Tarmac navigation ... anyone have any tips?

[dooom]

I am having trouble "steering" the ka50 properly while maneuvering on the tarmac/af. hard to get to runway takeoff as well as maneuver after i do a runway landing - any tips?

[GuntiNDDS]

this is what i do: (for taxiing)

 

• slightly pull up the collective
  
• slightly move the stick forward
  
• accellerate to around 30-40km/h (tho i do not know how fast/slow someone would go in real life)
  
• main steering with rudder
  
• bit of cyclic input into the steering aswell
  

also when i do a turn i first slow down by moving the cyclic back.

[Zorrin]

Try ground manoeuvres with the Flight Director on.

[AlphaOneSix]

Taxi speeds should be limited to 15km/hr, but the police won't pull you over if you go faster, I'm sure. ;)

 

Initiate taxi by raising the collective to about 3-4 degrees of pitch and moving the cyclic forward slightly. To slow down, you should center the cyclic, bottom the collective, and use the wheel brakes. You should not use the cyclic for slowing down unless your brakes have failed. In that case, raise your collective until you are just about hovering off of the ground, then use your cyclic to slow down gradually. Turns are accomplished using your rudder, although you may need to move the cyclic in the direction of the turn as well if you are going too fast.

 

If you feel like the autopilot is giving you trouble while ground taxiing (it's never been a problem for me), then just leave the autopilot off until you are lined up and ready to take off or do a hover check.

[Frederf]

I've found the manual/lesson's advice to use primarily lateral cyclic with a little helper yaw from pedal's to be the most effective, nothing extreme. Rudder as primary turn control has demonstrated itself to be lackluster personally.

 

Trimming for a neutral, forward, or otherwise helpful lift vector positioning can ease the workload all around.

 

Doesn't the Ka-50 have a WoW switch to disengage any AP holds while not in flight? I know EKRAN is aware WoW state.

[dooom]

I've found the manual/lesson's advice to use primarily lateral cyclic with a little helper yaw from pedal's to be the most effective, nothing extreme. Rudder as primary turn control has demonstrated itself to be lackluster personally.

 

Trimming for a neutral, forward, or otherwise helpful lift vector positioning can ease the workload all around.

 

Doesn't the Ka-50 have a WoW switch to disengage any AP holds while not in flight? I know EKRAN is aware WoW state.

 

Yeah... the rudder seems anaemic on the ground. i thought lateral yaw would make the ship "tippy" so to speak. Are there independent wheel brakes?

[Frederf]

Nope, just the grip at the base of the cyclic. I think the brakes are left and right main gear. The nose gear is a free-rotating caster without brakes, steering, or anything else like an office chair.

[MTFDarkEagle]

When I'm using rolling taxi, up the collective a little bit, and steer with the cyclic and the rudder pedals. You can also try a hover taxi. That's when you hover 2-3 meters above the taxiway and hover to the runway. You could try that :-)