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nightsta1ker

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Posts posted by nightsta1ker

  2. Posted

    Before I make any further comments about this game's development I need to download and try the latest update as I believe significant changes have been made to the flight dynamics. Once I have done this I will post my thoughts under this thread. Unfortunately I don't have time to do this right now, but I will get to it possibly next week. I am overextended, preparing for my CFIH tests, flying a small contract tomorrow, and also have been alpha testing an R22 Beta II for X-Plane. The good news is, I am up to my ears in current flying and sim flying experience and so I will be very sensitive to inaccuracies.

    I also plan on describing basic helicopter flight dynamics and principles for the benefit of those that know little of how a helicopter should behave.

    More later. And thanks RUBIX! I would also like to encourage other pilots to post their commentary HERE so that we have a central place for pilot feedback.

  3. Posted

    The devs are working on it being realistic. They don't quite have it down pat... yet. But this is just a preview for feedback. I would say the only way to nail the flight behavior would be to have pilots with hundreds of real hours help develop the game, which they don't, letting the community test it and changing the game based on our feedback is the next best thing.

    There are some quirky things about TOH that I do not like, but they have already been addressed and hopefully will be changed before the final release.

  5. Posted

    I'm also a real life helo pilot and have to agree with Chris however there is one thing that I feel has been overlooked and that's wind.

    In real life wind changes everything and I think for the gamer who wants a real life experience, getting into an LZ with wind trying to cock the aircraft can be "very interesting" especially if causes LTE (loss of tail rotor effectiveness, i.e. tail rotor vortex) in the hover etc.

    But yes retreating blade stall and vortex are definitely things in my mind that would be good to model.

    The pedals definitely also need to be looked at from an authority perspective; there just simply is not enough tail rotor authority there.

    In real life even when flying at a relatively decent airspeed if I hoof in pedal one WILL know it. In game this is not so. I find that the tail rotor effectiveness is only really there when at a very low airspeed.

    Also I think that it would also be better to have airspeed in knots and height in feet as an option. Metres and miles per hour are not quite correct.

    And lastly the "deadzone" issue, but I don't need to repeat what's already been covered.

    Other than that BIS; you guys have a done a fantastic job so far! :yay:

    + 1 on this. Thanks Saint.

  6. Posted

    Some of you guys need to check out google or wikipedia and learn about helicopter flight behavior before you criticize the Devs for what is happening in the game.

    I will school you up.

    The effect of the main rotor being turned by the engine/transmission creates torque. This torque causes the body of the helicopter to want to rotate in the opposite direction of the rotor blades. This requires a tail rotor to counter this torque. The tail rotor can also be used conveniently to control yaw left or right. If you increase the amount of power to the rotor system you also increase the torque and need additional pedal to counter the torque. Now, with that tail rotor spinning and pushing air sideways it gives the helicopter a tendency to drift in the direction of tail rotor thrust and also gives it a rolling tendency. This is all in a hover, mind you, the dynamics change in forward flight (just to make things complicated). In forward flight the vertical stabilizer on the tail takes over and uses the wind created by forward flight to stabilize the tail. This results in the pilot not needing to apply left pedal as much or at all. If you continue to apply left pedal the helicopter will want to yaw and possibly roll. Try reducing your pedal input as you accelerate forward. Also, try not to be too liberal with your power changes as any input can drastically change the flight condition. Use smooth slow inputs, be gentle and careful. Just to complicate matters further, if you accelerate too fast, past the red line on the airspeed indicator, you will encounter retreating blade stall. The forward airspeed of the helicopter coupled with the rotation of the blades means that the blade on the right is moving faster than the blade on the left, although they are rotating at the same speed, you have to add the helicopters airspeed on one side and subtract it from the other. This dissymetry of speed causes a dissymetry of lift on either side of the rotor disc and the helicopter wants to roll left. This actually starts happening at very low airspeeds but is countered by the flapping mechanism in the rotor head, allowing the advancing blade to flap up and the retreating blade to flap down. As the advancing blade flaps up the angle of attack is decreased and thus lift is decreased. Adversely the opposite is happening on the retreating side, so the airspeed of the advancing and retreating blades are very different, the lift remains the same. The foreward airspeed of the helicopter is limited to how far the blades can flap before they cannot compensate for that dissymetry of lift any more.

    ---------- Post added at 05:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:25 AM ----------

    Now that I have demonstrated some of the reasons why the helicopter is so darn squirrelly, I can only offer the advice that you need to keep in mind that you should be constantly adjusting things. Any control input is going to have a chain reaction of change to all the other inputs, and the behavior will vary with airspeed. Helicopters are very consistent with their inconsistencies. Once you get used to them, it all becomes second nature, but at first, it's like trying to juggle two chainsaws while riding a unicycle with a glass of water balanced on your nose.

  7. Posted · Edited by nightsta1ker

    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.

  11. Posted

    I enjoy flying virtual Choppers.

    The startup procedure for a Bell 206 provided in the DodoSim software that works with Microsoft Flight Simulator X seems realistic?

    L7lIltOnzYM

    5qn1g7q88-w

    msbgdsTGzdQ

    The Dodo is EXTREMELY realistic. That's how you start a Jet Ranger, and similar for most other single turbine helicopters. I have hundreds of hours flying the DodoSim 206 and it is the closest thing to being in a real helicopter that you can get on a home computer.

  12. Posted

    -Ziggy-;1976471']3 words to describe a potential solution.

    picture

    in

    picture

    see that monitor attached to the dash? that monitor could display a forward looking camera AND/OR a GPS display :j:

    I was suggesting this IN ADDITION to a map view. My suggestion was that with MAP VIEW ON' date=' the game should pause. [i']But[/i] we could also have a GPS panel or something for reference in game.

    And dont roll your eyes at me young man! LOL

  13. Posted

    Well, in real life there is no pause, so I recommend looking at the map rather quickly without pause. Mainly the real map should be consulted before takeoff. The additional beauty of the small GPS map window a-la A2 is that you can still fly well with it there. I like the new transparent overlay also, but having the additional GPS window would be optimal IMHO.

    There may be no pause in RL but there is no peripheral vision in the game. Also, real life does not have Auto Trim, and beginner settings, and you don't get to respawn if you crash. Its a game. Getting a good look at you're map while flying in game might be tough to replicate.

  14. Posted

    There is so much going on with the panel that it slipped my mind, plus it's hard too see the GPS in detail. Also, someone asked you about the timer and you explained what it was.

    But I may be wrong about M being good for overlay. M should be for the large, normal, non-overlay map, of course. ^M could be for small GPS screen, and some other key/key combo for the overlay. What about ^MM for overlay?

    I think that if you hit M for Map view, it should automatically pause the flight. If there is going to be a GPS or map function while flying it should be integrated into the panel or cockpit somehow and seperate from the Map view.

    Just my two bits.

  17. Posted

    Great video again. The new camera angle really helps demonstrate the control usage. A couple of questions...

    1) What's the calculator-like object you have sitting on the map ? :)

    2) There seems to be quite a bit of yaw around your heading once you get to altitude (from about 1:45 onwards). Is this turbulence ? Over-control on the pedals ?

    1) It's a chronograph (timer), very handy for timing warm up and cool down periods as well as the length of flight time for fuel and navigation purposes and ESSENTIAL when flying under instrument conditions.

    2)Turbulence/dissymmetry of lift in the tail rotor. All helicopters do that. The R22 is particularly notorious for it (watch my R22 flight video on my YouTube page). Fighting it with pedal input will just wear you out (and usually make it worse). My feet barely move on the pedals. Flying helicopters is all about applying PRESSURE on the controls, rather than actually MOVING them. If you move a control a measurable degree you will usually get a drastic response. All the little bouncy wobbles you get in flight go largely ignored or you will wind up "chasing" the aircraft all over the place. Rather, the pilot must observe TRENDS in the flight behavior rather than chase the little ups and downs and yaws. It's really quite a natural and fluid feeling when you are up there though.

  18. Posted

    Thanks once again for taking the time.

    Helps a lot to understand the delicateness needed to fly in-game.

    What were the other controls that were being adjusted now and again on the dashboard ?

    Mostly changing radio frequencies. During that flight we went through two controlled airspaces (Boeing and Renton airports) as well as several uncontrolled areas that require monitoring and making radio calls for aircraft separation and safety.

    ---------- Post added at 06:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:07 AM ----------

    -Ziggy-;1973625']thanks for the ride! I really enjoyed watching your flight.

    after watching your movements' date=' i think i have my sensitivity too high.

    kidding aside, i make way more hand movement on my joystick. :p[/quote']

    Are you a righty or a lefty? Wait... Nevermind...:eek:

    ---------- Post added at 06:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:08 AM ----------

    Another thing I would like to point everyones attention to is the lack of left pedal in forward flight. Notice how at cruise speed we actually have some right pedal in there to keep in trim. The Vertical stabilizer on the tail is countering all the torque, and then some, so now we need reverse pitch on the tail rotor to counter the vertical stabilizer. Also look how shallow and uneventful our banking is to get an effective turn, with almost no pedal needed. All the yanking and banking I need to do in the TOH demo really contrasts with reality.

  19. Posted

    Ha! You said it.

    I was wondering what that button was on top of the stick. You did seem to fly faster than your friend at times. Were you practicing landing and hovering on that patch of dead grass next to the runway?

    The button on top is the cyclic trim. It's a motorized spring trim system that enables the pilot to take the control pressure off to reduce fatigue. Not exactly a hands off type function but it makes your arm a little less stiff when you get done, and it helps you keep a desired airspeed.

    My friend flies slow. I was encouraging him to fly faster throughout the flight (especially when we were over the water) and to use the trim. It's not his fault, he's a Robinson pilot and they don't fly as nose-low as the Hughes does so his sight picture is different. It takes some getting used to. We also did some toe-in's on the elevated pad area (putting just the front part of your skid on the surface while the helicopter is still mostly off the ground).

    ---------- Post added at 05:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:17 AM ----------

    Sometimes I wish fixed wing pilots got to wear helmets without looking stupid :d:

    Nice video dude

    I used to fly fixed wing... why do you think I got into helicopters? Besides, if fixed wing guys had that many spinning parts over their heads all the time then alot more of them would wear helmets.

  20. Posted

    Excellent info, thanks again. I did see your hand rather nervously go to your stick a few times when your friend was about to make a turn, just in case. He seems pretty comfortable flying.

    Actually, I am completely comfortable with him flying. My hand was near the stick because you need to push a button to talk on the intercom and that button happens to be the trigger button on the front of the handle. I kept my hand there so I could make a quick comment if necessary. However, no matter how comfortable I am with someone, I still guard the collective and throttle in a hover, just in case. Even experienced pilots make mistakes and I am the one responsible for that ship when I rent it. Bottom line: If I'm gonna pay for it, it d@mn well better have been MY mistake.

  21. Posted · Edited by nightsta1ker

    Thanks for the support guys. I was really hoping to get some good recording of the communications but the port in my GoPro is an audio port OUT, not IN. I need to get a sound recording device and then edit them together as DirtyDeeds suggested. My friend Joey (on the right) was at the controls for most of the flight. I was the one on the left (wearing the helmet).

    @OMAC, In a rotorcraft, it is important to stay at a speed/altitude combination that if you experience an engine failure you can execute an autorotation. The height/velocity diagram in each helicopters operator's manual shows you the recommended takeoff profile for the aircraft. In the S300, you need to stay about 15 feet off the deck until you reach 40 knots, then climb, otherwise, you might break the airframe if the engine quit, or worse, you might break your back. Vertical takeoffs and hovering above 5 feet but below 500 ft are rarely performed unless the mission requires it. Operating under those conditions is known as operating in the "Dead Man's Curve" (depicted by the shaded area in the height/velocity diagram).

    Sometimes in order to clear obstacles the pilot must bend that envelope a little. It takes a little finesse and a healthy knowledge of the aircraft, the environment, and the pilots own abilities to do it safely.

  23. Posted

    Yes, I think so. Upon touchdown while holding "brake" (min collective), I select "Throttle to Idle" (perhaps not necessary), and then "Throttle to Closed." If you find out different, or know of another way to shut the engine off (other than "Engine off (auto)"), please let me know.

    Right now I am frustratedly trying to upload my latest video to youtube with my dodgy internet connection (I pay for High Speed but I get intermittent garbage, perhaps my settings are not maximized or something. I have already had them come out to check the wires once and they supposedly found and fixed the problem.) When I get some time I will check it out and get back to you.

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