Helicopter Rudder Control

[outrurmind 0]

Hello has anyone else noticed that Rudder control on Helicopters works the same as banking (pushing stick too left or right)? Is this just my problem? I thought Helis could spin on a dime. I checked my control mapping and it seems correct.

[7 0]

Yeah, for some reason they disable rudder control at speeds over 100 km/h. Or something like that. It's NOT realistic.

[max power 21]

Yes it is

If you'll notice that the tail rotor gradually gets less authority the faster you go. It's not cut off at 100 km/h as the above poster would have you believe. This phenomenon is perfectly realistic if a little exaggerated in the flight model. You have sufficient rudder authority to put rockets where you need to at 150 km/h in the cobra.

Also, you may wish to use the search function in the future. This issue has been covered ad nauseum in other threads, including accounts and commentary by real life military helicopter pilots flying some of the helicopters that appear in the game (a few BlackHawk pilots, for instance).

[frederf 0]

Quote[/b] ]Hello has anyone else noticed that Rudder control on Helicopters works the same as banking (pushing stick too left or right)? Is this just my problem?

First of all, wise up and look at your controls. Notice your rudder pedals are bound to "right turn" and "left turn" by default, NOT "right pedal" and "left pedal." Change them. The default key bindings are retarded and you are retarded if you don't change them.

Secondly the yaw authority isn't on/off but it's damn close. The fact that yaw authority decreases with forward airspeed is realistic but the way it does it is definitely not. The yaw authority at 150kmph is NOT sufficient or realistic authority but there is some.

[seba1976 98]

Hello has anyone else noticed that Rudder control on Helicopters works the same as banking (pushing stick too left or right)? Is this just my problem? I thought Helis could spin on a dime. I checked my control mapping and it seems correct.

Agree with the two posts above, but just to clarify, gamewise, ArmA changes the function of your mouse X axis depending if you have or have not yet reached the airspeed where the tail rotor authority is cut off. So, while in a hover, your mouse X axis is bound to rudder control, so it does the same as 'x' and 'c' keys: it controls the tail rotor. After you gained some airspeed, your mouse X axis controls the cyclic so you can bank left or right. When in a hover, you bank only with left and right keys.

[4 IN 1 0]

well you can turn your airframe more side way IRL, so yes, its not that realistic at all, BUT, it is (relativily) more realistic to have it cut off so that it wont affect your flight path

[frederf 0]

All uncoordinated flight makes you fly not where you're pointed. There's nothing right about forcing that either.

[BroK3n 0]

Sometimes i wonder if that slight deviation after stepping on the rudder is the result of TORQUE.

I guess it makes sense as well that after a certain speed the rudder movement has little or no affect on the flight path of the chopper after taking into account forces such as inertia and wind speed.

Correct me if i'm wrong.

[shataan 1]

Well, I have changed the controls, but atm am finding hoving a chore. lol Not as intuitive as FP helis were for sure. I`ll keep at it tho. Janes LongBow 2 on all sim controls was easier to fly imho. ;0)

[Tankbuster 1733]

Sometimes i wonder if that slight deviation after stepping on the rudder is the result of TORQUE.

Correct me if i'm wrong.

You're not wrong.

Helicopters, by and large, don't have rudders (a vertical control surface that moves to control yaw) in the accepted sense. The forward airflow is disrupted by the downdraft from the main rotor so much that any vertical tail surfaces simply don't work. They do have rudder controls (IRL, pedals), but these don't actually work a rudder, the change the amount of anti torque supplied by the tail rotor. This produces yaw effect.

[max power 21]

Well, I have changed the controls, but atm am finding hoving a chore. lol Not as intuitive as FP helis were for sure. I`ll keep at it tho. Janes LongBow 2 on all sim controls was easier to fly imho. ;0)

Try hovering by looking at the intruments rather than the landscape. Keep an eye on your articifial horizon and speed in the cobra. In the blackhawk there is a meter for everything, including accelerometers for every direction (I think). I usually just use the artifical horizon and the speed, and I glance at some terrain features to see if I'm drifting around... but the terrain is not necessarily level so don't use it to align your aircraft.