wickedpenguin

Hehe, I think that probably happened to everyone the first few times out. If you over-rev the engines, two warning message will appear on the top right overhead panel: LH POWER SET LIM and RH POWER SET LIM. Those indicate the left and right engines were oversped and were limited by the electronic engine governer. If illuminated only briefly- for instance if you're trying to get a heavy helo off the ground or pouring on the power to take evasive action from a SAM - it's not too bad. However, if those lights are on for any lengthy period of time, chances are good you're in for a self-induced rotor strike. Also, when you're operating at the upper limits of the speed envelope do not make high-G maneuvers. That is, unless you really don't like your rotors.

No, you're not. I was.

Interesting. Well, I stand corrected - and informed! I confess I've never looked at a helicopter's operating manual before and didn't know there were two separate values for IGE/OGE hovering.

Ground effect is dependent on wingspan and the distance of the aircraft from the surface. It's usually only felt when the aircraft is within 1 to 1.5 times its wingspan above the surface. For instance, in the Cessnas I flew, ground effect was only noticeable up to about 50 feet AGL. With helicopters - according to Wikipedia - "the effect occurs when the helicopter is within one blade length of a hard surface." So, you're talking either 4000m... or about 4007.25m if you're hovering directly above the summit of a 4000m meter mountain. :)

You know, I wonder if it would be possible to upload the PDF to one of those self-publishing sites like Lulu.com or Createspace.com. It'd be interesting to see how it would turn out.

I'm not impressed with the graphics fidelity. It does run very smooth, though.

Just a random assortment of videos I've shot over the past couple of years, all having to do with aviation. Blue Angels 2007 Homecoming Show I'm an ATC at Pensacola - where the Blues are based - and get to work them pretty frequently. This show was my first time seeing them on their home turf. T-45 Goshawk I had worked this airplane in on the ILS when she arrived and happened to be standing out back of the TRACON when she departed. Lovely voice on that female pilot. :) Red Bull P-38 Lightning Lifting Red Bull's like-new P-38 over a fence at NAS Pensacola and literally towing down the road with a pickup truck to a waiting barge, on which she will be shipped to Germany. Embraer Climbing Through Clouds Looking out the window of an ERJ-145 as we punch through multiple cloud layers. I used the images as inspiration to write a quick piece of original music. Real Air Traffic Control A look inside Miami TRACON's radar room, showing how it looks from a controller's viewpoint.

You guys might want to check out the biography of Col. John Boyd. It was a real eye opener when I read it a few years back. Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War Boyd was pivotal in creating modern fighter tactics. At the time he became a pilot, the USAF and USN were focused on creating aircraft that flew faster, higher, and further, but were no longer real fighter aircraft. They were so heavy they couldn't maneuver well, they were too technologically complicated, and they relied far too much on missiles. As a response - and to the endless annoyance of his superiors - he developed the Energy Maneuverability Theory and OODA loop theory and openly attacked the fighter design philosophy of the day. To put it simply, whoever retains the most energy in a dogfight wins. Big heavy swing wings and nuclear weapons capability aren't going to help you in a furball. The man preached the theories to anyone who would listen and eventually managed to swing the boat around. Boyd was also an amazing pilot on his own. He did serve in Korea, but never got a kill before the war ended. However, back stateside, he was an air combat instructor pilot and was able to defeat anyone within forty seconds from a position of disadvantage (leading to him being called "Forty Second Boyd"). He is largely responsible for the creation of the F-15, the Lightweight Fighter competition - which spawned the F-16 and F/A-18 - and even had a huge impact on the land attack strategy used in the first Gulf War. If you guys want to learn about modern air combat tactics, Boyd's the man who created the foundation for them.

I'm curious as to why. From the descriptions that I've read, there wasn't that much different aside from some LEDs, an updated MFD, and - I believe - an additional spring for the stick.

I just put up a review of BS on my aviation blog. http://pinguinomalo.blogspot.com/ This sim is amazing. I wanted to do my part to get the word out there and tell people what it's all about. More interest = more buyers = more modules in the future!

Go for the Saitek X52 standard. The Pro's extra $$$ isn't justified at all. I've used the Saitek X45 (predecessor to the X52) for about five years and have had zero issues with it. It's structurally sound and its buttons are both ergonomically and logically laid out. Also, with the rudder rocker on the front end of the throttle, you don't really need separate rudder pedals. The rocker also feels much more solid than a stick twist, since you can move your left hand independently without affecting the right's stick movement. Here's how I have mine setup: X-45 Stick Hat switch 1: Camera view Hat switch 2: HMS toggle / Select cannon / Select inboard pylons / Select outboard pylons Btn 1: Fire cannon Btn 2: Lock target Btn 3: Flares Btn 4: Release weapons (missiles/rockets/bombs) Btn 7: Auto Hover Btn 8: Uncage Shkval X-45 Throttle Btn POV1 (mini hat switch): Slew Shkval Btn 5: Trim Btn 6: Trim reset Joy Slider2 (rotary): View zoom Btn 19/20/21/22 (4-way switch): Head-on airborne target / Ground moving target / Auto turn-on target / Airborne target Rudder rocker: rudder I don't have any experience with Thrustmaster. No opinion there. As far as CH Products go, I don't really recommend them anymore. Firstly, they're extremely expensive. Second, I've had hardware issues with their rudder pedals, leaving them basically useless. They simply refuse to center, and no amount of software tweaking alleviates the problem. They're out of warranty now, anyway. I've had to resort to using the rudder rocker lever on my X45. At least here in the states, you can get the X52 HOTAS for less ($81 USD) than the cost of a single CH Products throttle ($109 USD) or stick ($100 USD). And it works very well.

I could see a need for weather reports in the A-10C module since you're going longer distances, where the weather over your target could be vastly different than your home field's weather. But in DCS:BS? Nah! The tower gives you the wind, which is the most important thing. Everything else - cloud coverage, rain, ceilings - can be divided into two handy, easy-to-use terms: 1) Shi*ty 2) Not shi*ty

I'm curious as to what she thought!

My parents still have a working Apple II with a working copy of the original Flight Simulator on a big 5 1/4" floppy... and a working Kraft joystick. :) That thing was great. It wasn't spring-loaded, so it always stayed in whatever position you left it. Since then, I've played the following: MSFS 4.0, Fly! II, Falcon MC (Mac version of Falcon), MS Combat Flight Simulator (1/2/3), MiG-29 Fulcrum, F-16 Multirole Fighter, Apache Longbow, MiG Alley, IL-2 (original, Forgotten Battles, Pacific Fighters, 1946), MS FS2004, X-Plane 8, LO:MAC, MS FS X, and now Black Shark. Then of course there's a lot of aviation and space combat games thrown in too: Choplifter, Tigerheli, Top Gun, Freespace 2 (still the best damn space sim EVER), X-Wing, Beyond the Red Line, and Comanche 4. Holy crap. I just looked back at that list. Man, have I played a lot of flight sims over the years! I'd never written them all down in one place before. I still suck at them all though....

I'm so sad to hear this. I highly doubt it was lightning. Honestly, there are so many possibilities. Extreme turbulence. Electrical fire. Explosive decompression. Terrorism. Failure/icing/blockage of pitot tubes, leading to incorrect readings. Faulty radar readout. A modern airliner is a complex beast with a ton of redundancy. However, small issues tend to multiply themselves. What bothers me the most is that whatever happened, happened so quickly that the aircraft was not able to transmit a mayday. To me, that speaks of an explosion, explosive decompression, or catastrophic airframe failure. Or, something like an uncommanded flat/slat deployment or control surface actuation could have the crew fighting an aircraft suddenly out of control. Enough speed or G-forces could tear the aircraft apart.

You really need a full HOTAS for this sim. I use a Saitek X45 HOTAS and a G15 keyboard. They have just enough buttons/switches/keys to handle all the necessary items. My button and key setup is as follows: X-45 Stick Hat switch 1: Camera view Hat switch 2: HMS toggle / Select cannon / Select inboard pylons / Select outboard pylons Btn 1: Fire cannon Btn 2: Lock target Btn 3: Flares Btn 4: Release weapons (missiles/rockets/bombs) Btn 7: Auto Hover Btn 8: Uncage Shkval X-45 Throttle Btn POV1 (mini hat switch): Slew Shkval Btn 5: Trim Btn 6: Trim reset Joy Slider2 (rotary): View zoom Btn 19/20/21/22 (4-way switch): Head-on airborne target / Ground moving target / Auto turn-on target / Airborne target Rudder rocker: rudder G15 Keyboard G7/G8/G10/G11: Autopilot buttons (BANK / HDG / PITCH / ALT) G9: Master Arm G12: Laser Standby G13: Datalink - Vehicle target G14: Datalink - AAA target G15: Datalink - Other target G16: Datalink - Select Wingman #2 G17: Datalink - Select All Wingmen G18: Datalink - Memory / Transmit

Wow - the KA-52 is a beautiful machine. The KA-50 falls under the "it's so ugly it's evil-looking" category, like the Mi-28. The Alligator is actually a good-looking helicopter.

Learn to Trim. Once I got the hang of how the Trim function works in BS, it's easy to hover. You can't be screaming along at 280kph and just flick on AutoHover. You need to ease into it, bleeding airspeed by easing off the collective and slowly pulling the nose up. Practice it often enough and you'll be able to do it without losing or gaining altitude. As you slow down, keep retrimming the helicopter. Once you're near a hover, you may need to add in some more collective so you don't sink. And just keep trimming until you're in that hover. It takes patience and practice, and is the first thing a real life helicopter pilot learns to do.

I'd just like to create a single thread to combine the issues I and a bunch of other people appear to be having under Vista 32-bit when it comes to multi-monitor issues. I formally request (not demand, I'm still very, VERY pleased with the sim as-is) that these issues with Multi-monitor be fixed in the upcoming patch. If they're not, I'm not going to scream and cry and demand my money back or anything. But... they would greatly improve the user experience for both myself and others. 1) Allow multi-monitor in fullscreen mode on Vista 32-bit. 2) Community fixes involving .LUA files result in the communications menus appearing in odd places (typically right on top of the ABRIS for me). Force the comms menu to appear in the main camera view when it is toggled to appear. 3) Multi-player menus are stretched beyond usability. 4) Ability to assign Shkval to left or right monitor via the Options menu. Currently, it appears that the only menu option is Shkval+Camera, not Camera+Shkval. 5) Ability to split-screen Shkval and ABRIS in one monitor via the Options menu. It seems as if every community fix addresses one issue while creating another. For instance, I can play multi-monitor now, but my frame rate takes a hit in windowed mode and I can't play online at all. If the ED development team can come up with a single fix that doesn't involve compromises, that would be fantastic. You would certainly have my unending gratitude.

I've got all the cabling. That's not an issue. I have it connected as follows: S-video out from computer -> S-video cable -> S-video/video composite adapter -> composite cable -> DVD player I'm just wondering how I can get Black Shark to recognize the DVD player as a Skhval display.

It's great. When you do play online, use that datalink! It's one of the coolest features of this sim and this helo. When you hop on a server, make sure that you communicate with your fellow players and get yourself a datalink slot. For instance, ask, "Which datalink slots are free on which frequency?" You'll have people reply, "I'm slot [1/2/3/4] on [default freq(127.5)/some other freq]." When you're playing cooperatively, feeding each other targets via datalink, it really feels like you're a working flight. You're all just a roving band of helo-thugs, looking to beat somebody up. :thumbup: I actually have the datalink keys mapped to my "G" keys on my G15 keyboard. G13/G14/G15 are the Vehicle/SAM/Other Target buttons. G16/G17 are wingman #2 and Send All, respectively. G18 is Memory/Transmit.

There are always "rivet counters" who do not seem to understand the process of software and graphics development. They want everything perfect, right out of the gate, regardless of development time, money, and needs. When they don't get it, they cry and moan. There was one guy in the Red Orchestra: Ostfont community who adamantly demanded his money back for the game because one of the weapons' safety switches was modeled in the "on" position. He declared it ruined the game for him. It seems like people here are far more understanding, but we still get our share of knuckleheads.

It was actually three, one right after the other. I had never tried a blue vs. red match before, so it was very fun doing the cat and mouse game. So much patience needed, yet so very rewarding. The first one, I followed the unsuspecting target for about forty kilometers to his home base, flying low level behind him. We started off about 18km apart, and I closed the distance slowly, maybe 1km per minute. My patience paid off. As he arrived at his base, he did finally realize I was there, but didn't react fast enough before I shot him out of the sky with my cannon. The second was a head-to-shot in the open plains, where me both blew each other out of the sky with a Vikhr. It was a very amusing Saving Private Ryan sniper-vs-sniper episode. Many LOLs resulted. :) So, that was one kill for me, one draw. The last one I did something different. I flew into the combat area and located a small factory. I lowered myself between the buildings, hovered, and simply waited. I actually hovered manually in those tight quarters, as I didn't want to trust the auto-hover, due its drifting tendencies. I impressed myself, LOL. Here comes this fellow again. I pop up, catch line of sight with him, slew my Skhval and just sink back down into the buildings. Periodically I would pop up again to update my track on him. Finally, he closed into shooting range. Target lock. Lase him. Line it up. Fire. Boom! Third kill, and I get best of three engagements. One disclaimer: the unit tags were on with this particular server, so we could see "a" target from about 18km away if we had LOS. I want to try this again, but on a server with no tags. That'll be a real challenge. It was great fun, and I really liked using cover. It just felt dirty and sneaky... in a good way! I also feel like I'm finally "getting" the sim, as I was able to maneuver and hold position in tight quarters, engage a target, and utilize cover simultaneously. I also refrained from using my laser designator until I was sure the target was in range, thereby not letting them know they were being targeted. Just thought I'd share. Two weeks ago I could barely keep her flying straight. Things have improved. :)

I've read several books by Vietnam War helicopter pilots where they'd do that. One of my favorites is this one. Some truly harrowing stuff in there. However, given that our BS has (A) helicopter blades designed to break off and (B) explosive charges in the blades to help them break off, I wouldn't recommend that. Besides, they only did it with thinner, younger trees. I wouldn't go trying to mow a sequioa with a Huey anytime soon. :)

What I'm talking most about, in terms of RO mapping, was forests that bordered the edges of maps or maps that were exclusively tanks. I agree that impassable forests on an infantry or combined-arms maps - such as RO-Arad and others - were pretty frustrating. Hopefully their new Heroes of Stalingrad game corrects that. But in BS, I think it would be fine to block off an entire forest area with a collision volume. Helos use trees for cover and tactical advantage, but they're not going to weaving through a dense forest like an infantryman would. I'm speaking from Unreal Engine experience, as that's the only one with which I have working knowledge. In UE, you drop create a complex static mesh (such as a tree) and then associate it with a much simpler collision mesh. In the case of a tree, the display model was a full-figured tree with branches, leaf clusters, and such, but the collision model could be as simple as 3x polygons as you described, with maybe a simple cylinder or 4-sided polygon for the trunk. I'd love to see what you're suggesting, as far as using that simple geometry to block LOS and infrared/radar sensors.