now in early access DCS: CH-47F Pre-purchase

[LuseKofte]

2 hours ago, toubey said:

Just bought this as my first helicopter module. I have no idea what I am up against but it looks a lot of fun. Meanwhile back to the Uh-60 and killeregg mod. Can't be any harder to fly than the Oh-6 right?

It is going to be fairly easy to fly. But the system might when finished be time consuming   But a hot start mission I bet you will take of and fly it like a pro. With a limp or two. 

[Bigity]

15 minutes ago, LuseKofte said:

It is going to be fairly easy to fly. But the system might when finished be time consuming   But a hot start mission I bet you will take of and fly it like a pro. With a limp or two. 

Challenge accepted!

[Beirut]

I hope us Steam people get the discount when it comes out. 

[Bigity]

3 minutes ago, Beirut said:

I hope us Steam people get the discount when it comes out. 

I believe it has been said it would be discounted for a short time on Steam yes.

[Beirut]

3 minutes ago, Bigity said:

I believe it has been said it would be discounted for a short time on Steam yes.

Beauty! Thank you.

 

Same as was with the Phantom I guess. No pre-order but I got the discount when it came out.

[Bigity]

1 minute ago, Beirut said:

Beauty! Thank you.

 

Same as was with the Phantom I guess. No pre-order but I got the discount when it came out.

Yea, trying to find confirmation.

[Freakmeister51]

8 hours ago, toubey said:

Just bought this as my first helicopter module. I have no idea what I am up against but it looks a lot of fun. Meanwhile back to the Uh-60 and killeregg mod. Can't be any harder to fly than the Oh-6 right?

Probably not.

[TFS]

On 6/14/2024 at 10:40 AM, LuseKofte said:

It is going to be fairly easy to fly. But the system might when finished be time consuming   But a hot start mission I bet you will take of and fly it like a pro. With a limp or two

Helicopters are like trailers to a vehicle, smaller, fine adjustments makes large movements. Larger, fine adjustments give longer time to see the adjustments.

 

This a fair analogy?

[sirrah]

Just to make sure, this:

Quote

• Full set of features will be announced prior to early access release

(https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/shop/modules/ch-47f/)

 

has not happened yet, right?

 

(sorry for probably asking confirmation on the obvious, but since the Viper pilot body has been added, I've pretty much only been focusing on that module. Just want to make sure I didn't somehow miss the Chinook features list somewhere)

[Japo32]

still not. In The DCS: CH-47F Key Features at early access: 

• Full set of features will be announced prior to early access releases

The most I am curious and it depends my buy, is how far is developed the avionics and FMC

[BIGNEWY]

We will be posting more news as we lead up to early access release. 

thank you

[TangoRomeo71]

Hi BIGNEWY/ED

Regarding CH-47 pre-purchase discount for steam Users.

Are you considering to follow the precedence that Heatblur established with the F4E, giving Steamplayers the option to get in on the 30% discount for the first 1 or 2 weeks (tm) instead of only getting at the 20% early access rebate?

That would certainly incentivize me, to drop my money on the Chinook sooner rather than later. I could see that benefitting your immediate cashflow, not to mention that it would make me, as a Steam user, feel more included and less left out on the left field.

Regards,

Thomas

 

PS And to other users, please don't want to turn this in to a discussion about Stand Alone vs. Steam, I'm solely presenting my viewpoint from the position I'm in, not passing judgement calls on what is the better choice for you, and I kindly ask, that the same courtesy is extended to me

[YSIAD_RIP]

I am almost ready to pull the trigger on the CH-47. The presale price of $48.99 works for me! 
Waiting for @Wags (or anyone at ED) to release a video or three showing off the flight model and everything else that makes the CH-47 stand apart from other rotary-wing modules in DCS. 

Good Luck ED, Cheers.

 

[Freakmeister51]

6 hours ago, YSIAD_RIP said:

I am almost ready to pull the trigger on the CH-47. The presale price of $48.99 works for me! 
Waiting for @Wags (or anyone at ED) to release a video or three showing off the flight model and everything else that makes the CH-47 stand apart from other rotary-wing modules in DCS. 

Good Luck ED, Cheers.

 

To be honest, I’m surprised this hasn’t happened already. Like with the Apache, there was at least a few videos out to showcase the aircraft systems or equipment from Wags. There’s been nothing except the very impressive preview video so far.

[LuseKofte]

5 hours ago, Freakmeister51 said:

To be honest, I’m surprised this hasn’t happened already. Like with the Apache, there was at least a few videos out to showcase the aircraft systems or equipment from Wags. There’s been nothing except the very impressive preview video so far.

Hope it is work related , he might not have the time. It is awful short time to intended release date 

[Freakmeister51]

1 hour ago, LuseKofte said:

Hope it is work related , he might not have the time. It is awful short time to intended release date 

I know. It seems strange that this module just appears out of the blue. I’m not saying I’m disappointed, I’m quite pleased, there was just no lead up to it, it just appeared.

[inexus]

On 6/19/2024 at 12:50 PM, YSIAD_RIP said:

I am almost ready to pull the trigger on the CH-47. The presale price of $48.99 works for me! 
Waiting for @Wags (or anyone at ED) to release a video or three showing off the flight model and everything else that makes the CH-47 stand apart from other rotary-wing modules in DCS. 

Good Luck ED, Cheers.

 

In the same boat. Want to buy it but not without seeing what is capable of.

We were told there would be news in the week leading up to the patch and we are way past that by now. Sadly, feels very familiar from earlier releases where they get postponed for some weeks... 

Edited June 21, 2024 by inexus

[HMSSURP]

I was reading some of the posts here and I thought I may hit on some of the thoughts, concerns, etc.

1.  Missions:  Yeah, if you are of the attack mindset you will find the chinook a bit tame for your tastes.  Though there was an attack version of the Chinook in Vietnam (Gun's-A-Go GO) they only made 4 and it was a short lived program.  The chinooks primary bread and butter is lift.  Now, in real life I would say this gets pretty darn exciting.  I remember screaming into a zone literally at tree top level, hitting the brakes, slamming the aircraft onto the ground, troops running off the ramp to engage the bad guy, and then yanking the guts out of her to rip out of the zone as quick as possible.  This in large part due to the fact that when you are sitting on the ground you are, as the pilots, actually sitting six feet above the ground in a very large, very noisy, stationary target.  This deffinetely adds some pucker factor to such missions.  But in a simulator, well, there realy is no skill to sitting as a stationary target and there really is no price to be paid in a game for doing such a thing.  So, I personally loved the missions we did but not likely a thing for those of the attack mindset that think the only cool thing in life is going "pew, pew."  Some of the missions that you may be called upon though:

1.  Troop movements (both administrative and direct action).

2.  Cargo movements (internal and external).  The most challenging of these is the gun crew movement.  This is were you picket up an artillery gun crew in your cabin, then you pick up the 155 Howitzer as a duel point pick up under the bird, which in turn has a single penant ammo net slung under it.

3.  Mass CASEVAC.

4.  Fat Cow

5.  Aerial Refueling (MH-47 only)

6. Deep penetration of enemy areas (MH-47 only)

7. Gun platform (MH-47 only)

8.  Fire fighting.  Yep, even active duty guys partake in this though not often in a combat zone

9.  Search and rescue.

10.  And not at all a smart one but I have been asked to do it.  Recon.  Seriously, I was asked to do this in an unarmed CH-47D while conducting a maintenance test flight when an oil rig near our base blew up.  I was the only aircraft in the air in the area and the only crew available at the moment so they sent me out to see what was what.  I was young and invincible so I accepted.  But looking back on it I have to wonder at my own sanity!

As for flying the Chinook, with AFCS on it is probably the easiest aircraft to fly in existance.  It is incredibly stable and forgiving.  I actually got really spoiled in it because of all the power it has and how stable it is.  So when I tried on the AH-64D simulator I was having a rough go of it for a while while trying to remember how to fly a convential helicopter.  Being aware of tail rotor effectiveness, being concerned with torque even with the lightest of loads, worrying about torque effect.....none of this had been on my radar for a very, very long time and I had some catching up to do.  

With AFCS off, it is like trying to balance the aircraft on a needle.  It takes a lot of work and practice.

Now, as for power, this thing has power for days.  I remember one time I was told I needed to get my aircraft moved even though there was no taxi way open around me and I was surrounded by partially dismantled aircraft.  The only way for me to go was up but hovering a Chinook puts out a LOT of wind and could have caused problems for all the aircraft around me.  I got the brain child idea to pull max tq.  My idea was, "I am empty, If I pull 99% tq I will climb so high so fast I won't disrupt anything around me."  So I had my co-pilot guard my thrust and told him "As soon as you see the TQ hit 95% start pushing down.  Do not let me go past 99%"  I then yanked the guts out of the Chinook and once I dodged the overflying Airliner and re-entered orbit (joke)  I found I indeed had not even so much as fluttered a packing label I wad exited the area so quickly!  My point, with the exception of the heaviest of loads you are not going to have to be overlly converned with power.

Airspeed.  The UH-60 and AH-64 are indeed faster then a Chinook........when they are completely empty and flyig at sea level.  The nice thing about a Chinook is you can move fast empty, you can move fast heavy.  You can move fast at sea level, you can move fast at altitude.   Loading up with cargo and climbing high doesn't really affect your ability to move fast.  The exception to this is external loads but that is more an aerodynamic thing with the load then the ability of the aircraft.  Now, with that being said, a Chinook does like to vibrate at about the 150kt mark and flying that fast in real life was not really my thing.  But that was mostly due to the comfort of it rather then the ability of the aircraft.  I would say most people like to cruise at between 100-140kts, depending on mission factors, though I myself liked 120kts.  But this was because of the ease of math when computing time distance heading stuff rather then any real need.

Now, here is the real advantage to the Chinook over every other platform out there.  But, again, unfortunately not something you can simulate.  When you conduct field exercises and all the Apache and Blackhawk crews are sleeping in their cold tents and eating MREs we were sleeping in our heated cabin and rolling our BBQ off the ramp to cook up some burgers and steaks.  To say we became the cool kids on campus, especially at BBQ time, would be a massive understatement!

 

Edited June 21, 2024 by HMSSURP

[Snappy]

Wow according to the newsletter this launch is shaping up even worse than anticipated. I thought ED had learned from the  F-16 release debacle. Apparently not.

This looks to me like jED is simply rushing out the most bare-bone alpha/beta version possible into sale as quickly as possible. Very sceptical of this. No force trim (I mean its a helicopter after all ?!), not even training missions until later in EA ,no NVG.

Its not even mentioned whether the damage model will definitely make it into release or come later in EA.  Personally I don't think this is a good look, this trend to further eroding EA minimum feature standards.

Edited June 21, 2024 by Snappy

[YSIAD_RIP]

Interesting: 

Early Access Launch Features

• ..
• Basic trim system and AI helper.

After Early Access Launch Features

• DAFCS trim system and force trim.

Looks like DAFCS is not making it on Day 1. Should be fun to see how "Good" the Basic trim System and AI helper are.  Seeing that DAFCS is first on the list for After Early Access Launch I am going to assume that it is ( OR SHOULD BE ) the highest priority for future updates after July 3rd.

[CaptJodan]

52 minutes ago, YSIAD_RIP said:

Interesting: 

Early Access Launch Features

• ..
• Basic trim system and AI helper.

After Early Access Launch Features

• DAFCS trim system and force trim.

Looks like DAFCS is not making it on Day 1. Should be fun to see how "Good" the Basic trim System and AI helper are.  Seeing that DAFCS is first on the list for After Early Access Launch I am going to assume that it is ( OR SHOULD BE ) the highest priority for future updates after July 3rd.

As posted in the other thread, I hope ED will provide more information on exactly what constitutes "basic" trim.  Bonus points for why "force trim" was left out.  The latter really feels like it should be available day 1.  Not having a basic intuitive trim system in a helo is not a standard I feel we should be sliding to on an EA release.  Everyone has their line, but this feels more like a return to the F-16 release.  I can excuse DAFCS as I imagine it's more complex (I don't actually know, but that's my assumption), but if I recall correctly every other ED helo release has included force trim on day 1.  

[av8orDave]

15 minutes ago, CaptJodan said:

As posted in the other thread, I hope ED will provide more information on exactly what constitutes "basic" trim.  Bonus points for why "force trim" was left out.  The latter really feels like it should be available day 1.  Not having a basic intuitive trim system in a helo is not a standard I feel we should be sliding to on an EA release.  Everyone has their line, but this feels more like a return to the F-16 release.  I can excuse DAFCS as I imagine it's more complex (I don't actually know, but that's my assumption), but if I recall correctly every other ED helo release has included force trim on day 1.  

I agree. Maybe there is something I'm missing, but if they truly mean that force trim won't be available upon early-access release, I'll be holding off until it is available. Seems like a very weird feature to leave out of any type of release. The early-access feature list overall looks a bit too "bare bones" for my taste, which is a shame because I'll definitely buy the Chinook eventually, and I've yet to not purchase a DCS module on day one.

[Hotdognz]

Well after seeing the EA list im holding off and will wait to see how the guys on our server find it using it with CTLD (if that works with it), lots of things missing in EA I would have considered should be there at 1st release.

 

[sorcer3r]

3 hours ago, Snappy said:

Wow according to the newsletter this launch is shaping up even worse than anticipated. I thought ED had learned from the  F-16 release debacle. Apparently not.

This looks to me like jED is simply rushing out the most bare-bone alpha/beta version possible into sale as quickly as possible. Very sceptical of this. No force trim (I mean its a helicopter after all ?!), not even training missions until later in EA ,no NVG.

Its not even mentioned whether the damage model will definitely make it into release or come later in EA.  Personally I don't think this is a good look, this trend to further eroding EA minimum feature standards.

 

this and the missing progress on the apache FM made me not buy a ED helo for the first time... back to the Kiowa then

[inexus]

11 hours ago, Hotdognz said:

Well after seeing the EA list im holding off and will wait to see how the guys on our server find it using it with CTLD (if that works with it), lots of things missing in EA I would have considered should be there at 1st release.

 

Same. I don't know if ED care but we, their customers, have called it out repeatedly. There are loads of people calling out how barebone the helo is at launch and a fact is that we have seen how long it can take to get these features delivered... 

We are still waiting for the Apache FM to be corrected. I love that helo but man I've been waiting for a long time. 

Edited June 22, 2024 by inexus