Payload Recovery

[Guest Beats]

Hi there, completed almost all the missions so far and took a break from FSX for a month or so. Just got back into it and have been trying to complete payload recovery mission with no luck but plenty of frustration. I've had the same saved game I've been playing from each time I load the mission. I start right when it's announced that the Russians are coming and from there I have about 45 seconds-1 minute to connect to the payload before it blows up. I would say I have played this same 45-60 seconds around 200 times so far and only managed to hook it up one time and it flew off in a second or 2 due to chopper being all over the place. Let me say that I have completed every other chopper mission except the Baltic one so far and I am well aware of how hard these missions are. Just seems like FSX has great heli missions but brutal views for choppers. I'm playing with a window open on the "slingload" view. It's just so hard to see what the heck is going on. If I open more windows to view it doesn't really help and the game slows to a crawl. I've been trying to very quickly get myself hovering in line with the green mission pointers that point at the payload and then lower down. I just can't seem to do it. THe views are just so brutal I'm guessing where to go. I'd say I'm spending 2 hrs or so each sitting playing this same few seconds over and over and not getting anywhere with it. Any suggestions? I'm not interested in changing the mission or swapping choppers. I want to beat it as is, but not sure if there are better views to try? I'm playing with the cockpit view and slingload window in the corner. THanks

[fsx_missionguy 0]

Hi there, completed almost all the missions so far and took a break from FSX for a month or so. Just got back into it and have been trying to complete payload recovery mission with no luck but plenty of frustration. I've had the same saved game I've been playing from each time I load the mission. I start right when it's announced that the Russians are coming and from there I have about 45 seconds-1 minute to connect to the payload before it blows up. I would say I have played this same 45-60 seconds around 200 times so far and only managed to hook it up one time and it flew off in a second or 2 due to chopper being all over the place. Let me say that I have completed every other chopper mission except the Baltic one so far and I am well aware of how hard these missions are. Just seems like FSX has great heli missions but brutal views for choppers. I'm playing with a window open on the "slingload" view. It's just so hard to see what the heck is going on. If I open more windows to view it doesn't really help and the game slows to a crawl. I've been trying to very quickly get myself hovering in line with the green mission pointers that point at the payload and then lower down. I just can't seem to do it. THe views are just so brutal I'm guessing where to go. I'd say I'm spending 2 hrs or so each sitting playing this same few seconds over and over and not getting anywhere with it. Any suggestions? I'm not interested in changing the mission or swapping choppers. I want to beat it as is, but not sure if there are better views to try? I'm playing with the cockpit view and slingload window in the corner. THanks

I would assume then that you also want to finish the mission from the virtual cockpit.There really aren't any better views - excepting the external ones that you could use but that are kind of like cheating. The problem with the Slingload View is that you really don't have the kind of depth perception to really know how much cable to let out. You may be good over the target, but too high (or in some cases too low) for your cable to latch onto the payload.Here's a suggestion: Set this mission aside for a while. Instead ... go back to the Slingload Tutorial and spend some time using these two views (Virtual Cockpit and Slingload View) together with your radar altimeter so that you have an excellent feel for exactly how many feet of line get let out for each second that you let cable out.For example ... if you let cable out for 10 seconds ... how many feet of cable is that? At what radar altitude would you then have to hover at to be able to make that cable snag a payload?Once you have a good feel for it, then I'd suggest staying in the Payload Tutorial for a bit and practicing letting cable out, guesstimating its length, and then using only the radar altimeter for gauging the required altitude you need to fly to make a successful payload grab. Once you're able to consistently do that, then I think you'll be ready to head back into Russian waters.(PS: These are without a doubt the hardest missions in the simulator.)Cheers,Kevin

[Guest Beats]

Thanks Kevin. Very good advice. It's just frustrating knowing you have done something similar already in other missions but having to do it in a tiny amount of time makes it so frustrating. Too bad I can't lean over my seat and take a peak down to see where I'm hovering! I'll stick with it and try the tutorial again as well. I have a mission saved on the Baltic mission right at the boat before attempting to pick anyone up. I think that may be easier to do than the Payload mission purely since there's no time limit. Well, maybe the boat sinks (?) if you don't go fast enough. That's for after Payload is completed. Thanks again.

I would assume then that you also want to finish the mission from the virtual cockpit.There really aren't any better views - excepting the external ones that you could use but that are kind of like cheating. The problem with the Slingload View is that you really don't have the kind of depth perception to really know how much cable to let out. You may be good over the target, but too high (or in some cases too low) for your cable to latch onto the payload.Here's a suggestion: Set this mission aside for a while. Instead ... go back to the Slingload Tutorial and spend some time using these two views (Virtual Cockpit and Slingload View) together with your radar altimeter so that you have an excellent feel for exactly how many feet of line get let out for each second that you let cable out.For example ... if you let cable out for 10 seconds ... how many feet of cable is that? At what radar altitude would you then have to hover at to be able to make that cable snag a payload?Once you have a good feel for it, then I'd suggest staying in the Payload Tutorial for a bit and practicing letting cable out, guesstimating its length, and then using only the radar altimeter for gauging the required altitude you need to fly to make a successful payload grab. Once you're able to consistently do that, then I think you'll be ready to head back into Russian waters.(PS: These are without a doubt the hardest missions in the simulator.)Cheers,Kevin

[Guest Beats]

Got it! After only a few tries today I managed to pick it up. Flew the mission with the cockpit view and a small window set to "slingload". Spent a very long time loading and saving games on the flight back.. and that wasn't even the tough part. Had no idea the carrier would be moving, let alone at a fast pace. attempted to just drop the payload on the carrier from various heights but it always exploded. Had to drop it from a few feet for it to work. Got it done though, time to move on!

[Bell417 0]

I just set it down instead of dropping it. It's not that hard. :(