manbird

I may be the last guy that noticed this, but I was flying a mission and got shot down. I ejected safely. Then I figured, what the heck let's move the joystick and see if the little pilot walks around. he does! He doesn't run, so it would be a long walk back to base!

Is the original poster serious?

Oh what the heck, throw in the OAT in the upcoming patch. I was trying to communicate that OAT is really not that important in this sim since BS doesn't model moisture content and varying temperatures and inversion layers. Whatever makes ya' happy. I say go for it! Perhaps I failed to communicate that OAT is not the only indicator of icing conditions and that the other variables are not simulated in BS, therefore no need for an OAT gauge. If you feel that there is, great. But I don't. For those of you who felt I was "teaching", my apologies. I truly have no place here on this board. Cheers and enjoy what DCS has given us, and we welcome any improvments. -Manbird over and out. :pilotfly:

Same here. But I'm talking about the Sim. If we are talking about real life, then yes, OAT would be VERY helpfull.

I meant to say they don't use it exclusively.

IN all seriousness, if you want an OAT gauge that is useful in this sim, then they'll need to add various temperature regions and atmospheric moisture regions, since temperature is not an indication of icing alone. Otherwise, all you have is a boring instrument that does the same thing every time, which is go down at altitude, and stay the same at ground level, no matter where you are. Really neat.

Aser, no need to be rude. Be thankfull you have a compass. ;) BTW, Since we're flashing badges, I'm a PPMSEL/ IFR myself in airplanes.

LOL

Very true. Maybe I'm old school, I just don't understand what simulators are supposed to focus on anymore. This DCS sim is a SPECTACULAR Heli simulation, but focus has to come with sacrifice. Since I usualy desimate my enemies within minutes, I see no point in watcing them poop there pants and run around in hysterics. Instead, I'd rather see those computer resources left free for smooth frame rates and stable play. I mean , it just has CTD written all over it. IMHO

If you want to know when to turn on ANTI-Icing, do what evey other pilot does, take the temperature you set in the mission editor or from the flight briefing, if it's under 5c then turn it on. Then take the same temp, and reduce it 6.5c for every 1000 meters, if you get to under 5c then turn it on. So for example, if your airfield temp is 25c, then you would effectively turn on Anti-Icing at around 3,800 meters. ROUGHLY, simplified for this sim is.. Your OAT is (Ground temp - (6.5*(current alt/1000)))

hehe, the only time I ever touch the OAT guage, is when I have to rotate it to let in some outside air, since it's usually attached to the outside vent. Damn magnifying canopy glass!!

Secondly, don't confuse de-icing with anti-icing. The KA-50 does NOT have de-icing ability for anything other than the canopy and the windscreen (which is a liquid agent sprayed onto the surface). It has ANTI-Icing equipment. Anti Icing equipment, like on most aircraft, is turned on, to prevent icing in case of icing conditions. Therefore a good policy to turn it on at high altitudes and in visible icing conditions. Which is what we do in this sim. regardless of what the OAT gauge says. The OAT guage is not an icing detection guage. DE-Icing equipment, like on large aircraft and some smaller aircraft, use bleed air or deicing boots to get rid of icing that is FORMING on the surfaces, and is only used when icing is seen forming on the plane. And it is periodicaly used in icing conditions, in conjunction with anti icing equipment, to break up forming ice. In this simulator, we are told to turn on ANTI-icing equipment to prevent icing forming in our engine, or on our rotors. It just so happens (IMHO) that to simplify the weather engine in DCS, they gurantee that you will get icing if you fail to turn them on. Since it's policy to turn them on at high altitudes and low temperatures (JUST IN CASE), why go through the bother of simualting icing regions? So you can purposly fly into a cloud and roll the dice to see if your engine will go Kapuut? -manbird out

being a RL pilot, I see things a bit differently. The only times I ever use an OAT is when calculating my True Airspeed. All Icing detection and avoidance is done by visual means, or by routing my flight to avoid areas of expected icing conditions. In particular, 747 and 767 pilots don't use OAT for anti Icing at all. Simply they are told to use it in visible icing conditions. It takes more than low temperature to create icing conditions. The decrease in OAT at altitude is a standard formula, and the only reason the fomula is used is to, again, calculate your True Airspeed. But this isn't necesary for glass cockpit aircraft like the KA-50. So, no, you don't need an OAT gauge, which is probably why it was left out.

I think so too, almost as if it won't allow the heli to slide on the grass. It's like it has ultra grip on the ground.

Hi miguez, you're right. It made it a lot better. You can still see a little flash behind the screen, but it made it much easier to read the HUD.

Sounds like you want a "drop and play" AI. Sounds pretty cool. The only problem would be, it would be resource hogging. I guess with a name like Digital Combat Simulator, you're going to get a lot of request for Micro AI implementation. That's where the Mission Editor come's in, you can set triggers for a unit to go to a certain location if the heli is XXX meters close. That way you can gurantee the appropriate unit response. If you bogged the computer into calculating this in the AI, you might have infantry running into a lake, or through a house (as opposed to through the door), you could even have them "run away" to a spot you can still clearly see them at. They could also, run through eachother, or through trees. Too many chances for bugs IMHNPO (Humble Non-Programmer Opinion). The beauty of the mission editor.

Decided to have a little fun and do a ferry flight to a FARP up in the mountains during night time in heavy fog, turbulence and thunderstorms with a low ceiling :joystick:. Needless to say, after carefully reviewing the route to verify waypoint altitudes I ended up crashing right into a mountain while fooling around with the GPS display. :doh: Any way, I found it difficult to focus on the HUD because the lightning flashes are 10 times fierce in the clouds than outside, but low and behold, as soon as I flip up the HUD filter screen, the lightning flashes no longer backlight the HUD! So I guess that's what they are used for afterall! :smartass: Maybe during direct sunlight travel too?

For those of you that are still curious, I did a number of landings on different grounds to see if the complaint about not being able to land on dirt was a Sim limitation or a Pilot limitation. Turns out, through VERY delicate use of the controls and maintaining virtually zero speeds laterally, I was able to land on a basketball court, football field, and 2 different patches of grass/dirt. This maybe true in reality as well, that any rotational or sideways movement prior to touchdown (regardless of how much) will result in the chopper tipping over. If it's possible to land on the grass in an Autorotation and still be upright remains to be seen, I'm not that good to run those types of tests! Perhaps someone here is! Other than emergencies, I have no sensible reason to land on anything other than a FARP or airfield, so anyone who has been successful landing on dirt with a damaged Heli let us know. Manbird out..

...now does anyone know which button to press to open the door? :smilewink:

This is a forum for asking questions, if you don't like the questions then don't click on the thread. Some junior memebrs here are actual pilots, some senior members here are armchair pilots. We all share the same enjoyable product and community. If you want restrictive forums, then perhaps you should form your own blackshark page and hang out there.

In real life, the use of the Anti Icing equipment is a standard operational procedure that does not require the pilot to look up every ten minutes to note the temperature of the guage. You will turn it on at 3000+m or in visible icing conditions or in clouds. You will also turn it on if the temperature is below XX degrees on the ground., this temperature should be noted in your flight briefing or in your mission editor. Simple as that.

Eject

Fair enough, but I do believe in the 'sickness', some people will actually stop playing a simulator if they find that something is not modelled. You may not be that person, but they're out there. After all, most sim junkies are like that.

Finally a complaint I can relate to. This is one area where it would be helpful land on a patch of grass during an emergency. I guess until then , we'll have to scan the area for roads to land on, which isn't a big deal I guess.

Why are you trying to land on a train?