Conure Posted June 23, 2010 Posted June 23, 2010 Hey guys, Just curious if any of you guys fly helicopters outside of the sim, military or civilian? Would love to hear your thoughts on how close DCS: BS is to a real machine! Intel i7 6700k, Asus GTX1070, 16gb DDR4 @ 3200mhz, CH Fighterstick, CH Pro Throttle, CH Pro Rudder Pedals, Samsung Evo 850 SSD @ 500GB * 2, TrackIR 5 and 27" monitor running at 2560 * 1440, Windows 10.
AlphaOneSix Posted June 23, 2010 Posted June 23, 2010 I've got several hours of flight time, but I'm no pilot! I've flown an AH-64A for about 2 hours, and I have probably 4 hours flying an Mi-17. As with any flight sim, BS has difficulty replicating that "seat of your pants" feeling, and even with TrackIR you don't have great peripheral vision, so it's probably a little harder in some ways to fly the sim than it is to fly the real thing.
Tangolima600 Posted June 23, 2010 Posted June 23, 2010 It would be hard to find someone who could accurately answer your question because there are a very small amount of coax rotor helicopters like the BS. I believe only Kamov and Sikorsky's prototype bird are the only coax rotor helicopters out there. I've got a few hours stick time in a UH1 Huey and it was a great experience and I can say the translational time from moving the stick to the bird actually changing attitude is similar to what we experience in BS. Other than that, its apples and oranges.
Conure Posted June 23, 2010 Author Posted June 23, 2010 I've got several hours of flight time, but I'm no pilot! I've flown an AH-64A for about 2 hours, and I have probably 4 hours flying an Mi-17. As with any flight sim, BS has difficulty replicating that "seat of your pants" feeling, and even with TrackIR you don't have great peripheral vision, so it's probably a little harder in some ways to fly the sim than it is to fly the real thing. Thats what I had going from flight simulator 95/98/2000/2004/X (yeah, I'm showing off now!) to an actual lesson, I actually found the real aircraft easier as you get feedback. Same as with driving versus the xbox I guess! Yuu lack an extra important sense in a sim... Btw, how did you get the time flying those things? That's incredible and I am disgustingly jealous... Intel i7 6700k, Asus GTX1070, 16gb DDR4 @ 3200mhz, CH Fighterstick, CH Pro Throttle, CH Pro Rudder Pedals, Samsung Evo 850 SSD @ 500GB * 2, TrackIR 5 and 27" monitor running at 2560 * 1440, Windows 10.
AlphaOneSix Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 I spent 6 years in the U.S. Army as an AH-64A mechanic, and I got to go on a few test flights and a few ferry flights and the pilot's were good about giving me some stick time. I also have about 25 hours in the AH-64A CMS (Combat Mission Simulator). I'm currently an Mi-17 mechanic/crew chief (well, primarily Mi-17...I also work on Super Pumas and Bell 412s), and I've had several opportunities to fly it around the traffic pattern and do a bit of hover work.
Chris CDN Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 Hey guys, Just curious if any of you guys fly helicopters outside of the sim, military or civilian? Would love to hear your thoughts on how close DCS: BS is to a real machine! I have experience on both the civilian and military side of rotary wing aviation. I have flown the R22, Bell 206 Jetranger, EC145 and Bell 412. DCS:BS does as good a job as can be done replicating the experience of flying a helicopter but as posted earlier it lacks the "seat of your pants" input and feedback on the flight controls that are literally required to fly helicopters in the real world. The avionics, fuel systems and power management are all very well modeled in BS and I'm looking forward to seeing how the electrical system is modeled in DCS: A10C. Bottom line: This is the closest thing you can get to flying a helicopter without forking out the cash for some lessons yourself. If you're at all interested most flight schools offer an introductory 20 minute lesson for around $100. It's well worth the cash just to see how well you can hover. Be warned though, flying helos is even more addictive than you'd think. NSDQ
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