bradmick

7Jan23: Added Climbs, Descents and Turns

The last position of the flight controls is what should be handed over. This should work for all trim variations in dcs. In the real thing the controls aren’t neutralized and handed over. You just take the flight controls at the given position. So the controls indicator should be in the last place george bad moved the flight controls to to maintain the current airspeed, attitude, heading and altitude.

The vertical stab is not the primary reason for the reduction in power. The tail rotor accounts for a super small percentage of your total torque. The air flowing more horizontally over the rotor disc and the reduction of the induced flow velocity is where the reduction in torque is coming from. The rotor is becoming more efficient. This is also occurring on the tail rotor also.

I think this is something worth clarifying: The max gross weight of the helicopter may be 23,000lbs, but that's for non-combat flying. The normal maximum gross weight for combat is 20,260lbs. The issue is that these numbers aren't so much theoretical, they're real numbers, but they're at very specific sets of conditions, and usually benchmarks to meet a requirement dicated by the DoD. The reality is, the performance capabilities of the aircraft are futher detailed in "the book". The only number that really matters for the Apache is the OGE Maximum Gross Weight, which is easily referenced via the PERF page. Keep the weight of the helicopter in DCS under this value and you'll do fine. Wikipedia does a great job of qouting max values, but doesn't have any of the context or subtext or nuance (pick your fancy word) that comes with operating the thing.

Added Rolling Takeoff

Memorize every switch, button and page in the front seat. Git gud at puppeteering. Stern commands and yelling also work well.

Coincidence means that you have selected the gun, and for some reason it is not “coincident” with your LOS. I.e. there is an error between where you are looking and where the gun is reporting it’s looking. Both crew members literally can’t have the gun actioned at the same time.

Added flight controls explanation video.

In the real world, TADs slaved to GHS with the TEDAC off is the way to go. You can look at the dark space that exists in the area where the TEDAC display unit is to then use the IHADSS as your screen. The advantages to using the IHADSS as your primary display are pretty obvious. It allows you to remain constantly heads out and easily get the tads on a point of interest. It’s how I use the TADS every time I fly, because it works, and it doesn’t take that long to get used to.

Rate damping is a part of SAS

The only function you get with the force trim interrupted “in the real aircraft” is CAS. All SAS functions are disabled, you, the pilot, are the SAS when holding the force trim interrupted.

Torque = Weight and Weight = Torque. For a given set of conditions a given weight will equal a calculated torque and vice versa. The IGE value is greater than the OGE because the IGE is calculated at a 5 foot hover which places the helicopter firmly “in ground effect” where induced flow is interrupted by the ground thus reducing the required blade pitch angle, drag and torque. The OGE value is calculated at an 80 foot hover height. At this altitude the induced flow is allowed to fully (because the ground doesn’t interfere with it) develop and requires the pilot to apply more collective to achieve a given thrust. Go/no-go OGE tells you the maximum weight the helicopter can weigh (using torque) using maximum torque available, not to exceed 100% (when engine power available exceeds 100%).

Alrighty, I've finally gotten around to making some short videos to cover the material above since the track files keep breaking. They're short, simple and to the point. I'm not a fancy video maker. As I get time I'll add more lessons to the list. Find the link below: Enjoy! V/R Brad

The only forces you encounter in the AH-64D flight controls are the forces associated with the physical push/pull tubes themselves and the force trim systems springs. The flight controls are not directly connected to the awash plate, but are connected to small “arms” on the servo cylinders. You won’t feel the aerodynamic loads transmitted through the physical flight controls. This is why when you lose hydraulics in an Apache, it’s game over. You can’t “muscle through” to fly it.

That statement was to refute that folks couldn’t pick the helicopter up without crazy things happening. And to speak to the authority of the heading hold, which is about on par with the actual aircraft. When I’m flying I do what I do in the actual helicopter in dcs. I apply the correct amount of pedal while increasing the collective with the force trim interrupted until the aircraft is “light” and then release the force trim. I am very much actively flying the helicopter.

You do understand that as you increase the collective, main rotor torque causes the nose to want to go to the right, this requires left pedal on the part o fhe pilot...or in the case of that Apache, the FMC. It WANTS to hold the nose on the heading you start out on because of heading hold. As the helicopter comes off the ground, and the weight-on-wheels (squat) switch is no longer being compressed, heading hold engages and does it's job. I can pick the helicopter up off the gound in the current OB build without applying any pedal whatsoever, from the position the pedals start at when you load into the sim. If you're asking yourself why the helicotper's FMC or pilot, with a counter clockwise turning main rotor system, who's nose turns right when torque is applied, would want to apply left pedal...you might want to spend some time researching how helicopters natural operate. It's a fundamental requirement to being successful in a helicopter.

There's a reason for this: Retinal Rivalry. Your brain is hardwired to focus on bright lights. It's not an eye dominance issue, it's just the way your brain works. Over time you learn to overcome this...to a point. On long flights, as you get more fatigued, it gets harder to keep your brain from shifting focus to the bright lights in your unaided eye vs. the HDU. What folks will typically do then is overdrive the brightness in the HDU, the issue there is that it will over time damage your eye. In my early years, I did exactly that. My right eye has suffered as a result.

With both eyes open, look at a corner in your room, preferably a corner near the checking where two walls meet. Point at this corner with your right index finger, try to line it up so that your finger is perfectly centered on the corner. Close your left eye, if your finger is perfectly centered in the corner, you’re right eye dominant. If it’s not, close your right eye and open your left eye. Check that your finger is centered, if it is, you’re left eye dominant. Also, eye dominance is a thing, but it takes zero time for your brain to adapt. It doesn’t cause issues like in Firebirds. Folks do love to use it as an excuse though.

The first detent is a ranging pulse only. It’s useful for stationary targets or if the helicopter is stationary. It does not engage the TSE. The second detent designates targets and engages the TSE. for the weapons trigger (since it was also brought up), the first detent allows you to fire if there are no inhibits. The second detent allows you to fire if there are performance inhibits. Safety inhibits can never be overridden.

No. You have to actively fly an Apache. The FMC makes it so there is an even response to a control input over the flight envelope. It dampens out winds and other upsets. It doesn’t just magically fly for you. There isn’t ever a point when flying the real thing that I’m like “yeah, I’ll just let go of the flight controls now” and it’ll fly itself for me. It doesn’t work that way at all.

Where you have the pedals positioned is the actual neutral position. Hit the force trim button to set it, and you’re golden.

Never unlock the tail wheel unless you’re rolling forward. Your pedals should be to the right when at flat pitch. That is to say, to the right of the center line on the control indicator. You don’t have your control indicator up, so I have no idea how your pedals started out, or where dcs said your pedals were. If you find yourself yawing left, do that pilot thing and apply right pedal to stop it. Additionally, keep in mind that as you increase collective, you’ll need to apply left pedal, because the nose will want to yaw right. My general impression is you’re falling into the same trap all the other folks who keep complaining about this are: that the helicopter should do this for me. And no, no it shouldn’t, and won’t. You, the pilot are responsible for the operation of the aircraft. When you’re on the ground, the squat switch (weight on wheels switch) is pressed, this disables heading hold and yaw CAS. This means, and reinforces that you the pilot need to positively control the helicopter, because it won’t do it for you.

If they’re Army aviators, they do care. We’re taught to care, and that knowledge is what enables us to be the best. We understand the theory of ops for our aircraft, the aerodynamics and physics behind why the machine does what it does. The practical application of that knowledge comes from a generous amount of flight time provided by Uncle Sam. So while you may have this dismissive attitude towards the fundamentals, it’s wrong. I can say without a doubt from years of observing and teaching that those fundamentals count for a lot with regards to producing a proficient and competent aviator.

You’d actually be amazed at how much the theory of rotary wing flight helps provide those critical “ah-hah!” moments. When a guy understands that the helicopter rolls right and pitches up due to dissymmetry of lift and transverse flow, they can better understand what flight control inputs are required to maintain control of the helicopter. When they understand what the flight controls and the flight management computer are doing for them, they can more intelligently interact with them to help maintain control of the helicopter. You’re methodology and mindset are rooted in really old aircraft mentalities. The fact is, the automation is there whether you want it or not. So to properly get the most out of the aircraft, you have to blend the old and new. You can’t say “don’t use this! It’ll make you better!” You have to instead say “This is how you effectively use the systems of the aircraft to achieve the desired outcome”. What you’ve said works for a Huey, it doesn’t work for any modern helicopter with a proper Flight Management system. This is because you end up teaching two completely different methodologies and sets of muscle memory which will negatively effect the individuals experience and then prolong the time it takes to gain proficiency.

With regards to point number 1, in the Apache there is such a thing as a "trimmed tail rotor". The helicopter has a heading hold feature which is always active (enabled) when the aircraft is off the weight-on-wheels (squat) switch. This system works by reading the positioning of the pedals the last time the pedals were placed in their desired 'trimmed' position. So you are incorrect in your assertion here. If you fail to set the pedals to the position required for the power setting then the SAS system will struggle to maintain the aircraft heading and in the worst case actually cause severe yaw instability as the FMC commands an opposite or erroneous input. So understanding the aircraft systems goes a long way towards understanding why we say "use the force trim" or "turn off the FMC channels entirely". Operating out of ground effect requires greater power (to the tune of appx. 15 or so percent above your IGE hover power) thanks to the increase in induced flow velocity as a result of being further away from the ground. The Apache has a 48 foot rotor diameter, i've demonstrated that if you pull exactly OGE hover power the aircraft will ascend and stop on or around 50 feet or so. It's pretty cool. Again, practicing out of ground effect hovers before you've mastered in ground effect hovers is a lot like trying to sprint before you can crawl. It's why we teach kids to hover IGE first in flight school, so they have all the advantages of I described previously...you know, mainly close in visua cues and the like. In the simulator the loss of cyclic authority in an actual dual engine failure is actually pretty pronounced. The aircraft is very sluggish to respond to control inputs until you recover the rotor. 50% is probably a little excessive i'll agree, but it's a very noticeable loss of authority and it's VERY difficult to get that Nr back once it's gone. This is the nature of a *low* inertia rotor system. Are you saying the apache would be best auto'd backwards? Given that the tail would cause a massive amount of instability, I completely disagree with you on that point. If you had said 'turns increase Nr' I'd have been more inclined to agree...but you didn't. And in turns, the Nr will speed up...rapidly.