Frustrated.

[ny3d1]

Guys, have a bit of a problem here. I would really appreciate if you could send me in the right direction. Just purchased the Huey module, but I'm struggling with take offs and hovering. I purchased the KA-50 module a while back and feel pretty good about my pilots skills with a helicopter, still, I have much to learn. My problem with the Huey is that during take off when I move my throttle slowly forward the Huey is suppose to slowly leave the ground (Which is normally what happens when I fly KA-50). With the Huey it doesn't happen, when I apply throttle the helicopter slides violently towards the right instead of straight up. I have both helicopter sims configured the same way with my joystick system (ThrustMaster- Joystick with separate throttle.) I've tried calibration but still no improvement. Any ideas ?? Thank you so much for reading.

[BIGNEWY]

are you using the rudder pedals to counter the turn?

 

KA-50 is a different beast with coaxial blades, with the HUEY you have the tail rotor and the torque to deal with.

[lemoen]

The Huey has a natural tendency to turn right, lean forward and roll right on take off. You need to apply some left rudder, back stick and left stick before nudging the collective up (very very slowly). The Mi8's rotors go the other way so it is back and right, right pedal.

 

Here's the official lesson:

[Mr_sukebe]

The KA50 is so easy to fly that it might be a rebodied Elite Dangerous ship.

The Huey is basically how all non-contra-rotating choppers are, I.e something of a handful. Took me months to get to the point of feeling that I was competent.

Only one recommendation, practice.

The good news is that there’s a MUCH better sense of satisfaction from the Huey than the KA50 when you can fly it well

[Cibit]

IIRC there is an option for rudder assistance in the special options. You really need a set of pedals or a twist grip to fly the huey or basically any chopper in DCS except the KA50 :)

You could try mapping the rudder to the grey slider on the warthog throttle (Edit)

[Mango]

The Ka-50 also has stabilizing auto-pilot channels for pitch, roll and yaw. Try turning those off and you'll realize just how much they help. ;) That combined with coaxial rotors make it much easier to fly.

[ebabil]

Welcome to the huey world. You always have to make corrections

[Quadg]

the frustration is normal.

 

use it to overcome the huey.

 

turn to the dark side.

 

feed off your anger :)

[FragBum]

Firstly you should be using the collective I assume thats what you meant with throttle,

 

As you lift the collective you need to balance the aircraft which will normally be cyclic slightly back and to the left from "center". Slowly keep lifting the collective and observe the aircraft attitude whilst positioning the cyclic to balance the aircraft and left bias on the anti torque pedals to counter the additional collective input. The only difficulty is that the Huey has fixed skids which are not forgiving compared to wheels on Mi8 or KA50.

 

You might also want to add some saturation to the cyclic input to reduce overall sensitivity of cyclic inout. I wouldn't use curves or dead zones however as it doesn't make sense to.

 

Yes I gave the KA50 some luv on the weekend I'd forgotten how easy that thing to to pick up and set down.

 

Oh and after you get the Huey down pat give the Gazelle a go,.. Actually it's easier than the Huey. :D

[FragBum]

the frustration is normal.

 

use it to overcome the huey.

 

turn to the dark side.

 

feed off your anger :)

 

Ah you mean light side, fixed wings are from the dark side. :P:D:joystick:

[cromhunt]

 

take care

[dotChuckles]

Oh and trim... always be trimming. Change something... hit the trim, recenter stick. You should avoid having to old pressure on the stick as much as possible. Pop it up into the hover, then trim. Move cyclic forward, Trim. Add collectiveand pitch for for speed, TRIM! :-)

 

The only exception to this is the rudder pedals I have rudder trimming off, unless you have proper anti torque pedals that don't recenter themselves it can be easy to get yourself out of sorts in your head as to where your pedals are set in reality. So I just set my spring to the weakest and keep constant pressure on it so I can feed out the anti torque smoothly as I change my collective. Your mileage may vary though.

[FragBum]

Nah OP is just getting it light on the skids without the correct cyclic input and off he slides. Kinda like a hover craft. ;)

 

Hover practice will help hovering the Huey has to be done by the pilot not the AP system so a bit of a learning curve.

[Frederf]

The violent departure with the ground is probably due to pent up pitch, bank, or yaw forces that are allowed to express themselves when the weight is lifted.

 

With a keen eye you can sense the helicopter shifting forward, twisting, or banking to the side on the flexible landing skids at a lift less than that which leaves the ground.

 

You may want to enable the controls display indicator (RCtrl-Enter) and very, very slowly increase the collective with your hands off the cyclic and feet off the pedals until you detect any of the three motions. As soon as you see the motions drop the collective and let the helicopter rest again under its full weight. Apply a control deflection to counter the motion you noticed and press the trim button. Repeat until the helicopter does practically none of the three motions on lift off.

 

With practice these trims will be known and you can by memory apply them before they are even needed. You will be able to apply corrections in all three axes simultaneously to counter the motions even without a good trim state. But for starters solve one thing at a time and when in doubt do it slower than the last attempt.

[xvii-Dietrich]

As has been said already, pull the "cyclic" (joystick) back and left a bit. Apply some left pedal (rudder). Ease up on the "collective" (throttle-control) slowly. I usually leave the actual throttle in the UH-1H at full.

 

 

Two extra tips.

 

 

1. Use the training missions provided in DCS. The take-off one will talk you through it.

 

 

2. Reduce your load. Going with maximum weapons/payload makes your job more difficult when first starting, as the helicopter is then very heavy and prone to overcompensation.

[WildBillKelsoe]

the hueys tendency to pull right and forward is why you need to trim an approximate left and aft stick for taking off vertically. add the dreaded right hand torque which also explains why left pedal pushed is also needed.

 

It is 100 % manual. No automata involved with controlling her.

[Los]

Go hear and grab the Chuck's guide on the UH1. Read it. Make sure you look at his control setups and adjustments .

 

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=135765

[fencible]

Oh and trim... always be trimming. Change something... hit the trim, recenter stick. You should avoid having to old pressure on the stick as much as possible. Pop it up into the hover, then trim. Move cyclic forward, Trim. Add collectiveand pitch for for speed, TRIM! :-)

 

The only exception to this is the rudder pedals I have rudder trimming off, unless you have proper anti torque pedals that don't recenter themselves it can be easy to get yourself out of sorts in your head as to where your pedals are set in reality. So I just set my spring to the weakest and keep constant pressure on it so I can feed out the anti torque smoothly as I change my collective. Your mileage may vary though.

 

DotChuckles - There are several trim settings available for the Huey in the settings page and I'm not sure which one is meant for use with a self-centring joystick. I use a special joystick with weakened centring spring for the Huey - to spare my arm on long flights but I can't decide which trim option is really meant to be used with that sort of set-up. I would like your advice on which setting to use.

[Fri13]

DotChuckles - There are several trim settings available for the Huey in the settings page and I'm not sure which one is meant for use with a self-centring joystick. I use a special joystick with weakened centring spring for the Huey - to spare my arm on long flights but I can't decide which trim option is really meant to be used with that sort of set-up. I would like your advice on which setting to use.

 

You use for a such "non-FF + non-Spring" option. That means as you don't have Force Feedback nor spring force to center or move your cyclic, you just trim to tell Autopilot/Channels that you just trimmed there.

[Holton181]

You use for a such "non-FF + non-Spring" option. That means as you don't have Force Feedback nor spring force to center or move your cyclic, you just trim to tell Autopilot/Channels that you just trimmed there.

But he has a spring though weak. That option is mainly if you also, in addition to the properties you mentioned, have friction enough to hold the stick in place. But it can of course be used like you suggest as well.

[Quadg]

You use for a such "non-FF + non-Spring" option. That means as you don't have Force Feedback nor spring force to center or move your cyclic, you just trim to tell Autopilot/Channels that you just trimmed there.

 

the huey has no autopilot channels..

so you press trim just to hear the click :)

or you don't press it at all, one of my bad habits.

[dotChuckles]

DotChuckles - There are several trim settings available for the Huey in the settings page and I'm not sure which one is meant for use with a self-centring joystick. I use a special joystick with weakened centring spring for the Huey - to spare my arm on long flights but I can't decide which trim option is really meant to be used with that sort of set-up. I would like your advice on which setting to use.

 

So the other suggestions are totally valid, and a lot of this comes down to your equipment. I would say you want to use the central position trimming mode if you have any kind of spring. That way when you trim and return to center you have no forces acting on the stick at all, which is how it would feel in the real machine.

 

In reality what trimming would do is engage a magnetic brake to remove the forces from the stick. When you are trimmed you should be able to move the stick with finger tip pressure. Now unless you have force feedback or no springs at all or a stick that has equal force throughout the range you will need to center it after trimming.

 

With center trim mode, the stick input is switched off until you recenter the stick, as opposed to the default mode which just waits a short while and then re-enables the controls. I find the center trim function to be better as the time the default mode waits is pretty short and I might not have centered the stick fully leading to a bump in the pitch or roll of the helo as the controls "turn back on". However center position mode can be fiddly if you have weak springs that don't let you feel where the exact center of the stick is.

 

Ultimately, what ever works for you and lets you trim properly and not have to apply constant force. Having to apply constant force it what will make for poor control. Your mileage may vary though.

[John Hargreaves]

Guys, have a bit of a problem here. Any ideas ?? Thank you so much for reading.

 

Best thing I ever did for flying helicopters was to buy an Oculus Rift, makes it considerably easier as it becomes much more realistic and 'three-dimensional'. The rest you can figure out through trial and error, because crashing helicopters in DCS causes no pain or death.

[FragBum]

Best thing I ever did for flying helicopters was to buy an Oculus Rift, makes it considerably easier as it becomes much more realistic and 'three-dimensional'. The rest you can figure out through trial and error, because crashing helicopters in DCS causes no pain or death.

 

MMM I don't know, the first few times you crash in VR can be interesting. :music_whistling:;)

 

If you have some basic mechanical skills you can try and make your own cyclic, this is a hack of a logitech 3D pro, you also really need to use something like a Leo Bodnar interface as from what I have seen most (if not all) "joysticks" also feature a small electrical dead spot in the electronics to mask the mechanical centering.

 

 

From Frag Labs

 

Oh and of courses I don't need to use trim. :D

Edited June 13, 2018 by FragBum

[John Hargreaves]

MMM I don't know, the first few times you crash in VR can be interesting. :music_whistling:;)

:D

 

 

 

I think the way that you float up to heaven after you crash is pretty cool though.

 

 

Removing the big centre spring from the warthog joystick made quite a difference too. There is still a light centring effect from the other four small springs, but it's much more gentle.