Request: piece of string on windshield

[0xDEADBEEF]

Dear Belsimtek!

 

You think it would be possible to add a little piece of string to the windshield that indicates the direction of airflow over the windshield? Many real chopper pilots do this and I've heard from many of them that they prefer this a lot over looking at the ball, and in the 3hrs i got to fly real choppers I must say I prefered looking at the string a lot more than down to the instruments panel.

 

Speaking of it, I don't really trust the slip-indicator ball in the huey. For instance, if I'm flying max speed at full power I almost need full left pedal to keep the ball centered. Correct me if I'm wrong, but at full speed the fueslage and especially the tailboom should provide a significant amount of counter-torque so you should need way less input on the left pedal?

 

This is kinda like the only thing that bothers me while flying the huey, I think you guys made an incredible job making it! Hats off!

 

Beef

[Teccie]

Agreed! I often use the gunsight as it also has a slip meter but it spoils the nice view 8)

 

I also have a feeling that the slip meter is off. When I center the ball at high speed and press f3 it looks like im going sideways!

[Zimmerdylan]

Agreed! I often use the gunsight as it also has a slip meter but it spoils the nice view 8)

 

I also have a feeling that the slip meter is off. When I center the ball at high speed and press f3 it looks like im going sideways!

 

+1 on the slip meter.

[Aginor]

I noticed that I'd like to have that as well when I noticed Polychop have it on the Gazelle.

+1

[b00ce]

 

I also have a feeling that the slip meter is off. When I center the ball at high speed and press f3 it looks like im going sideways!

Cross wind?:music_whistling:

[Nealius]

The slip meter feels odd to me as well, and I've mentioned it before. There are times that when making a let turn the slip indicator wants me to apply right rudder instead of left rudder; with no wind.

[Flamin_Squirrel]

Cross wind?:music_whistling:

 

Nope! Wind only affects your reference to the ground. Once you're airborne you start to move with the wind.

 

This is why you don't see hot air baloons banked over due to wind when it's in flight (but it might when it takes off/lands).

[Flamin_Squirrel]

The slip meter feels odd to me as well, and I've mentioned it before. There are times that when making a let turn the slip indicator wants me to apply right rudder instead of left rudder; with no wind.

 

Not sure what you mean by this? Helicopters don't suffer from adverse yaw so you shouldn't need to move the pedals when making a turn.

 

Wind is a red herring as I mentioned above (a wind causing you to track left or right of your heading can make things look strange though, especially at low level).

[b00ce]

Nope! Wind only affects your reference to the ground. Once you're airborne you start to move with the wind.

 

This is why you don't see hot air baloons banked over due to wind when it's in flight (but it might when it takes off/lands).

I fly in the back of real helicopters, If you're trying to fly a certain heading with a cross wind you're going to "crab" or you're going to drift to the side. I haven't had an issue with the trim ball, except for it bobbling from side to side on occasion when I get a little over-zealous with my pedal inputs.:joystick:

[Nealius]

Not sure what you mean by this? Helicopters don't suffer from adverse yaw so you shouldn't need to move the pedals when making a turn.

 

Wind is a red herring as I mentioned above (a wind causing you to track left or right of your heading can make things look strange though, especially at low level).

 

Rudder input is still required to prevent slipping. You can easily see that by trying to turn without rudder input, and you will see the slip ball is not centered. Normally the ball indicates that I need to input rudder in the same direction as I am turning, but frequently in the Huey it will tell me I need rudder opposite to the direction I am turning.

 

If rudder coordination weren't required in helicopters then there wouldn't be much point in attaching a string to the windshield. Unless the purpose of the string in helicopters is totally different than its purpose in gliders, which is entirely possible.

Edited February 20, 2016 by Nealius

[Cibit]

Did the R/l huey have string?

[DarkCrow]

Rudder input is still required to prevent slipping. You can easily see that by trying to turn without rudder input, and you will see the slip ball is not centered. Normally the ball indicates that I need to input rudder in the same direction as I am turning, but frequently in the Huey it will tell me I need rudder opposite to the direction I am turning.

 

If rudder coordination weren't required in helicopters then there wouldn't be much point in attaching a string to the windshield. Unless the purpose of the string in helicopters is totally different than its purpose in gliders, which is entirely possible.

 

 

I don't believe he was saying coordination wasn't required only that helicopters are not affected by adverse yaw. In an airplane when you turn left your right aileron goes down creating more drag on the right side so the airplane yaws right and reguire left rudder input. That doesn't happen in helicopters the same way as far as I understand. So the slippage will not necessarily be away from the turn.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[heloguy]

Did the R/l huey have string?

 

I'm pretty sure it didn't. Never flew a Huey, but have been around a lot who have, and they never mentioned it. Nor have any of them say they missed it in a Blackhawk, or Bell 206. R-22 is the only aircraft I've flown that has it, and it's understandable, considering how small it is. The string is more responsive than the slip ball on a smaller helicopter, but on a larger, more stable helicopter like the Huey or Blackhawk, it isn't necessary.

[Aginor]

Yeah, it seems to be pretty common in small helicopters.

I haven't seen it on a Huey yet.

[Flamin_Squirrel]

If rudder coordination weren't required in helicopters then there wouldn't be much point in attaching a string to the windshield. Unless the purpose of the string in helicopters is totally different than its purpose in gliders, which is entirely possible.

 

The purpose is the same - it provides an indication of side slip.

 

The interaction between power/speed/petal input is a little different in a helicopter. Increasing power (e.g. to accelerate into forward flight) will require more left pedal, but as your speed builds, the vertical stabiliser will help keep the nose pointing into the airflow, so pedal requirements become less again. Where the pedals end up (left/right/neutral) in forward flight will depend on the helicopter and how fast it's going.

 

A bit of additional info for anyone interested: a bit of string is a reliable indicator of slip, but the ball isn't always as it assumes symmetric thrust. The best example of this is a multi-engine fixed wing aircraft with an engine out. The first 2 pages of this site explains.

 

[ame]http://flymiami.com/documents/checklists/multi_inop.pdf[/ame]

 

I imagine this might be applicable for some helicopters too.

Edited February 21, 2016 by Flamin_Squirrel