Video: Real life flying.

[nightsta1ker 10]

I recorded this with my Go Pro several weeks ago. My intention of posting it is to give the community a visual comparison of real helicopter flight to the game. Cannot really see the cyclic in this one as my choice of camera position and view angle were not optimal, but you can see the difference between how much left pedal I need in a hover and how little I need in forward flight. Also note at 0:16 seconds as I am rolling out that little bit of shudder and rattling noise? That's the transverse flow effect (also attributed to ETL) that is overly simulated in game by that vibration. The feelings are so subtle that SOUND would better replicate it than shaking the whole helicopter.

Pardon all the head movement, I had it strapped to my helmet which upon later viewing proved to be a mistake. I hope to record some more video (with better audio) tomorrow.

In any case, I hope everyone enjoys it for what it's worth. I hope that it helps somehow, and I REALLY hope I get some better quality video done tomorrow.

[Chris CDN 10]

Great flying. Very smooth.

A lot of turbine guys say they'd never fly piston, but it was some of the best flying I've ever done. You'll have such a leg up on most guys when it comes to power management, etc. I hope to see some more videos in the future.

[nightsta1ker 10]

A lot of turbine guys say they'd never fly piston, but it was some of the best flying I've ever done. You'll have such a leg up on most guys when it comes to power management, etc. Great flying. I hope to see some more videos in the future.

Thanks. Weather pending, more tomorrow!

[LeftSkidLow 1]

Let's get a full down 180 auto to the numbers on the next video! Are those merrells btw? I need some new ones.

[CarlGustaffa 4]

Lovely! Can't wait for next video. Have looked around for seeing control inputs versus responses (primary, secondary, and tertiary). Must say, you make it look soooo easy. :D

Maybe your passenger can film so we better can see all controls in action? Not sure how it'd work out.

[Nicholas 5]

Great video! I can't wait for the next. Just curious, but how many years of experience do you have? What kind of training is required to fly a helicopter? Thanks.

[4 IN 1 0]

Smooth flying! Or through I am not really a fan of piston(given that I work on large turbine every day, so much simpler:p), but will it be better to start off flying piston?

Edited July 3, 2011 by 4 IN 1

[nightsta1ker 10]

@LeftSkidLow, Yes, those are Merrells. I have several. As far as the autorotation goes, when I get my CFI (hopefully this month or next) I will be able to do them whenever I want. Until then it's kind of off limits (too much potential for an accident) without an instructor on board. Kind of rediculous, but I need to keep my nose out of trouble.

@CarlGustaffa, I have a suction cup mount that I plan on placing between the seats so there is a full view of both pilots and the panel and controls etc.

@Dice, I have about 250 hours, 80 of that in airplanes and the rest in helicopters. Got my private ratings before 2003 then joined the Army and crewed on Chinook helicopters for 7 years. Got out and am finishing my ratings (Commercial, CFI, and eventually Instrument).

Training required for a Private Pilot's license in the U.S. is a minimum of 40 hours of flight training of which it gets split up into different categories; Dual instructed, solo, cross country, simulated instrument conditions, etc. You must pass a written test and an oral/practical test to earn your license once you meet the basic flight training criteria. You also need a medical certificate granted by an FAA certified doctor. The biggest obstacle is money. I took out a loan for $15,000 (in 2003 dollars, mind you) to get my initial helicopter rating and have since poured another $15-20,000 into it. I'm not rich, but I make it work somehow. Just manage your debt and don't over extend yourself and you should be able to do it. There are loans available if you qualify. Think of it as buying a nice car (or two).

@4 IN 1, I work on large turbines every day too, and I must say, the elegance and simplicity of the turbine engine is awesome. However, cost effectiveness leans way towards piston powered ships. R44 approx. $450/hour vs. B206 approx. $1,000/hour. Granted, the B206 can do more than the R44, but you get the idea. If you want to start training, I don't see how you could afford not to get your training done in piston powered aircraft.

Edited July 3, 2011 by nightsta1ker

[sbsmac 0]

Very nice video - especially in HD! It would be quite useful to get a bit more commentary or annotation to help us beginners pick up the points you want to demonstrate. I definitely wouldn't have noticed the change in sound due to TFL unless you had explicitly pointed it out for example :)

[ArmAriffic 10]

Nice flying, I was hoping for a missile and some epic evasive maneuvers but this is good enough :D

[boneboys 0]

Thank you for taking the time to make that, excellent.

Can you reproduce the same thing with the ToH flight model ?

I can, nearly :D

[nightsta1ker 10]

Very nice video - especially in HD! It would be quite useful to get a bit more commentary or annotation to help us beginners pick up the points you want to demonstrate. I definitely wouldn't have noticed the change in sound due to TFL unless you had explicitly pointed it out for example :)

Here is what is on the menu for today, I will be testing my new audio feed cable which goes from the intercom to my GoPro so I can now get radio comms recorded with the video. I will be teaching my friend, who is Private Pilot Helicopter rated on some commercial manuevers and working on his radio communication skills. We will be doing a flight around the Seattle area through some controlled airspace, talking to towers and such, I may throw in some other goodies if time permits. Mostly this is to test my audio feed cable, I have no idea if it will work properly. If time and the situation permit, I will try and point out some basic helicopter behaviors while they happen in flight for the benefit of the viewers.

[Mr. Charles 22]

That video was just excellent. Very agile and fast little chopper :O

[-DirTyDeeDs--Ziggy- 0]

BIS should employ nightsta1ker as a consultant !

(forward paychecks to D. Grimm, Salisbury NH ;) )

thanks for sharing

Edited July 3, 2011 by [DirTyDeeDs]-Ziggy-

[nightsta1ker 10]

That video was just excellent. Very agile and fast little chopper :O

Not very fast or agile. That's a Hughes 269, designed, built, and primarily used for training new pilots. It's a rock-solid, stable and reliable machine.

---------- Post added at 02:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:06 AM ----------

So here's the deal with today's video, no comms audio. The cable I bought did not interface correctly with my GoPro. I need to do some research to figure out how people are recording their audio with their videos. However, the new vantage point offers much better view of the controls and panel. It was an hour and half long flight, so once I get everything edited the way I want I will upload it and post the link here.

[-DirTyDeeDs--Ziggy- 0]

you could just record the comms audio with a separate recorder and add the sound into the video :idea:

[nightsta1ker 10]

-Ziggy-;1972858']you could just record the comms audio with a separate recorder and add the sound into the video :idea:

Thanks :rolleyes:. Only I was trying to avoid that. I was under the impression there was a way to plug external sound into my GoPro.

---------- Post added at 06:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:46 AM ----------

New video is in the process of being saved, then the arduous task of uploading to Youtube. Hopefully I will have it posted before I pass out tonight.

[Mr. Charles 22]

Not very fast and agile?

Damn, now I want to see a more agile chopper ;)

[EagleEye-GER- 0]

New video is in the process of being saved, then the arduous task of uploading to Youtube. Hopefully I will have it posted before I pass out tonight.

Great! Youre input on this forums is much appreciated!:cheers:

[Murphe 0]

This is great, thanks for sharing. You should post that music you used in the music suggestion thread, it fit the video really well.

[jumpinghubert 48]

nice that real pilots give feedback and these video documentation! Nightstalker, is it possible to show in your videos the joystick/pedal area permanently?

[nightsta1ker 10]

Nightstalker, is it possible to show in your videos the joystick/pedal area permanently?

Working on this now. However having difficulty uploading to Youtube due to video length and quality. It keeps timing out on me. As soon as I get it uploaded I will post the link.

[max power 21]

You can do a two parter. I think you can split up the video using windows movie maker.

[-DirTyDeeDs--Ziggy- 0]

Working on this now. However having difficulty uploading to Youtube due to video length and quality. It keeps timing out on me. As soon as I get it uploaded I will post the link.

there is a resumable upload available called Advanced Video Upload.

I tried it with a 1Gb upload and it completed on the first try.

http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?answer=185316