Pocket Sized

I'd be equally happy with a C-130 or C-17. C-130 is a turboprop which makes things interesting. C-17 has higher top speed, orgasmic reverse thrust, and extreme TWR when lightly loaded. Most modern versions have HUDs and MFDS, which would probably complicate development.

Not supposed to discuss other sims on these forums...

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3064495&postcount=3

The "pilots handbook of aeronautical knowledge" is pretty good. It's an official FAA document and free to download as a PDF. It can also be purchased in physical form. https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/ Read through the sections relevant to the flying you're gonna be doing if you want to impress your instructor ;)

That's why I mentioned the aggressive cyclic input. If you can get the lift vector offset from vertical (by pitching or banking) adding collective will yank you away from the vortex. But yes - if you are level and descending vertically in VRS, collective doesn't halt the descent. (It can give increased control authority for the aforementioned recovery procedure though)

Good to hear! How/when was this stated? Was it an official announcement or a dev comment?

When you slow down and drop out of translational lift there is a "burble" (momentary vibration). When you see this, it's a pretty good indicator that you have to be REALLY careful descending. As SnoreSelmer mentioned, it's best to get really low before entering a hover. Also, recovery. Don't hesitate on the cyclic, use full deflection if needed. Pull lots of collective. Ideally keep the RPM above 86% to keep your generators (and autopilot) alive.

Was gonna say this. Pull as much collective as you need to hover, you only need to worry about torque levels when you're climbing/cruising (assuming you're not overloaded). So, yeah, for now just forget about the engine, it's doing just fine ;)

Yesterday I went to do an approach to practice using the PAPI. No dice. I remember seeing the lights appear in the way you described but couldn't get them to work when approaching rwy 12 (approaching from sea) I'm running the latest stable version as of Feb 27.

What sort of mud moving capabilities will the Farmer have? Does the radar have any sort of A-G ranging mode, or is it gonna be a fixed sight like the F-5? (I expect the latter)

Yes, the flaps create a nose up moment. Without them, the nose would be even heavier during the takeoff run ;) The current behavior is believable in my opinion but I have no idea if it's accurate to the Viggen.

I remember reading that the servo actuators don't have enough power to fully deflect the elevons at very high IAS. Maybe this behavior isn't implemented yet? When I get the chance I'll do some experimenting.

Razbam is doing the A-7, the A-4 is a community mod the developers of which stated they have no solid plans on applying for 3rd party status. For now, I'd recommend sitting back and enjoying the ride, LN will let us know with time. (Given how they handled teasing the Viggen, the next one is gonna be awesome)

If the main gear is far back on the aircraft (think naval planes, then remember how the Viggen is designed to be landed), the nose will be essentially unresponsive below rotation speed and extremely sensitive above rotation speed. This is something the F-4 was absolutely notorious for. For a reasonable takeoff run you pulled the stick to the aft stop and waited until Vr, at which point the nose would shoot up without warning. You had to let the stick forward a considerable amount to avoid a tailstrike. So it's not unheard of. Just takes lots of practice to perfect.

Guys, slow down with the speculation please. He's probably not aware of the controversy regarding the ASP, and even if he was, it's very possible he's tied up with other things (like being a fighter pilot).

The value fluctuating is just a visual bug involving the info bar most likely. (Kinda like the RPM in afterburner) In flight, the canard flaps don't move in response to anything other than gear extension/retraction.

I'd say to leave the heading AP off unless you're cruising or hands-off hovering. The helo will yaw left (IIRC) as speed decreases due to the tail rotor/vertical stabilizer design, then it will yaw right when torque is applied as you transition to a hover. (Watch/listen for the engines throttling up and be prepared to compensate) After enough practice precise heading control becomes second nature. (though I suppose flying gliders IRL has helped me a bit)

I wouldn't worry about the flame, it's just a visual effect. (Actually, flames are normal when starting some engines) Watch the EGT gauge and make sure it doesn't go over the redline.

Also, watch the engine RPM gauges when slowing down. Adjust your collective to keep them above ~70%, especially when you're about to drop out of ETL. If the engines get too low it takes a long time for them to wake back up when you need them, and this can be very bad when transitioning to a hover.

I thought he said "they are working in MP" :doh:

You make some very good points. I think the biggest difficulties when going from Sim to RL are: 1. Different controls. The stick is totally different from the plastic, spring loaded one most of us are so used to. The forces and movement ranges are usually much larger in a real aircraft. I've heard that helicopter cyclics tend to be very light, which could cause issues with overcontrolling. 2. Seat of the pants. This is what really screwed with me. Years ago I got a ride in a Super Decathlon and the pilot let me fly. It was severely disorienting actually feeling my control inputs, so I barely even touched the stick. (Fast forward to today and I'll recover from a spin with a smile on my face) On the topic of the FM: I'm kinda at a loss. My guess is, for the moment, it'd be best to wait until the devs are in a position to talk about their plans for the FM. The SAS is the key element in all of this, and if it's classified, there's not much I can do to help. (That is, if there was anything my input could assist with anyway) I also realized I was making some false assumptions involving the helicopter's flying qualities without SAS, which has thrown a bit of uncertainty into the mix.

Damn. I thought the systems were similar in their operation. The Gazelle in game has a self righting behavior that I assumed wasn't accurate, but I guess it is. (self righting is definitely an "intrusive" function) However I still think there are some aspects in which the current FM/SAS could be improved, mainly involving cyclic inputs.

Were you the server host by any chance?

I'm just looking for the operating principles, not necessarily hard data. I found some useful info in the SA 341 manual, which at least confirms some of my speculation involving helicopter stabilization systems in general. https://www.avialogs.com/index.php/en/aircraft/france/aerospatiale/as341gazelle/flight-manual-gazelle-sa-341g.html (page 124) ...however that particular site won't play nice with any of the browsers on my phone. Gonna have to wait until i get home before I can actually see the entire page (facepalm) I'm considering making my findings/suggestions into a separate thread, as there's probably going to be a lot of stuff to cover. My goal isn't to say "this is why your FM is wrong" my goal is to say "this is how your FM can be improved."

Does anyone know of resources where I could get some detailed descriptions of the real Gazelle's stabilization system? I have some hunches based on knowledge of stab aug systems in other aircraft, but I don't want to say too much until I get a bit more info on what it actually does. This could give some very useful insights on how the helicopter should fly with and without SAS. Edit: Ideally something like this: http://www.f15sim.com/operation/f15_flight_control_system.htm (Explains how, and WHY, the F-15 flight control system works the way it does)