Landing a helicopter

Ask questions about flying techniques here. Real or Simulated - the principles are the same!

Re: Landing a helicopter

Postby Sir_Crashalot » Fri Jun 01, 2007 7:31 am

/\
|
|
|
|

That way......

Crash ;)
Sir_Crashalot
 

Re: Landing a helicopter

Postby aeio540 » Fri Jun 01, 2007 8:14 pm

Okay, I think I'm becoming more of a rotor head every second.  
Okay, here are my tips.

1.  Don't grip the stick like it needs to be strangled.  I use a light touch.  

2.  I have the realism set as high as it can go.  With no Null Zone on any axis and throttle.  I got that tip from Hovercontrol.com, I always keep realism on high so I don't know how it reacts with it low.

3.  My guess is that you are trying to come to a hover, and the helicopter starts drifting in every which direction.  For me, I always tried to adjust the attitude to what I figured was normal and my heli would drift backwards, whip around and then lose directional control.  Try to keep some forward speed.  The helicopter is much more controllable in forward flight with less corrections.  Keeping the chopper moving forward at 1-2 kts is much easier to control than if you try to maintain a hover at 20 feet AGL and try to land vertically.  

4.  Use the VC! ! !  I can't stress this enough.  It's there for a reason.  It is possible to use the 2-D cockpit, but it is also to drive a car blind folded while trying to play the piano from the passenger seat.  It just isn't easy.  

5.  Minor corrections.  I am/was a very ham-handed simmer.  Even flying in real life, I prefer quick sharp banks and rolls than slow and smooth.  You don't need to jerk the stick forward or back very hard.  I realized that I don't move the stick very much when I play because it just doesn't need the amount of "convincing" that fixed wings do.  I also use a little-bit-forward-back-to-neutral approach as well.  I don't just hold the stick forward or back, I ease it forward a sec and bring it back.  Ease it forward a second and then back to neutral.  Almost like you are trying to touch an imaginary wall of molten lava in front of the stick.  It kinda looks like you are shaking the stick slowly.  That way, if the helicopter seems to start getting away from you, you already have the stick in a neutral position and takes equally minor control input to bring back to equilibrium.

I hope this helps.  I've only been flying the FSX choppers for a few weeks but now I'm hooked.  

If you want an awesome add-on, the Bell 412 from http://www.Hovercontrol.com is the best I've seen so far.  
 
aeio540
Ground hog
Ground hog
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2007 8:17 pm

Re: Landing a helicopter

Postby Ells_228 » Sat Jun 02, 2007 1:40 am

[quote]Okay, I think I'm becoming more of a rotor head every second.
Last edited by Ells_228 on Sat Jun 02, 2007 1:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
Image
[link]http://www.virtualredarrows.com[/link]
Ells_228
2nd Lieutenant
2nd Lieutenant
 
Posts: 231
Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 11:08 am
Location: London, UK

Re: Landing a helicopter

Postby Aerophile » Mon Jun 11, 2007 11:59 pm

Helicopters are designed to only land once, during their very short operational life...

...(and the equally short life of their Pilots)...

Paul... ;)...!



They only fly because the are too stupid to know that they shouldn't.

Matt


No, no... it's because they're so ugly, the ground repels them. ;D



But if the ground repels them, shouldn't the air do the same? ;) ;D


They beat the air into submission.  
Last edited by Aerophile on Tue Jun 12, 2007 12:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Aerophile
Captain
Captain
 
Posts: 725
Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2007 4:48 pm
Location: Earth

Re: Landing a helicopter

Postby MOUSY » Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:11 pm

Alright, here she be... fresh from Youtube!

http://www.youtube.com/v/E9gsOynrGnY

Just gotta say...

I LOVE THAT SONG!!!! GREAT video!... Of course the flying's good too... ;D
[align=center][img]http://www.simviation.com/phpupload/uploads/1379790172.png[/img]
Current Work in Progress: CaribSky: GrenadaX
[url]www.facebook.com/richersimulations[/url][/align]
User avatar
MOUSY
Major
Major
 
Posts: 2110
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2006 8:47 pm
Location: Commonwealth of Dominica

Re: Landing a helicopter

Postby Gamer64 » Wed Jun 20, 2007 1:48 am

If Ells is right id highly reccomend a Logitech Extreme 3d pro!!

I started off as a complete crap heli pilot but i flew around in an r-22 at Whakatane NZ just taking off moving forward then landing.

It took bout 30 mins and now i can pretty much fly any copter i download
Gamer64!!!

Image
User avatar
Gamer64
2nd Lieutenant
2nd Lieutenant
 
Posts: 98
Joined: Fri Apr 13, 2007 12:34 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Landing a helicopter

Postby Ells_228 » Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:43 am

I'm always right...or so my wife tells me...or is it that she's always right...hmmm I forget...
Image
[link]http://www.virtualredarrows.com[/link]
Ells_228
2nd Lieutenant
2nd Lieutenant
 
Posts: 231
Joined: Wed May 02, 2007 11:08 am
Location: London, UK

Re: Landing a helicopter

Postby R44 PILOT » Fri Jun 29, 2007 4:35 am

when your learning the real things, you look out towards the horizon and use your peripheral vision to notice wot the heli's doing, tiny little movements of all controls, the r22 in fs9 or fsx isnt really that realistic in the way she handles, jetrangers a bit better neither have enough yaw when you put input into the collective, especially on autorotaion entry which on a counter-clockwise rotaing rotor head requires nearly all right pedal which you dont get on the sim, and the r22 just falls like a rock and loses its rotor rpm to quick, upon engine failure. the real one does lose it fast, robinson say it'l be lost if the lever isnt lowered in 1.1seconds its more like 0.9-1 second but when you lower it you flair to regain rrpm which the sim doesnt allow, and in the real one once in autorotaion you have to keep adding tiny bits of collective to stop your rrpm exceeding its limits. and the trick to landing on the sim is not to mess about to much over that last few feet in ground effect, choose your spot keep the picture the same all the way in while bleeding the speed off and just let it land.
R44 PILOT
Ground hog
Ground hog
 
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2007 12:18 pm
Location: uk

Previous

Return to Flight School

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 636 guests