Mi8 noob needs your help :S

[SimonColt]

So I've picked up another module, the Mi8. After few video tutorials on YT I was able to get the engines running and upon taking off, the helicopter just started to spin to the left, while being slightly tilted to the left as well.

 

Could someone help me out and briefly explain what I should look into to make the helicopter more stable? I was able to keep it hovering by twisting my stick and manually adjusting the spin with the rudder and roll axis.

 

And yes I did click that green button on the central panel, the spin and roll happens with it on. This is my first helicopter I ever attempted to fly, so Im obviously a massive noob.

 

Thanks for any help in advance :)

[mwd2]

Trim, Trim, Trim - everytime you change Rudder, Cyclic or Thrust trim.

[SimonColt]

Trim, Trim, Trim - everytime you change Rudder, Cyclic or Thrust trim.

 

Do you recall a default bind for any of these? Something I can use to easily track it down in the controls menu.

[OnlyforDCS]

Trim, Trim, Trim - everytime you change Rudder, Cyclic or Thrust trim.

 

While that is good advice it really doesnt apply here. The OP needs to first understand something about the basics of helicopter flight.

 

To the OP: Your huge spinning rotor creates a huge amount of Torque. This is why helos have a counter torque tail rotor. When the helicpter is at or near hover (which is always true at takeoff) you need to counter that torque by applying more 'rudder' in the opposite direction as you apply power with the collective. The more power you apply, the more torque there will be and obviously the more counter torque force will need to be applied to the pedal or rather the twist grip in your case.

 

So yes, you had to apply rudder to keep the helicopter stable on its axis and this is NORMAL operating procedure. When you gain some forward speed the weather vane effect and CAS autopilot will pretty much take care of that and you wont need to counter the torque until your forward speed once again approaches zero.

 

This is very difficult with a twist stick, because helos require very fine cyclic adjustments. It's not impossible but it is very hard.

 

I gave up on my twist stick a long time ago, and purchased a set of rudder pedals. They help in all aircraft but I consider them essential with helicopters.

 

Good luck and have fun with the Mi8, its my favorite helo so far.

Edited December 1, 2014 by OnlyforDCS

[SimonColt]

While that is good advice it really doesnt apply here. The OP needs to first understand something about the basics of helicopter flight.

 

To the OP: Your huge spinning rotor creates a huge amount of Torque. This is why helos have a counter torque tail rotor. When the helicpter is at or near hover (which is always true at takeoff) you need to counter that torque by applying more 'rudder' in the opposite direction as you apply power with the collective. The more power you apply, the more torque there will be and obviously the more counter torque force will need to be applied to the pedal or rather the twist grip in your case.

 

So yes, you had to apply rudder to keep the helicopter stable on its axis and this is NORMAL operating procedure. When you gain some forward speed the weather vane effect and CAS autopilot will pretty much take care of that and you wont need to counter the torque until your forward speed once again approaches zero.

 

This is very difficult with a twist stick, because helos require very fine cyclic adjustments. It's not impossible but it is very hard.

 

I gave up on my twist stick a long time ago, and purchased a set of rudder pedals. They help in all aircraft but I consider them essential with helicopters.

 

Good luck and have fun with the Mi8, its my favorite helo so far.

 

Damn! That sucks that its so difficult with twist grip :S Oh well, I guess I'll have to just practice.

[ricktoberfest]

And for the trimming, bind a trigger to the "T" key and press it when your stable. It allows you to release the stick and have the helicopter stay in the position you left the stick (and rudder if you set that option). It's not trimming the aircraft, it's trimming the control stick

[Slazi]

You'll be fine with a twist stick. Just make sure to chain the rudder to the trimmer. I can't remember if that is on by default, but it'll make things easier in flight.

 

Once you have the controls set up and have got used to the basics, try and get online with someone who can help you out more. There's plenty of good advice on the forums. And feel free to ask questions!

[SimonColt]

Managed to keep it flying straight, but whenever I attempt landing it starts to shake, regardless of what I do :S Seriously having issues with this module, Im just awful at it :( Anyone could point me to a vid or maybe explain what I need to do to be able to land this without shaking?

[wolf5]

Below 100 km/h, you need to apply more collective slowly

Try to stay between 2-3m/s

[lmp]

Some shaking when slowing down is normal. If you haven't flown a DCS helicopter before, you will need quite a few hours to get somewhat proficient at it. Don't get discouraged. And focus on one thing at a time - get the take offs down before you move on to landings. I'll try to write some tips when I'm out of work.

[SimonColt]

Thanks for your help guys, gonna keep practicing.

[Rogue Trooper]

Ensure you have the joystick/input position help window on as this tells you where your controllers are in the virtual world. In planes you do not need it, but in choppers it is essential if you do not have force feedback stick and rudders.

 

Shaking when Slowing down is normal and this chopper likes to shake.

Shaking is also an indicator that you will soon enter VRS, which means you are about to loose lift and fall.

When the chopper shakes during slow down; smoothly and slowly increase collective to compensate for loss of lift... it will always happen and you will always need to do it. in time you will fine tune it so that you stay at the same altitude or even maintain a nice smooth descent.

but note that increasing collective will also increase torque on the airframe which will cause the chopper to rotate left so also increase rudder to the right to stop the chopper rotating left.

 

Welcome to DCS choppers... there ain't nothing like it.

[SimonColt]

Ensure you have the joystick/input position help window on as this tells you where your controllers are in the virtual world. In planes you do not need it, but in choppers it is essential if you do not have force feedback stick and rudders.

 

Shaking when Slowing down is normal and this chopper likes to shake.

Shaking is also an indicator that you will soon enter VRS, which means you are about to loose lift and fall.

When the chopper shakes during slow down; smoothly and slowly increase collective to compensate for loss of lift... it will always happen and you will always need to do it. in time you will fine tune it so that you stay at the same altitude or even maintain a nice smooth descent.

but note that increasing collective will also increase torque on the airframe which will cause the chopper to rotate left so also increase rudder to the right to stop the chopper rotating left.

 

Welcome to DCS choppers... there ain't nothing like it.

 

Would adding curvature to my collective slider make this easier? From what I read here, it seems like doing it slowly and smoothly is key, so lowering the sensitivity should help, especially since my slider has a very small turn radius, so even minor movements end up representing a 5-15% change.

[lmp]

I don't think adding a curve to your slider will help. Do experiment with curves on the X and Y axes - different people have different preferences here, so you'll just have to find what's best for you - but in case of the collective you probably want a uniform response across the whole range. You can always try though, who knows?

 

Anyway, some promised tips. Start with hover taxiing:

 

- As you already noticed, the helicopter has a tendency to pitch down, roll left and yaw left at take-off power. For that reason, you can try trimming your controls to counter that before you start adding power. Set the wheel brakes on, pull the stick about, say, 1/8th of the way back and right, apply the same amount of right pedal, press T and center the controls. You can confirm against the control indicator (RCTRL + ENTER toggles it on and off if I'm right).

 

I don't think you would take off with wheel brakes applied in real life, but considering you're using a twist grip, it might be easier this way.

 

- Increase the power gradually until the aircraft begins to feel "light" on wheels. It may start accelerating forward or backward a little bit, pay attention to it and try to counter it with the controls. The key is not to overdo it - and it'll come with practice.

 

- Increase power just a little bit more, so that the aircraft climbs to a few feet, but no more. Once the aircraft is stable at that altitude, you can leave the collective there for now.

 

- Try to prevent the helicopter from yawing or accelerating in either direction. Once you can keep it more or less stationary, try moving forward and backward (but keep the airspeed below 25km/h), turning with the pedals and landing by lowering the power gently.

 

Get comfortable doing this (don't worry if it takes you a good few hours, it's normal) and only then move on to the more difficult maneuvers like landing from a proper cruise or hovering at high altitudes. You'll have the basics down and you'll feel much better about yourself :).

[Rogue Trooper]

yes it may help in the most useful operating range for the collective... but what kit have you got?

[Rogue Trooper]

As IMP said.

However if your Stick and throttle is below par then you better get ready to spend some money to get where the "A-lite" aviators live.

 

These girls don't just move forward in one direction, oh no, they are about as intimate as Air support gets and they need total control.

Once mastered there is no going back.

[SimonColt]

Adding 40 curvature to my slider helped, whenever i wish to increase the speed of my descent I no longer push the heli over the 3m/s limit and end up shaking out and crashing. I also managed my first landing, it took me about 10 minutes to put the heli down but I did it :D Now I need to practice starting the landing from a much lower altitude to cut the time it takes to land, I was staying within that 3m/s and going down from 1.5km hue hue.

 

I also managed to figure out the weapon systems, partially at least, I was able to unload all of my rockets. However I could not get the gun pods to work, so I guess i'll look at the manual and see if theres anything helpful there.

 

Once again, thanks for the helpful posts you guys keep posting. They really help :)

[Rogue Trooper]

yep.

Chopper shakes = increase collective

[Rogue Trooper]

increase collective = increase right rudder

[Rogue Trooper]

the MI-8 enters VRS real slow due to its mass but once you are in VRS it recovers real slow too

[Rogue Trooper]

once you got her slowness... she is a babe.

[Professorbubba]

Do you have flight quadrant attached to your computer. You know the one for multiengine bombers. If yes, then unmap it from control settings (axis etc).

 

Then for the beginning, what you need is map trim key on your joystick. Now, before you take off, first move your stick (not the penis) and rudder and make sure that your collective is all the way down. It is just to recalibrate your input with game. Then trim your stick just to the right and down. This is your take off trim position.

 

You may need to engage heading autopilot. I do it, keep my life easier. Your mileage may vary. Raise your collective till you are at decent height, yell outloud "I'm coming biatches" and off you go :)