GrEaSeLiTeNiN

Can the tail wheel catch a wire?

If you are in a stable hover and have engaged LMC and it drifts without you touching the slew, then it is not normal. Try a deadzone as suggested.

The laser hellfire does not know where the ACQ is. The ACQ is for the pilot's reference only. The LOAL missile simply flies the selected profile in the direction the Apache is pointed at regardless of ACQ. It then looks for the lased target. You give it the best chance of it finding the lased target by pointing your nose at the target (with the help of the ACQ if you need to) when you launch. I've tested and find the sim's hellfire quite good at acquiring the lased target even if you launch it at an offset angle (L/R) or changed the lased target halfway in flight provided you have enough distance between you and the target for the missile to search and make flight path corrections. George is WIP. He can only lase what he can see in line-of-sight and will fire when commanded if he can lase it (and is within the other launch parameters). He reacquires (lases) target quite well when the target (eg tank) moves behind tress and is obstructed momentarily. But going back down behind the ridge, I think his current AI brain quits lasing and the target altogether. For me, I find the long press down does not work well. It often commands "undesignate" instead of "search again". So I usually use forward press to get the target list again. I've wondered why the list has to disappear after every target selection but that's the way they have implemented it.

Seems to me George gets his fair share of beeps after this patch.

Funny thing today with AI George. I gave control over to him to hover above the coastal cliff in Marianas. He kept rolling over like a boat capsizing. Very strange. I had to take over the controls. As for the SCAS beeping, I noticed it happens to George too.

I wondered too at first. It's not the same as a fixed-wing ATT hold. At the moment it is just "something" that helps you hover when <5knts (easier in IGE) and holds your velocity (+/-2knts) when you are between 6-40knts as per instructions. Both require you to be very stable and trimmed first. You can engage ATT hold at >40knts with some roll. Say you are trimmed steady at 100knts 10deg bank and you engage ATT hold. If it holds, it will settle on a speed it is comfortable with, maybe say 93knts and maintain it (+/-2knts) and the bank angle. But you'll just go in a circle and can lose altitude depending. You won't go straight in attitude like in a fixed-wing. So I find the abbrev ATT a bit misleading? if you are coming from fixed-wings.

For me I find that ATT hold-hover (IGE) from take-off isn't problematic. It's the en route flying (eg. >50knts) to an OGE hover that the helo 'misbehaves' and has much lasting pendular motion often resulting in the helo being all over the place, sometimes rolling 360; this even with the help of ATT hold. Yes it's pilot induced oscillation but the pendular response does seem relentless at times.

Yeah, when in ATT hold, I understand it is helping me maintain ATT due to external disruptive factors like wind. You can see the green symbol making fine adjustments. I can help it by bringing the trim closer to the green symbol. If I hold FTR to bring SCAS to my trim position, I lose the ATT hold. So it was doing its job. But when not in ATT hold, yeah it beeps sometimes even when all are in the grey box authority, I don't know why. (It's more the FMC having its own idea of how you should fly 'smoothly', the SCAS are just the hydraulic actuators to carry out its bidding, IIUC.) SCAS is like a co-pilot trainer trying to 'wrestle' control from you to fly smoother. Things are fine when flying with speed - SCAS and pilot are in agreement. It's during those transitions from flying to hover or when I’m all over the place that it becomes a 'tango' between SCAS and pilot, and I'm not sure what it’s trying to do or who is right. Probably WIP. "Hydraulic augmentation is provided by the Stability and Control Augmentation System (SCAS), which consists of hydraulic actuators controlled by the Flight Management Computer (FMC). The FMC provides rate damping to smooth flight control inputs and command augmentation. It also provides limited attitude and altitude hold capability for hands-off flying. The command augmentation system provides consistent control feel across the full range of helicopter airspeeds." (Pg 26)

It’s not just you, even humanoid George can’t avoid the beeeeeeeep…. What I’d like to know is whether it’s the same in the real aircraft, all this beeping and pendular motion, when a recruit flies one. Good tip on the 3-4 secs of FTR. Haven’t heard of it before. Will try.

The Apache is my first helo. But I think I am beginning to understand ATT hold and SCAS better as I stare at the controls indicator. I hadn't paid attention to the SCAS before. My layman mental notes (correct me if wrong): a) ATT hold (hover/velocity) really needs the pilot's help to get into a steady state first (as explained in the vid tutorials). But engaging ATT hold after steady state is not superfluous as I imagined, since the SCAS does make micro corrections to maintain ATT hold, if you observe the green symbols doing their job. b) Cyclic, rudder and SCAS symbols need to stay within SCAS workable limits or authority as they call it (the gray box). The (sim) pilot can help it by fine tuning trim so the cyclic and rudder symbols are as close as possible to the green SCAS symbols (after attaining ATT hold). Otherwise, if the SCAS symbol goes to the edge of the gray box, the beeping starts. Yes, I think the FM has become less forgiving but I am also getting a little more used to it. I do hope still that there will be less pendular motion with future refinements.

Ah yes, I misread that part. The default takeoff controls indicator (left pedal, slight bottom-left cyclic) seems to work me though (50% fuel, 5degC, full weapons, weight probably affects it).

Ermm.. this can't be right. The helo will naturally and correctly yaw right (just tried it) at takeoff if pedals are centered. The other diagram works for me. Did more flying and the issues I have are: a) It has a tendency to roll side to side like a boat. But this seems like the Apache's nature from day one. b) Transition from flight to hover often results in what seems (to me) like excessive fwd/aft pendular motion. Yes I understand that could come from pilot induced oscillation with fwd/aft cyclic action as I try to bring it to a standstill. But it does seem excessive and just undoable at times (I'm all over the place when that happens). I often spend such a long time trying to transition to hover for hellfires that I end up using Active Pause. c) Basically (a) and (b) feels like there is a lot of 'lasting momentum' like a pendulum. Some damping would help if that makes sense. I'm no pilot and I use a regular Warthog hotas placed on a table. So maybe it is what it is.

There is a key map function called “uncoupled aiming”. Try that? But it has to be done from pilot seat IIRC.

Did more flying tonight and transitioning to hover from flight I was all over the place. The att hold is practically useless and beeping all the time. Felt more like a boat on the ocean rocking from side to side all the time even at 130knts. It was more manageable pre update. Ok it’s probably my flying but I’ve had the Apache from day one and it just feels different now.

I thought it felt a bit weird too.

1) Ah right. Those are FARP spawns. As for starting at the blue AB, I forgot about double clicking Multiple Slots to pick my aircraft. My bad! 2) Thanks for the insight. I think I'll try more groups with fewer vehicles instead of fewer groups with more vehicles since they have a 'herd speed' limitation. As for the AI getting bogged down in built-up areas, I guess not much can be done currently. Perhaps mission design for "Blue on Defense" could avoid built-up areas when selecting travel routes for enemy ground vehicles/tanks. Thanks!

Ver 1.2.0 Issues 1. I am not understanding the standard game format for non Blue on Defense mission. It seems to have changed. For example in Vegas Tour or Dubai Tour, using 'Multiple Slots' in the generator, the client Apaches now start in the enemy zones instead of at the blue AFB like before. Blue FARPs also show up in the center of these enemy zones in the ME but not in the game. Am I missing something? 2. I tried Nevada Vegas Tour with Blue on Defense. Doubled up on the enemy ground forces to overwhelm blue at Alpha. But they all get stuck in the residential areas before Alpha, the tanks running over parked cars causing fires and then just sitting there looking to buy property, lol. They do take the roads and sometimes go off-road as well, though I noticed the force off-road option has been removed. But the enemy vehicles travel a lot slower now compared to pre v1.2.0 and changing their speed in the ME (for this mission) doesn't make a difference. Seems Blue on Defense still has this type of problem when the enemy tanks/vehicles travel long distances through densely built-up areas. Still a fun generator though. Any tips? Thanks

Skin

Axis curves like 15-30 and saturation Y at 80-90 are commonly used for the Apache unless you have a good extension for the cyclic like in a real helo. I watched a YouTube vid of an ex Gazelle pilot fly DCS gazelle and he uses a saturation Y of 60. Reason he said is that a standard hotas stick is short and roll/pitch inputs are thus exaggerated when compared to a real cyclic stick which is long. But the (DCS) Apache is more unforgiving. I flew the sim Huey yesterday for the first time and found it noticeably easier to control - no sudden snap rolls or spinning. So give it time.

You can just do a trim switch left again (ATT hold) or down (disengage all) to disengage ATT hold. In a stable no yaw hover, there is always some left pedal. So I think when you reset trim, the pedal centered and there was no more anti torque and so you started to spin. Did you check your controls indicator (RCtrl + Enter)?

Even with the 2nd detent (RHG LRFD), you'll need to hold the trigger down.

Yeah, seems so. I updated my findings above.

Just did some testing. For me when it has problems... PLT NVS MODE OFF TEDAC Display: a) FLIR (Sight TADS) BRT, CON - working LVL, GAIN, Polarity - not working After mission restart: All working now. Bug? FLIR (SIght C-HMD) BRT, CON - not working (but this works when Sight is TADS). Bug? LVL, GAIN, Polarity - not working (could not replicate) After mission restart: Same as above but LVL, GAIN, Polarity now working. Bug? b) TV BRT and CON - working LVL, GAIN, Polarity - not working (not meant to work I guess since they are for FLIR only as per manual) After mission restart: No change, same as above. Working as intended. PLT NVS MODE ON IHADSS View LVL, GAIN, BRT, CON, Polarity - all working, no issues here. TEDAC Display: a) FLIR LVL, GAIN - working BRT, CON, Polarity - not working (could not replicate Polarity fault) After mission restart: Same as above but Polarity now works. Bug? b) PNVS - LVL, GAIN - not working BRT, CON, Polarity - not working After mission restart: Same as above. Bug or working as intended?

Seems to work on my end. I don't have pedals though and use a throttle hat (L/R) instead. Just to check, when you release your pedals, does the white diamond in the controls indicator for your rudder go back to the previous trimmed position? (In my case I have to move my L/R hat deliberately as the diamond always stays where I last moved it, meaning it 'trims' itself, unlike the cyclic stick.)

I'm curious to try ATT hold for hovering. My understanding of ATT hold comes from jets where you keep moving forward in the same attitude. So in a helo hover, ATT hold just stabilises pitch, roll and yaw albeit without the need for forward movement?