arma helicoptor flying/landing

[tandy45 10]

hi, just having a little problem when doing the OA helicoptor tutorial, i'm able to fly all fixed wing aircraft effectively as i fly the flanker and lock on series simulators, however when it comes to helicopter flying im at a total loss, i understand that nose down + increased thurst = forward momentum and vice a versa but when it comes to landing im constantly crashing, i'd like to be able to perform landings without the autohover feature turned on but its fustrating how hard mainting a level and hover and vertical landing is without using it. I'm using a joystick which has become second nature for me and i'm using analogue controls however i'm still having problems. The problems im having is if i flair to lose speed i gain altitude and if i decrease power whilst flairing i begin to move backward or plummet into the ground, so its just finding the right medium in which i can slow the helo down and land at will without worrying about crashing or flying in the wrong direction.

Thanks

[PuFu 4600]

i usually turn the tail around to lose momentum and decrease speed at the same time, while still going forward (got a Logitech ExPro3d with a twist handle):

1. choose where you want to land, bank direction and twist the tail in the same time

2. use an analogue joy for throttle, and keep this around 20-30%.

The whole idea is to never push/pull on the throttle too fast, and never use only 2 axis when landing (nose up/nose down)

It is hard to explain, but i guess it takes some time to get used to it

[frederf 0]

Don't land from a vertical hover. Real pilots don't do it because it's hard. Take it slow; don't rush it. It should take 60 seconds or more to go from cruise flight to touchdown. Approaching the landing zone at cruise altitude and cruise speed (1000m+ away depending on the situation)... floor the "thrust" axis and use your pitch to maintain altitude. When your speed bleeds away to the point that pitch can't comfortably maintain altitude, immediately and aggressively put in "thrust" to stabilize decent to a very low or no sink rate. If you overshoot your landing area doing this part then you started the maneuver too late. Decrease forward speed and altitude with a ~1:1 relationship. 100m, 100kmph; 90m, 90kmph; etc. down to 10m; 10kmph and finally 0, 0.

The difference between a good landing and a bad one is time. If you're not absolutely bored out of your skull and your mind is screaming to do it faster... you're doing it too fast. Also focus on getting from a cruise regime completely to a landing-maneuver regime before you even thing about landing. Get the aircraft in a controllable state in the first stage and then turn your attention to putting wheels on the dirt in the second stage.

Don't hesitate to use autohover. ArmA helicopters don't fly like the real thing and anything you can do as a pilot to improve your performance is your responsibility.

[walker 0]

Hi all

And before you use a helicopter in MP please read this:

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Transport_helicopter_Role

Kind Regards walker

[Montanaro 0]

It takes a lot of practice. It seems like a simple task, but it's not (sort of like landing on an aircraft carrier). Oh I just got to land on that big target? Your first time you don't even think of all variables.

But it takes practice, and like frederf (btw superb post!) said it will take you some time until you touchdown. The more you do it, the quicker and safer you'll be and you'll be landing on rooftops in no time.

Just don't get frustrated and don't rush it.

[frederf 0]

Using Shift+Click on the map is pretty nice to give yourself a visual reference at long range. Even 10,000m visibility setting (8-9km or so result) is only 5 miles which is a pretty cruddy day in real life. Even with all aids turned off in the difficulty menu you still get waypoints in HUD in vehicles (kinda sore about that.)

[tandy45 10]

Thanks, all these posts include excellent help and tips, i suppose the transition im facing is one where im not used to considering so many variables such as speed and height within a confined and small spot, im more used to having a runway in which i can bleed speed with reverse thrust and the only variables i should consider are weather conditions and wind conditions when it comes to a landing in relation to my speed and altitude, I suppose the truth could be said from moving from a rotor to a fixed wing simulation. Still like they say rome wasn't built in a day!. Again thanks for the tips

[Imperator[TFD] 444]

For combat landings at full speed I'll do what I call the drift landing. Think similar to sliding a car to a halt at 90 degree angle to where you're wanting to land. Frederf explained it in his post too.

This is really only for after you've mastered the art of normal landing though.

[Steakslim 1]

Also if it hasn't been mentioned, never be afraid to circle around briefly to slow down some.

[LJF 0]

I set up my controls similar to Desert Combat for BF1942:

Mouse forward = pitch down

Mouse backward = pitch up

A and D keys = rudder left/right

W and S keys = thrust (ascend/descend)

Helps tremendously. I wish they had the same feel as the choppers in DCS Black Shark ...

[rekrul 7]

Tilt 90 degrees to the side and pull back (as in nose up) before landing, this will bleed off a lot of speed. You gotta develop a feel for how many degrees you want to tilt and for how long to not bleed off so much speed that you smash to the ground and you don't want it too shallow so you rocket up in the air as a huge AA beacon.

[Lexen 10]

Lots of good tips here already, but in early Helo flight, like the one guy said....Never be afraid to use Autohover.

Early on, the easiest landing is to watch your altitude (even in 3rd person). You pick up the nose of the helo to decrease speed, but you'll also gain altitude. You avoid altitude gain by decreasing the power (default key is Z). You'll soon find that you can slow down but this will be over long distances (300-1000m+). If you are getting too close to the ground while still moving too fast, yank the nose up for just a second to really decrease speed.

After that, it's just practice, practice, practice.

Eventually, you can do what Rekrul above is saying and do a hard turn to really slow down over incredibly short distances.

Again, Autohover is your friend when things are going south.

[andromedagalaxe 10]

I use joystick, but have mapped pedals to buttons on the joystick (which are near the throttle on my JS) so if I'm not lined up or overshoot once I have bled off all the speed I can easily just swing my nose toward the landing area and move toward it at like 5km while slowly descending. I find 1st person is better for regular flight but third person is good for the initial "nose up" to take off all your speed, otherwise you cant really see anything unless you have TrackIR or something.

Basically takes a lot of practice and I;m still not great at it

[Nicholas 5]

I remember when I first flew a helicopter in ArmA. I was terrible. They changed the flight mechanics so much from OFP to ArmA. They didn't change very much from ArmA to ArmA 2 or Operation Arrowhead.

I simply placed a helicopter in the editor and just flew around for fun, I made mini missions picking up squads and taking them to base.

Now i am teh l33t pro!!11

[andersson 285]

The way I flare for normal landing is that I have 0 thrust and then I control the altitude using the stick, if and when I start to loose altitude to fast I carefully adjust the throttle.

[Evil_Echo 11]

Problem with using auto-hover is that at high speed it brakes so hard you pop up - making your bird an easy target for AA fire.

Best way I found to bleed airspeed is to do a hard 180 turn. Then if you wish, you can use auto-hover, but often you won't need it anymore. Should be able to keep altitude below 40m quite easily with just a bit of practice.

[weegee_101 0]

Again, Autohover is your friend when things are going south.

I can't stress this enough myself. If you use a HOTAS like the X52 (which I would recommend), bind autohover to a button you're comfortable with. Modern combat helicopters do have a hover autopilot which can be engaged once the pilot has slowed the vertical and horizontal velocities of the aircraft.

However, make sure you bring your aircraft to a slow speed so you don't quickly gain altitude as the computer tries to slow you down.

[Imperator[TFD] 444]

I never use auto-hover (in helo's at least, I use it for STOL take offs) and recommend that once you've gotten comfortable with the basics of flying helo's to never ever use it again.

A stationary helicopter is a dead helicopter.

[frederf 0]

If I had to hazard a guess of helicopter crashes in ArmA I imagine it would be:

75% flight into terrain, enemy not a factor

20% flying well within range of known hostile locations

5% surprise enemy action

Terrain kills. Dirt has a Pk of 1.0. Auto-hover saves lives most of the time. If you choose not to use it make sure it is for demonstrated survival performance reasons and not for the all too tempting ego.