47_Driver

Can definitely tell you've flown the real thing if you know all this. I've noticed that the module with the AFCS on seems to fly like a watered down AFCS off. Not quite as bad, but I was messing around in level flight, trimmed up real nice, and as I added power the nose would dip just like it should AFCS off. Opposite would happen when I took power out, nose would pitch up. So it seems they've got some of the fundamentals down for what the aircraft should do, they just need to build on that and make it to where the AFCS actually does its' job at suppressing those things. I've had to break the habit of trying to fly the module as I would fly the real aircraft, at least in its' current state, and I've been having fun with it. Definitely tough to do cause everything looks so true to life lol, but for now I think that's the solution for those of us who know how it should actually fly.

You are correct, that's how they should function. I'll mess with this later and see if I can replicate on my end.

That's me! Thank you for the support and the share!

Pulling the fire pull handle only cuts fuel to the associated engine. The handle must then be twisted either direction to pop either the #1 or #2 fire bottle which will discharge the fire suppressant agent into the engine area. As far as I'm aware, the twist function is not yet modeled.

Close the crossfeed for normal operation. I'll have a look at this today, but I've not noticed any issues so far.

The ACK button on the cyclic is for acknowledging ACTIVE cautions, ie. the Master Caution light is illuminated. The ACK button on the MFD will acknowledge subsequent cautions on the WCA, which will cause them to no longer be highlighted. You can use one of the Hat switches on the cyclic, can't remember the name off the top of my head but something like cursor something or other, to highlight different MFD functions. As you move that switch around it will underline the functions on the border of the MFD. You can move it down to the ACK button on the MFD and use the cursor ack(?) button, very top left on the cyclic, to ack away cautions without having to touch the MFD.

I can agree that VRS seems a bit overdone in DCS, but I wouldn't say that you won't get into it unless it's on purpose. Task saturation is a driving factor here, and if you start to lose your scan on an approach I could absolutely see how you could wind up settling with power. Especially with internal cargo, because you forget it's there. In the 47 at least... High, hot, and heavy are definitely large contributors though.

Not very prone to VRS. We'll see how DCS models that. Can absolutely get into it just like in any other helicopter, especially when heavy, but we generally don't put ourselves into a flight profile that would incur Settling With Power or VRS. If you do experience it, however, just remember that to escape Settling With Power or VRS in a Chinook requires lateral cyclic or pedal. Absolutely do not try forward cyclic like a normal helicopter or you will die. @sirrah, I understand the desire for a challenge when flying a virtual aircraft. However, us IRL 47 Pilots are very grateful that she is so easy to fly.... Makes doing our jobs much easier! And yes, turn the AFCS off. Probably one of the most challenging helicopters in the world to fly with that off. Nothing makes sense.

Takes a long time. The empty tank weighs about 800lbs and requires quite a bit of muscle to get it into place and locked in with the bracket system. Usually at least 2 hours to have one installed.

I've been playing DCS for 11 years. It helped foster my love for aviation. I continue to love DCS, and for the last 5 years I've been flying the CH-47F as a career. It's an incredible aircraft and I'm excited to be able to fly it from home!

As a Chinook pilot, I can confirm that we specifically target Porta-John's to send them flying. It is one of our simple pleasures in the Chinook community, and if you added something stupid and simple like this to DCS I don't think I would be able to contain my excitement.

Late to the party here, but I can indeed confirm that the Chinook is a very easy helicopter to fly when the AFCS is on and everything is working. She's also incredibly powerful and maneuverable. I will absolutely NEVER forget bringing the Engine Condition Levers to flight for the first time and feeling the sheer power of the aircraft around me. Terrifying and awesome at the same time. Don't let the ease of maneuverability keep you from giving the aircraft a try, though. It's an absolute blast to fly and can do some amazing things. She's incredibly nimble for her size, and when she's not heavy with cargo you'd be shocked at what this aircraft can do. If DCS keeps up their track record of accurately representing flight models, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Time will tell, but I'll be sure to give my opinions on the flight model when the module is released into EA on my Youtube channel, 47Driver.

I will be doing plenty of 47F tutorials on the 47Driver YouTube channel as soon as it releases in EA. Unfortunately, I don't and will not have access to the module sooner than that. I am an active CH-47F pilot, and I plan on doing a series of simple/straight forward tutorials as well as some more in depth content on the aircraft as well. Thanks!

The MFCU does a lot of things, but there are also quite a few buttons that aren't really utilized. The hat on the top left will change which MFD is SOI. The China Hat in the middle is your slew cursor. The Castle Switch on the right will cycle through available Maps, ie., VFR sectional, IFR Low, JOG, TLM. The single button below the China Hat.... can't really remember what it does. Don't use it very often lol something to do with changing modes on the MFD that is currently selected as SOI. On the bottom, there is a trigger which is used to "Hook" a NAVAID, FIX, Friendly/Enemy icon, Overlay, etc. This will open a drop-down with a bunch of different options like Data, Direct-To, Reroute, etc. Below the Trigger towards the bottom of the grip there is a roller, kinda like a mousewheel, that sucks and nobody uses. Will scroll through menu options, but it's not tuned very well and scrolls way too fast. (The China Hat can be pushed up or down to scroll through options as well). There's also a single button on the bottom that will uncage the slew cursor so you have full slew control on the moving map, instead of the map being centered on your aircraft. Then there's a boat switch that does absolutely nothing as far as I'm aware.

Indeed, that's me. Just getting off my feet with the channel, but I'll be hopefully doing some more stuff soon. I will take a look at what ED has put out and I can do a discussion based video about it for sure. Thanks for the support!

I mean, it's not really a classified aircraft in any way. Has certain things on it that are classified of course, but most of the capabilities are open source, since the aircraft has remained largely unchanged since it's inception in the 60's. Same reason we were able to get a D model Apache, they just have to take their best guess when it comes to certain systems/functions that may be classified.

Those are the most recent ones and they have a ton of amazing features and capabilities. Some of the older DAFCS versions are not great.

It's a Block I. The Block II only just started production recently. As to which CAAS Software Version/DAFCS version we'll have, not sure. Hopefully CAAS 9.4.4 and DAFCS 3.3, but we'll see. There will be countermeasures for sure. No FLIR or TFR for the MYII Block I F model. If they add a SOAR variant, either the newer G model or the older E model, we may get those.

It's called the Thrust Control Lever in the Chinook, not the collective. This is because the cyclic can also collectively change the pitch in the fore/aft blades. Yes, you have to hold the trigger to move the Thrust lever up or down.

No problem. I've reached out to ED regarding help with development. They have a team of SME's already, but we'll see. The Thrust Mag Brake Trigger just disengages the Thrust Mag Brake that holds the thrust lever in place. When you want to increase/decrease thrust, squeeze the trigger and pull the lever up or push it down. Release the trigger and the thrust lever will stay where you released it. The mag break has a clutch that can be slipped with somewhere between 7 and 23lbs of force in the event of a failure of the mag brake. DAFCS is a bit complex to explain here, but stands for Digital Automatic Flight Control System. Has a ton of features, but in summary you can use ALT modes to capture current Inertial Altitude or Radar Altitude, DECEL mode to slow the aircraft to a hover from 65K ground speed (switches to POS mode which captures and locks in a perfect hover), DESCENT mode with DECEL mode to initiate a descent/decel to a hover, etc. Tons of functionality.

Correct. AFCS system select switch. Off-1-Both-2-Off. Pretty spot on with the 3/4 and 1/2 gain comment as well. 1 AFCS system will operate on 3/4 gain, meaning the Integrated Lower Control Arm Actuators, ILCA's, will only input 3/4 of their full authority under both systems. I can assure you that you do NOT want to fly the CH-47 with the AFCS off in a simulator. Flying the aircraft AFCS off is an entirely seat-of-your-pants experience. It cannot be replicated in a sim and cannot be accomplished while focused on instruments. You are outside, and you are one with the aircraft. The Chinook has zero aerodynamic properties, and with the AFCS off it's probably (based on what I've flown), one of the most difficult helicopters in the world to fly. Nothing makes sense. Takes a lot of practice, but it's something we train for just about every time we fly it, at least when I'm on the aircraft calling the shots. There's a lot of CDU menus. Too many to list. I've never heard it called a HOCAS, certainly not in the Chinook (because collective=thrust), but I'll break it down a bit: On the Cyclic: Trigger= mic. First detent is ICS, or internal to the aircraft. Second detent is whatever radio you have selected. AFCS trim switch functions like the trim in any airplane you've flown in DCS. Guarded External Load Jettison Switch. Master Caution ACKNOWLEDGE button. Chaff/Flare. Flight Director Uncouple. Force Trim Release. Cursor ACK switch and select switch, allows you to select something on the MFD, change what's displayed etc. Flare Jettison button. On the Thrust Lever: Searchlight (D/IR Mode Switch), on/off, bright/dim, slew. DAFCS (Decel, ALT-I/ALT-R, LVL, DESCENT, POSN) mode select switch. This 4 way switch is what makes the Chinook awesome. MARK button, (markpoint). Remote Radio Control selector. GO AROUND trigger, (pinky), automatically cues the flight director for a climb to FL200 at 90KCAS and captures current heading, or cues FD to what you've entered in the CDU. Used for missed approaches or IIMC recovery. Thrust Mag Brake Trigger, (index finger). HUD stuff, which doesn't work on the latest F model.

Those grips at the bottom are called the MFCU, Multi Function Control Unit. It's how we can control information on our MFDs. Similar to a HOTAS in a fighter jet. I can use the china hat at the top to slew around my map. There's a trigger on the bottom which I can use to "hook" onto targets, drop new points onto my route, look at data for an airport/fix, etc. It's very handy. Someone was asking about the controls being mirrored. The Thrust is on the left side for both left seat and right seat. It's obviously just not pictured in that photo. Everything is exactly the same left or right. Sitting in the right seat and manipulating the CDU can be a bit of a pain because you have to work around the thrust lever.

The "collective" in the Chinook is called the Thrust Control Lever, or Thrust Lever. It operates as a normal collective, as in it collectively changes the pitch of all blades in the fore and aft rotor system. We call it thrust because we're better than everyone else.... lol. Really, we don't call it a collective because we also have the ability to change collective pitch with longitudinal cyclic, fwd cyclic increases collective pitch on the aft rotor and decreases it on the fwd, and vice versa. This is called Differential Collective Pitch and is a huge part of how Tandem Rotor helicopters operate. Missions can be complex, yes. And zero illumination under Night Vision Goggles certainly ups the ante. However, in terms of just pure control, the 47 is amazingly easy to fly. No tail rotor means no antitorque, no translating tendency, etc. The helicopter is extremely stable as long as the Automated Flight Control System is operational. Plus, it can basically fly itself from the ground to any given point, shoot an approach to a hover, and land with no more than two button pushes.... Crew coordination in the Chinook is huge. It's what we do better than anyone else. We have to, because up in the cockpit I have almost 100ft of helicopter behind me that I can't see. We rely on our Flight Engineers and Crew Chiefs to safely operate the aircraft. They also have their own set of gauges and indicator lights on what's called the Maintenance Panel in the back near the ramp. They can use this to diagnose a variety of issues. They monitor eng/transmission pressure and temperature, hydraulic system fluid levels and temp, etc etc. Those guys are awesome and there is no chance I could go out and fly a Chinook outside of anything but a traffic pattern without those guys.

I'm curious if I can find a way to get in touch with the development team for the 47. I'm an active CH-47F pilot and I'm sure I could offer some assistance with flight/systems modeling. The 47 is very easy to fly, (as long as the AFCS is on!), and it has some incredible systems available to the pilots. I'm curious how they'll factor in the role of the Flight Engineer. An essential part of the crew. Maybe an AI similar to George?