Raven_Morpheus

Thanks yes that does make sense.

Thanks. Guess I'll have to suck it and see. I still can't my head around how the dampers will stop the stick from falling, because to me it seems that if the oil is sufficient to do so it will also require a lot of force for me to move it down.

May I ask what you make yours from? I'm thinking that because mine will be made of light PVC pipe and another ABS plastic project box for the head (eventually) that 20k cst oil would be enough (I guess my original plan of 1000 cst was a bit too low?) as there'll be very little weight? An idea just occured - how about if I added a bicycle disc brake (would go well with the Ka-50 as that has a collective brake, so presumably I could wire up the brake lever to a button)? I'm thinking that the V type of brake with disc would be the sort to use, but I wouldn't have a clue of how to invert it so that pulling the brake lever opens the brake instead of closing it (if that's even possible)? But that also might become rather annoying in the Huey because that doesn't use a collective brake and I'd always be pulling the brake lever! I'm also wondering if this would work - obviously on the outside of the collective (but not show in my diagram), up against the PVC pipe I would have a piece of wood with a hole for the axis of the pipe to go through, the other side being the side of the project box (which will be housing the Bodnar board). So how about putting skateboard grip tape on the inside of the outer piece of wood (and possibly the side of the project box) so that it rubs up against the PVC pipe, thus causing friction. I could then perhaps add a weight in what will be considered the back end of the handle to act as a counter weight and possibly do away with the dampers then? Although again I have no idea how to really (or what to use as a weight given the limited room I have)?

Hello I'm nearly at the stage where I can buy all the parts I think I need for a very basic and compact DIY collective. I've attached a diagram of the size of the collective I'll be building, it's small and compact because I don't have a lot of room... The basic parts I will be using are a Leo Bodnar BU0836A board, a hall sensor + a bic pen with magnets on to go over the hall sensor, the bic pen will then be put through the side of a project box and glued through a 22mm PVC plumbers pipe to provide the pivot point. For the base I'll use some wood, and for friction I'll use a hydraulic suspension damper (possible one each side), attached to the project box at one end and the pipe at the other. At a later date I plan on adding a head with buttons and stuff on it, but that's an easy part, I'm more worried about getting the actual basic stick built first. Problem is I can't get my head around using the hydraulic suspension damper and how to manage the friction. This is the type od damper I'll be using - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RC-Model-Car-Aluminum-98mm-R-C-Hobby-Oil-Shock-Damper-2pcs-OS340-/261465415561?pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item3ce08d9f89 I'll take the spring off, and fill the damper with some of this for the friction - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CORE-RC-Quality-Silicone-Shock-Oil-100-2000cSt-10-120wt-60ml-Bottle-/230892145987?pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&var=&hash=item35c23e8d43 The thing I'm having a problem getting into my head is if the shock damper(s) with spring removed filled with the shock oil (I plan on using 1000cst 80wt) will be A) too stiff for me to move the stick down from an up position or actually be too soft (even though 1000cst 80wt seems to be at the top end of the scale) and thus not hold the weight in place once I put the head on the collective with buttons and stuff on it and B) if I'd need any other source of friction or counter balance and how to achieve it within the size parameters in the pic (due to space limitations where I play the game)? Can anyone give me any tips on this? TIA

Probably left out for the same reason as they left out the quad 60's on the pylons, whatever that may be. They're there (in the loadout section iirc) but you can't equip them...

Yeah I think that's pretty much all I'm looking at building. All I want is to have the switches used on start up all on one panel so I don't have to keep contorting my head around to get a good view of them on the overhead panel or centre console when using Open Track. A radio panel with ADF and Nav Comm on it would be nice but probably a little bit harder to achieve due to having the have the dials also. I just wondered if there was anything specific I would need because one or two of the toggle switches on the overhead panel have multiple positions (I can think of the inverter switch which has Spare On, Off and On Main) and I haven't looked in the controls options to see if they're allocated to a single button press (in which case I'd need return to centre toggle switches I guess?)

Ah ok thanks. No other way to fix it? Like setting a default FOV or Snap view or default view or something? Would rather not have to do something every single time.

Yes I do have pedals, Saitek Pro Flight ones. Because I sit on my bed however (due to lack of space and also for convenience (it's easier than setting up a foldup chair and re-arranging my room)) I haven't been able to get my pedals in a position where I feel comfortable using them, yet. The position I sit in with them attached to the wooden rig I built to sit on, which lies on top of my bed facing my monitor (which is a TV and is alongside my bed on a monitor arm), so that the pedals don't move, has me sitting with my legs bent at a bad angle for me - I feel like I'm a woman giving birth!! I plan on building wooden wedges, one to go under each side of the base of the pedals to make the faces of the pedals almost vertical and also move them a couple of inches further back away from me and see if that's any better but I haven't had the opportunity to build those yet and try it out. So until I do I'm stuck with the twist axis on my Saitek X52 Pro. And yes I've played around with the curves.

I find the hardest part of Elbrus Rescue, at least the last time I tried it months ago, is to actually get to the top. Once you reach so far up the Huey just seems to struggle to climb. I once managed to land and get off the top of the mountain from "the saddle", but by the time I got a little way down the wounded guy died on me! :mad: Nice video though. My tips, that I read elsewhere, is when airspeed drops below 40 knots raise the collective a little to compensate for vertical drop. To get out of VRS (that thing where you were dropping out of the sky) move the helo in any direction, usually forward I read is good. Never found that helps though as there is little time to do it. Or maintain forward movement throughout your descent. Having said that it takes me ages to land, and I only wish I could land as quickly and accurately as you were on that video.

Hello Just recently I've noticed that when the view in the cockpit zooms out at the start of a mission after I press pause/break (or click on the button) to fly that in the Huey I end up with this view of the cockpit (ignore the black borders that's just on the screengrab due to my dual monitor setup) - I don't think the issue of the zoomed out view in the cockpit is limited to the Huey module (because at the start of all missions there's a zoom out in cockpit view regardless of the aircraft), but it's the one I find is the worst and I have to keep zooming the view in all the time. Would anyone be able to tell me what I can do to fix this? Thanks in advance

Yeah, not sure why that's not working. Changed it to a link.

Hello Something that has kind of eluded me, since I bought the Huey module last December, is hovering, and more to the point coming to an LZ at speed and then getting into a hover. I usually can hover a little just above ground although it generally happens in conjunction with turning and moving forwards to transition to forward flight... ...but tonight I think I finally cracked it! I started out (at Batumi) with trying some low level hovering (after I'd set it down again to reset my trim a little because I kept going backwards and again to turn on the radar altimeter that I forgot!), and ended up using the "box" made by the red and white lines on the ground as a sort of "stay within this area" kind of thing, and it went OK but the helo did get away from me at one point and I moved backwards out of the area, but I did manage to get it back in. Then I decided to see if I could climb straight up, like you see professional real world pilots doing. That went better than I imagined it would, I expected to shoot off in a random direction at speed (because that's what usually happens), but I actually climbed up instead. I tried to transition to forward flight at just above 300 (ft or m?), couldn't quite do it because at the same time I was trying to return my rudder to centre without resetting trim, to avoid the usual extreme nose up that happens when I do, but finally managed to get that done. Oh the joys of using a stick with a twist rudder! Then I flew past the end of the runway, turned around (and gained height, I've not yet learned how to do a banked turn without gaining or losing height!!) and tried to bleed off speed, whilst not ascending too much and whilst trying not to drop out of the sky due to VRS. And I actually managed to do just that, although it wasn't pretty. I then descended (again not in the competent of ways) and carried on with low level hovering until I decided to put the helo down next to the Mi-8's on the ground at Batumi. I'm very pleased with what I achieved in the 10 minutes I was flying, and I hope it's not just one of those late night things where everything comes together and you can never repeat it. Although I still don't know how Huey pilots (assuming this sim is as real as it can be) virtual or real hover on the spot without moving a mm, like you see them doing!! Would appreciate feedback on the vid, what was I doing wrong, what could I have done better etc. Youtube vid -

Hello I decided for a laugh to try my PS3 gamepad (via Better DS3 tool) and try to fly the Huey. Turns out, apart from collective control issues, and rudder being a bit iffy, that the analog stick for pitch/roll is actually better than the stick on my Saitek X52 Pro. I did a flight from Batumi to Kubaleti and I was actually able to to control the helicopter better it seemed, particularly on landing, although I've not been trying to land from a hover today, more I glide in and set down at about 30 knots in no particular place, just where ever I happen to set down. How can that be the case though, how can a £20-£30 gamepad be better (as far as pitch/roll axis are concerned) than a £100 HOTAS's stick?!!

Hello I know many people like to build their own cockpits, and whilst I don't have the room for one I could still use the individual panels, I could just have them separate and put them down next to me within reach. So, I'm wondering if it's actually possible to make an instrument panel (or set of panels) for the Huey that will work in DCS. I'm mainly thinking of a panel with all the switches/dials/buttons required for startup and also perhaps a radio/nav panel with the ADF/Nav-Comm/FM on it? If it is possible I can already think I'd need a Leo Bodnar BU0836A board, some toggle and rotary switches, USB cable, project box(es) and all the cabling to connect stuff, but what else if anything would I require? TIA

Thanks. I'm always confused when it comes to how to navigate via instruments after I've not done it for a while, not that I've ever learnt to do it properly, yet. I need to establish a procedure and write it down so that I can refer back to it when I need to (although I'm sure I've asked this before but never actually established a procedure to refer to). The NDB for Kobuleti is, according to Lino Germany's map, 870 (it's combined with the ILS outer marker, and there is also one for the ILS inner marker set to 490). So I just tried that, set the ADF dial to what I think is 870, it only has 850 to 900 with a mid point between the two which I presume would be 875! Oh for a digital readout... Anyhoo after setting the ADF dial to 870 the compass was pointing at a bearing of about 60-65 degrees, which when looking at the F10 map seemed about right for Kobuleti based on my starting position and bearing. As far as I recall the FM radio set is only for navigating to beacons laid down by troops, such as in the Stray Eagle mission where the guy tells you he's on [whatever frequency it is] and you can then set the FM radio to that frequency, it then gives you a homing tone and changes the position of the lines on the Course Deviation Indicator, which you then realign so that when you're headed in the right direction/height (vertical line is direction, horizontal line is height?) they cross in the middle? So this is the procedure I've got now (also after watching a VOR/ILS tutorial vid by jojo the circus boy) - From start up of the helicopter (or whilst in the air) - 1. Set ADF to the NDB frequency of the place I'm going to (which for Kobuleti appears to be either 870 or 490). 2. Set Nav-Comm to the runway frequency, which for Kobuleti is runway 07 at 111.50 according to the info on the kneeboard and is the ILS frequency I noted earlier from the spreadsheet. 3. Turn the outer dial on the Course Deviation Indicator (the instrument below the compass) so that it matches the direction of the runway, which in the case of Kobuleti is listed as 064 degrees on the kneeboard, although Lino Germany's map has it as 70 degrees?. 4. Switch the sensing volume switch to High. (on the right of the CDI) 5. Turn the dial for the volume up if I want to. (below the switch in step 4). 6. Make sure I've turned the Nav-Comm on and that the dial furthest from me on the ADF panel is set to ADF. EDIT - yep, that procedure works. I just managed to navigate to Kobuleti from Batumi just fine, well if you count not seeing the airport until I got the bleeping noise telling me I was there and noticed the lines on the CDI moving into place. The compass led me a little to the left of the airport (over the lake that's there) so I couldn't see it...

Hello I plan on doing some basic empty map flying in the Huey to practice navigation and landing. What I plan on doing is taking off from Batumi and landing at Kobuleti. I'm my mind I've got this procedure prior to take off - 1. Check available info for tower and ILS frequencies. 2. Set ADF to tower frequency. 3. Set ILS/VOR to ILS frequency. I've checked Lino Germany's Excel spreadsheet for frequencies and I can see that there are the following frequencies that I could use for Kobuleti - ILS Outer - 870.00 ILS Inner - 490.00 ILS - 111.50 Tower - 133.00 So, to navigate from Batumi to Kobuleti I would do the following before take off - 1. Set the ADF dial to 133.00, because that's the tower fequency listed. 2. Set the dial on the ILS/VOR panel to 111.50, because that's the frequency listed for ILS. Correct?

Ah, I see. Not possible to set it as a viewport then?

Ah OK thanks, I think I might have asked it before also. Unfortunately I can't move my monitors around because I don't have the space to do so. I'm thinking of going back to a single screen for the UH-1H anyhow because I can't use the 2nd monitor for anything really.

Thanks. I found that out after posting here. Doh! Don't seem to be able to turn it back on though, so you either have it or you don't. Oh well.

Hello Just noticed that since I last played DCS World with the UH-1H a Crew Status panel has been added. But I don't need it and it's in the way a little - is there a key or option somewhere to turn it off (like there is the autopilot/weapon text)? TIA

Hello I'm running 2 monitors at the moment, I've configured it so that I can put MFCD's (i.e. SHKVAL, ABRIS etc.) on my secondary monitor and have the primary monitor as my main view. However when I press F10 the map view is stretched across both monitors. Is there a way to get it to only appear on 1 monitor (either will do by my 2nd monitor is 900x1080 so probably not ideal for the map view)? TIA

Umm OK, I've had a look in the mission editor... I can see you can change the loadout of each hardpoint, but... ...I can't see how to get the M134 miniguns, and the rockets both on the rear hardpoint (hardpoint 6), and remove the front hardpoint completely (hardpoint 5). It's not possible to do that is it, so we're stuck with the Aussie Bushranger layout, with front and rear hardpoints, aren't we?

Ah ok thanks I'll take a look.

Hello Silly question time... Is it possible to configure the weapon loadout? Reason I ask, and I now know this version of the UH-1H is based on the Australian Bushranger variant, but I'd like to be able to just run only the door guns, or the miniguns/rocket pods all on the back sponson, as per the US Army UH-1's loadout. So are there any options anywhere to do that, can we edit the text config files to remove the forward sponson and put all weapons on the rear sponson? Or are we stuck using a Australian UH-1H configuration which looks a little unrealistic with a US Army skin? TIA

Hello Just wondering if it's possible to output some or all of the UH-1H cockpit dials to a 2nd monitor in the same way we can with the MFCD's of the Black Shark, A-10, Su-25 etc. I only have a 21" monitor as my primary, but I have a portrait 19" alongside it, and I find it difficult to read dials in cockpits at times so using the 19" for them would be ideal. It's not such a problem with the Black Shark because the HUD shows your altitude and air speed (the 2 things I really would like to know), but there is no HUD on the Huey so I have to look for the dials, not that I even know where the altimeter or air speed indicator actually are without looking properly... TIA