X-31_VECTOR

The tail wheel is also much farther forward on a Seahawk than a UH-60, primarily as a function of the tail fold, but also to allow the tail to extend out over the deck edge and still have all wheels on the deck. I guess it's a question of which breaks one's immersion more, though (crappy SH-60 model vs UH-60 model in Navy skin), which is of course just a matter of personal preference.

Well, given your real-world experience, the lurching all over the skies probably won't be the issue it was for me (lots of IRL time in helicopters, but not as a pilot). Then again, you would not be the first pilot to find that the muscle memory built in real flying may actually make desktop sim flying more difficult, especially with the very different feel of the stick, collective and pedals from real life. When I took my Warthog grip and put it on a Virpil VPC WarBrd base, it made hovering helos much easier because it was much smoother. When I replaced the included cams with the "Cosmosim" centerless cams Virpil sells, it made another huge difference. And if you get pedals such as the MFG Crosswinds, they can be modded with a hydraulic damper in place of the centering spring for what I am told is a much more realistic feeling. The one real challenge is a good collective (on a reasonable budget), though Virpil is developing one. Makes for a fun DIY project though. :)

Helos are amazing in VR, but if you can't hold a stable hover yet, keep that airsickness bag handy in the leg pocket of your flight suit. The only thing that has made me sick in VR is lurching all over the place in a UH-1 trying to land on an oil platform, when I was first learning to fly it.

Something else to consider is the upcoming [release date tbd] OH-58D module being developed by Polychop Simulations. This may more closely resemble the old LB2 experience of using a mast-mounted sensor system to acquire targets from behind terrain masking, though of course the primary job of the OH-58D was not to go out and kill 16 tanks. I actually bought the KA-50 because I was looking for exactly the same thing as you -- something to give me the feeling that LB2 did. It ain't the same... but I also have to say that even though I have a ton to learn about the Black Shark still, I've had a lot of fun and agree that it's the closest thing available today. By the way, if you haven't tried the UH-1, consider that. When my head is spinning from learning all the systems on the KA-50 and I just want the challenge and fun of flying a helicopter, I retreat into the UH-1. No fancy sensors or autopilot, all unguided weapons, but a whole lot of fun.

Got it! And I assume I still leave the line: ExportScript.Config.IkarusExport = true -- false for not use ...set to "= true" because we want DCS ExportScripts to continue to export all the data it would normally export for Ikarus, but we just want it to do it on the port used by "DCS Interface for Streamdeck" instead? [My primitive line of questioning is reminding me of a favorite Homer Simspon quote: ""It’s so simple to be smart … just think of something stupid to say and then don’t say it."]

Fantastic tool! I'm getting some weird behavior with a profile I'm creating for the UH-1, and without going into all the detail, I think the issue is that the Stream Decks are talking to DCS but not vice versa. I've installed DCS-ExportScripts per instruction, and added the required line for your Plugin at the end of my Export.lua (after lines for Vaicom, TacView and Helios if I recall). Assuming this is user error, what's the most common reason why DCS would not be communicating button/switch states of the UH-1 back to your Stream Deck plugin? Any guesses what I did wrong? Many thanks!

If someone made a collective head that would interface with TM and Virpil bases, that would be very marketable. My current collective is a DIY job using my old TM Warthog stick base (spring removed) and a left-handed Virpil T-50 grip, in a housing that sets it at the correct angle and adds hydraulic damping for resistance. It works well enough and is plug-and-play, but I'd much rather have a realistic collective head. Virpil is supposedly developing a collective head and base too, but I'd be amazed if either came to market in the next year.

What are you using to achieve that result? (I know this isn't the Huey forum, but I assume it would apply to Black Shark as well.) I use a StreamDeck (without any DCS-specific plug-ins yet), and have found that I can't get even a single rotary dimmer to turn using its button pushes. The key commands work correctly on keyboard, but produce no result when sent by the StreamDeck. Light rotaries are the only example I've seen of this, so I was wondering if DCS handles them in some way that is different and makes any sort of key macro-sending device/software problematic.

One potential advantage of the MFG Crosswinds is that they can easily be modified with a damper to give more realistic feel: https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=258036&highlight=rudder+damper

Whoops, yes! Collective brake, not rotor brake. I'll edit original post. Thanks for catching that.

Ah, I get it now. Sorry I don't have any real insights to offer. If you really can't change the FOV, I wonder if you could get a wider zoom by "tricking" the system by setting a different resolution. If, for example, you set a lower horizontal resolution than 6000 (or a higher vertical resolution than 1200), would DCS just not draw to the outer edges of the left and right monitors? (Or would it just stretch and distort?) If the former is the case, you would lose some of the benefit of the side monitors, but you might be able to find a compromise between an acceptable zoom level and still using at least half the side monitors. Odds of that suggestion being helpful seem low, but perhaps it will spur someone else who actually knows what the hell they are talking about to weigh in just to shut me up.

Have you tried changing the resolution in your game settings? I don't recall the exact procedure now, but basically I think you just add up the horizontal and vertical resolutions of your monitors and enter that as the value of your resolution in the video settings. So for three 1920x1080 displays side by side, you would enter 5760x1080. That should make the game draw the appropriate peripheral field of view at the default zoom level, and then you can use the "slow zoom out" in game to adjust further to your taste. Sorry if I'm not understanding the issue, but as you've been trying to solve this since 2017, I figure an unhelpful response is still better than no response. :)

Awesome choice. While you wait for them to arrive, give some thought to how to keep them in one place. Despite being very solid, they are also relatively lightweight, so can creep away from you depending on your flooring type. The pedals have adjustable stand-offs on the back side that work great for bracing them against a wall, if that works for your particular setup. If not, you may want to add some sort of board between them and the wall, or think about how to anchor them in place by other means. Mine are now bolted to a Wheelstand Pro, but before that I used foam rubber shelf liner to keep them from sliding on a wood floor.

Thanks all! I think the pieces have finally come together for me in understanding the interaction between the AP channels, flight director, trim system, collective brake, and descent mode versus route mode. It seems like you can't really understand one of them without understanding all of them, and despite reading the manual obsessively, I had still introduced some negative learning by unwittingly fighting the systems. (It's also amazing how much misinformation is out there by well-intentioned people who think they understand the systems but actually don't. I'm sure it will become intuitive with more flight hours. Thanks again for the great supportive community!

Understood, and many thanks all. I'll keep Flight Director mapped to my HOTAS, but will treat the individual channel buttons as essentially pre-flight items. Regarding altitude hold, am I understanding correctly that using the collective brake will disengage the channel while the collective is being moved, in much the same way that the trim switch disengages the other channels (except for damping) temporarily while the cyclic is repositioned? Thus, it's possible to keep Altitude Hold engaged (referenced to either RADALT or barometric) but still climb and descend normally using the collective brake?

Thanks. And do you generally keep all four modes engaged for the entire flight/mission?

After only a handful of hours in the KA-50, I decided I needed the four autopilot modes (Pitch Dampener/Hold, Bank Dampener/Hold, Lateral Dampener/Hold and Altitude Hold) mapped to my HOTAS. I've also read that advice multiple times on this forum. Except... in the real aircraft, those buttons are positioned such that the pilot could only manipulate them by taking his right hand off the cyclic (or reaching across with the left hand, but that seems unlikely). This makes me think that if I need these buttons on the HOTAS, I am probably using these modes incorrectly. Are RL pilots -- or for that matter any of you more experienced KA-50 simmers -- only setting these modes on the ground before flight? Or only changing them when the aircraft is well trimmed such that taking the hand from the cyclic is no big deal? Any advice/guidance much appreciated!

Actually, they show as in stock on the "Rest of World" store site now: https://virpil-controls.eu/vpc-warbrd-cosmosim-cams.html Looks like maybe on the EU-Asia site too. But yes, Virpil products are the toilet paper of HOTAS (incredibly hard to find in stock). :)

I'm a very happy MFG user and see them as a good compromise across module types (jet, WWII, helo). Build quality is entirely solid so don't worry about that. If I were buying a set of pedals today, I would also give some consideration to the Virpil pedal series, which gives you options for foot-rest style (e.g., heel on or off floor). Your challenge will be catching them in stock, as Virpil production does not keep up with demand.

On the original subject of stable flying, for those using Virpil WarBrd, I highly recommend trying the "no center" CosmoSim cams. I switched to them this weekend from the soft-center cams that came with the WarBrd, and the difference in hovering stability is dramatic. (I also like the feel for fixed wing, as the springs still give you a recentering force, just with no "bumping" as you cross the middle.) (@jpuk, I was a Warthog user, but switched to a Virpil T50CM2 on WarBrd base for cyclic, and a homemade collective built around my old Warthog stick base and a left-handed Virpil grip.)

Hi jpuk, When I was using the Warthog, I kept the two throttle quadrants linked, and used the "friction wheel" axis (small gray wheel on the right) for throttle. In the axis tune menu in DCS, set it and the collective as sliders. You may also have to reverse the collective axis, assuming you want to do it in the "pull-to-increase" style to more closely resemble a real collective. As far as buttons, on the stick: - I set force trim on the red button on the Warthog stick. - I used what would normally be the trim hat for the "autopilot" modes that let you hand off control to your copilot - I used the squarish-looking hat for zooming view slow in/slow out and (up and down) and other views - I used the flat hat for deploying/controlling the gun sight - I used the thumb hat for weapons select up and down, and rocket quantity up and down On the throttle: - I used the thumb hat to change to the different crew positions - I used the index-finger hat for controlling crew rules of engagement and rates of fire - I used the remaining switches on throttle and base for various systems and engine start/shutdown One tip for your MFG Crosswinds: DCS lets you use the toe brakes as modifier buttons. Since you don't need the toe brakes for anything else in the Huey, I use my left toe brake as a modifier to trigger a second layer of functions on all switches, and my right toe brake as the push-to-talk button for Voice Attack. Happy hovering!

This weekend I swapped out the "two-dot" soft-center cams that come packaged with the WarBrD base for a set of CosmoSim cams. These are the centerless cams with a more linear force progression (see chart here). WOW. Instant improvement in my hovering (I fly mainly UH-1 on the rotary wing side). It's a poor craftsman who blames his tools, but the difference in my ability to hold solidly over one spot on the ground -- within a foot or two -- is just night and day. (My landings still suck but no hardware in the world is gonna change that). Before trying this, I would have said that the center "bump" of the softer standard cams really had no effect on my hovering. But with the cosmosims, I've noticed that all the micro-movements your hand makes while hovering are just smaller and smoother, hence you can correct drift more instantaneously without over-correcting. I also find the feel better for fixed wing, especially in WWII aircraft. If you're into helos, I highly recommend giving these a try. Plus they are one of the few things Virpil actually has in stock right now...

Regarding cyclic movement, I had this conversation recently with two pilots I fly with who have 25+ years each in cockpits (mostly Airbus/Eurocopter, some Bell), and both confirmed what I had observed -- when hovering, their right hands are constantly moving. Their touch on the cyclic is very light, and the movements are very small (usually fingers only), but are constant. I think of it a little like balancing on one foot. If you have good balance, it will look like you're absolutely motionless. But to stay in balance, your foot and ankle muscles are constantly making micro-adjustments to compensate for any drift from center. The greater you drift, the greater the movements to correct, and the greater the potential for over-correcting and a swing back the other way. Try balancing on one foot and not letting your foot or leg muscles contract at all, and see how long you can do it. Of course, in more modern helicopters, dynamic instability can be "handled" by flight control computers. But even in that case, the constant adjustments are being made... they are just being made by the computer to generate the stability commanded by the motionless (and not mechanically linked) cyclic.

Yes, this can be done in the TrackIR software, and once you do that, it is completely independent of whatever other programs you have running or anything else you have mapped to that button in DCS. For example, let's say you have the F1 view mapped to Button 4 on your Cougar stick in DCS. And separately, in the TrackIR software you've assigned Button 4 as the Center function (in whichever TrackIR profile you use for DCS). When you press Button 4 in DCS, it will both go to the F1 view AND center your TrackIR. If you only want it to center the TIR, just don't map it to anything in DCS. Also, make sure you have a relatively current version of the TrackIR software; I believe in earlier versions you could not assign Center to a joystick button, only to a keyboard key.

I did a similar switch from a Warthog base to a WarBrd, in my case on a Wheelstand Pro mount. My DIY solution was a piece of 5/8" MDF drilled through (with countersunk holes) for the WarBrd screw pattern. I attached it to the bottom of my WarBrd base using long machine screws (M4 if I recall), then just used wood screws to go up through the Wheelstand Pro Warthog mounting holes into the MDF "base plate." I used a $5 piece of pre-fab MDF shelving, available at any home improvement store. A little paint on the unfinished edges and it didn't even look as hillbilly as it sounds. :)