cyclic response question, pitch vs power inexistent

Hello!

I've just tried the Gazelle for the first time and I am very surprised by how the cyclic works. I assume it is the SAS/AP compensating, but when I switch it off I do not see the behaviour I'm expecting.

For instance, in *every* helicopter I've flown so far in RL (R66 and Bo105) and Sims (UH1, AS350, B407, B206, EC135, MD500, R22, BK117 - mostly X-Plane) the chopper would pitch up while accelerating, so you need to put cyclic forward the faster you go. Same with pitch, if you are flying i.e. 80kias and drop the collective the chopper would nose down (Pitch vs Power).

The Gazelle does nothing like that. If you drop the collective the pitch stays the same and the chopper starts sinking with the same attitude.

I'm NOT saying that this is unrealistic, because I've never ever flown a gazelle neither in RL nor in a Sim so I have absolutely no clue about that.

I'm just saying that I right now after spending an hour getting to know her I am really really confused. :huh:

I'm doing fine with the twitchyness and stuff, but please can someone explain to me why the Gazelle behaves so much different than everything else with main and tailrotor that I've flown before?

Thank you guys!

Beef

Yes, yes, yes.

I know what you're talking about and it has bitten me in the ass so many times.

I've flown many helicopters in X-Plane and the Huey in DCS, none of them behave anything like this thing when in ETL.

My biggest problem is the apparent absence of ETL. If you are in level flight and roll 20 degrees then pull, you will drop like a stone. If you do it in any other helo you will do a swooping turn.

Also, the pitch/yaw is effected very little by the tail feathers even when you're doing upwards of 200kmh.

Blowback (ie. pitch up in forward flight ) is a feature of helicopters that happens with all of them due to physics. Unless Gazelle has some system that makes this un-noticeable to the pilot there's something wrong with the FM. Then again as blowback makes the chopper want to keep the speed it was trimmed in designing a system to overcome this effect would be counterproductive as it would make the chopper harder to fly. So an explanation for this apparent deviation from basic helicopter aerodynamics would be in place.

Every helo should have transition and ETL effects... unless a flight computer is correcting it! However, even with an FMC computer, you as the pilot will need to correct for blowback.

I totally agree with you 0xDEADBEEF ! i fly helicopter in RL , r22 hugues 500 ( but never the Gazelle ) and am a little bit confused about the physic of the gazelle ..

-i think it is almost due to the SAS . If you get to a certain speed the behaviour is like a remote rc helicopter with a "head lock" , when you try to trun( in level flight ), even a 30 degree bank angle turn , without rudder coordination you will just pitch in a dangerous up attitude .In my RL experience ( on bipale helo ) you must use the antitorque but just a little and the tail follow (until a certain banking angle off corse ).

-When you pitch down without touching the collective the inertia seems enormous so to recover

in a level flight figure that iusing generaly the colective to maintain my low level flight at high speed because the cyclic will be useless .

i don t know if it is due to the tripale rotor but it s an interresting new way to fly .This bird is very stable and you almost fly her with the trim .

To finish i didn t manage to go in the Vortex ( i didn t try tail wind and a medium vario ) but the collective power seems limitless .