black Shark's nose wanting to yaw left into the oncoming wind. Your rudder and all other flight controls would always be relative to your airframe, so banking 45 degrees left with level pitch, the left rudder would yaw you somewhere between left and down (probably in equal measure), which would of course also turn your pitch down as your nose starts pointing to the ground. Right rudder would turn you skywards slightly as you yaw right so you'd pitch up. Of course the pitch up motion would also leave your rotors tilted more rearwards and give you slight backwards motion (or at least slowing forward motion).

Next one's up. Hope this covers everything on why your Shark isn't pointing where you expected. 2k version should become available shortly once YT has done its conversions.

I've also had Apache A's recently eat a Vikhr in the face and keep flying without incident. Also had a HIND (AI of course) take at least 3 airbursts. And I've heard of a Mi26 taking 6 Vikhrs and still going. I've also had AI jets & helos vehicles like HINDs or jets which have landed can lose components completely like missing wings and operable bits but not register as a kill. What does work for helos is if your Vikhr directly hits or proximity detonates near an AI helo's tail rotor, then it takes it out usually in one shot.

second set of attachments

first set of attachments

I've only tested this on the Caucuses map, the the FPL (flight plan) page on the ABRIS appears off. In the mission editor I set a basic route with 2 waypoints for every altitude you can set wind for in the mission editor (so x3 at 33 feet, 2 at 1600', 2x at 6600' and 2 at 26000'). For the last setting of course the Ka defaults to just over 21k which I'm assuming is it's limit. I've included screenshots of the route and wind settings. Except for adding RSA to blue countries, this mission is not edited in any other way than in these screenshots. Spawn is at exactly 33' above sea level. The PVI-800's Wind Di/Sp has the correct speed for 33'. Regardless of which unit setting I put speed & altitude to, the wind listed in the ABRIS for 33' and 1600' are exactly double what they're supposed to be. 6600' appears to be exactly correct and the highest altitude looks right as a blend between the 6.6k' and 26k' bands. I have no idea what's happening with those temperatures - but it would be impressive if the Kamov was expected handle them ;-)

Taz, honestly I am working on a tut for pointing in the direction you want, understanding spinning and wind right now (kinda diverted off dust & ice for the moment). Just doing some fact checking before editing. Hopefully the vid will help. From what I understand the PVI800 Wind Di/Sp and ABRIS FPL are pre-captured static data and do not affect the way the Kamov flies - it's only info for you and might have been taken into account for your flight plan speed, ETA and fuel consumption. I've done some testing after this post and I'm pretty sure the FPL's wind speeds at 33ft + 1600ft are double what they're supposed to be. Even if you changed it to knots/mps. 6600ft and 26000ft (or as close as the Kamov can get somewhere in 21k range) appear correct. So I'll escalate this to a bug once I get my screenshots in order. Frederf, thanks for the extensive reply. I set a flight plan for the Ka at exactly the mission editor notches of 33ft, 1600ft, 6600ft and 26000ft (or close to that last one) with at least 2 waypoints in each, which the ABRIS can take (think PVI could only handle 6). The last two bands are exactly x3.6 like you say, or exactly right if you go to setup > units and change to m/s or knots. But the initial two bands are exactly double in every unit. The 6600 band is exactly what one would expect and would match the PVI800 value if you air-started/spawned there. The final band looks accurate, but seems to be the blend between 6600ft and 26k ft, closer to 26k, but pretty much accurate. Also the temps are straightup weird. -263 to 1700 degrees for what's a normal day out 20-21 degrees. I haven't checked the speeds or ETA times on the flight plan. I just need to take screen grabs of the video I took of mission editor settings and FPL page. Not sure how to produce a TRK file ED can use for this bug. I also can't say if the bug goes deeper - I know the PVI isn't affected but does it affect any other subsystems? I don't think cannon moving target lead for example...

Thanks, good to know. I think a gopro on the side of the head would be most accurate, if it's solidly attached without wobble in the mounting. I think on top of the head would get more shake given the actuation distance from the base of the neck, rather than eye level. I'll hopefully upload another vid in the next week or so actually running a mission. Primarily to show when I use the HMS and when it's too shaky and I just use normal slewing if that helps. Depends on distance, zoom & your craft's motion.

Does anyone know what the wind speed indications are on the ABRIS > Map > FPL page. If I understand it's the direction the wind is blowing TO (rather than FROM as in the PVI-800) of that leg of the route, but the speed seems odd. It almost seems like it's in KPH x2. I have noted the temperatures are all over the place on what's a normal 20 - 21 degrees map. In the attachment wind of 22 m/s (~40 knots) is correct, but the ABRIS FPL numbers are almost 22 x 60 seconds x 60 minutes should be ~79kph. The manual doesn't go into what it's supposed to be. Is it a bug or am I reading it incorrectly?

Yeah, you need to bind them to your HOTAS cyclic / collective (stick & throttle typically). You can't click them, but that does also mean that the HOTAS controls don't interfere with other stuff. Prime example being that you can adjust your Shkval brightness or set Manual weapons fire control through the cyclic - so if you know where it is, you can hover your mouse cursor over the cyclic until you get the cursor changing and then flip the switch/turn the know and you don't have to crane your neck far off to the side to look around the cyclic. I don't think the collective 'gets in the way much', but if they were to make those things clickable, especially on the cyclic then you wouldn't be able to do that, so there is a trade-off.

Thanks. The Hold-Trim one is probably the best middle ground in control and useability, but yeah, it can get tiresome. Guess it depends on stiffness and position of your trim button. Using Flight Director is an alternative. Just you'll be doing a bit more manual piloting and a little less hands-off-stick time. I can't help with the strength that it locks in your stick though - not lucky enough to have a FFB stick :-(

Have you tried pressing down Trim, then holding Trim as you maneuver and then only releasing Trim once you've completed the maneuver?

So Rober from Polychop did some testing. This is vs. the space-truck Mi26 from 1km. Also 'shaky'. He was doing these deliberately close at 1km, or really any distance you can visually see the target, where it's almost the size of the HMS's dot, I'd just lock it up by looking at the HUD. It seems like headtracking via TrackIR (or in my case cheap DIY equivalent) is smoother, probably from all them curves. Then again, my clip is really shakily attached via loose velcro at the moment, so not as accurate as it should be either. But I'd definitely have issues locking up something under 2km away using the IT-23. Just with TrackIR the tracking gates your would rapidly zoom/zigzag/circle around the target rather than disappearing and reappearing or teleporting as it were. There are also times trying to lock up a tank at 8km, where you need to use the Shkval's IT-23 screen and narrow field of view, where there's just going to be too much movement in the helmet and you'll need to get a feel for when it's not working and instinctively release Uncage and manually slew over when the sight's as close as it'll get. The recon bit (just panning around uncaged) should be viable beyond 7km - which is kinda really what you want - to see them before they see you. It might be dependent on your specific VR headset if you're getting decent frames. So unfortunately this is not fixing your problem, but saying that it might be less useful for VR, or rather, specifically there are less ranges/zones where it would be stable to use in VR before you switch over the hat-slewing.

Interesting. I don't have VR, so that's unfortunately not something I can experiment with, but I'll ask around. I might get answers only relevant to a specific VR headset though... I'd understand if in real life the helo bouncing or balance of the helmet made HMS slew-locking a nightmare...that said there's specifically stuff in the manual about the reticule locking (and not just saying 'standby I'm moving over to your designation). Either way the recon element should be possible though. With your current settings, maybe use it zoomed out, and if you see something of interest leave Uncage, slew hat over then zoom, and afterwards when zoomed out put the Helmet sight on your HUD's Shkval circle and resume holding uncage - ie. do all the zoomed bits manually. With TrackIR equivalents there are also ranges where the HMS movement is too shaky. I think some of getting the most out of the helmet is knowing when it's too shaky and instinctively switching over to slewing once the Skhval is as close as the helmet will bring it.

DIY TrackIR. Not sure my curves are perfect for it either. It did take some acclimation to do it, and there are certain ranges/zooms where slew-locking with the helmet is going to be too erratic. Sucks a bit if you can't get it to work on VR...though if you're flat on the ground scanning out flat terrain or treelines ahead, then just slewing left right is about the same. Curves on it would probably make VR feel unnatural right?

Thanks. Not sure my skills are that noteworthy, but hopefully the tutorial helps you hone your skills. I haven't messed with the Liberation Campaign Engine yet. Though generally I only make simplistic things in the Mission Editor to test specific behaviour of the Black Shark. I let the experts build missions with all the complex scripting and more realistic military situations. I might record a flight sometime, although it might also be a case of "do as I say not as I do" as I get lazy & impatient, ignoring my own advice for reconning ahead and taking the longer safer route ;-). My priority right now is getting out a more tutorials on things I know bug players about the Ka-50 or cool little features I don't think everyone has found.

In terms of ED they're just doing the later version of the Ka-50 itself from what I understand with Black Shark 3. Ka-50-2 is something completely different btw - "Erdogan" thing they were going to heavily change (ie not really the same bird anymore) which fell through and was never produced. If that's what you meant with Ka-50 II. Would be cool to have the Ka-52 side-by-side seater multicrew with FLIR and radar in DCS.

Top right one in your image there is the standby indicator, which will drift over time. Idea is when you're in level flight/hover/ground, you hold in (I think) Right mouse button on the uncaging knob bottom right of the standby ADI, which slowly sets it to reflect your current conditions as 'level' flight, ideally matching your ADI just to the left of your IT-23 screen. I guess it's just because it's the standby indicator, for when the main instrument is trashed, that it's operating off different measurements so that there is a backup, albeit not as accurate.

Forgot to mention, under 1km, your shots are starting to fly straight rather than volley/arc a lot more, so yeah, you wouldn't really need much ranging anymore (as long as you didn't have a stored incorrect ranging, e.g. telling the cannon to volley and aim up). Interesting on the Mi-28 tests...do you know if the cannon/turret on it was improved since those tests, given that it lost to the Shark many years before the army approved it for production? I.e. it had time to improve the turret design into what one would recognize now as the Mi-28.

I'm not positive, but I don't think the cannon gets any info from the ABRIS. It does however get angular info from your HMS when you Uncage Shkval. But it still doesn't get ranging, so your bullets fall short. I have read that the bore-sighted cannon is ranged for 1100m, so maybe it's coincidence? That said if you look at your tracking gate (the parallel vertical lines) on your Shkval target on the ABRIS, it's only acccurate when you get a ranging lase, and similarly with datalinks you need to laser-range (lock).

Are there any good tutorials/videos/guides out there on emergency procedures? Outside of ED's Black Shark manual and single engine failure/auto rotation. I'm talking gear failure and the emergency switch, various fire states, missing tail, missing wing, that kinda stuff.