Gazelle ...what is needed to get the auto hover kicking in!?

[Frag]

Hi guys,

 

what are the exact conditions to get the auto hover to kick in?

 

I am trying to like that chopper ... I really do. But the 10 minutes fight with the Q key to get it to get in auto hover really gets me.

 

I am commonly REALLY stable and not able to engage the auto hover. To finally get it kickin in for no apparent reason. Briefly, what are the exact condition to get it hooked?

 

Thanks

[FragBum]

Hi guys,

 

what are the exact conditions to get the auto hover to kick in?

 

I am trying to like that chopper ... I really do. But the 10 minutes fight with the Q key to get it to get in auto hover really gets me.

 

I am commonly REALLY stable and not able to engage the auto hover. To finally get it kickin in for no apparent reason. Briefly, what are the exact condition to get it hooked?

 

Thanks

 

No vertical or horizontal movement well very very little. AP needs to be on for "auto" anything to work.

[Gizzy]

Ground speed lower than 18km/h

Roll and pitch lower than 30°

Vertical speed lower than 60m/minute

 

Bring the aircraft into a stable hover IGE and you will easily engage AP Hover..

 

It is in OGE without a near reference point that people generally have difficulty in engaging the AP hover.

 

 

• You can use the NADIR to monitor ground speed
  
• Ensure vertical velocity is zero
  
• Switch artificial horizon rotator to the far right position, DOP, and use this display to centre both horizontal and vertical lines
  
• You can also use the string indicator
  

 

Ideally have HOVER function mapped to your HOTAS and maintain good control of the aircraft.

 

Initially use the controls indicator overlay to confirm when you have successfully engaged the AP Hover.

 

Hope this helps some...

[Rolds]

Look in the folder where the flight manual is, you will find a text document which describes some new features. One of them will allow you to set up guidance bars on the attitude indicator for displacement for aft and side to side, you will quickly work out what it takes to centre them. As long as they are reasonably centred and the VSI is near zero auto hover will engage. I now always fly with this on as I find it the fastest and most consistent way to get into auto hover.

 

Edit - this is the DOP mode Gizzy is talking about.

[FragBum]

Alright Gizzy is correct the conditions a very broad (as in broader than a barn door) to drop into "auto hover" perhaps look for the toque indicator jumping up by about 10% which indicates that Auto Hover is engaged.

 

Mind the slip indicator is of no use to indicate position with wind. :)

 

Also as "Auto Hover" is a cheat I find it odd that you can't engage it with AP off I mean it's not a real feature so modeling it to be dependent on "real" systems doesn't make sense to me.

[BaD CrC]

+1000 for DOP mode of the HSI. As soon as the needles start to center, hit the hover button mapped on your HOTAS (assuming your VSI is close to 0)

[LazyBoot]

Alright Gizzy is correct the conditions a very broad (as in broader than a barn door) to drop into "auto hover" perhaps look for the toque indicator jumping up by about 10% which indicates that Auto Hover is engaged.

 

Mind the slip indicator is of no use to indicate position with wind. :)

 

Also as "Auto Hover" is a cheat I find it odd that you can't engage it with AP off I mean it's not a real feature so modeling it to be dependent on "real" systems doesn't make sense to me.

 

Isn't it just the auto-collective part that's a cheat? I could have sworn I read somewhere that the auto-hover in the gaz is a real thing.

[FragBum]

Isn't it just the auto-collective part that's a cheat? I could have sworn I read somewhere that the auto-hover in the gaz is a real thing.

 

Yes that explains it's dependence on AP cheers. :thumbup:

[FragBum]

@OP

 

A short video dropping in and out of Auto Hover.

 

Starting in manual hover you'll see the increase in toque when engaged and a similar drop in toque when disengaged. There is also wind so the slip indicator is no use, don't fixate on a reference but use "them" as tools to judge aircraft position.

 

When engaged the Tuque Gage goes up by about 10% and of course your controls no longer respond till disengaged. I just give the the pedals a bit of a wiggle as a check, be aware there is some drift in Auto Hover mode.

 

Also if you haven't already do map the Auto Hover to a button as suggested this will save taking a chance with the keyboard. :D

Edited October 6, 2018 by FragBum
<typo>

[VladimirSputnik]

I found that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't causing me much frustration. This worked for me: as soon as it does not want to engage and I am sure my parameters are in limits, press Autopilot Master in the category "Pilot Stick" (not the one "Master On/Off" on the console next to the autopilot pitch, roll, and yaw switches, but the one on the stick). Works like a charm after that. Worth a try.

[Polychop Simulations]

Isn't it just the auto-collective part that's a cheat? I could have sworn I read somewhere that the auto-hover in the gaz is a real thing.

 

 

Well... As this thread has been brought back from the dead, I might as well confirm that the real Gazelle (the ones from the French ALAT, probably not the Westland UK versions) do have an actual auto-hover mode that can be slaved to the Viviane sight.

[AlpineGTA]

I'm really struggling with this too. Before I can even attempt to get my aircraft anything like stable to engage the auto hover, trying to slow down to below 18km/h, as soon as I go below a certain speed and get slow I go into a dizzying spin that requires full rudder to counteract. What's causing this spinning whenever I get slow. I obviously must be doing something wrong, not have my AP and/or trim configured correctly or something? Thanks.

[Wakeshift]

That tendency to rotate in a hover is 'normal' and 'correct'. At low forward movement, the tail no longer acts as a weathervane to hold straight.

 

Without this, the torque from the rotor due to the power required to keep a hover causes an opposite rotation in the body of the aircraft, which must be countered with pedal input.

 

This is normal in all tail-rotor helicopter configurations.

Balance the torque with pedal to hold a hover.

 

Practice practice practice!

[sublime]

i have a lot of problems with this too

basically keep spamming that key and try to keep her as still and level as possible

basically you have to hover her to get it goin

[AlpineGTA]

Thanks. I'll keep practicing!

[AlpineGTA]

Yep, practice definitely makes perfect! After an amazing VR flight through the valleys on the Syria map, I emerged into Beirut and managed to pull into a perfect hover over the city and just sat there for a few minutes admiring the view. It really does feel satisfying when you manage to suss it. I even managed to transition out of the hover, fly over to the airport, transition back into a manually controlled hover and put it down gently on the tarmac. Something I've never managed to do before in the Gazelle. For anyone still struggling it really is worth the effort of persevering. It suddenly makes the Gazelle a joy to fly instead of a frustration.

[Rogue Trooper]

As mentioned before.

You have to hover first to engage auto hover.

Not split second hover... solid and stable hover... then engage Auto hover and change seats.

[sublime]

Yep, practice definitely makes perfect! After an amazing VR flight through the valleys on the Syria map, I emerged into Beirut and managed to pull into a perfect hover over the city and just sat there for a few minutes admiring the view. It really does feel satisfying when you manage to suss it. I even managed to transition out of the hover, fly over to the airport, transition back into a manually controlled hover and put it down gently on the tarmac. Something I've never managed to do before in the Gazelle. For anyone still struggling it really is worth the effort of persevering. It suddenly makes the Gazelle a joy to fly instead of a frustration.

there you go man!

the trick is you get a hover. you cant be moving too much in any direction, and hit it and it clicks right in.

It gets easier with time of course

[Gizmokev]

If you are on a cold start make sure you have advanced the fuel control lever (yellow handled one) fully forward to 100% and gated....best to unbind this from your hotas and use the page up key to ensure its fully forward as if its not you wont be able to engage auto hover either......

[PickleMonster]

Same with the rotor break, if it also isn't fully enaged forward it will also stop the fuel flow lever from fully opening. As Gizmokev says, stick them on a keybind. Or look into some deadzones.

[Rick50]

I might as well confirm that the real Gazelle (the ones from the French ALAT, probably not the Westland UK versions) do have an actual auto-hover mode that can be slaved to the Viviane sight.

 

Interesting!

 

I bet I wasn't the only one that didn't realize this.

 

This does highlight an issue we'll see in the aerospace world: despite same/similar designations, there are often differences between products sold to this country or that, and the public rarely discovers all these differences. The basics might be exactly the same, but the details, where one might have one type of RWR, another might have a TWS, and the third army might not have any warning system installed at all, thanks to budget limitations, or tech export restrictions. Maybe they don't get the greatest latest missile either.

 

Recently I wondered why the F-5 module didn't offer two extra rails for sidewinders, as I've seen pics of F-5's with four heaters... turns out, that was not on offer for the F-5E as originally sold.

 

[Devil 505]

Just flew a Gazelle Mike variant tonight.  I will fly another tomorrow and demonstrate the requirements for auto hover.  You can also look at this older video the Grim Reapers did.  Really good and still applies to what is needed for auto hover currently.  Also, if you hit "C" or bind it to the joystick, you can engage/disengage auto collective to adjust your altitude for pop up scenarios to mark target and fire, then dip back down.  HIGHLY recommend it.  Grim Reapers also have a tutorial on autopilot that might assist as well.  Love this helo.  So much fun flying the Mike variant.    

 

 

Edited December 20, 2020 by robert.clark251

[Devil 505]

On 8/25/2020 at 9:49 PM, AlpineGTA said:

Yep, practice definitely makes perfect! After an amazing VR flight through the valleys on the Syria map, I emerged into Beirut and managed to pull into a perfect hover over the city and just sat there for a few minutes admiring the view. It really does feel satisfying when you manage to suss it. I even managed to transition out of the hover, fly over to the airport, transition back into a manually controlled hover and put it down gently on the tarmac. Something I've never managed to do before in the Gazelle. For anyone still struggling it really is worth the effort of persevering. It suddenly makes the Gazelle a joy to fly instead of a frustration.

Alpine,

 

Check out the video above for some good tips.  Grim Reapers have really thorough guides.  Here is a quick video I did in VR this afternoon. Use the method described in the video above and you should be able to go into a flawless hover every time.  Check the time stamps in the video to skip around.  I stamped the time where I arrived on target and went into a hover

 

 

[Volator]

On 7/17/2020 at 7:47 PM, VladimirSputnik said:

I found that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't causing me much frustration. This worked for me: as soon as it does not want to engage and I am sure my parameters are in limits, press Autopilot Master in the category "Pilot Stick" (not the one "Master On/Off" on the console next to the autopilot pitch, roll, and yaw switches, but the one on the stick). Works like a charm after that. Worth a try.

I got the impression that the autopilot activatet by the stick/cyclic button (it basically holds the attitude once activated) must be OFF in order to activate auto hover. So yeah, pressing that button might help if you had the AP (attitude hold) activated before.

[Marshallman]

Control Enter to bring up red box in lower corner.

Program stick for the following:

Auto hover toggle  .....When you are n Hover it shows in the red box

Auto Collective Toggle......When you are in Hover it shows in the red box, allows you to Bob up from behind objects!!

 

Ensure Autopilot is engaged (panel below Rotor RPM)

Ensure Gyro is ON

Switch Horizon to DOP   4 button rotary switch on right pilots panel....This brings crosshairs onto the Horizon and assists in stabilisong the Aircraft.

Best addition Ive bought is a Joystick extension... allows very small movements, hence accuracy.

 

Enjoy!!!