A couple more combat questions

[Honest989]

Well I'm back again. Bugger.

 

First off, I'm truly stumped by auto-pilot and desired track desired heading.

 

Starting with auto-hover... what gives here. Sometimes I'll push the button and it works perfectly. 6/10 I'll push the button, the lights come on but the helicopter then rolls over and crashes.

 

Auto-route - No real Idea how to get the chopper to follow the way points. Is it fully automatic bar the collective or do I need to control the speed too?

 

Other thing - Sometimes in combat I'll be using the Shvkal and it auto tracks fine and i can narrow fov. After a couple of uses though, and say I switch to cannon in between and then back to missiles, it refuses to auto track and it just stays static and the gate size when zoomed in is massive. I've tried to use 'button ground targets' but to no avail. I usually give up at that point and start getting in close with the cannon. and then dying.

[GGTharos]

Well I'm back again. Bugger.

 

First off, I'm truly stumped by auto-pilot and desired track desired heading.

 

Desired heading: Point heli at the chosen WP.

Desired track: Fly the heli along the pre-dermined FLIGHT PATH to the WP.

 

Starting with auto-hover... what gives here. Sometimes I'll push the button and it works perfectly. 6/10 I'll push the button, the lights come on but the helicopter then rolls over and crashes.

 

You aren't trimmed for hover. Auto-hover isn't really meant to bring you into a hover, it's meant to hold you in a hover once you are hovering ;) Consequently if you aren't trimmed out for it it'll get overriden if the input is too large to correct.

 

Auto-route - No real Idea how to get the chopper to follow the way points. Is it fully automatic bar the collective or do I need to control the speed too?

 

AP/Stab Channels ON (They SHOULD ALWAYS BE ON!)

Flight Director OFF

On PVI, select WP1 (or whichever WP you wish to fly route from)

Engage route mode.

 

Other thing - Sometimes in combat I'll be using the Shvkal and it auto tracks fine and i can narrow fov. After a couple of uses though, and say I switch to cannon in between and then back to missiles, it refuses to auto track and it just stays static and the gate size when zoomed in is massive. I've tried to use 'button ground targets' but to no avail. I usually give up at that point and start getting in close with the cannon. and then dying.

 

How about reducing the gate size ...

[Walsh]

It took me awhile to figure out why with all the autopilots on, it wasn't following the waypoints.

 

You are looking for the R key, which turns on Route autopilot. Hit R again to turn it off. Like GGTharos said you need the other items enabled.

 

There's also D next door which will initiate Descent autopilot while you are in Autohover. Its a slow automatic descent while you hold the key down. Its pretty slick.

[JHepburn]

You aren't trimmed for hover. Auto-hover isn't really meant to bring you into a hover, it's meant to hold you in a hover once you are hovering ;) Consequently if you aren't trimmed out for it it'll get overriden if the input is too large to correct.

 

How does the flight director and/or route mode being turned on affect auto hover? I sometimes get a non-stable hover even after bringing it to a manual hover and trimming appropriately. I want to believe that leaving one or more of these modes on prevents auto hove from being engaged.

 

Thanks!

 

Jeff

[Royale]

Well I know that you need to disengage the flight director when using autohover for it to work

[Walsh]

Jeff, check the top panel where a bunch of warning lights are, they display when you have the route and auto hover autopilots enabled.

 

I believe turning on Auto hover turns off Route mode but I may be mistaken.

 

Also autohover turns on its own sort of flight director so I don't think you need it, look for the small square and line indicating your direction of travel. The larger line, the higher speed 'drift'; I try to minimize the line and center the small square on the HUD attitude indicator with trim.

 

It usually works although I wish there were more tips in the manual.

[GGTharos]

Auto-hover is an autopilot funtion. Enabling the Flight Director will disable the autopilot, so you aren't going to get auto-hover if you enable it with FD on.

 

How does the flight director and/or route mode being turned on affect auto hover?

[JHepburn]

Auto-hover is an autopilot funtion. Enabling the Flight Director will disable the autopilot, so you aren't going to get auto-hover if you enable it with FD on.

 

Perfect. I have no problems now getting a solid manual hover (that took a lot of practice), but I think my issues with auto hover sometimes occur because I forget to click off the FD (which I usually use during a NOE ingress).

 

Thanks GG.

[mckee14]

activating the flight director DEactivates the autopilot, so the AP-channels only work as dampers/dampeners (?). for routemode and hovermode, the shark needs the autopilot to work.

 

all the single AP-channels of: completely manual steering (not recommended, as you fight the shark instead of fly it)

AP-channels on(exept barometric), FlightDirector (FD) off, Routemode ® off: The channels work as dampeners, no real autopilotage. the channels/AP try to hold the shark in the actual heading, pitch, bank.

AP-channels on(exept barometric), (FD) off, ® on: The Autopilot is engaged and flies on its own. depending on the setting, it flies to the next waypoint directly (setting: heading) or steers to match the course/leg of the flightplan. one on the leg, he turns toward the next steerpoint.

AP-channels on(exept barometric), (FD) on, ® off: with the fligtdirector engaged, the AP will be disengaged. so it still works as a dampener, but doesn't try to hold the heading/pitch/bank.

 

don't take this for 100% sure, i wrote it at work, out of the brain. and that's not in a very good condition (god praise the smoooke LOL)