SnowTiger

Each time I hovered (including today), I was well above the ground and nowhere near any FARP or Airport. This is Normal Recon Hovering at treetop elevations or much higher. Sometimes there is no issue and other times the Autopilot goes Ape S**T with the BANK, PITCH and HEADING Hold Buttons Flashing and having ZERO Control over anything. I fly with those three AP buttons ON (as most people do) and slow until I have no forward or lateral or vertical movement before engaging Hover Mode. This is the moment it all goes sideways on me. I have tried hovering at the airport prior to taking off and have had no problems. Other times I go to the target area and hover to Recon the area. Sometimes it's all good and other times it goes Ape as I have indicated above. I have triple-checked all of my Settings and Keybinds etc and Nothing has changed from what it has always been. Again, I point out that this developed immediately following the most recent Update (about 2 or 3 weeks ago ?). I tried to video record the event when it took place because a Track File would be too long prior to this issue happening but I discovered the NVidia Keybind for Recording also happens to coincide with a DCS function that Slows the Play Speed (Alt-Z) so I'd have to revise that in Nvidia. I haven't recorded any flight in Many Years so I just don't have it properly set up to record the issue. I thought of trying to record my Screen with my Phone but that is very difficult with a Quest 3 on my head. I hope ED is paying attention to this thread and may have a solution or can take a look in another configuration because this issue is making DCS unplayable for me. I only fly the Ka-50 and the Mustang and there aren't many Servers for the latter.

I apologize for not getting back here sooner. My health has not been great lately. I did fly last weekend in SP and everything was working fine until after about 30 minutes and then all of a sudden it all went haywire again. I didn't bother with the Track File because I figured it would take too long for anyone to find the issue. I hope to fly again tomorrow (Saturday) and if the problem still exists as I expect it will, I can only hope it'll happen quickly so I can keep a track file and/or video short. I just have to remember how to record a video from Nvidia. It has been years since I've even tried that. I have to admit, I am surprised no one else has mentioned having the same issue .. at least not in this thread. I can't imagine this is only happening to me ?

I will try to get back on DCS on Sunday midday to try it out in SP on Caucasus map and will upload a track file or report any difference then. Meanwhile, I noticed that the most recent update did have a correction to the Blade Tip Lights which I guess, were not tracking with the blade tips or something like that. It is my firm belief that any time DCS/ED touches anything .. such as Windshield Wipers or a Name Tag or whatever, something Completely Unrelated Gets BUSTED. It's been going on for Years. So who knows what this current issue is or if it's even the only one with the BlackShark. Anyway, I sound like I'm just griping now so I'll sign off and check it out again tomorrow. Thanks for the interest.

I updated to DCS 2.9.17.12034 on Thursday but didn't get flying until this morning. Fired everything up and chose to conduct a Hover over the pad and everything went haywire. The Moment you put the chopper in Hover Mode the Autopilot Lights ALL go Off and Flash ON/OFF while the chopper starts doing everything but hover. I didn't bother to see if anything else is Busted from the latest F-update. I fly as a single person on a Multiplayer Server so I rely on Hover when conducting Recon. I hope it's fixed soon because while I have MANY more mods, I only fly the BlackShark and the Mustang and there aren't many servers for flying the Mustang any more.

I'd just like to confirm that I was doing exactly that. Burning out the laser. I was just away from DCS for too many years to remember stuff and getting too old to learn much now. Thanks again for the help.

This is most likely where I have been going wrong. As soon as I get flying and am away from the Air Base or FARP, I arm my weapons AND turn the Laser switch ON. I was under the impression that the switch merely applies power but that the Laser wasn't doing anything until and unless I Lock a Target (which Ranges at the same time). I will be flying today (Saturday) and will most definitely be changing my habits, utilizing the information I have received since first posting this issue. Thanks to both Chump and Flappie for the replies as well as the detailed information provided. I will report my results ASAP. Have a great day Y'all.

First of all, thank you for your reply, Flappie. I definitely am using the correct Bindings thingy (definitely Ka-50 III) but I will concede that the laser may be getting burned out before I start trying to use it. Now.. I "think" I actually tried it out before even taking off and/or I "think" I even tried it in a newly loaded and Auto-Started chopper but I will admit, I do flip the Left Side Console Laser Switch ON often before I even take off or shortly after taking off. So my question is, if I have the Laser Switch ON, is it heating up even though I haven't Targeted anything yet ? I'm pretty sure during my last flight (attempt), before my live wingman and I left the base, I wanted to try sending my wingman some Target DATA while hovering over our spawn position and I couldn't even get the laser to work then .. in a fresh chopper. BUT ... I am going to go in tomorrow and try to see what I'm doing exactly while considering what you have suggested, just to double-check everything before I say any more. My recollection of my last flight(s) is more of Frustration than having a precise account of all that I did or did not do. I will double check everything and report back, especially if I find that I'm just being Dense and/or whether one of your suggestions plays a roll Thanks again for your time.

As of this weekend, I sometimes could not Lock a Target and even when I did, I was not getting a Laser RANGE TO TARGET. NONE ! As such, I never knew exactly how far the target was from me and the Vikhr Missile often fell short (even when inside 3km's) ! I checked that All my Controls were working and recognized in the Controls Settings. I even changed which button (on my Throttle) that I use for Locking and Ranging a Target and that didn't affect anything. Still no Range shown. I should note that I usually use Auto Start to save some farting around, especially using VR with a Bad Back and Neck which negates my ability to look at either of the Rear Panels or many of the switches etc on the Right Wall Panel (towards the rear). My Master Arm is ON. I do have Vikhrs Missiles. The Laser switch is ON. The "Laser Rangefinder/Designator Mode Switch" is on MANUAL and the Correct Pylon has been selected indicating I have 12 Vikhrs. It's also important to note that I am NOT in Gun Mode. So I just don't understand what is going on. Last weekend, everything worked just peachy. This weekend ... Hair Pulling was in order !! Somebody Please Help me understand wtf is going on ? PS> While I was away from DCS for Years, I have been flying Black Shark 3 every weekend for the last 2 months but I'll admit, I had this same issue a month ago or so. It all worked just fine last weekend.

I came up with a different solution for this problem because sometimes I have a hard enough time finding my mouse cursor on my Desktop/Monitor. So I went into Control Panel and Mouse Properties and Selected or Checked the Bottom Option on the "Pointer Options" TAB. Now any time I can't see or find my mouse cursor, I just tap Either "Ctrl" Button (on my keyboard) and I see a big, black Circle around my Cursor. It comes and goes in about 1 second or less. It's enough time to find it and away I go. EDIT: I neglected to Attach this screenshot of my Mouse Properties. Note the Very Bottom/Last checkbox "Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key."

I can't seem to find any missions or campaigns for the Black Shark III. I have The Republic but it's useless. Might just as well be flying in DCS 1.5 considering the Enemy Air Defences can see through Trees and Buildings which means there is no hope of getting through even the First Mission. I'd love to have One Decent Campaign and a few SP Missions for the BS 3. I did search in the User Files but couldn't find anything that has been created in the last 10 years. If anyone has something they are willing to share, I'd be grateful.

This issue with the Trees STILL Exists. Here I'm in the Black Shark 3 in June of 2025 and wondering how and why are SAM's seeing me and taking me out when there are Trees and Buildings between me and them. In fact, unless you know exactly where to look and can lock onto the targets and fire very quickly, it is almost unplayable. I have flown the FIRST mission 8 times and 8 times I got shot down even though I was being very methodical with my approach and I changed tactics with every new turn. The Republic might as well be DELETED from the game to regain at least some HD space for future Fk-updates.

Awesome. Thanks again.

10-4 The more I explore in DCS, the more I realize ED's policy is somewhat like that of most governments. "If it makes sense ... Don't Do It" ! hehe PS> ED/DCS ... that's meant to be "humour" .. not an attack.

Thank you MAXsenna for your reply. I'm not sure I have the mental power to set it all up properly but I certainly would like to get it to work. It just seems that there are so many external things that must be learned to fly in DCS that my old brain might not be totally up for ... but I will give it a go. When I do start setting this stuff up, might you be willing to connect via Discord (or whatever) to help make sure I'm on the right track ? It'll likely be another month before I'm ready to start getting it going but it could be sooner too.

But what if I have Never had any MFD's or Exported Views ? How does this apply then ? It seems that ultimately, the solution is OpenKneeboard. Great .. one more thing to have to learn.