Helicopter controls help?

[Rimp 10]

I've never played any of the ArmA games or Operation Flashpoint before. but i am very excited to play arma2 on Friday when its released.

i was wondering if somebody who has played the games before could tell me how the helicopters control using keyboard and mouse.

i have played the battlefield games and love the controls on there but have also played other games since and been very disappointed that they feature a different control system.

battlefield had it perfect it was mouse control to tilt the main rotors making the helicopter move forward/backward or strafe side to side just like the stick of a real chopper. the A and D buttons were the rudder to spin the chopper left and right just like the rudder peddles on the real thing. and the W and S buttons speed up or slow down the main rotor.

hopefully arma2 will be the same. can anybody confirm it for me? cheers

[okarr 10]

personally i m using a joystick but as you can remap every thing to your hearts content you can create the exact same mapping you were using in BF2.

there is acctually an extra control axis i think.

so it is nose up/down to gain and bleed speed.

strafe/bank left right

spin left right

engine throttle to go up / down in hover

and

roll left/right <--- not sure what exactly the difference between bank and roll is.. some one enlighten me please

Edited June 15, 2009 by okarr

[-Paladin- 10]

I've never played any of the ArmA games or Operation Flashpoint before. but i am very excited to play arma2 on Friday when its released.

i was wondering if somebody who has played the games before could tell me how the helicopters control using keyboard and mouse.

i have played the battlefield games and love the controls on there but have also played other games since and been very disappointed that they feature a different control system.

battlefield had it perfect it was mouse control to tilt the main rotors making the helicopter move forward/backward or strafe side to side just like the stick of a real chopper. the A and D buttons were the rudder to spin the chopper left and right just like the rudder peddles on the real thing. and the W and S buttons speed up or slow down the main rotor.

hopefully arma2 will be the same. can anybody confirm it for me? cheers

W= Nose down for geting speed and if you want to loose altediut and gain speed

S= for nose up, lower speed climbing if you got some speed

A= strafe left or do turn left if you havegaind speed

D= srafe right " " " right " " " " "

C=turn right with heckrotor only if you are very slow on higer speed usles

X=turn left " " " " " " " " " " " "

Q= climb more power for main rotor

Y= sink less power for main rotor

Mouse=look around, use wepon/tell ppl to shoot, lock target, use speacail function´s engine on/off

[BaseJumper 10]

Would it be possible to use a Xbox 360 type of controller to pilot a helicopter?

I'm thinking of using the mini joysticks on them for maneuvering and stuff.

[Mavericko 0]

As he said, anything can be remaped, so yes if you have a Xbox 360 USB controlled for the PC.....

Fyi, ArmA flying is better then BF2 :P

[BaseJumper 10]

As he said, anything can be remaped, so yes if you have a Xbox 360 USB controlled for the PC.....

Fyi, ArmA flying is better then BF2 :P

Awesome !

Thanks Mavericko.

Yup, I'm thinking of getting an xbox 360 USB controller. :bounce3:

At first, I meant to get a new mouse or a laser-trackball, but they cost too much and way over my budget :p

[Crazyfox 0]

engine throttle to go up / down in hover

Adjusment of the rotorblade angle to go up / down in hover. If i may.

[Mavericko 0]

Choppers use "Collective" to go up and down, not throttle :P

[CarlGustaffa 4]

Having rpm control has little to no use in a mil sim. I don't think even flight simulator has modelled this (input) correctly.

[Alex72 1]

Mouse in ARMA also moves the heli as he is used to. move mouse forward and the heli tilts forward, move mouse left and the heli banks left. Then Q to go up and Z to go down. X and C for rudder. ARMA is better though. Heavier feeling. ;)

[okarr 10]

what about the difference between strafe and roll though. there are different mappings for those (not turning with tailrotor). what does this model. i dont think i have seen this control axis before in flight sims and i m not sure which one is the correct one to use. roll or strafe.

[Kristian 47]

Offtopic a little to comment your words "battlefield had it perfect"

Well I personally think Battlefield Helicopter controls are pretty low quality, for example, if you want to hover above something, you must tab the W depending on how high you want to be, and thats what I find frustrating.

So far, I loved OFP's helicopters, THEY we're something! When I got ArmA, I expected same thing, controls we're same, but the flight handling was very diffrent.

Now I am hoping that ArmA2 has better flight control, and hope that you forget BF2 :p

[Maddmatt 1]

Yup, I'm thinking of getting an xbox 360 USB controller. :bounce3:

Better to get a decent joystick in my opinion. Not a hugely expensive one, just not the cheap junk.

Much better than flying with a gampad. Everything else is fine with mouse/keyboard.

[Hermes 10]

As he said, anything can be remaped, so yes if you have a Xbox 360 USB controlled for the PC.....

Fyi, ArmA flying is better then BF2 :P

In BF2 you have a analog Throttle, this is MUCH more better than in Arma2.

Why we have no analoge speedcontrol in Arma2?

In BF2 i can fly more accurate!

[Mavericko 0]

In BF2 you have a analog Throttle, this is MUCH more better than in Arma2.

Why we have no analoge speedcontrol in Arma2?

In BF2 i can fly more accurate!

Again, throttle does not exist on choppers. Speed is decided by tilting the chopper forward.. or whichever direction you want to go.

Again, better then BF2 :P

Flying choppers in BF2 is like flying RC choppers.

[CarlGustaffa 4]

In games, choppers have no throttle (usually). In real life, they do.

[Mavericko 0]

In games, choppers have no throttle (usually). In real life, they do.

They have RPM controll, collective and cyclic.

[BaseJumper 10]

Better to get a decent joystick in my opinion. Not a hugely expensive one, just not the cheap junk.

Much better than flying with a gampad. Everything else is fine with mouse/keyboard.

I do have a joystick + throttle combo: the Saitek X45

Unfortunately, this thing takes up too much deskspace! :p

That's why I'm going towards a gamepad with two thumb-joysticks. It's more compact and doesnt need to be anchored anywhere ...

[GabethePilot 10]

Better to get a decent joystick in my opinion. Not a hugely expensive one, just not the cheap junk.

Much better than flying with a gampad. Everything else is fine with mouse/keyboard.

I would recommend a Cyborg Evo.......excellent joystick with throttles built in, and only around 30 bucks.

[An Fiach 10]

Again, throttle does not exist on choppers. Speed is decided by tilting the chopper forward.. or whichever direction you want to go.

Again, better then BF2 :P

Flying choppers in BF2 is like flying RC choppers.

WHy argue over semantics? A bad flight model is still bad, even if it id better than someone else's :D

[Wynthorpe 10]

Again, throttle does not exist on choppers. Speed is decided by tilting the chopper forward.. or whichever direction you want to go.

Again, better then BF2 :P

Flying choppers in BF2 is like flying RC choppers.

Flying a R/C Helicopter is the same as flying the real thing, they work in the same way, dont get me started on this one! ive been flying R/C for many many years.

[An Fiach 10]

Flying a R/C Helicopter is the same as flying the real thing, they work in the same way, dont get me started on this one! ive been flying R/C for many many years.

I think he was referring to the child's toy type

[Wynthorpe 10]

I think he was referring to the child's toy type

Oh ok! lol, fair enough.

[monty67t 0]

I can add a little to this thread as I was a UH-60 Blackhawk mechanic and crew chief for seven years.

The UH-60 has PCLs (Power Control Levers) located in the upper console toward the front, above the windshield. The PCLs have two levers, one for each engine. These PCLs are pretty much throttles. They also have the ignitor buttons for starting the engines and some other features, such as fuel control. They have set positions they "lock" into or they can be moved back and forth manually. After starting the engines, the PCLs are moved into the idle position where they remain for the rest of the preflight checks. Once you're ready to go, the PCLs are moved to what we called the "fly" position, which is basically full throttle. The PCLs remain in that position and power is generated mostly by moving the collective up and down. The only time you would manually move the PCLs in flight would be during emergency procedures.

I think the ArmA2 flight model is pretty damn good. I use a mouse and keyboard to fly. I started out using a mouse and keyboard way back in the OFP days and I've stuck with it every since. I own an X-52 joystick that I use for other games and I've tried to use it in ArmA, but it just wasn't comfortable for me. I have remapped a few keys to get the right setup for me.

Everyone is going to have a different opinion on what setup is best. The only opinion that matters is your own. It's whatever makes you the best in game pilot you can be. If that means using a gamepad, so be it. Whatever works best for you.

[Mavericko 0]

Flying a R/C Helicopter is the same as flying the real thing, they work in the same way, dont get me started on this one! ive been flying R/C for many many years.

My point was that a real one is alot heavier then a small RC one, heavier flight model.