DD_Friar Posted April 28, 2023 Share Posted April 28, 2023 (edited) Salute, Just recently picked up the Gazelle and really enjoying it. Its my first helicopter in any sim. Landing is becoming a bit of an issue for me (despite hours of practice). I just can not seem to find the sweet spot in getting it on the ground without a heavy bump (causing the pilot to groan!) or breaking the rear tail, more often than be able to put it down safely. I have looked through quite a few threads on the subject but none seem to have posts later than 2019. I have Logitech X56 stick and throttle (as collective configured like a jet throttle and not pulling up as per a real helicopter to increase torque/power as I fly jets as well and do not want brain farts when switching between the two!) Is anyone with current time (as at 2023) in the Gazelle and latest flying model (which I acknowledge is a bit old now and have seen the posts about it not being updated until the latest project is released) able to advise please? What hints and tips would you pass on? Many thanks in anticipation. DD_Friar Edited April 28, 2023 by DD_Friar Visit the Dangerdogz at www.dangerdogz.com. We are a group based on having fun (no command structure, no expectations of attendance, no formal skills required, that is not to say we can not get serious for special events, of which we have many). We play DCS and IL2 GBS. We have two groups one based in North America / Canada and one UK / Europe. Come check us out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volator Posted April 28, 2023 Share Posted April 28, 2023 Could you post a short track showing you landing the Gazelle? It might help in analyzing how to improve. I certainly agree that the Gazelle is rather hard to land smoothly compared to the other helos due to its rather odd and very unnatural-feeling flying characteristics in-game. You have to avoid any lateral and longitudinal movement whatsoever and let the chopper settle very lightly, problem being that it will always first float above the ground, then suddenly sink rather heavily- it always feels very scripted. 1./JG71 "Richthofen" - Seven Eleven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DD_Friar Posted April 29, 2023 Author Share Posted April 29, 2023 Salute @Volator, thanks for the reply. After many sessions I had another go last night after trawling through the threads and found a post which seems to have done the trick. It suggested having a -10 curve on the throttle (collective). This does feel that I have a lot more control. I will post my other settings a bit later when I get on my gaming pc. I also have the friction on the throttle as loose as it will go and also split the throttles and only use the right hand side, using the left side as a base to apply pressure to the left half to give me more control. Below are some pictures of what I achieved last night... The Marianas map is awesome for low flying by the way. There is some much going on with civilian traffic set right up. I assume it will be due to the ambient temperature of the map but I felt I needed a lot more power when trying to land as opposed to the Caucuses. 1 Visit the Dangerdogz at www.dangerdogz.com. We are a group based on having fun (no command structure, no expectations of attendance, no formal skills required, that is not to say we can not get serious for special events, of which we have many). We play DCS and IL2 GBS. We have two groups one based in North America / Canada and one UK / Europe. Come check us out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaD CrC Posted May 2, 2023 Share Posted May 2, 2023 Nicely done @DD_Friar. Not a lot of tips beside practice, practice and practice. It's a lot of muscle memory. There are so many things happening in a chopper when you are starting to hover low above ground that it would take too long in a single post. Yes, altitude and temperature strongly influence power availability and it is modeled in DCS, although the gaz is a nice light helicopter with some power to share. You would probably feel the pain a lot more in a huey or a Mi-8. You did good job to adjust your curves. Cyclic needs it. Collective can remain linear. If you have a rudder, the chopper community usually removes all the self centering springs to allow it to stay in place when released as it is intended to be IRL, but that's a bit of a nogo for people also flying fixed wings. 1 https://www.blacksharkden.com http://discord.gg/blacksharkden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DD_Friar Posted May 3, 2023 Author Share Posted May 3, 2023 @BaD CrC Thanks for the reply. Being able to add rudder trim is a good shout (if it is available for the Gazelle) will check later. Visit the Dangerdogz at www.dangerdogz.com. We are a group based on having fun (no command structure, no expectations of attendance, no formal skills required, that is not to say we can not get serious for special events, of which we have many). We play DCS and IL2 GBS. We have two groups one based in North America / Canada and one UK / Europe. Come check us out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DD_Friar Posted May 5, 2023 Author Share Posted May 5, 2023 Still some work to do.. "Err...Harry....Should that be there?" Visit the Dangerdogz at www.dangerdogz.com. We are a group based on having fun (no command structure, no expectations of attendance, no formal skills required, that is not to say we can not get serious for special events, of which we have many). We play DCS and IL2 GBS. We have two groups one based in North America / Canada and one UK / Europe. Come check us out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Sights Posted May 7, 2023 Share Posted May 7, 2023 While I do not have the Gazelle, but I do have all the other helicopters. When practicing make sure you take less fuel, if you are going to practice landings. Remember that you would have burned off quite a bit of fuel in a mission, that was one of the first things I adjusted when practicing. Don’t take any ordinance as well. Try practicing hovering and landing, just in a small area to get use to the small changes that are required for in close. Go get Chuck’s guide as well, he usually has good starting curves. Finally, practice slowing down with plenty room to land, because that’s where things become unhinged, transition to hover when landing. The Gazelle seems like it would be a bit more forgiving than a Hind, so I feel like you are just missing something. On a final note, this depends on what you want to spend, but the Huey is a great starter helicopter, that’s where I started and I feel like if you can master that one, you can adjust to different types from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeedzWD40 Posted May 7, 2023 Share Posted May 7, 2023 4 hours ago, Iron Sights said: When practicing make sure you take less fuel, if you are going to practice landings. You can load the Gazelle up beyond max T/O and it will fly and hover without issue. It suffers no perceptible performance degradation from weight, altitude, or temperature. 30C at 7,000MSL with a fully loaded SA342M will function the same at sea level, 20C, lightly loaded. It's more important to get the right control curves and settings and I think Casmo's settings offer the best bang for the buck. Something to keep in mind as well is the trim isn't very precise, especially around the center. Pedal trim works fairly well but cyclic trim will generally require more hands on as it mostly works with big steps, not small ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaD CrC Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 New FM is coming for the Gaz by the way. Lima is done at least. Looks very promising. 2 https://www.blacksharkden.com http://discord.gg/blacksharkden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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