NZFF

I'm after some ideas guys.
More from a Helo pilots point of view, but I guess it affects us all no matter what you're flying.

What methods do you use to tell when you're getting close to touch down?

OK. allowing for the altimeter, I'm thinking more from the visual point of view.

In the Helo you normally get rotowash to give you some indication. This is some help when using the Spot view. Though what do you use when no rotorwash is present or when using the VC view?

The MD500e I normally play with used to be a high skid model.

in heavy metal, its the guy calling out the altitude (dunno if FS has it, x-plane does)- thats always useful
at night, you can judge by the landing lights on the runway
in a helo, its when you hear the smashing glass sound. at least for me it is, i'm not much of a rotary wing aircraft guy

I fly rotor all the time and i think vc is best ive got something called active camera but is pretty much the same as using default vc controls anyway i zoom out in vc and fly like that only changing view for a quick look or a movie shot i dont know if you have a hat switch but this does help as you can judge of building as you are coming down by moving your head around and so on ,
i pick one point from start to finsh coming in to an lz and come in a little sideways with the view and sideways with the helo this becomes easier as you practice
if or when you get good flight models and your settings are set to most real setting you will find helicopters in fs a lot easier to land and fly
from my helcopter simming post

setting in my helos are as yours maxed but with one change
REALISM
general slider all the way then back one to 99%
p factor silder all the way
torque as a above
next one the same
SENSITIVITIES
All sliders to the right and no null zone sliders to the left

the end of the story is that i think vc is the best of all worlds and i don't really look at the copter till I've landed it where ever that may be ...

check out hovercontrol there is a lot of tips and choppers for download and most of them are better than payware plus 2 new choppers md500 custom /and bell222 custom
here some pics just to show ya this is the md600 for hovercontro;



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or you could just sit in the back

cheers mike

99% of my helicopter landings end in disaster I find I am doing fine in the VC then I just *need* to switch to external view to check all is ok just before touchdown, I make corrections and usually end up nose first or sliding backwards lol.

Has anyone tried FS Camera from Simviation? ActiveCam is not free is it, it's limited to use in one location only?

ive only used active camera but the view i get is wicked, but if i was to get something again it would be Itrack4 well i think is was called that i just put it on my wishlist ,
its just getting the hang of it really i still crash sometimes and i think myself as good above average my sim is set up with mainly helicopters as most would proberly guessed ,
you will also find out after awhile of getting those landings suss you will be able to land all those other fixed wing easy as
also press SHIFT+Z and this will bring up height, speed , frame rate etc up in the top left hand corner ..if you didnt know ofcourse(keep on pressing to make it disappear)
this helps in vc as sometimes its hard to see them gauges and you can keep a better eye on things as you land or just flying around
mike

ps active camera is only in one location on the demo it is fully unlocked when you purchase it ,but they have had problem with walk about mode down this way that only work properly in the other half of the world but that is the only problem with it ...

I could never get AC to change from 2D cockpit to VC to spot view - at some point it would stick in 2D and only change the view through the window. This might just have been my previous setup...
I reckon TrackiR would be a big advantage in landing a helo, you could lean forward and see the ground coming at you. Biggest drawback in FS is the limited view - I often land 2D but minimised (Press W) and Shift-Z to see flight readouts.

Bandit,I remember thinking exactly this myself.I also like the H500,if you have a good graphics card you can open another window in VC looking left and down,like a real pilot would,I have 2D on my main screen and a VC on the left on another monitor,which is where my GPS is too.2D is probably easir but VC in the right place is good too.You're suposed to be looking 50m ahead and keeping situational awareness,all while keeping level.I made the mistake of flying in spot view thiunking it would be easier,and it seems like it is,untill this crucial stage you speak of.my advice(For what it's worth)Practice 2D,focus 50m ahead,glancing at instruments,radio altimeter's are very handy,but it feels like cheating,being level is the most important,and a glance at the attitude indicator is reasurring,but because you are looking out you know you're level anyway,Keyword-Practice.Once you've got it then play around with views(I agree about trackIR,what a luxury-and cost)Be inside the helo like real pilots,not in spot-it is not easier.Also what type of approach you do will dictate how to execute it.Is it one where you decend fast and flare with heaps of collective-throttle or a slow decent and speed reduction right into entering ground effect and gentle touchdown,barely touching the collective having set about 55-60%,but always ready to make small adjustments,which pretty much sums up flying helos,(lots of small adjustments,constantly).Main thing tho is no spot view on landing,it's not realistic anyway.

Thanks for the suggestions team.

Some I've already tried and a couple of new things to try out - so all good.

When using VC I normally zoom out to .75 with the occasional .50.
I spend most of my time in Spot (from about an 8 o'clock angle) so I can look at the machine and the scenery. But I'm now wanting to spend a bit more time in VC, hence the original question.

That 500 Customised is brilliant and is my machine of choice at the moment. Haven't tried the 222 yet but with that Westpac repaint I think I'm tempted.

A work mate has the Tracking headset and reckons he wouldn't be without it, especially when in Jordans 412. I hope to have a go with it real soon.

I managed to pick up an Saitek x45 at a second hand shop for $40.00 and it's made a huge difference having a seperate throttle. I just have to work on co- ordinating the flare with the rpm's.

hint if you want better control on that x45 is to cable tie the joystick spring up using three of them and the real setting as posted above , this will give you a hole new feeling of helo cable tieing is better than chopping it out like others have done this meaning if you dont like just undo ..also i have a evo cyborg with x45 they both work good together its like having the x52
mike

Cheers Mike, yep have the cable ties already done. Agree with you - huge improvement.

Not sure what you mean with the evo and x45 together. I know what the x52 is though.

Ian

i have two joysticks one is the x45 set like yours and i also have a saitek cyborg evo plug in that has rudder like the x52 so i use them together only one is cable tied (the evo) and the other for fix wing but can have my sons using one and i can correct him with the other they both work at the same time just as good as the x52 but with dual control

HHmmm, he says with the brain working in overtime.

I have a spare joystick. I might see if I can set up a similar arrangement.

Thanks for the tip. Time to start fighting with my daughters for more PC time.

Has anyone tried FS Camera from Simviation? ActiveCam is not free is it, it's limited to use in one location only?

The best freeware camera is "F1view"

This small module installs into FS2004 and supplies simple mouse-based movements, panning, and more, using the center mouse wheel/button. You can also move past the default view limits of FS2004 (good for strolling through virtual cabins). After you download, please make sure you read the full instructions included

Only 742kb here: http://www.flight1software.com/files/F1View.zip

I use F1 view but find its a very long journey threw the virtual cabin of a 777
Because you have to use the mouse wheel to move back and forward.

Can this movement be assinged to a key and be speed up?
I get a very sore finger

Thanks
James

Gee I wish I'd thought of using cable ties,I went and cut my spring by nearly half. Mind you I had it out altogether for a while but not good for planes.Now that I have a yoke for planes I might take the spring out again,it's really realistic for Helo's,not so good for planes that use a stick instead of a yoke,keeps you on your toes tho when you have to guess if you're centered till the feel kicks in.

If I'd known to use cable ties I could have both with only a few mins to change from one to the other! I've still got a good Logitech for planes but it has no hat switch,It'll come in to it's own tho when I get track IR4(one day)!

Jimmy my heart bleeds,go and tell your mum you want some Brasso or Silvo and that you'd like to polish all her silverware (cutlery-knives and forks) for her,or go and sand something down by hand with sandpaper for a few hours-at least.
Then come back here and tell us you have a sore finger! The youth of today!!!???

I hope that was sarcasum!
And i do know what silverware is
And iv done plenty of sanding! I know what real sore fingure feals like

I was prety much just jokeing about haveing a sore fingure, just seeing if there was a easier way then spending 10minitues trying to walk a small way down the cabin. Sooorrryyy

Thanks to mike for converting me to the world of VC flying I never flew in VC until I tryed it on his pc and the whole cable tying the spring on the joystick is just genius have got a cyborg on layby with DSE just so I can try it at home and get used to flying that way.

no problem mate its always good to see the way others do it,, vc is my fav with the active cam ,,got the graphics sorted now and overclocked it to 400mhz so it is screeming again that was the problem with the jars when turning sharpy ,,
did you go for the wireless version or cable in the end with that joystick ?
mike

Sorry mate been trying to sort out my web browser everytime I came into this forum site it would generate a error and close it so I got a new browser and its working sweet as now

Any way I got the corderd version like you recomended will pick it up next week and tie that spring down couldnt believe how much better and real it was to fly.

How long before you depart for NZAA catch ya later.