mountain areas - lose of altitude

[m1tp2king]

hi.

OK so I am flying along a very high mountain, around 4000.

then lights start flashing and my helicopter loses a lot of altitude.

I try many things but my helicopter keeps losing height and then crashes.

this has happened many, many times.

at the start of the mission I instruct the ground crew to use lightweight variants. they take off the rockets and leave 12 ATGM. I do this to reduce the weight of the helicopter.

but still when I get to the mountains my helicopter loses height and crashes.

any advice ?

thanks.

[Bungle_uk]

Sounds like Icing possibly. There's 2 switches. Rotor anti ice and engine anti ice both located on the top row directly above the windshield. You would normally get a warning about it as well before it all goes pear shaped.

[Zabuzard]

Did you climb to fast? You may try to do it very slowly.

 

It's not easy to get a feeling what is comfortable for a helo, especially as helo-beginner.

For example, you'll enter a hard to recover state when your sink rate goes beyond -15 m/s or so. Something similar happens when climbing too fast or even at flying straight with too much speed.

Also strange things happen near the ground. It all is related to the dynamic air-physics you encounter with helos (rotor blades pushing and sucking air around).

[kilix]

what 214tt_bungle_uk said.

And also remember, that the most efficient way to climb is by going forward at 120km/h, while keeping your collective raised just enough to not engage the ENG RPM limiter. If you try to hover climb, that is not the way to go.

[m1tp2king]

thanks for your replies.

the engine anti-ice switch has 2 positions.

engine de-icing, and dust-protection.

which one do I use?

to prevent me from losing altitude at high altitude?

any other info about switches ?

thanks.

[Bungle_uk]

Engine de icing for altitude work. Dust for low level stuff

[Scarecrow]

Don't forget the pitot heat aswell.:)

If you have an altitude obstruction, like a mountain, start your climb as early as possible; losing ETL at altitude can be deadly.

[BitMaster]

You will notice that after a few dozen ridges you look at it a totally different way ;)