LorenLuke

I can vouch that a Connie Alpha (with WarBRD base) and CM3 Throttle is what I use in the sim (and a head tracker). I won't say I'm a top tier helo pilot, but I can say in my experience it's 100% workable as flight hardware for the module.

Different kind of datalink. This is about the weapon datalink pod (Like what the hornet needs to guide SLAM-ERs/Walleyes), not the 'show me everything Overlord sees' mission datalink.

Alternatively, if they have two thumbsticks (CM3 Throttle and a joystick), the pilot only really has need for one as a cursor control. The left-right axis on the other (with proper curves, saturation, and practice) could be a workable option, as well.

I'll also vouch for a VirPil twist stick. It's been the only thing I've used (current arrangement has no room for pedals) and it's not really been a bother to me. Though it may not work for you, I use partial Y saturation and have rudder trim enabled for flight. It takes some getting used to, but I've made it work well enough, and perhaps it'll work for you, also.

IIRC, you can cancel out a good bit of the movement by using the linear motion compensator. Though admittedly the LMC does take a bit of effort to wrangle, I find it helps a bit when the pilot's flying is being a bit squirrely.

He's not always smart, reactive, or rock steady, but in short, yes you can. The bulk of the George/Petrovich nodes can be done from the flight mode, which basically boils down to 'increase/decrease speed' in stages (64 is 0/40/70/90/120kn/max; don't remember the Hind's), 'increase/decrease altitude' via tens of feet or in meters in the Hind, and then 'point the bird where I'm looking', with some miscellaneous binds scattered around, e.g. 'line up on my cursor' for the hind to shoot a missile, never mind controls for the hover modes. Landings might be touchy, but George/Petro is an adequate pilot for over 90% of situations, and certainly far from a terrible toll to utilize in the front seat.

Ah, an ad hominem. Thank you for confirming the solidity of my points by responding with, essentially, nothing. Except you prove it earlier in your message. It's hard to see how calling people 'low knowledge' or saying they 'don't know or care about the history' on a forum about historical jets can't be seen as anything but an attack.

Button bindings for Autopilot Hover Mode ON Button (Default: LCtrl + LShift + U) Autopilot Hover/Course (Route) Mode OFF Button (Default: LCtrl + LShift + I) Autopilot Course (Route) Mode ON Button (Default: LCtrl + LShift + O) do not work. The keyboard bindings do, but if bound to a button box (Virpil SharKa-50 Panel), they do not seem to press buttons as the keyboard commands do.

I personally just use 'Direct' and press the button a bunch when in zone.

AFAIK, ripple for smart weapons is not yet implemented; a long press only currently releases one per press.

A bit of a workaround until ZOOM functionality arrives is to zoom the TSD onto the area of your targets, maybe with your map set to SAT or DIG, as I often find doing this makes it easier to break out targets if they're too clustered together.

Worth noting that, despite this, if you have a solid track and TADS as the sight, pressing the 'Slave' button will track the target the hellfire seeker is looking at, despite it being labeled in white as '?SKR'.

@Raptor9 I've tried with another scenario that had more than 16 targets, and those additional targets do not seem to show up under any circumstance. Are low priority targets not yet implemented? If they are implemented, I can boot up the scenario and provide a track for it to show they're not there. Just am asking if what I'm experiencing here is a bug or something that's not yet implemented in the simulation.

The X (to my knowledge) doesn't move, and the X generated by shooting a laser hellfire at the target certainly doesn't move. And if you're worried about wasting hellfires, just wait for the LINK function and save some kilos for any you might have missed.

Because 1) It trusts you to be a competent pilot and recognize where you've previously shot. 2) Your missile got shot down or otherwise didn't reach the target, which the FCR can't tell happened. 3) Targets might have moved either from or to that shot position, throwing off any application of that logic within the aircraft computer. 4) Imagine trying to deliberately launch a second missile at a target, possibly to be assured of its destruction, and your aircraft telling you 'no'.

This is what it shows for me at the download link (https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/upload/iblock/99d/eo2rpbefcggjpaxtalj3v9s8ln46ois7/DCS AH-64D Early Access Guide EN.pdf), and it seems the information is somewhat outdated. If there's a new version available, I'm not sure where to find it.

Just so you know, this is NOT what's happening. It doesn't indicate that an object was found by the FCR, nor that any particular object it does detect is destroyed. The 'X' indicators merely show 'a hellfire from this helicopter was shot at this location', whether that be a Kilo Hellfire LOBL shot with a laser or a Radar hellfire shot at a target found by the FCR.

Title FCR Show Track.trk

The indicated targets (C97, C98, and SA8 points) appear to be on the farther reaches of the FCR arc, judging from the TSD. Non-moving targets will not be detected at ranges greater than six kilometers. The total range of the FCR in GTM is eight kilometers, therefore it will pick up only moving targets in the final quarter of its total scan distance. Additionally, it may also have trouble distinguishing targets with some ground clutter at these maximum theoretical ranges. If the enemies are located at the target points as shown in the TSD, you are likely too far and should move closer until they're in range. EDIT: Your FCR also does not appear to be emitting, from your screenshot.

If you WAS the Lima Hellfires, and you have no targets on the FCR, you will get the 'LOS invalid' error. Ensure you have targets on the FCR to avoid this message when using the FCR as a sight with the radar Hellfire.

How does one switch between these modes? And how does one uncage the seeker?

Yes. All LOAL means is 'not LOBL', where it's lofted in the direction of the target and then sent looking as it flies out. For a radar hellfire to be LOBL, the target must be either moving or within 2.5km of the launch platform. At this point, the radar in the missile nose will attempt to acquire the target via its own radar emitter. It'll continue to track the target (giving an 'RF TRACK' message and a big box, showing it as being a LOBL launch). If it cannot track, you'll have a 'No Acquire' message and need to re-WAS the missile to give it new data. TL;DR: Yes; small box for LOAL, big box for LOBL (targets less than 2.5km or are moving). EDIT: And you don't necessarily need the FCR to use these for either mode.

What appears to be happening (correct to real life or not, IDK), is that the symbology is tied to how the symbology would display on the HMD, e.g. if you slave the TADS to FXD forward, and look forward, you should be able to make the acquisition source cross appear, and if not, the aiming dots appear on the crosshair arms of the TADS display to direct where to point your head to look at the acquisition source. Again, I don't know if this behavior is a bug, or true to real life, but that seems to be how it's currently implemented.

A guess: 'While in the front seat with George flying, the aircraft oscillates left and right when hovering, but is fine in forward flight.'