Cable cutters inop?

Our Gazelle is equipped with cable cutters, but (in Nevada) it happened several times that I flew into all kinds of wires and cables - and always ended with an instantly destroyed engine (I think - the sound was suddenly gone after a distinct *thud!* - but it allways happened so fast ...) and a short ballistic flight, ending in a neat fire ball.

So, what are the cable cutters good for? Do they work and I just happened to be unlucky?

I mean, I could imagine that an high voltage cable of the diameter of my arm would not be too impressed by that small cable cutters, attached to a flimsy leight weight helo ... :o)

Due to the Americans having an 120V electrical grid and Europeans having 230V grid, European cables are much thinner and so, easier to cut.

Besides, why do you purposely fly into cables?

Me? I did nothing ... damn Gazelle ... jumping all over the place! :D

(and except telephoe cables and the like, usually over-land-cables are a bit more than 120 or even 240 volts ... on any side of the pond ;o)

I think the Huey is also equipped with cable cutters. I haven't tested them though, because I don't do stuff like that :P

But I don't think the game engine supports cable cutting anyways.

Cable cutting fail.

Should be re-captioned to Pilot control fail.

Unless of course you know of a pilot that deliberately flies through wires to test the system?

Should be re-captioned to Pilot control fail.

 

Unless of course you know of a pilot that deliberately flies through wires to test the system?

You're right about the pilot control fail. :D

Hey, yesterday I flew through a cable on NTTR which was unintended though.

I did not loose the rotor. Maybe cause I did hit it with the cockpit and I only heard a thong sound that was it.

Be aware, cables have to be cut the proper way. Either avoid them or hit them dead center on cockpit so they can slide into the cablecutters, which is the only way to ensure you hit the cable right and did not miss it.

I don't know if you are trying to get them killed for fun or if you say true :megalol:

Our Gazelle is equipped with cable cutters, but (in Nevada) it happened several times that I flew into all kinds of wires and cables - and always ended with an instantly destroyed engine (I think - the sound was suddenly gone after a distinct *thud!* - but it allways happened so fast ...) and a short ballistic flight, ending in a neat fire ball.

 

So, what are the cable cutters good for? Do they work and I just happened to be unlucky?

 

I mean, I could imagine that an high voltage cable of the diameter of my arm would not be too impressed by that small cable cutters, attached to a flimsy leight weight helo ... :o)

The cable cutters are not for the HV powerlines. They´re for the small "Klingeldraht"/Telefonecable or comparable cables e.g. in Valleys where the "Alm Öhi" transports small goods from one side of the valley to the other.

If you fly deliberately into HV Powerlines you should talk to DCS: Psychologist

Fox

Ok, who suggested that I flew deliberately into the cables? It is getting silly, guys.:doh:

also please understand they are ment to cut A cable..and of a size.

[ame]

note the cable wrapped up in the mast no idea what happend, video for show and tell.

Ok, who suggested that I flew deliberately into the cables? It is getting silly, guys.:doh:

Sorry mate. Don´t be sad.

"Humor is when you laugh despite"

I´m playing DCS: Stand in the Corner now

Fox

So did some quick testing yesterday...planning on doing official test flight this weekend, but here's what I found out:

Like in real life, the main goal of the cable cutter is to spot the cable from hitting the blades. If you are going to hit cables, you need to make sure they hit your canopy and then the will be moved to either the top or lower cable cutter. So In the quick test I did I hit the cables directly on making sure my rotor blade was just a bit higher - no damage. If I hit it too low and my blade contacted - normally lost the rotors and didn't make it.

More testing will be done this weekend. But essentially, avoid flying into wires...but if you do make sure the rotor blades are above them.

Interesting. I would have never though that this cable cutting feature was working in DCS. For me it was just an aesthetic feature. Power lines were just static objects that you could hit.

Thanks Roie! So it was just a (two, three) case(s) of bad luck then. The explanation of how they work - and also when they don't help - make quite some sense. Especially considering how small they are - they can really only be effective if the wire is hit with the canopy or otherwise it will cut off the viviane and/or the rotor or the skids.

I wasn't aware how small the cable cutters really are, at least compared to those on the Huey. Those saved my life a few times already... Hrm. Maybe I should really consider to keep more distance to those wires in general ....

I'll try to get a video this weekend of it when I do some more bug testing. But was quite fun going through a lot of wires without getting hurt.

I should mention that ED doesn't actually cut the wire, which I can understand because the lag would be horrible if it had to keep track of thousands of wires. So you'll live and the wire will still be there....

But overall...avoid them.

Thanks Roie! So it was just a (two, three) case(s) of bad luck then. The explanation of how they work - and also when they don't help - make quite some sense. Especially considering how small they are - they can really only be effective if the wire is hit with the canopy or otherwise it will cut off the viviane and/or the rotor or the skids.

 

I wasn't aware how small the cable cutters really are, at least compared to those on the Huey. Those saved my life a few times already... Hrm. Maybe I should really consider to keep more distance to those wires in general ....

Here you go guys: