Who would have thought that a cheap & cheerful analogue joystick would be more accurate than my Logitech Wingman Force for helo flying!It is certainly a LOT easier to control a helicopter using the twist handle rudder feature than using rudder keys on the keyboard. Takes up a lot less desk space too! :DI still need a lot of practice with helos, however, at least now I can take off a few feet, hover, turn around using the rudder and get the chopper back on the ground.What is the best helo for practicing with (FS2002 Pro)?Anyways, the stick I opted for was the Saitek Cyborg Gold USB, (although it needed a 7Mb download from Saitek to get the stick to work in WinXP). Nice stick, very adjustable!Looks like it is modifiable too, in that I have had an idea for replacing the rather fragile looking throttle lever with a more substantial one.. Just undo the allen bolt, and bolt a new lever on! :-jumpy:-wave-brian

The Cyborg sounds neat. Great for tinkering, eh?Many helos use the flight model from the included Bell 206 so it's a good one to train in. Also, if you want to get HoverSafe certification, you have to take the tests in the 206 if you use FS2002.

Brian,I just found the easiest Chopper to fly (For me) is the Bell UH-1H Huey by Jordan Moore/Peter RidgeIt's in this Library,I,m not sure if it's the one to gain your Rotor wings with, But you can control it and go somewhere with it.Very easy to hoover with alsoAnd the chopper sounds are very good alsoHave Fun :-jumpyhttp://avsim.com/hangar/air/bfu/logo70.gifAllan

Yup, I like it much !! :-) But has anyone figured out how to open the sliding doors???? :-hmmm :-outta Francois :-wave[table border=0 cellpadding=10 cellspacing=0][tr][td valign=bottom" align="center]"At home in the wild"[/td][td valign=bottom" align="center][link:avsim.com/alaska/alaska_051.htm|Don's Alaskan Bush Charters]"Beavers Lead the Way"[/td][td valign=bottom" align="center][link:www.avsim.com/vfr_center/mainpages/vfr_flights_main_page.htm]VFR Flight Center]"Looking Good Outside"[/td][/tr][tr][td valign=top" align="center]http://avsim.com/hangar/air/bfu/logo70.gif[/td][td valign="top" align="left" colspan=2]http://www.fssupport.com/images/moose2.gif[/td][tr][/table]________________________Francois A. "Navman" DumasAssociate Editor &Forums AdministratorAVSIM Online![/bemail: [email protected]________________________

My favorite too. The doors pop open automatically when you turn the engine off..so I guess they could be programmed to do it with "/" or something else?

I like flying with the roof..errr..the doors open :-) :-outta Francois :-wave[table border=0 cellpadding=10 cellspacing=0][tr][td valign=bottom" align="center]"At home in the wild"[/td][td valign=bottom" align="center][link:avsim.com/alaska/alaska_051.htm|Don's Alaskan Bush Charters]"Beavers Lead the Way"[/td][td valign=bottom" align="center][link:www.avsim.com/vfr_center/mainpages/vfr_flights_main_page.htm]VFR Flight Center]"Looking Good Outside"[/td][/tr][tr][td valign=top" align="center]http://avsim.com/hangar/air/bfu/logo70.gif[/td][td valign="top" align="left" colspan=2]http://www.fssupport.com/images/moose2.gif[/td][tr][/table]________________________Francois A. "Navman" DumasAssociate Editor &Forums AdministratorAVSIM Online![/bemail: [email protected]________________________

Hi Guys,Lizardo,Thanks for the tip, I never thought about shutting it off :-lolFrancois,You'll have to shut down and coast to get this door open :-lolI think Lizardo flies with the doors open also, I see his Picture in the Bush forums spreading junk around the New York Bay area :-lolHave Fun :-jumpyhttp://avsim.com/hangar/air/bfu/logo70.gifAllan

Gotta let the bugs out SOME how. :) Clue?: on that Cormorant I mentioned here, to let the gear down you hit "P" then "G"..only does it in pause...but then stays that way. Hmmm. Haha, DC3 doors..well, they may go coast to coast like that :)..litter the landscape with parachustists?

Yup, it's a Bug...... the gear thing I mean. You have to hit 'P' (pause) for all choppers to retract/lower the gear. Boy, I wish I could that in real life !!! :-eek Ummm.... where'd that airfield go I saw just a minute ago...hold on..hit P... now let's have a look. Hmmmm... oh, and while we're stopped here, let's lower the gear too before I forget ... :-lol :-lol :-outta Francois :-wave[table border=0 cellpadding=10 cellspacing=0][tr][td valign=bottom" align="center]"At home in the wild"[/td][td valign=bottom" align="center][link:avsim.com/alaska/alaska_051.htm|Don's Alaskan Bush Charters]"Beavers Lead the Way"[/td][td valign=bottom" align="center][link:www.avsim.com/vfr_center/mainpages/vfr_flights_main_page.htm]VFR Flight Center]"Looking Good Outside"[/td][/tr][tr][td valign=top" align="center]http://avsim.com/hangar/air/bfu/logo70.gif[/td][td valign="top" align="left" colspan=2]http://www.fssupport.com/images/moose2.gif[/td][tr][/table]________________________Francois A. "Navman" DumasAssociate Editor &Forums AdministratorAVSIM Online![/bemail: [email protected]________________________

On that Huey model, the door animation is tied to the engine RPM. As a result, the door is open at idle and progressively moves toward closed as the engine spools up. At least that's what it says in Jordan's Paint Kit readme.

I must take the time to read things....... but usually end up reading PC manuals instead.... :-lol :-outta Francois :-wave[table border=0 cellpadding=10 cellspacing=0][tr][td valign=bottom" align="center]"At home in the wild"[/td][td valign=bottom" align="center][link:avsim.com/alaska/alaska_051.htm|Don's Alaskan Bush Charters]"Beavers Lead the Way"[/td][td valign=bottom" align="center][link:www.avsim.com/vfr_center/mainpages/vfr_flights_main_page.htm]VFR Flight Center]"Looking Good Outside"[/td][/tr][tr][td valign=top" align="center]http://avsim.com/hangar/air/bfu/logo70.gif[/td][td valign="top" align="left" colspan=2]http://www.fssupport.com/images/moose2.gif[/td][tr][/table]________________________Francois A. "Navman" DumasAssociate Editor &Forums AdministratorAVSIM Online![/bemail: [email protected]________________________

At idle, eh?...hahaha, from dead stop to close takes 1/4 of a rotor revolution for me.

Same here. FS2k must animate the helos differently than 2k2. FS2k2 now has "instant-on".