Hello question about this sim before buying

Hello everybody I recently bought A-10C and I have the module running on DCS World, though I'm finding the learning curve so hard I like it a lot and it is exactly what I expected it to be. Now I'm not even halfway through the learning phase and I already wonder if KA-50 is another sim for me. But before that I have a question. Sometimes I see screenshots of the game where the cockpit instruments are labelled with english names others where it is in Russian, as in the real thing. Is it possible to set up the game with everything in English, cockpits radio voices HUD infos etc? Cos I know that it is not that realistic but these games are already so tough that facing a game where even just few info are in Russian is not a thing I'm ready to cope with.... Thanks again for the infos and congrats on these amazing products....

Yes you can set it to an English cockpit.

I don't fly the A-10C. I fly the Ka-50 quite a bit. That being said, here's my understanding of the differences:

The A-10C is a plane. This means it's much easier to fly. Once you get off the ground, as long as you just don't point it at the ground and you'll stay in the air.

The Ka-50 is a helicopter. This makes it much more of a challenge to fly. It's got some nifty autopilot features that help make it much more stable. Still, it'll take you longer to get it off the ground and it'll take more skill to keep it off the ground.

When it comes to avionics and weapons delivery, the opposite is true. The A-10C has a bunch of really nifty systems that allow for very powerful targeting and weapons delivery. It also has a veritable arsenal of available weapons, each with their own parameters.

The Ka-50, OTOH, has a smaller collection of weapons, and only a handful that are regularly used. You have Vikhrs (guided missiles), rockets of a couple different flavors (all of which operate pretty similarly) and a kickass 30mm autocannon. Once you learn to shoot these, you have 95% of combat employment covered. Yes, it also has gun pods, munition dispensers and unguided bombs, but those are used much less commonly.

The time I've spent in the Shark has been very rewarding. I highly recommend it because I think it's a blast to fly and because the sim could use some more talented chopper pilots (lotsa Hogs in multiplayer).

Be prepared to spend a couple of weeks just getting the bird in the air and keeping her there. Once you have that down, combat employment shouldn't take too terribly long. And once you are proficient, there's nothing like hovering outside of a target's engagement range and taking leisurely potshots while the Hogs circle and circle and circle =)

I see English as realistic. It is realistic that the pilot would understand the switches and instrumentation. The only way I could fly the Shark IRL would be if the Brits bought them or if I were Russian. Either way, my native language would be the same as the cockpit language.

Agree with Seikdel.

You can set your cockpit in English language. Plus, you can download cockpit mods for new cockpit graphics. But, HUD and Shkval (TV) systems aren't English. I mean there're some symbols in Russian letters. But, make sure you can download some mods to change them. :D

I have interesting ideas about "fully realism" for Ka-50. The realism is something that you chase it all the time. I'm thinking that I should learn Russian language for realism, may be. :) Then, I use everything in Russian, including Team Speak conversations. Nevermind, I think I'm being ridiculous. :D

Like seikdel wrote, the A-10C is a lot more about learning the systems with less focus on the flying part while the Ka-50 is the opposite. Lining up for a rocket-run is fairly easy in the A-10, even when you're starting out and with the Ka-50 it's the complete opposite.

I used to fly the A-10 a lot but have found myself almost only flying the Ka-50 the past year because of it's sheer fun flying-wise :)

The Ka-50 is the most fun aircraft to fly in DCS, in my opinion.

No fancy, FLIR, or RWR, or advanced weapons systems, but damn good at what it can do. Kill stuff in a sneaky way.

Using Devrims mods (which I highly reccomend) makes the BS perfect. Get the HD cockpit, and English cues mods you will be set.

I fully agree with what the others have said.

The Shark is a tough beast to fly. The real fun is learning to fly it, learning and understanding the Stability Augmentations Systems and the autopilot systems (and why, in the beginning, they seem to constantly want to kill you). Oh, and trim. That one's a bit of a challenge in itself, but once you've got it down, it just feels natural (unless you then try to follow the advice of some weird minded people that tell you that your method of trimming is the wrong one - and regardless of your method of trimming, there'll always be someone telling you you do it wrong (yes, personally, I'm thinking of 159th Viper here :megalol:)).

Erm, where was I? Oh, right. Shooting tanks is pretty simple really. Finding and identifying them not so much, the Ka-50 is very old school in that regard. A hell of a lot of fun to fly and fight with! :)

Haha, Yurgon. I'm with you on the difficulty of identifying targets. A mission that taught me to get better at that was the Near Grundelen mission in the Deployment campaign.

The enemy units are BTR80's and infantry along with some Zeus emplacements.

The friendly units you're supposed to protect are BTR80's.

At first I shot the wrong guys. Later, I learned how to understand who to shoot and who to help.

Haha, Yurgon. I'm with you on the difficulty of identifying targets. A mission that taught me to get better at that was the Near Grundelen mission in the Deployment campaign.

 

The enemy units are BTR80's and infantry along with some Zeus emplacements.

 

The friendly units you're supposed to protect are BTR80's.

 

At first I shot the wrong guys. Later, I learned how to understand who to shoot and who to help.

I modified this mission to add Hogs for multiplayer fun. The Hogs have killed the friendlies every single time (except when they get hit by the MANPAD first).

Damn those yanks! Such a liability! :P

Dammit, never had any interest in 'copters but seriously considering purchasing this now! Thanks guys... :-)

Dammit, never had any interest in 'copters but seriously considering purchasing this now! Thanks guys... :-)

You won't regret it. :)

In the KA-50, you're very much Army and very little Air Force. It's a completely different experience from a fast jet:

You are a levitating ninja sniper.

Go for it :thumbup:

I'd recommend getting flight pedals. You'll be kicking a lot of rudder, and I found that a twist stick simply wasn't good enough.

So here comes my "standard Ka-50 newbie reply" :

First download Bigfoots interactive training missions

>>> KA-50 Black Shark 2 Training missions

Read also besides the manual this:

DCS: Black Shark...

Technical, Simplified

-Coaxial Rotor Aerodynamics

-Trimming the Ka-50 Black Shark <<<!!!! very important to understand this fully!

-Part 1 - Autopilot <<<this too!

-Part 2 - Autopilot

and when you are confident about your cyclic-trim,

you want to read about your rotor-pitch trim (aka collective brake):

Collective Brake - aka Collective Trim ... and why you should use it.

And when you still have time , read this too:

A Stick and Rudder Man's Guide

to DCS: Black Shark

Here is a useful tweak if you using real rudders*:

How to unchain the rudder from trim - solution

Things you want to have some day too:

KA-50 collective: another picture-tale

Two MS FFB2 with Cougar Grip

Another very useful hardware mod:

>>> How To: Remove centre detend from Saitek Pro Flight Rudder

Welcome aboard!

*if you use a FFB stick or not the "Central Position Trimmer Mode"

Dammit, never had any interest in 'copters but seriously considering purchasing this now! Thanks guys... :-)

Nor did I until I picked this up back in '10.

So here comes my "standard Ka-50 newbie reply"

And an excellent reply it is too! :P

I would've thought "how to take off and blow up stuff" might have been in there too.