AlphaOneSix

The Ka-50 hydraulic boosters can be operated without hydraulics, but it is very difficult. You would not be able to fly without hydraulics. The autopilot is also inoperative without hydraulics.

In the Ka-50, the autopilot inputs are not translated back to the pilot's controls. If they did in BS1 for FFB, then that was a bug. Also, in helicopters with hydraulic boosters, the boosters are non-reversible. That is, they can only move when acted on by the pilot's controls or the autopilot, movements of the swashplate cannot travel back down the flight controls.

Ouch, straight up calling Kamov designers stupid. You're also calling just about every other helicopter designer stupid, as this also works similarly for Sikorsky, Bell, and Eurocopter. You should contact them all ASAP to tell them how stupid they are. But I digress, you're misunderstanding several concepts, including how hydraulic flight controls work in a helicopter, as well as how stability augmentation systems work in helicopters.

There are a couple of errors with the English cockpit. Note that the English cockpit was not created by nor is it maintained by ED. POS is the ice protection system PZU is the dust protection system I guess they don't want you to be able to turn on both at the same time. On the Mi-8, the controls are separate, so you can have both on at the same time if you wanted to. Anyway, the BS manual should clear it up: Set the “ПОС ДВИГ – ОТКЛ – ПЗУ” (engines anti-icing/dust protection systems) switch to the “ПОС ДВИГ” (engines anti-icing) position, on the overhead panel “ПОС ЛЕВ ДВИГ” (anti-ice left engine) and the “ПОС ПРАВ ДВИГ” (anti-ice right engine) lights should illuminate. Set the “ПОС ДВИГ – ОТКЛ – ПЗУ” (engines anti-icing/dust protection systems) switch to the “ПЗУ” (engine dust protectors) position. The “ПЗУ ЛЕВ ДВИГ” (left engine dust protector) and “ПЗУ ПРАВ ДВИГ” (right engine dust protector) lights should illuminate.

Reading this thread makes my head hurt. :(

The two left-most switches on the lighting panel above the co-pilot's sliding window. If you have the English cockpit, they are labeled "LIGHTING" and then either "STBY" or "GENERAL". I have not tested them so don't know if they do anything or not.

Doesn't make what I said less true. I suppose then it should be noted that the centrifugal stage is always the last stage of compression before the combustion section, but you can have several axial stages prior to the centrifugal impeller.

Centrifugal. :P But yeah, the process is identical when comparing axial to centrifugal flow designs. The only difference is the path the flow takes.

There are plenty of people on the forums that will bend over backwards to help you if they can. That being said, the developers at Belsimtek either don't read the forums, or they do and purposefully decided not to answer this question. Either way, whether or not it "deserves" a response is wholly subjective and the only relevant opinion is Belsimtek's (as an organization). To answer the OP: No, the UH-1Y has not been addressed, at least not to "the public". Belsimtek has not come out with a list of aircraft types/models that they considered but have chosen not to pursue, nor have they produced a list of aircraft that they have not yet considered. All we have to go on is the list of their upcoming products, which does not include the UH-1Y.

I fly every chance I get! :D I have my private pilot's certificate (mostly flying a Piper Archer these days), and I'm working on my instrument rating as well. For work, I fly in an Mi-17 (not as a pilot, I'm a crew chief, although I do get a decent amount of stick time).

The airspeed that will result in the slowest rate of descent is about 110-115kph, depending on the weight of the aircraft (heavier=faster). This will result in a descent rate between 7m/s (at low weight) and 11m/s (at high weight). For the shallowest angle of descent (i.e. most glide range), the best airspeed is about 155-160kph, depending on the weight of the aircraft (heavier=slower). This will result in a glide ratio between roughly 3.5:1 (e.g. 3.5km per 1000m of altitude, at high weight) and 4.5:1 (at low weight). The flight manual calls for 100-120kph as a standard number to use during an autorotative descent. The main rotor rpm should not be allowed to fall below 80% at any time during the descent, nor rise above 100%. Optimally, the main rotor rpm should be kept between 93 and 95%, as this gives some cushion to prevent overspeeding the rotor, while also providing a lot of potential energy in the rotor system when it comes time to land. Altitude and weather conditions are largely irrelevant, since airspeeds are based in indicated values, and you should try to land into the wind to reduce relative forward speed to a minimum at time of touchdown.

See if this will work for you. It's specifically for an Mi-172, but the Mi-8MTV2 will be identical (barring added drag from wing stores, not sure how much that will really affect it, though). And it's close enough to the Ka-50 engines that you could probably use the same values for it as well, except of course that the fuel capacities are different. Mi-172 Helicopter Flight Manual Part 2 Designers Data Section 7 to 9.pdf

I don't have anything for the Ka-50 specifically. I have more Mi-8 documents than I know what to do with, along with the TV3-117VM manuals. For planning purposes we use 900 liters per hour on the fuel burn, although it's usually more like 800. I'll see what I can dig up, I know I have performance planning charts for the Mi-8 somewhere.

For the Ka-50, this dropoff starts at around 2600 meters. That is, below 2600 meters above sea level, colder air results in more power all the way down to the engine's minimum ambient temperature of -60C. Above 2600 meters, the drop occurs at warmer temperatures. For example, at 4000 meters above sea level, engine power output starts to drop at -5C, and it stays at about -5C all the way up to 6000 meters above sea level. For a midpoint, at roughly 3300 meters above sea level, engine power starts to drop off at around -30C. Beyond the "dropoff" points I've mentioned above (that is, as the air gets colder), the power output of the engine drops.

3937 feet = 1200 meters My guess is that's the cutoff they decided to use, above which radar altitude doesn't work. In other words, why would you use an AGL of 7000 feet when no aircraft has a radar altimeter that can go that high? (in-game) The A-10C radalt can go to 5000 feet, if I remember correctly.

Yeah, semi-rigid (as far as I know) only refers to two-bladed teetering rotor systems. The rotor system on the Ka-50 would best be described as "rigid". The rotor head on the Ka-50 is hingeless, although feathering and flapping are possible through the use of a torsion plate (like a flex beam on a Bell 412) or strap pack (as used on the OH-6/MD-500 series and the AH-64).

I don't doubt politics played a role, they always do. But $13 billion USD for 28 helicopters? That sure does make it an easy decision. It might still be an S-92 someday... VH-92?

I think by "Bolkov" he Meant Bolkow/MBB? Also, there is... Kaman SH-2 Seasprite and K-MAX (unmanned version of the K-MAX is in A-stan doing sling loads for the Marines) Columbia Helicopters owns the type certificates now for both the Boeing 107 (CH-46) and 234 (CH-47), and they hope to begin producing them (civilian versions, of course) in the near future. I think they already manufacture parts for them? Erickson Air-Crane owns the type certificate for the Sikorsky S-64 (CH-54 Tarhe) and produces them for civilian work. There is also still MD Helicopters (the "MD" doesn't mean anything) that produces the civilian version of the former McDonnell Douglas helicopters (Boeing only makes the military models, AH-64 and A/MH-6 series). There are tons of other smaller manufacturers, but they are either really small, or are just roundabout subsidiaries of larger companies already mentioned.

This is how the VH-71 Kestrel price skyrocketed to around $400 million per copy. A ton of R&D work went into it, and that cost was only going to be spread out among 28 aircraft. Like Flagrum said, other industries have the same issues, they just get to spread their costs out over millions of units.

This should be repeated in case anyone misses it. This is the single biggest cost in anything aviation related. Well, not a single cost, but you get the idea.

When you buy a helicopter, you are also purchasing all of the R&D that went into developing it.

I want to get a Model X (they are not available yet, just preorder) but my wife said no. I also wanted to get a Model S (the sedan) and my wife said no. Have you figured out the trend here yet? ;) Although if Volvo comes out with a plug-in hybrid (in the U.S.), I will buy that on day one.

If you can keep your rotor speed up, your AC generators will continue to operate just fine. If you allow the rotor speed to drop too low when you cut off the engines, your AC generators drop offline until your rotor speed comes back up. Even then, it will take a little while for the DNS to reset or whatever it does...not likely to finish before you "land".

No A-model ever had a radar, you are correct there. When I was in the military, we added GPS to our A-models in 1990 (temporary, ad-hoc install) followed by "officially" built-in GPS in 1992. Later, the Fire Control Computer was updated to add GPS functionality which tied the GPS into the aircraft systems very tightly. While the original A-model did not have GPS, it did have a doppler navigation system with an inertial navigation system, so it wasn't completely in the dark.

Hm? The AH-64A most certainly does have GPS, at least the "-49" version that was supposedly in the works by ED. It also has RWR and FLIR. The performance of the two is very similar, although the Ka-50 can go faster in a straight line. I'm not sure what makes it "less modern" than the Ka-50 we have in-game now. I suppose if you're only measure of "more modern" is which one was introduced into service more recently, then yes, the Ka-50 wins that by about 10 years. The AH-64A version that ED was supposedly working on, however, was an upgraded version that is actually newer than the Ka-50 we have in-game.