AUTO HOVER QUESTIONS

[hollywoody]

HI, I can't seem to find this in the manual or by searching but as I'm practicing auto hover technics... at the point when I toggle the Auto Hover button, is there a Light or something on the HUD that tells you that the Auto Hover is engaged? also does auto hover disengage if an input on the cyclic is given. thanks

[TenBlade]

On your overhead panel it lights up.

 

Crewe

[TenBlade]

And I don´t think changing pitch or attitude turns it off, but I´m still new to this.

[isoul]

On your overhead panel it lights up.

 

Crewe

 

... Flight Director should be disengaged too!

[StrongHarm]

There are multiple indications that you're in Hover Stabilization Mode. See them in the manual p366.

 

Hover Stabilization Mode is hard to grasp at first. It would seem that if you engage 'auto hover' it should slow you down and keep you in the same spot. That's not the case as it is only 'Hover Stabilization Mode'. It helps to maintain a hover once you've achieved one. Required reading for hover:

• Flight Dynamics of Hovering(important!) p51
  
• Transitional Flight Regimes(how to enter and exit hover and descend safely) p334
  
• Hover Flight Indications p366
  
• Hover Checklist p441
  
• Hover Stabilization Mode p480
  

 

I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but I'm a firm believer that it's impossible to get the most out of Blackshark without investing the time to read the manual thoroughly. I've been playing for less than a month and I hear people in multiplayer with hundreds of hours in the Blackshark asking about the use of basic systems. I feel for them that their life is so busy that they haven't had time to read the manual.

 

After reading the manual, I found that the Producers notes brought it all together nicely. You can find video specific to the hover feature on

I would strongly suggest viewing all 10 of the Producer's Notes videos thoroughly. You can find them on the ED site or here at YouTube.

 

As someone so eloquently said in a previous post: 'Don't just read the manual and watch every video you can find.. TAKE NOTES!' :book:

[Bucic]

StrongHarm, you would be a living advertisement for RTFM campaign but you're too polite ;)

[Prophet4no1]

The only odd thing I've noticed when hovering is that some times the aircraft will randomly start to gain or lose alt with out me touching anything. Also sudden pitching and rolling. Everything will be stable and then while picking out targets, then all of the sudden I'm riding a mechanical bull. I'll flip off auto hover, restabilise. Set trim again, just in case, and then turn auto hover back on. Some times it will start bucking again. Now, I have mostly noticed this when near large hills and mountains. My guess is that it has something to do with turbulence, but I'm not sure.

[CAT_101st]

depinding of the weather set by the mission builder it might be. Have you tryed building a simple mission with no wind and one with wind?

[159th_Viper]

Do not Forget to Trim - The moment you hit the Autohover command, the Precise Point on the Ground where you hit the Command becomes Important (Hover Point).Any Deviation at all from the Hover Point needs to be addressed immediately by resetting the Hover Point (Trim). Failure to do so......Not Advisable :)

[Prophet4no1]

I have played with it in mission editor, but no consistant resualts. The sudden climbing is the most common one. It's not every time, but often enough to get annoying. I'll set hover at about 100-200meters above a slope so I can see over a ridge at the target area. I'll make sure everyhting is good, take a close look at the analog VVI, then focus on targets. Then I will noice I'm moving as I scan the area, I I then notice I'm at 300+meters and climbing. I lower collective and it starts as a slow drop in the VVI then fast. Not votex ring fast, but much more than intended. I'll get back to where I was and then rest hover. It's really odd. But like I said mostly happens around large hills or mountian. Thought maybe I caught an updraft or something.

[sweinhart3]

Ive seen this too. Im pretty sure the vertical ascent/descent is happening on the hillsides because the altitude hold is engaged and the aircraft is drifting along the hillside and radar altitude is therefore changing. This wouldnt be happening however if you werent drifting. If your trimmed for hover before engaging auto hover you shouldnt drift except to move back to where hover point was engaged. If you use rudder to change your direction and retrim to stay there, I find its often easy to introduce unwanted trim that results in slow horizontal movement as well.

 

Occasionally I see some weird aircraft behaviour that I cant explain like drifting when its properly trimmed, auto turn to target not turning the aircraft when the shkval is slewed, or even the heli spinning in circles immediately after takeoff even after checking all the auto pilot stabs are engaged FD off and visually verifying that trims are reset and no rudder is being introduced. These things dont happen often enough to be able to duplicate on command but seems like weird bugs in the system.

[dsobbe]

I've noticed that in some missions both the overhead hover and altitude hold indicator lights illuminate when hover is engaged. In other missions one or the other light will illuminate, but not both. Still, both hover and altitude hold do function. Anyone else notice that behavior?

I just charge it off to a bad bulb. It actually adds to realism. Panel and indicator lights do occasionally fail, either due to vibration or burnout. Usually, just short of the marker at night in bad weather.

[zdXu]

I've noticed that in some missions both the overhead hover and altitude hold indicator lights illuminate when hover is engaged. In other missions one or the other light will illuminate, but not both. Still, both hover and altitude hold do function. Anyone else notice that behavior?

 

yes of course. Check your barometer-switch beside the 4 blue auto-hover-switches. That makes the difference.

[EinsteinEP]

The two lights on the overhead are "AUTO HOVER" and "R-ALT HOLD". The "R-ALT HOLD" button lights only when you've engaged a hold mode that uses the radar altimeter. As zdXu points out, if the altitude source selection switch is set to barometric, you'll never be in "R-ALT HOLD" and the light will never light, even when the autopliot is holding altitude per the barometric altimeter.

 

I'm not aware of a light that indicates you're in barometric altitude hold.

[dsobbe]

Thanks guys. Missed that one int the manual. "If all else fails read the instructions. Again".