Blackjack_UK

I was the Tech Advisor on Comanche Gold... The flight model was dumbed down quite a lot as we were also doing it for the US DoD and they were a bit twitchy about it. It was also a long time ago. But from what I remember it defaulted to automatically mixing tail rotor input - you could uncouple if you had a rudder setup but how to do it wasn't obvious. But to stay on topic, 3WA above is correct - there isn't a way to do that in the Ka-50 apart from dropping to arcade mode.

This. 100% this.

Mr Gannet speaks the truth. And, on topic, I actually used a Saitek X35/X36 for a while. It was...OK and a lot cheaper than Thrustmaster. But I also had to accept that I was going to throw it away every couple of years when it stopped working (as it regularly did). I actually found the twist for rudder OK when flying choppers, not so much on fixed wing. Pedals are definitely better, and even cheap Thrustmaster ones (it's relative) give you toe brakes which are very useful. I would also support what others have said - a lot depends on what you actually want to do with the sim as to how many buttons you actually need and what will work best for you. If you're looking at WW2 stuff you could argue that a very basic stick and throttle plus pedals would be most realistic as HOTAS wasn't a concept back then. Either way, enjoy!

I'd agree...but can we trust someone named after an aeroplane that didn't fly - it was so ugly that the ground repelled it? (It was bloody effective, despite that, and gloriously eccentric in the way only a British invention could be)

I'm still stuck - been away for a bit but now I'm back. So. I call for startup, get started, request a hover check, do that, request taxi, get clearance, taxi to the stop line, request takeoff. I get clearance to take off eventually (have to roll past the line a bit), start down the runway, get airborne and about 10 seconds later I get a message saying I've violated flight direction and failed the mission. Nothing happens at the holding point and I don't get the option to request anything. It's starting to piss me off. I've looked in the mission editor and can't find any mysterious triggers. What the hell is going on?

Couldn't find the original source but here are the templates: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/upload/iblock/741/uqn5o9l3s50i7c9lz7gpqdbsrccd4vqu/Ka-50-template.zip You will need to keep the filename as is but save it (Export in GIMP) as a .dds or the game won't recognise it. Also make sure you flatten the file before exporting otherwise you just get the layer you're working on.

Yeah - it takes a bit of getting used to but you can do just about anything you could otherwise do in Photoshop and, of course, it's free.

There's definitely a template out there because I've used it. I have to use GIMP for editing because PS doesn't support .dds files - there's a plugin but it's for PC only and my PS is on my Mac... (Can't find it right now but if it's not on here later I'll go find a link)

No. But that doesn't stop a entertaining discussion thread...and we can all dream. Hell, some of us even ask ED to fix stuff in the Black Shark - at least Razbam engages.

Only if it's a Mk4. But I'd rather we had a Wessex. Or a Lynx...

This is a great idea. And it's workable, I think. Truck convoy departs point x to your intended FARP location. Trigger set for when (if) convoy arrives FARP spawns. Use a trigger to unhide FARP at a suitable point or to send its location to you in a message. If the convoy gets zapped by the bad guys then you don't get a FARP (or if key vehicles get taken out)

As we already have the Caucasus in some (!) detail, and as the situation in the area is, um, interesting...could we have some more detail in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine? It's definitely a valid theatre of operations, albeit maybe a sensitive one for the producers... Cheers

I can answer that one! Call air traffic control and ask for permission to taxi.

As a pilot I'd agree with that. But I have flown out of some places where ATC was...informal. Those are the type of places where, when they tell you you're clear, you get out and have a bloody good look around before committing aviation. Basic replies should be: "(Callsign) Start, surface wind xxx, QFE yyyy" "(Callsign) Taxi runway zz" After hold point is called "(Callsign") Lineup" or "(Callsign) Hold" Then "(Callsign) Clear takeoff runway zz, surface wind xxx, QFE yyyy" Finally "(Callsign) contact approach on (button 2 or aaa.a) good day" Or regional variations of that. You should never hear the word "Clear" unless it's responding to a takeoff or landing request.

Thanks for taking the time to post that. OK, I'll try it again, but I don't recall getting the prompt at holding point... Maybe I missed something.

Hi, This is probably really obvious, but I can't work out what I'm doing wrong. Mission one. Call for clearance to start, start. Request permission to taxi, and taxi to the assigned runway (21) when cleared. Request permission to take off and get clearance. Take off down runway centreline and fail in 15 seconds for breaking flight direction rules. Please. Someone tell me what the heck I'm doing wrong? As an IRL pilot I can't see the problem... (I've not done a hover check but that can't be it, can it?) BTW I see there are two runway 21s (Left and Right). I've tried both... Thanks,

I'm actually stuck in the first mission. I request startup, request taxi, follow instructions, request takeoff, take off on the assigned runway when I get clearance...and fail for not obeying flight direction... WTF?

I learned to fly on the Gazelle, moved on to other types (Wessex, Sea King) than back to the Gazelle on the way to Lynx. Happy to discuss, chat, whatever. Drop me a message and we can open a chat on the back channel.

I'm not after Iglas. I'm not really after FLIR, though it would be nice to have. I'm not after anything new. I just want what we have to be fixed so that it works properly, and in all honesty I don't think that's an unreasonable viewpoint. The Shark will always be handicapped in some ways against a 2 crew aircraft. But in other ways it has advantages. but only if systems that help it be so effective are modelled properly so they actually bloody work!

Actually that's not correct. British tanks had Chobham armour, which was the first composite armour deployed on an operational AFV (Chieftain). APFSDS is pretty much a dead heat between Russia, the US and UK - the RA 120mm uses a slip ring to reduce spin speed in the rifled tube... But I'm not disputing that Russia, during and post Soviet era, made a lot of innovations in military hardware, and their kit was often more efficient in use of resources (especially computing) through necessity.

Bugger the wallpaper to cover the cracks. How about spending some of that newly released developer effort on fixing the issues which have been raised so many times on this, the original and best, module? I'm a bit pissed off, to be honest. Not ED's fault that the law stops them from doing this work, but I want BS fixed properly. Please.

It depends on the wind direction and terrain. Landing on a ship with 30 knots over the deck is not a problem, though the turbulence makes anyone in the back a bit queasy. Try the same when you are constrained to a crosswind approach through terrain or enemy positions or whatever and it gets much harder. I've flown and recovered in higher winds but that was more because it was OK when we took off, and if we didn't fly we'd swim, and the water was bloody cold... Also, while I hate to state the obvious, it's much easier correcting a movement that you can feel than it is having to wait until you can see it. There really is no substitute for seat of pants sensation - something that even a sim as good as this can't give us. Yet. As regards the instructor above, rooftops are horrible to land on because the wind, even a gentle breeze, gets swirled around and magnified. A fairly strong wind makes things very unpleasant indeed...

Helicopters *are* hard work in wind. You're working like a one armed paper hanger trying to keep the thing pointed in the right direction while your gunner is trying to keep the TOW sight on the target and calling you all the bastards under the sun...and has forgotten that his microphone is live. Not that I speak from experience or anything...

They're burned into the skin - the only way is to edit the .dds files. Which is easy enough, but before you know it you'll be up all night doing your own liveries. Then it's a slippery slope to mission building and even writing campaigns...