shu77

So having not flown any of the other DCS Helo modules I would be very interested how this compares to something like the Huey or MI8 from someone thats flown both,

Just took my first Helo flight in this, have to say it was great. couple things I noticed: I cant get the ground crew to rearm on the instant action missions, is this a limitation of the lack of access to the comms SDK? -Figured out I need to shut down. Theres no axis for throttle. If you throttle over 100% it reverts to 50% this can be embarrassing. Having never flown a helo before I couldnt comment too much on the flight model beyond once I got it going forward it was great fun and showed that my collective works nicely so I will be doing some more time in your Littlebird until the Kiowa launches

Small update while I wait for the rest of the parts. annoyingly the USB B cable hasnt turned up which makes it difficult to place to Leobodnar board and the wiring. I started to draw up a shape to 3d Print an accurate box but figured I would complete this as a POC and get the wiring right before progressing to that anyway. Looking at this box for the collective head which is 115x90x55mm with the weather proof lid. I am going to replace the lid with something shallower I think I cut a hole at the back so the collective can attach to the top of the box The Motorcycle throttle insert fits through nicely and I cut down the throttle lead to increase travel. This is slightly offset to give the Leobodnar board space to sit andto reflect the assymetric nature of the kiowa collective with the jettison switch added on. Using a piping cap screwed to the top to try and keep everything very rigid. I may try and brace the middle of the box against the pipe but the unit is floating well enough at present that the throttle turns without any friction. I'll run the USB B cable down this pipe and likely drill a hole for it to come out. Theres very little flew in the unit and with the two spring washes inserted into the pivot point per the thread I linked last time theres a good deal of control over the friction. I may replace the nut with a friction handle so it can be tweaked as needed. I have a variable pot and a Servo arm to attach to the motorcycle throttle but want to have the USB Cable in first to figure what space I have to work with Its 60cm to the base of the pivot, but I can adjust that by removing some of the length from the larger pipe at the base of the throttle, so will likely chop 5 out as a next step to bring it towards the 55cm figure. Heres the current switches with a couple still to come, I'll probably end up using mini switches due to the space constraints but I have both and will likely set up initially with the minis and see what space is left once the min switches are in. If theres room Im also debating adding a linear travel pot to the side to allow for view zoom or something similar This was the only 4way hat I could fine on the web that wasnt $40+ its a gameboy controller. Im not overly happy with my 4 way switches which are very small, but seem to be the only option available. so this is still a work in progress but I may end up using one of these instead of the coolie hat too. On the plus side I discovered the community AJ-6 mod today so I at least have something to try the collective with while I wait for the rest of the parts.

I was pretty disappointed given how long its been since they released any kind of new product.

Not sure of the level of fidelity in the SU-57 Mod as I haven't flown any of the FC3 aircraft for a while. but some options below: If you have a mission plan with way-points you can always look for your initial way-point, or final way-point, alternately depending on the map you will find airfield diagrams and Charts for all the airfields, easiest thing is to use Tacan to identify the airport and head towards it if equipped, or using a theatre map identify a Tacan near by that you can use to then VFR navigate to your home field. Or worst case press F10, find your airfield and take a bearing, either with the ruler, or as a general "its South East of me" and head in that direction.

lol helps spot the tanker nicely.

honestly I think its a bit homebuild for a commercial product, I'd really want it to look a bit more accurate if youre gonna spend that kind of cash

So does Ugra have any interest in addressign this bug or is normandy just not compatible with modern DCS anymore?

FYI Tom in terms of the question you asked about autohotey sending the original key and the modified key heres a thread i wrote in 2011 that talks about how HIDMacro was doing the same and that ED is grabbing the input at too low a level to actually see it. I suspect its the same problem. Still your Autohotkey solution saved a very expensive POS keyboard from going to waste for me.

yes fantastic job guys, this is great to have

I kinda agree with the others, if you are buying multiple modules even a basic second hand joystick would improve your experience 100%

Sad to say my moneys on a GA product

I ended up having to use Autohotkey to get the key strokes to space out but very happy with this.

After setting up my new POS keyboard last night and trying to go for a fly tonight I struck this problem after a very frustrating night with customer support for the keyboard I found this thread and have been able to get it working so just stopping by to say thanks for your code Tom

Ah yeah that thread is the problem I was having the other week. Is that what Johnco had?

Mine finally turned up very happy with the form factor and it takes multi key commands nicely so I can use all the DCS defaults

That looks awesome. At the moment I'm leaning towards this box: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Sealed-ABS-Enclosure-115-x-90-x-55mm/254600815112?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 or this one: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Jiffy-Box-Black-130-x-68-x-44mm/254550317066?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 I'm thinking to get Tekcreations to print a custom lid for it with the lettering inscribed. I'm not going to be able to do a 100% accurate recreation with the throttle grip I have as I want to put the idle release in the base. Should have an update in a few days when the parts turn up. Worth noting theres also a couple other switches in the Polychop collective on the right hand side which look to be a later addition to the base collective.

Thanks for the reply Barundus, your videos are a inspiration. I have removed the remote ICS key, I have felt a bit like most of the collective/cyclic buttons on the Kiowa are a bit redundant but wanted to start with the same basic layout as its helped with the other DCS modules and see how it goes from there. One of the things I like about the kiowa is how home-build the solutions feel. nothings been built to fit its all been adapted and I think that's the big attraction over the hornet or warthog

Looking forward to this much more than the channel. Wish we had a way to transit between maps so we could come in from the gulf

Flying the edge is a great experience it makes the Hornet feel like a school bus. I am really enjoying it

Can you post the link to the other thread, this is interesting

While I am pretty much flying the hornet exclusively at the moment I have been really excited for Polychop's upcoming Kiowa and flying with a bunch of Kiwis who love their 'chopper Tuesdays' so I have been starting to look at building a collective for the Kiowa given the lack of anything affordable at the moment. I'm starting this thread to document my build effort for a Collective with a decent button box. The Kiowa Collective is a very specific shape which adds difficulty so I am leaning towards a slightly customised build to give a 4 x 3 grid of buttons. **UPDATE** Finished product for reference, the build thread is below: First of as a source I am working on Barundus excellent tutorials. Based on that I am looking at 25 buttons to simulate and have leobodnar board for the task. The Kiowa D Manual on Google has helped a little with this. For a base I've purchased a USB Handbrake similar to Tinkickef Which seems to have a reasonable throw. I decided to keep things simple to go with a motorcycle throttle Which with a little effort and both handles turned into this: The 22mm 7/8" thread inside this works well with 15mm poly pipe and I used a 22mm step to try and absorb the diameter of the throttle As best I can tell there the 206/kiowa has a 55cm collective, and at present I am sitting at about 70cm, but theres a few spaces to shorten. I've purchased the necessary switches and a jiffy box to mount on the end and am hoping to use some Gameboy DPADs for the for/5way switches as I lack a 3d printer so will aim to update as things start to progress. I can say the Handbrake has been a great option to provide a cheap way of managing the collective.

hey any chance you can post a picture of where you put the washer, I have the same unit, and im not overly keen on disassembling the pivot in mine so keen to see where you put them

neat approach to a button box

Yeah the auto axis assignment does seem to be getting worse, rudder pedals grabbing pitch and roll on brakes, MFDs grabbing axis they dont have, I sat for a long while the other day resetting the axis for all the aircraft I am likely to use knowing that they are likely to randomly reset and force me to do it again at some point.