Sh4rk

I'm sure I used the datalink with wingmen (human) in MP before. Didn't have the issue as far as I can remember. Might be a different thing with AI wingmen (missing altitude or QFE information) or maps (some other reasoning). But ABRIS for example did have some issues related to altitude, from 2.5 onwards, like water showing as ground. DCS didn't use to have depth in the oceans, which was tied in some way to how altitude is handled. They might have broken some function?

It used to, it's been a while I don't try it (in 2.5.6) since I can't find proper Ka50 wingmen on servers, let alone wingmen that know how to use the Datalink It might be a bug that's been introduced in 2.5.6 / Black Shark 2.5, or in the new maps (since it worked on Caucasus). I'll test when I have the chance.

Helo on helo never happens IRL because... There haven't been enough wars with opposing forces that actually had attack helos in them. World Wars I and II came before modern helos. All the Vietcong had were sticks, stones and canoes made out of drop tanks. Chechnya didn't have an air force... Former Yugoslav countries had like 1 Su-25 left from former Soviet Union. Iraq was like the 5th largest airforce in the world, all out of old Migs and stuff. And ISIS didn't have choppers, did they? Until there's another large scale conflict in a piece of land that has equally capable OPFORs, helo on helo will hardly happen. Russia, China and NATO will only fight on the Moon, and there won't be any helicopters there... Meanwhile in DCS, you can have all helo on helo or helo on plane you want, make your Rotary Air to Air fantasy come true!!

^ This. The time of day, by the way, is from 6 PM local (game) time onwards. And the Shkval's daylight range was reduced in 2.5 as well. It used to be able to lock well at up to 12 km, would give you a 'C' (launch cue) at 9 km, now it barely locks and launches at 7.5 km even if it's a clear sunny day.

1) is the trimmer actually bound to a button on your stick? 2) Is your stick FFB or spring loaded (common) type? You shouldn't be having to edit any files to get the trimmer to work. Just go into Options, Special, Ka-50 and check the proper stick setting (FFB, Stick without springs, or more likely, Joystick with a center spring) - and you might check "Rudder Trimmer" as well if you have twist stick instead of pedals.

Is your helicopter at the same altitude the wingman was when it sent you the datalink target? DL supposedly saves targets based on your own aircraft's altitude (bearing, range) when you acquire them. It might be just slewing your Shkval to the expected parameters as if you were at the same position or vertical plane your wingman was when it datalinked them to you. Next thing would be to make sure both you and wingmen have the same QFE settings. Or we should all get into a server to sort out these kinds of issues

After you turn on the laser in the K-401, and when you first lock the target with the Shkval, pressing the designation button with the targeting box over the target, you get laser ranging which trips LWS. You'll not give a second warning when you [uncage or lose track] and slew the Shkval over a second or the same target, without designating again. Because the laser isn't really ranging in that case, it's calculating the range from the previous ranging information, plus information from the Shkval's position and INU. You may notice it'll drift and increase ranging errors over time, requiring you to designate again, specially if you're trying to hit things with rockets or guns. Then firing a Vikhr without designating again I'm not sure, I think it doesn't trip LWS (so it could be properly simulated?) but it's usually too late for the target anyway.

Same thing as in another topic: "can I use a classified F-xx manual I found on the internet, even if I'm not in the US?" The answer is: no. It's still a crime in the US even if you're not in the US, and if you're found and you ever go to the US, you'll be arrested. You can also be arrested wherever else you are by Interpol or Europol, and be deported to the US to face trial there. If other nations got the documents on the Ka50 legally, their contracts might still forbid technology transfer or sharing said documents with individuals etc. Similarly, the very country's laws can also forbid sharing documents pertaining to military hardware of any kind. Hence I can't ask the Air Force or AF personnel for manuals on the F-5, Hind, M-119 Paladin etc. even though my country does use them.

Wrong. That's where you get it all wrong. The last time ED made "educated guesses" was Flaming Cliffs. And they vowed to not do any Flaming Cliffs-level stuff never more. They won't simulate a system, like say the NS430, if they can't get the manufacturer's documentation on it, describing how it should work. All the new stuff in DCS is based on both the detailed aircraft manuals and, in some cases, the very aircraft itself, as they have partnerships with manufacturers, the military and museums like The Fighter Collection. For complicated systems like weapon systems etc, they may need to make "educated guesses" on how to properly simulate the behavior of such systems in a PC, and yes, they'll go as far as simulating "what will happen if you are shot with two missiles" if the manual describes it. Rivet counters won't let them fake it. For classified things like IFF, it's implied they implicitly make them wrong so they don't get sued (or arrested) for revealing classified stuff for portraying them right (even if by chance or a "educated guess" on how it actually works). Videos and pictures on the Internet are not sufficient evidence, unless it's a video showing very closely how, for example, the Prasident-S system works. A leaflet of its functions is not enough. They also need to be sure which of said sytem's functions are actually in the Ka50. As a final note, the Ka50 was itself developed in a partnership with Kamov (likely for the military version of the simulator, as the Ka-50 was also touted for export sales). Same applies to the Mi-8 and probably to the Hind. They must have some other contract in the background that allows them to make the export versions of those. Also due to said partnerships, I'd bet they're disallowed to add anything to these modules without both the manufacturer and customer (military) allowing it. And that's what they just told us - they can't touch it anymore because of laws on the classified stuff.

I tried the same on my headset and I see what you mean now. Indeed the mirrors could have some form of adjustment in the vertical, so they could be adjusted properly for your sitting position. Maybe a slider in Options. It's possible to mod a fix in though. On the file DCSWorld\Mods\aircraft\Ka-50\Cockpit\Scripts\mainpanel_init.lua, Change line 1864: mirrors_data = { ... rotation = -0.536, Set the "rotation" to a lower absolute value, and see if it gets better. It might take a few attemps to set it to your liking.

Yes. Read "Russian Gunship Helicopters" by Yefim Gordon - the Ka-50 ended up being but a step in the direction of the Ka-52, and they attempted a few things on making a single-seat attack helicopter functional. ED will not make anything out of a fantasy, which means they won't model Iglas and MLWS / DIRCM, let alone RWR into a Ka-50 unless they can find documentation on one of them (even if a prototype) having those capabilities. Though one of them probably did or does have the capability at some point. However they claim the new Russian laws forbid them acquiring the documentation.

Lasing / locking targets in the Ka50 certainly does trip the target's LWS. A-10s, other helos including Sharks, and ground units are all alerted to the laser. Similarly, a Grach's, a Harrier's or a Su-27's lasers trip the Ka50's LWS, even when they're only used for ranging.

I was replying to the people that were saying: "we don't need BS3 anymore because Apache is better RWR hellfires yadda yadda". The minmaxers. It's not about being the better aircraft in any aspect - otherwise we wouldn't have a few of the modules that are less capable than others. We just want an improved simulation of an a bit more developed/modern version of the aircraft we already have - the Ka-50.

Well I'm under the impression the mirrors in the Ka-50 are just in the same place and functionality as they are in the real aircraft. They're not broken - they're just, umm, impaired like that. They could be better if they were mounted on the sides maybe - like a car's. But I'm not seeing any insides of the chopper in my view - only the top and rotors. Can you post pictures of how they look for you? Regardless of how the real world is set up around you, centering should instantly put your eyes where the eyes of the "virtual pilot" are, on the more or less right spot over the chair. I'm using the Quest 2 and it does that just fine. And yes I have to look back over my shoulder and stuff to access some knobs and things. The Ka-50 feels very tight around the pilot's body. When i need to look at the wings / weapons I lean a bit to look out of the windows. I don't know about your VR headset, but if you've checked "Force IPD distance" in the VR settings, it might have something to do with that... It kind of "rescales" the cockpit around you. Also if you have any cockpit- or view-related mods.

Tried recentering the view, while looking straight forward? Just looking up, they look like this: Leaning a bit forward, without "bumping" into anything (virtually), I can look at the sky and rotors: They're only really usable to check your 6 against airplanes and missile launches. For keeping track of wingmen, it's best to use the datalink and ABRIS.

I don't care for the Apache. I want to fly the Ka-50, it's the one module I like the most. I also have the A-10, F-18.... Still fly the Ka-50 over them most of the time. I like the Russian systems, HUD, etc better. I don't care which have been used in more wars or is more capable. I'd buy BS3 on day 1 of pre-release. The Apache I might never. I use it mostly in multiplayer. Aside fighting ground stuff, sometimes player controlled, sometimes in PVP you come against planes or other helos. Planes will just Fox you out of existence from BVR, but if they launch IR missiles, you still have flares. If they come with guns you have a good chance of putting a Vikhr or rounds on them. An Igla would be the ideal defensive weapon in this case, and the RWR would alleviate the frustration that is just unexpectedly blowing up mid-air because you didn't knew a missile was coming from 20 miles away. Even if you can't hide, at least you knew what was coming. Those 2 things alone would make the Ka50 experience in general a lot better. You can't replace those with a whole new helo with different systems, even if they're better ones.

I have the game sounds on speakers, and comms on my headset (so I use both at the same time). Do the engines not shut down for ALL units? I now for sure the noise is lower when you're not running, but I never noticed it being too high either as compared to the other in game sounds tbf.

Afhganistan, though, has had tough diplomatic issues with the former Soviet Union a few decades ago. It might not be done for similar reasons as to why Crimea was removed from the Caucasus map.

In DCS, Redfor has a slight advantage in radar guided SAMs. The exceptions are the Roland's Search Radar being good and the Hawk hitting at higher altitude than Buks / Kubs. Blue has better IR and guns-type SAMs. Stingers are better than Igla, Avenger, Linebacker, Chaparral, Vulcan and even Bradleys are better than Strela and Shilka. Overall the western guns hit more effectively because they spread more at a higher rate of fire and caliber. And the missiles because they are either versions of Stingers or AIM-9s. The ground launched ATGM stuff (TOWs) is also more deadly against helicopters; the only real Red threat to helos (besides radar-guided) are Tunguskas. Which are the only decent SHORAD in Red, though easily defeatable by disrupting line of sight.

Not RWR, as the radar suite is only a feature in the Ka-52. There are no RWR antennas anywhere on the Ka-50. But more importantly, it needs the missile launch warning system (IR sensors). Note their absence in the current model (as well as of the mounts for additional systems ahead of the wheels, which are featured in the Ka-52).

Yes, so the handle doesn't fall down on its own weight. It's common on all helos except in the Ka it has this small feature attached to the AP. Always, even small changes in collective change pitch. Any increase in collective will make the heli pitch up and decrease will make it pitch down from level, constant speed flight (around +2.5º on the nose). The pitch AP will still try to come back to the set pitch at the same time the alt AP will be controlling the blades to hold altitude. The result is that the heli will slow down or speed up a bit, until the pitch AP catches up. I wouldn't say stiffer, it's just the "normal". As if you were using a stick with springs. Except the centering isn't in the "center", it's where you trimmed it to. Though my FFB does have enough force on its motors that it could overpower my wrist at times, but that's tuneable. I mean, that's FD on while you're not holding the trimmer. When you hold the trimmer button, regardless of FD, the stick becomes soft (but not 100% loose) until you release the button. Then you have "centering" forces on the stick again. It'll try to come back to the trimmed position. In both cases, input dampening is always on if the corresponding AP channels are on. Now I don't fully remember if turning AP off would make the stick feel "dead" (100% loose) when the corresponding channels are off, but I think it did, at least when there was no AP because of hydraulics failures. Flying becomes a real challenge when you have to "center" the stick yourself

Maybe they just have no clue what the weird behavior is and if can be fixed or not. The way it works is by tracing 3D collision and that's why it gets stuck against trees, leaves and seemingly invisible stuff like wires - that now have collision in 2.5.x, which they didn't have up to 1.5. Apparently it'll also "collide" with the aircraft itself (or some invisible geometry) sometimes, bringing the range to 0.0 and causing unexpected slewing and yawing when Turn to Target is also on. This behavior was a lot worse in early 2.5 (before the new Ka50 cockpit) and I haven't seen it happening much as of 2.5.6, but the fact that it's much harder to lock now is true, specially for aircraft. It used to lock a lot easier to airborne targets against a clear sky, with a proper slew gate size, but now is very hard to acquire a lock on aircraft farther than 4 km, even a slow flying chopper. I think the proper fix would to make it properly contrast-based, or to at least simulate it better. Maybe if they can use whatever the new technology is for contrast-based ground radars. But seems we'll have to wait. Edit: Further illustrating the issue:

Small quirks to AP authority. The ALTitude hold does get a new altitude setting when you release trimmer or tap it. But since it only has so much authority, and in most cases or "collectives" (often another stick) don't really have brakes, the hold is effectively disabled if your collective is set such as the helicopter is gaining or losing altitude faster than around 3 m/s, which is why you need to input collective to stabilize the new altitude in the new flight parameters (heading, pitch, bank) to 2 m/s or less before you release the trimmer. Then it'll set and hold a new altitude as well. No need to use the collective brake in this case, as it does nothing without a real brake in place. The use for the collective brake is that you can set a new altitude without affecting the helicopter's attitude (heading, pitch, bank, thus speed) like you would by retrimming / setting new AP parameters. It's like a trimmer but only for altitude, and this works even on non-collective-like joysticks (provided you have a spare button on it). You can also change heading only (without affecting the other parameters when the helicopter is nicely level) by briefly using rudder to turn to the new heading (against the autopilot, or turning just the Heading channel off), then turning it back on when the helicopter is pointing at the new, desired heading. This will set a new parameter to just the Heading channel, while the helicopter will slowly come back to the trimmed pitch, bank, and altitude (+ speed) at the new heading. With a FFB stick, when you hold trimmer, the stick feels like it's moving freely (without springs) but dampened, like it's on molasses. Then you move it to the desired position (trim the aircraft) and release the trimmer button. The stick's center is now the point where you released the button at. The stick's "center" has changed position. If you try to move it now (even back to the actual center), there will be forces acting against your hand. Just like the real aircraft. With a FFB stick, regardless of trimming, when you turn on FD, the forces on your hand aren't relieved or cancelled. You're still going against hydraulics, but not the Autopilot's inputs. Your inputs are still dampened, but the "centering" forces you're going against aren't. Those aren't the autopilot, but they're there. You're show a line and symbology on your HUD related to FD mode, and use them to fly the helicopter according to the set parameters, like you were the autopilot. This is as far as I remember it, since it's been a few years my FFB stick broke, and I've been using a standard one. I miss it a lot. With a FFB there's absolutely no need for a controls indicator - you can just feel and see where the stick actually is, and act accordingly. Because the centering changes, there is never any unexpected pitch and bank changes in the helicopter. But the stick can kick you back if you press TRIM RESET while not holding it firmly... Since we're now (most of us) on joysticks with center springs, I support the addition of a controls indicator.

Did they hint when? I haven't seen any communication from them about it since January, unless I missed something.

You need to use the laser for ranging AND have the knob on the back right panel (#3, the one that goes 0-10) set appropriately to the weapon you're carrying.