ericinexile

Black Shark is the first game that I've used the in-game controller settings instead of the Saitek software. The only thing in my black shark profile is shkval slaved to the ministick and route/descent modes tied to the mouse wheel. Everthing else done inside DCS with the Pinky switch set up as a modifier. Works great! Smokin' Hole

I didn't say it would work for you. But it works for me very well. Try this with 3 BLUE LIGHTS and NO Flight Director (and NO A/P Modes, ie "Route"): 1) Stabilize and Trim at 200 kph. 2) Bank 30 degrees 3) keep the ball centered and turn 360 degrees. 4) Maintain speed with cyclic and altitude with collective. Now, was the turn smooth and CONSTANT RATE? Unless you're a freakin' rock start of a Ka50 pilot it probably wasn't. You probably had a few pauses in the turn. You were probably using a considerable amount of in-turn cyclic pressure to maintain bank angle. You were fighting the autopilot! Now. Turn the Flight Director ON and repeat the above. Easier and prettier, right? Even trimming is easier. Maybe our computers and joysticks are different and that would explain the differing experience we have with the autopilot. But with my system and my x52 the Ka50 as simulated in DCS flies best with either FD ON or all Blue Lights OFF. Smokin'

The problem is that letting go of the trim button leaves you with a poor excuse for a controllable flying machine. I flew 20 hours before I realized that I was fighting the autopilot all the way to the fight. Nonsense! Flight Director ON = Autopilot off (mostly) = The wonderful death on rotors that I hoped Black Shark would be. My motto: Flight Director ON or all BLUE LIGHTS OFF. (Thanks again Shepski) Smokin' Hole

I don't think so. With FD and Route, you still get stabilization but no autopilot. Turn FD off at that point and the autopilot will take over and follow the route. Get out of route mode and turn the FD off and you will get this confusing practically unflyable condition where the autopilots fights your every move all the way to the FARP (unless you kill the other blue lights of course). Smokin' Hole

But the question that never seems to get answered is: What were you getting with XP and single core? This thread is 20 pages long and at no point can we compare apples to apples. Regards, Smokin' Hole

Well frankly I thought you were full of sh__. I mean how could a flying machine be designed to fly with the autopilot on ALL THE TIME even when you don't ask for it in Route, Descent, or Hover modes? But you are right!!! The Flight Director is the ONLY way to kill the autopilot and still keep a tad of stabilization. That was so counter intuitive to me that I glossed over it in the FAQs. Thanks Shepski. Glad I listened this time. Smokin' Hole

Well I'm not talking about the gentle flying we do in "Route mode". And I never mentioned being coupled to the Autopilot. I use it for Hover and stabilization only. I'm talking about the hard turns we make while fast (by helo standards) and low when we want to dart for cover without getting shot.

If been a little put off by the hard time I'm having at making smooth, quick, COORDINATED turns with the Ka50. It's not that I can't turn it quickly--it just isn't pretty. So I've tried flying with all the stabilizers off. It's fun (and not much harder) but obviously not stable enough to fight with (duuuh). BUT... with Bank and Pitch ON and Lateral OFF ("H" in the Cyrilic pit) it turns better. It requires less rudder for coordination because the pilot isn't overriding the autopilot (which seems to be preventing the turn--as designed I guess). The end results are easy turns with a constant rate and crisper lateral control. Still need it for autohover unfortunately. I'm curious if anyone else thinks this is an improvement. Smokin' Hole

I erased by Russian install but I'd like to compare that with the English version of cautionlights_pane_localizer.lua. Otherwise, I guess we got used to Russian annunciations in LockOn we can do it here too. I'd really like to have the Russian "Bitchin' Betty" (voice warnings) back. Smokin' Hole

I noticed that I can get a wind readout from the PVI-800 while not airborn. Of course this is impossible with any INS/IRS system. They require the ability to compare accelarations while in the air to compute winds. Thanks, Smokin' Hole

You are correct. Some helos like the MD (now Boeing) NOTAR designs can be pulled to a hover with your feet on the floor (not recommended:doh:). I'm actually surprised at how laterally unstable the Ka50 is. Kaman, a US helo maker that has always preferred co-axial rotor designs, has made such stable choppers that they once had a PR campaign where they soloed a "houswife" after one flight with media watching. The Navy stopped using it as a trainer it was so easy and stable. The Ka50 gave that stability up for maneuverability.

I don't think that's so great. A printed manual is a luxury that not all of us want or need. PDF is fine. Smokin Hole

XP or Vista?????

I'd love to try BS in a multiplayer environment but without Hyperlobby support I don't know where to go. Poor me :cry: . Can anyone post appropriate links? Thanks. Smokin' Hole

Well sure there is but as you allude, it changes. In a helicopter you will feel a resistance to your inputs outside of neutral just as you do with a non-FFB joystick. When you let go of the cyclic it will return to it's trimmed neutral position. The goal is to make that trimmed position close to what you currently require so that you aren't holding a large amount of cyclic pressure to keep the attitude you need. Even with a non-FFB stick which has only one "neutral" position, the cyclic's control authority is still accurately modeled. in other words, at high forward speed, your cyclic will only have a few inches of forward travel remaining. Now even though our cheap plastic joysticks have more available travel than that, they still have very limited forward cyclic control authority--as indicated by the (control-enter) control position indicator. In even more other words, it's just as real as it was with the F-15 or Su25. You can't do better for under $10 million. Smokin' Hole

Video cards are my biggest weak spot in terms of techy knowledge. There are too many choices in the advance setup options. I'd like to know if Black Shark actually makes real choices in my video card settings with the "Application Controlled" setting and if not what 2 or 3 options should a user with a mid-level pc an NV 8800 card use. Thanks, Smokin' Hole

Actually the Red Viper version of F4 has a very nice clickable 3D pit. F4 players TEND to do alot less multiplayer and put a fully dynamic campaign engine high on their list a qualities of a good sim. Many will give it a try but it's a different sell. Smokin' Hole

That did it! My profiles were oriented for games like IL2 where I spend a lot of time quickly checking my six. Fortunately for my neck, the Hokum is a forward hemisphere machine. Thanks for the replies, Smokin' Hole

Makes sense. Thanks.

I've noticed after watching both "Wag's" Producer's notes and BeachAV8r's SimHQ review video's that they have both managed to manipulate their views around the pit very smoothly and precisely. I've tried a bunch of different curve/smoothness/light filter combos within the TrackIR software but the resulting views make me feel like I have Parkinson's Disease. Any advice is appreciated. Smokin' Hole

Sorry if this has been asked and answered before... To a fan of the Flanker series since the beginning an obvious question to me is why isn't the Crimea terrain modeled? No Sevastopol, No Yalta? No sun-bathers to massacre? What gives? Even more puzzling is that I've seen what looks like a modeled Crimea (with airports) on the Mission Editor of a DCS GUI screenshot so I know it must be out there. The Eastern Black Sea is spectacular, no argument. But aging Flanker players like me have an emotional connections to the Crimean Peninsula despite being mostly flat and dull. Thanks again, ED, for the most amazing "study" sim ever created. Smokin Hole

Coriolis Force. You know the same phenomenon that makes the water in a toilet spin as it's flushed. If you were flying south of the equator you'd require right cyclic. Naw...just kidding. I have to idea. This one is easy...but it's still a guess. The Hokum relies on differential torque in order to yaw at slow speed. The collective is your primary means to create torque. The more torque supplied by you means more total torque available for the rotor system to generate a yaw moment. Smokin' Hole

After two days of learning to read Cyrillic I've finally gotten comfortable raining ruin and occasionally helicopter parts over the Georgian countryside (What happened to the Crimean Peninsula--a Flanker trademark?). Last night I let the autopilot fly me from Krasnodar to Maykop while i listened to Russian pop over the AM receiver on Comm 1. And I just had to ponder what an incredible job ED have done with this amazing sim. It's true that I miss my Su-25 and even the MiG but I've locked them both in the hanger for at least a month. Time to enjoy low-and-slow for awhile. So far not a single problem...no crashes...no freezes. And all this on a Mac! Great job ED. Worth the wait...almost. Smokin' Hole

Yep...that's the one. Thanks!

I can't find the key combo for "Mouse View". (I know it exists because I hit it by accident and found it helpful for the ramp-start.) Any help appreciated. Smokin' Hole