Floyd1212

After doing some testing just now, it looks like once you have the TARGET DATA? locked in, you can mask and launch. We tried it only once, and the missile found its target, so unless this was a fluke, it seems to work.

Is there a way to predict which way it is going to come off the rail? Maybe left wing flies out left and right wing flies out right or something? They don't loft very high, so launching from behind cover requires some extra planning.

It doesn't matter what seat you are in.

Keep an eye on his laser tagging and if it doesn't look like he had a good track on the target, wait til he is stable on the target, cycle to No Weapon, then back to Missiles. This will force him to lase again and get a good track for the Lima HF.

On the TEDAC Right-Hand Grip

And how do you know this isn't correct behavior? Have you ever ejected out of an Apache IRL? Clearly, we will need a SME to verify this.

Do you have a non-FFB stick you can test with? Just curious if changing to Center Trimmer Mode and a regular stick is more workable.

Nice! We get high off-boresight Hellfires! Can't wait to go A2A with the Ka-50.

Ah, I see. The trick is to crack your canopy open for a moment after launch. Is there an indication as to whether you are still within constraints to launch? I'm seeing a small dashed constraints box when you launched that, and I am surprised it turned that much to find the target. Maybe I just underestimate the size of the radar cone on the 114L vs. the laser tracker on the 114K?

I watched your track, and it is very similar to the second track posted by Dejmos here: Like I told Dejmos, it looks like you might not have enough right pedal for cruising straight and level at the speed and torque shown in that track. You can see the slip ball is to the right of center at times. I think most people would fly with the ball centered (in aerodynamic trim), or with the ball to the left (in nose-to-tail trim), or somewhere in between. But the big problem is the sudden drop in the collective which initiates the roll. Not sure if this was a control sync issue after switching to the front seat and back again, but there is a drastic drop of the collective soon after you switch back to the PLT seat. This has the effect of more thrust applied to the tail rotor, like if you were suddenly giving it a lot of left pedal, and that starts the rolls. I am seeing that your controls are rather jittery, probably as a result of your specific hardware. (And maybe using a twist stick for yaw control?) I think higher quality controls would benefit you with smoother inputs, but I realize that isn't in the cards for every DCS simmer out there, especially if you only play casually. Work on smooth inputs on the controls (if possible with your setup) and make slow and minor adjustments. Hope that helps.

Ah. A track would be great if you can grab one. I don't think I have ever done a full roll to the left; always to the right for me.

Are you referring to the tendency of the aircraft to roll left when you push the nose down while flying at higher speeds? This can be easily compensated for with input on the cyclic. If you are saying you can be flying forward at 90+ and the helo wants to suddenly do a barrel roll on you while flying straight and level, please post a track. I think most people are experiencing the full 360 rolls while aggressively maneuvering the aircraft. Edit: or maybe you are referring to the scenario I described while pulling the left banked turn?

I don't think it matters what version you are flying, ST or MT. I can recreate a catastrophic roll in both versions every time. Fly straight and level at speed (I was at 100 knots) and go into a left banked turn. As you are in the turn, give it way too much left pedal, and drop the collective. Wheee! I'm sure there are other scenarios where you can induce a roll, but this is very reproducible in both versions.

Gotcha. Thanks!

So, if I understand correctly, with the initial implementation of RF Hellfires we will be able to unmask and lase a stationary target until the 'Target Data?' prompt disappears, then mask again and fire the missile LOAL and remain masked?

The best way for others to see what you are experiencing is to post a track file. Fly an Instant Action mission for a few minutes and see if you can get the aircraft to behave in the way you are describing, then quit the mission and click “Save Track” on the Debriefing screen. Post it here and we can take a look. In general, I think most of the rolling forces people are seeing are related more to pedal inputs and the tail rotor than the collective alone.

To save and recall the Snap View: Press and release LWIN+Num9 to make Snap View 9 the active view to edit. (You can use any of the slots 1-9 available.) Go through the process to boresight the IHADDS, and when you have everything perfectly lined up, press RALT+Num0 to save that view into the slot. You will need to have the MFD button for B/S NOW visible on the screen when you save your view as you will need to click that with your mouse in the future. See my screenshot below. To recall the view the next time you need to boresight, press and hold LWIN+Num9 (or whatever slot you saved it in) and then click the B/S NOW button with your mouse. Then release LWIN+Num9. Done. Note: Because LWIN and the number pad are quite far apart on your keyboard, and you also need to click something with the mouse at the same time, I would recommend mapping a button on your HOTAS, or a different keyboard shortcut, that you can press with your left hand while manipulating the mouse with your right hand. For example, I have a hat on my HOTAS dedicated to snap views where Left is a view of the left-side console Right is a view of the right-side console Down is a view zoomed in on the 2 MFDs and keyboard unit Up is the boresight view This works nicely with TrackIR because as long as you are holding the Snap View active, your camera does not drift around while you manipulate buttons in the cockpit with the mouse.

Do you have a thumbstick type controller mapped to the TSD cursor? After clicking BORESIGHT, then IHADSS, the cursor moves to correct place on the left edge of the TSD to where just pressing the “cursor enter” function is all that is needed. Slightly easier than using the mouse to click it. You could also map that cursor enter function to a keyboard button. You could also save a Snap View while you have correct alignment, then recall the snap view to align in the future.

I also have the MFG Crosswinds (with spring removed, and the damper kit installed). They work great for me, though they may not work under everyone's desk, depending on your seating position and amount of space you have. You might check out the "Falcon S1" pedals available all over ebay. For around $200 they appear to be solidly built, includes the damper, but does not give you toe-brakes. Here is a thread with some user feedback. (I do not personally own them.)

There was a patch a while back that changed the "neutral" position of the tail rotor blade pitch. (I'm sure you can find some discussions about it if you search a bit.) This change means there is now less pedal input needed for a given amount of thrust at the tail than there was. In addition, the SAS is providing some assistance if you pull gently into a hover. Even if you have your feet off the pedals, you can see the green mark giving it a little left pedal for you when needed.

That is for sure. Every adjustment you make to the collective should be accompanied with a slight adjustment to the pedals to compensate for the change in torque presented at the main rotor because of the new pitch of the main rotor blades. I have never tried, but I would think simulating the pedal inputs via keyboard would be very tricky. If you really want to invest some time into the Apache, and other conventional helos, I would invest in a set of good pedals with removable springs. The Ka-50 behaves differently with its twin main rotors spinning in opposite directions. You don't get the forces acting in the yaw axis when you make changes to the collective because the two rotors cancel each other out. Think of the Apache (and most conventional helos) like a car with just the left-rear wheel driven from the engine. When you accelerate and the left rear wheel starts moving the car forward, the car is going to want to pull to the right, and you would need to add some left steering input to keep it going straight. The harder you step on the gas, the more left steering it needs, and every little change in the throttle will need a slight adjustment to the wheel to compensate. The Ka-50 would be like a car with both the left-rear and right-front wheels driven, so as you accelerate they impart forces opposite of each other and the car moves in a straight line. Edit: To take that analogy of the car a bit further, Russian helos would have their right-rear wheel driven instead, so you would have to steer to the right when you accelerate to keep it moving straight. This is because their main rotor spins in the opposite direction to western helos.

Yeah, if you switch to the CPG seat while you are still getting things up and running in the back, you will have to boresight the CPG IHADSS. But if you wait long enough (or maybe if you pull up the George interface before switching to the front seat?), it will already have been boresighted.

@Dejmos I watched both tracks. For the first one, my recommendation would be to fly the instant action mission "Runway Start" which puts you out on the runway with nothing around you. Practice lifting up to about 5 feet and trying to hold a stable hover. Doing that training mission where you are in a confined space seems like a recipe for disaster. You might consider starting with a curve of 25 on your cyclic axis until you get used to how subtle the movements should be to control the aircraft. Going back to your previous question about getting a better stick, I think a lighter spring would definitely help you in making smaller, controlled movements. Also, don't spend a lot of time right at that "light on wheels" transition. As you start drifting around it's easy to catch a wheel and tip over. You will be safer in the air at 5-10 ft where you can get the feel for countering the drifting movements. You can also enable ALT Hold so you can take your focus off of the collective (mostly) and just worry about the cyclic corrections. For the second track, you had too much left pedal input for the speed and torque they have you setup for your approach. This is causing the rolling moment to the right, (and the subsequent barrel rolls). I took control and got it stabilized for the approach, and you can see where my pedal position is vs. where yours was (the magenta mark). Give that a try. Hope that helps!

I think there were some situations where George was keeping the aircraft armed. Try setting George to No Weapon, then safe the aircraft?

To maybe give you some pointers as to what you can do to get things under control. Or to rule out that you don't have something weird going on with your controls. It's not a requirement, just a way to get some constructive help from the community. There are lots of people flying the Apache in its current state without issue, but it takes a lot of practice...