how to hover

[twisted 128]

one of the trickiest things to do is hover. i keep trying but i end up puttering around like a bee.

is there a trick to 1) taking off and just hovering.

2) coming in for a landing and then going into a hover?

if someone could please provide a practical tip that would help, i'd really appreciate it.

oh, and i know about the autohover option, but that wont help me learn much.

[royaltyinexile 175]

Here's a short guide to a simple take off and hover. I'd suggest trying with auto-trim on to begin with, so you only have to worry about the cyclic and collective at first.

I and the project lead also prefer (when we don't have a joystick hooked up) to control the cyclic with the keyboard. It's a little easier to get a feel of the balance and make corrections, at least at first. You should use the mouse for free looking, and control you attitude with the WASD layout.

Light on Skids

• Slowly raise the collective until the chopper is 'light on its skids'.
  
• Neutralise any aircraft movement with the cyclic.
  
• Apply collective smoothly; ensure that you're in full control before applying more power.
  

lift up

• Slowly increase collective to lift up into the air.
  
• Apply pedal pressure to compensate for torque-induced yaw.
  
• Note, the pedals control the pitch of the tail rotor, counteracting torque.
  

hover

• Use the cyclic to maintain a stationary hover.
  
• Hover neither too low - resulting in repeated touch-downs - nor too high.
  
• Avoid over-controlling; try to look a little distance in front of the helicopter.
  

Best,

RiE

Edited July 18, 2011 by RoyaltyinExile

[Sundowner 11]

And it is only possible if you fly with a mouse, as the controller deadzone is making it really hard to achieve a stable hover, as the range in which you would normally move the controller to make small adjustment, is cut out by it.

It make me remember an older game where we were controlling a small space craft, looking like a lunar lander, over the surface of moon Europa, controlling it by using thrusters... same feel to it.

[OMAC 254]

RiE,

For keyboard/mouse users, do you suggest using "+/- thrust" (Q/Z) when hovering to carefully modify thrust? It is interesting that you do not mention the use of "Manual Trim Set" in hovering, which I would think would be very important with auto-hover off.

In taking off on Veteran, it is 1,000 times easier to do so if auto-hover is engaged for a second or two at first. Having auto-hover makes the game, much, much easier. I guess this is a good thing. You could be more brutal to players and have auto-hover not be available by default on Expert, if it isn't already.

[royaltyinexile 175]

It is interesting that you do not mention the use of "Manual Trim Set" in hovering, which I would think would be very important with auto-hover off.

[...]

In taking off on Veteran, it is 1,000 times easier to do so if auto-hover is engaged for a second or two at first.

Certainly, auto-hover is going to help enormously, but I believe the OP wants to learn without that as a helper. That stage of getting the chopper from light on its skids to in the air is rewarding to master, though can be constrained little by some of the fixes we can't as yet port across to the com prev.

I use manual trim for longer flights, whereas for something like a take off, I like to have more control with the pedals. If you have a keyboard set up, it is more of a fiddle to work both WASD and XC - in this case I, yeah, I'd recommend auto-trim, or, yes, set manual.

Anecdotally, when our lead programmer was given a short hovering tutorial on Friday (I sat in the back trying not to whimper) he was given the controls one at a time, with the instructor controlling the others. First just getting used to the pedals, then just collective, and finally the cyclic. This should be possible to achieve in game with sensible use of our helper functions. Once you're able to master each individually, then you can try working them together.

Best,

RiE

[sbsmac 0]

if someone could please provide a practical tip that would help, i'd really appreciate it.

My #1 tip which I only worked out myself a few days ago....

DON'T LOOK AT THE GROUND !

Look at the horizon or into the distance to maintain a good 'level' reference and use your peripheral vision help guide you to your landing spot. I've found that by staring at my desired landing spot all I do is end up steering into it and bumbling around like a bee on acid.

[twisted 128]

thanks! thats very good insights i didn't have. Guess the key words are slowly with control. And yeah auto-hover seems like just 'push a button and you're done' kinda way out.

i always use a joystick for this. a flight school tutorial in game with the limits on collective then cyclic like mentioned would be real useful it seems if that's what they do in reality.

and i will try not to look at the ground, much. difficult when there's trees coming for seemingly all directions but you make a good point there.

[gabe_ruckus 5]

Remember to use small control inputs, that's the biggest thing I've taken away from games from Hind to FSX to DCS Black Shark, and it's serving me well in TOH, even if there seems to be something wrong with the joystick support (Goes from deadzone to "Holy crap I'm turning very quickly).

If you're hovering, every little movement's going to change your flight path, and if you overcorrect, you end up adding more movement. More overcorrection leads to more movement, and then you end up out of control.

[4 IN 1 0]

Its like riding a bicycle, only use small control inputs to correct movement, any big input will result in ruining your balance(A.K.A crash :p)

[nightsta1ker 10]

Please for the love of GOD just remove the joystick dead-zone!! That would solve alot of problems. There is no dead-zone in any cyclic I have ever used on a real helicopter.

To answer the original question: helicopters in a hover have a pendular motion to them if disturbed from the state of a perfectly balanced hover (a state in which some argue is not possible) so your corrections must be counter to that pendular motion. Imagine balancing a pencil straight up in your palm and moving your hand the required amount to keep it from falling. This is the kind of motion that your hand must do on the cyclic. A very common mistake is overcorrecting. The deadzone in the joystick compounds this common error. In any case, try not to overcorrect, limit your movements to half of what you are doing and you should see a workable improvement.

For those that are trying to fly this thing using a keyboard, I commend you for your ability to fly this thing at all, and I would not possibly expect you to be able to hover it in the best of circumstances. Those of you that can pull THAT off are nothing short of amazing. This thing is hard enough to fly WITH a joystick. Let alone without one. And trying to understand how the forces are balanced by the pilot are nearly impossible to grasp without a joystick. As a real pilot, I can't tell you how to fly a helicopter with a keyboard.

Edited July 21, 2011 by nightsta1ker

[twisted 128]

Its like riding a bicycle, only use small control inputs to correct movement, any big input will result in ruining your balance(A.K.A crash :p)

there's no dead zone on any bicycle i've ever ridden either.