Oubaas

I want a Vought V-173. Or a McDonnell XF-85. Either one will do. Both would be great. :D

In your liveries folder for the Gazelle inside the coremods folder there's a Greek desert camo skin. I just removed the roundels and the tail numbers and emblem to get the generic desert skin in my screen shot. There are a bunch of other skins in there too. I haven't looked at all of them, but some of them may be desert skins. You could just apply whatever country-specific insignia that you feel is appropriate. It takes about ten minutes in a paint program, not hard at all. But hopefully, the true skin artists will go to work soon. :thumbup:

Yeah, I'm thinking of taking the plunge. The price makes me wince, I don't know what shipping will cost from there to here, and I'll go crazy waiting until I receive the stuff. But...as far as I can tell, there's nothing else comparable on the market. And I'm a pretty die-hard Huey sim pilot. If I can figure out how to sneak it in between paying for everybody to go to university and buying them cars so they'll have something to drive when they get there, I think I'm going to do it eventually, the whole Blade setup with the seat and the UH-1 package. It's time for the old man to wet his beak for a change. :D

Nothing fancy, I just liked this shot. :pilotfly:

Long before that thing, I want Boeing/Vertol HH-46A and CH-46D Sea Knights. And a Kaman UH-2A Sprite in HC-7 Big Mothers livery from USS Preble. And a Sikorsky SH-3G Sea King in HC-1 livery. So there. :D

Yes, well, when you're my age, it's modern and sophisticated. All my stuff is on display in military museums now. The Gazelle makes the Huey look like a fossil, though I still love the Huey. Well, all helicopters old and new for that matter. AND, I'd like to point out, that I did not resort to reading the manual. I simply kicked the tires, lit the fires, took her up and wrung her out, and figured things out all by my lonesome. Never read the manual until you're completely flummoxed. :D

Don't start swirling your kilt in celebration just yet, MacTavish. What we're ready to admit is that the beep trim system works just like I said it did, and it's brilliant. If you can fly, you shouldn't need anything more than fine trim adjustments. I can't believe that on such an advanced, modern chopper they stooped to installing such an archaic force trim system alongside the newer, better one. They should have just stuck with the beep trim system, it's enough. By the way, dotChuckles, almost my entire family originated in Pittenweem, Fife, which may be why I took up boat-building as a hobby after I retired. Yes, my roots are in Scotland, and considering how small the Scottish gene pool is, you and I are probably kin at some point along the way. This has no relevance to anything, I just wanted to tell you something that you'd find horrifying. :megalol:

HawkDCS is definitely onto something about running out of trim. I was all set to A799 this gripe until I flew the helicopter and tried it. If you transition and trim level with the collective above 80% using the "beep" trim method, you will have no problems. But if you transition and trim level at 80% collective or below, you'll soon find that you can't trim the nose down with the beep trimmer. As for force trim, I can't find any evidence that it does anything. All my trimmer button seems to do is engage or disengage the beep trim. I tried gross trim adjustments with the trimmer button all sorts of different ways, tapping it, holding it, etcetera, no joy. If this aircraft is supposed to have both a force trim system and a beep trim system, only the beep trim is working. It seems to be entirely adequate if you use it to augment your manual flying. But if the real aircraft has both systems, then I'd like for them both to work. In the meantime, the beep trim system can very easily be used to trim to hands off flying. As far as the beep system goes, I really like it.

I just bought the L-39 yesterday, though I've wanted it since it came out. And it's just what I wanted, a flathatter's dream. Like a Pitts with a jet engine. This is a truly great module. :thumbup:

I haven't noticed a problem, Hawk, I even use the trim to set up my glide slope on approach while I reduce collective far below 80. But I'll go fly it around and see if I can duplicate what you're describing. I think AlphaOneSix has given us the best description yet of what's going on with the trim in this aircraft. I've been using the beep trim after manually flying the aircraft into transition and then establishing my desired altitude and attitude. I'll have to play with the force trim and try a few gross adjustments, but the way I fly, the beep trim suffices for pretty much all of my trim needs. :thumbup:

I don't get any control spiking. And I don't re-center the stick. I'm having no problems whatsoever with flying or trimming the Gazelle. None. But don't take my advice. What could I possibly know? I'm just an old guy, retired from U. S. Naval Aviation. True, during my last flight physical the doctor barred me from rotary aviation due to a loss of depth perception, fixed wing only after that, but in retrospect, it was probably for the best, me being so ignorant and all. Your impeccable understanding will take care of you. Keep reading that manual. Meanwhile, I'll go enjoy flying a great helicopter without having any problems whatsoever. After all, they say ignorance is bliss, and I'm happy as the proverbial clam. :megalol:

I have a non-FFB stick with a centering spring. I just took off from Creech a few minutes ago, ascended to cruising altitude, trimmed the aircraft for level flight and flew all the way to Nellis with no hands on the controls or feet on the pedals. I don't think I'm the one having problems with the trim system.

There's nothing that needs to be fixed. I just took off from Creech, ascended to a comfortable cruising altitude, trimmed the aircraft to level cruise and flew all the way to Nellis with no hands on the controls nor feet on the pedals. The system works brilliantly when understood and properly employed. It works so well, in fact, that I often turn it off because when used properly, the pilot is just along for the ride. It gets boring, so I turn the trim off and fly it manually a lot. It's the smoothest, most precise trim system of any of the helicopters.

The trim system is brilliant and changing it would be a vile atrocity. It's just a matter of learning to use it. This aircraft does not use the center position trimmer that the other helicopters in the DCS hangar use. You need to assign buttons to "Trimmer", "Trim: Left Wing Down", "Trim: Nose Up", "Trim: Nose Down", and "Trim: Right Wing Down". Once you have assigned these buttons or learned the default keyboard shortcuts, press and release "Trimmer" to turn the system on (or off). Once you've turned it on, tap the desired "Trim" button to adjust aircraft attitude. There is no need to press and hold any buttons. Just press and release. And there is no need to center your stick. Just trim on the fly once you've turned on the system. The problem is not the trim system. The problem is that people expect it to be the same as the other helicopters in DCS and don't understand how this system works. Once you learn this trim system, you can fly the Gazelle hands-off once it's trimmed. It's a great system, and I hope that Polychop will ignore all requests to change it. Barring that, they should make any changes optional so that those of us who like the aircraft's true trimming system are not forced to convert to the incorrect center trimmer system that so many people are clamoring for.

I'm not sure where the switch animations occur, I haven't learned the panel well enough yet. But the key to proper use of the trim system is set up in the control options as follows. Adjust roll left Trim: Left Wing Down CTRL + , Adjust nose down: Trim: Nose Down CTRL + ; Adjust nose up: Trim: Nose Up CTRL + . Adjust roll right: Trim: Right Wing Down CTRL + / Turn trim system on and off: Trimmer T I have assigned the flipper buttons on my CH Throttle Quadrant to these functions in lieu of the default keyboard shortcuts listed above. Simply press and release the "Trimmer" button. Then adjust the aircraft attitude by pressing and releasing the desired "Trim" button. There is no need to press and hold any buttons. Just press them once and release. There is also no need to center your stick, just trim on the fly.

I think that there is a tendency among helicopter pilots, real or virtual, to expect all rotary-wing aircraft to behave like some variation of a Bell product. But the Gazelle is a completely different platform. If there was such a thing as a fighter helicopter, this might be one. It's agile and powerful. The trim system is unlike the Huey, the Mi-8, or the KA-50. But once you make the right control assignments and learn to use it, it is nothing short of brilliant. You need to assign a button for "trimmer". This seems to engage or disengage the trim system and nothing more. You don't hold it and adjust the flight controls. It's either on or off and you just need to hit the button and release to set it or turn it off. Once you have hit the "trimmer" button, you can then use the buttons that you have assigned to trim nose up or down and to trim left or right wing down. These buttons adjust trim in their axes in small increments. Once trimmed out correctly, the Gazelle is so stable that you can fly hands off. And take note: YOU DON'T need to center the stick when you adjust trim as in the other helicopters and you DON'T need to press and hold any of the buttons. Just keep flying and tap the trim buttons until you're oriented the way you want it. This trim system does not work like the other choppers. The aircraft is in fact SO stable when trimmed that I sometimes hit the "trimmer" button and turn it off so that I can fly manually. The aircraft is considerably more "lively" without the trim system on. Taking off, do not yank up on the collective. Bad things will happen. Smoothly and gradually pull up on the collective and be prepared to give it some right pedal as you lift off and to adjust bank. Ascend at a conservative rate and when you've gained enough altitude to avoid impacting the ground, you can then transition and get things going. And remember, the anti-torque pedals are quite sensitive and you'll mostly need to give it right pedal. You should consider setting some deadzones and axis curves for the controls until you're used to the aircraft. You can always undo them later. I don't like using curves, but I used some mild curve on the axes until I got the hang of the Gazelle. Landing is easy in the Gazelle if you do it right. Watch the VSI and trim to a reasonable rate of descent. Gently reduce collective to lower your forward speed as you descend and just before touchdown give it some flare. You should alight like a feather if you take your time and monitor things. Once you've mastered the unique trim system, turn off trim and get used to flying the aircraft manually. It's not hard and by now you should have the feel for the aircraft. My own opinion, after flying the Gazelle for a day, is that Polychop has presented us with a masterpiece. If this is what I can expect from them, I'll be buying everything they offer. I wouldn't change a thing about the Gazelle, especially the trim system. Once you learn to use it, it is a superior system to the center trimmer on the other helicopters. You just have to understand how it works and learn to use it correctly. But you can't expect it to be the same as other helicopters. It's a unique machine and very rewarding if you come to grips with the differences. Oubaas :thumbup:

I also have both problems.

OK, snowsniper, I'll admit: I may have nearly scared the life out of Etienne a couple of times with my flying, LOL! As for the screenshot, I got my first PC in 1998 after retiring from the military. I started flight simming with "Hornet 3.0" by Graphsim shortly after buying that first PC. Looking at the screenshot of the Gazelle, we've come a LONG way in 18 years! Oubaas :thumbup:

Journal Entry, 30 April 2016, 0045 The war in the desert continues, it seems as if it will never end. The SA342M Gazelle that I fly is dependable and performs like no other helicopter that I have ever flown. No, it is not the aircraft that concerns me. It is my copilot, Etienne. After all these months of combat, I think that Etienne has reached his breaking point. I believe that my copilot has gone completely mad! I have noticed signs over the past few months that led me to believe that all may not be well with Etienne. His staring and refusal to speak did not bode well. But today clinched it. After staring at me for one solid hour without blinking, he suddenly began making raccoon noises and started flinging the pate de foie gras from his combat rations all over the cockpit. I was nearly forced to make an emergency landing due to impaired visibility. I do not wish to be disloyal to my copilot. But I feel that things have reached a crisis point. This man was a vintner from Bordeaux before the war started, and he lived for his vines and the wine. I do not believe he was cut out for war. Much as it grieves me, I have no choice but to bring his condition to the attention of the medical officer. :pilotfly:

I think it's a masterpiece. If this is what I can expect from Polychop, I'll be buying every module you make. The flight model seems very believable for a helicopter of this modern vintage. I love the trim system, too. After a day with the Gazelle, I'd suggest: 1). Use a very gentle touch on the controls. Any ham-fisted input will not be well received by the aircraft. Be particularly smooth with the collective. 2). Set deadzones and curves to your personal comfort level. I started out with no deadzones and no curves, flew it for a while, then added just a touch where needed. 3). Learn the trim system. The trim system in this thing is brilliant and if you learn to use it right, flying this machine is almost effortless. In fact, it trims out so well that sometimes I actually turn the trim system off to give her a bit more liveliness. This is a great module, Polychop, and I look forward to purchasing any of your future offerings. Based on the Gazelle, you've gone on my list of favored developers whose work means automatic purchase. Keep up the excellent work! :thumbup:

Grabbed the Gazelle right off. Here's my first flight. It has a slightly different feel than other choppers, but once you get used to it, it's a real sports car in the sky. I recommend it, they've done a nice job with this module. :thumbup:

I may have been the first Gazelle purchaser. I grabbed it literally seconds after it appeared in the e-shop. I had just purchased the L-39 and MiG-15bis, both great modules by the way. I was messing around binding things to my account and such when I suddenly noticed that the Gazelle had appeared in the e-shop. It wasn't there a few seconds earlier, I know because I checked before buying the two modules. I told my wife, "I just bought the L-39 and the MiG-15 and seconds later they released the Gazelle! Now I've already spent the money I had allotted for modules!" She replied, "You've been waiting for the Gazelle all this time! Well, you have to have it. I have some extra spending money, I'll buy it for you." I think it helped that she's French and it was the Gazelle. But at any rate, I got three new modules instead of two, thanks to my wife's generosity. I knew I was doing the right thing when I married the woman! As for the Gazelle, WOW! This thing is a sports car of the sky. I flew her around for a while, put her through some flathatting maneuvers and such, and then landed. I'm impressed! Highly recommended! :thumbup:

I just picked up the L-39, the MiG-15, and the Gazelle this morning. I would highly recommend all of them. The L-39 is a real sports car. If you like to fly non-combat just to enjoy the airplanes, this is a flathatter's dream. The MiG-15 is also an amazing module and well worth the money. The Gazelle is an outstanding helicopter and I'm sure they'll be refining it further, though so far, I have no complaints.

I wouldn't mind if they turned the KA-27 that's already in there into a module. The flying shoe-box would be fun for shipboard operations. It would work quite nicely from the flight deck of the cruiser Moskva for example. :thumbup:

It was fun flying too! I staggered the takeoffs by two minutes in the mission editor. I took off first in the helicopter, got stable off the bow, and then the Su-33 parade began. I got to sit there off the port bow and watch them land, too. :D