I've been flying in MS Flight Sims for many years, but only utilizing fixed-wing aircraft. I've recently decided to try something different and start flying helicopters. Unfortunately, my experience has been a little frustrating. The copters that I have are extremely "hard" to fly. I have a yoke and rudder pedals.

 

Are there any helicopters out there that are easier to control than others? Your suggestions and advice would be extremely appreciated.

 

gwillmot

Hi gwillmot,

The one thing you need to do is lower the realism settings in the sim. You can raise this, but wait until you get more familiar with the dynamics of helicopter flying. it is basically an out of control aircraft so to speak. Every move you make counts, and they need to be small. So, on your joystick, set the sensitivity on high and the null zone at very little. The one thing that will make a huge difference for you is...go to www.hovercontrol.com. If you've never been there, this site is all about helicopters, all of the time, with some real life pilots there as well. There is a wealth of information and a great community that will be more than happy to help you. I hope these couple of tips were helpful to you. It takes time and a lot of patience, but you will get there. I can say that FS9 is not very heli friendly compared to FSX as the flight dynamics are greatly improved in FSX. Practice, practice, practice, practice, is what will help you as well. Let us know how you make out. Come to think of it, I'm overdue for a visit to hovercontrol. It's been almost a year since I've been there last if I'm not mistaken. Have a great night.

 

Best, Jeff

Hi gwillmot,

The one thing you need to do is lower the realism settings in the sim. You can raise this, but wait until you get more familiar with the dynamics of helicopter flying. it is basically an out of control aircraft so to speak. Every move you make counts, and they need to be small. So, on your joystick, set the sensitivity on high and the null zone at very little. The one thing that will make a huge difference for you is...go to www.hovercontrol.com. If you've never been there, this site is all about helicopters, all of the time, with some real life pilots there as well. There is a wealth of information and a great community that will be more than happy to help you. I hope these couple of tips were helpful to you. It takes time and a lot of patience, but you will get there. I can say that FS9 is not very heli friendly compared to FSX as the flight dynamics are greatly improved in FSX. Practice, practice, practice, practice, is what will help you as well. Let us know how you make out. Come to think of it, I'm overdue for a visit to hovercontrol. It's been almost a year since I've been there last if I'm not mistaken. Have a great night.

 

Best, Jeff

 

Thanks Jeff. I'll take a peek at the site you mentioned and give it a go.

 

Glenn

The stock Jetranger is virtually unflyable unless you run it in idiot mode. But the R22 is a lot more manageable and a lot of fun. Though you can't really expect realistic chopper flight dynamics in FS9, the R22 does provide a taste of flying a helicopter that is both a challenge, but a "doable" challenge, and does give you some sense of the real thing...

 

Then if you want to move up a little, do a search for Bell_206B_III_LS --- if you can't find it on AVSIM then go to Hovercontrol or FlightSim.com.... It takes the stock Jetranger and completely revamps it with an excellent VC - and it is very flyable. And it['s freeware

 

If your thirst for helo flying is not fulfilled by flying the little ones, then I recommend the wonderful CH53 that was originally released by AlphaSim and is now offered through Virtavia. Get the steam gauge CH53A and not the MH53 - the CH53 VC is far better. Handling is the same for both. It will give you a much greater sense of size and mass but it is still easy enough to fly.

 

IMHO, if you are really feeling cocky after all these and think you can really handle a chopper, get the Virtavia Apache. (Not the Longbow - get the A model as once again the VC is far better.) Even the developer recommends you fly this in simple mode but the masochist in me won't allow that and so I fly it in realistic mode. Sometimes I actually survive the experience. LOL

 

Choppers really do add a whole new dimension to FS - so don't give up. Once you get the hang of it, you will enjoy it as a break from other options

 

Cheers

Ian

The stock Jetranger is virtually unflyable unless you run it in idiot mode. But the R22 is a lot more manageable and a lot of fun. Though you can't really expect realistic chopper flight dynamics in FS9, the R22 does provide a taste of flying a helicopter that is both a challenge, but a "doable" challenge, and does give you some sense of the real thing...

 

Then if you want to move up a little, do a search for Bell_206B_III_LS --- if you can't find it on AVSIM then go to Hovercontrol or FlightSim.com.... It takes the stock Jetranger and completely revamps it with an excellent VC - and it is very flyable. And it['s freeware

 

If your thirst for helo flying is not fulfilled by flying the little ones, then I recommend the wonderful CH53 that was originally released by AlphaSim and is now offered through Virtavia. Get the steam gauge CH53A and not the MH53 - the CH53 VC is far better. Handling is the same for both. It will give you a much greater sense of size and mass but it is still easy enough to fly.

 

IMHO, if you are really feeling cocky after all these and think you can really handle a chopper, get the Virtavia Apache. (Not the Longbow - get the A model as once again the VC is far better.) Even the developer recommends you fly this in simple mode but the masochist in me won't allow that and so I fly it in realistic mode. Sometimes I actually survive the experience. LOL

 

Choppers really do add a whole new dimension to FS - so don't give up. Once you get the hang of it, you will enjoy it as a break from other options

 

Cheers

Ian

 

Sounds like your advice could keep me busy for quite some time. Thanks for the way you laid out a progressive path to take. Thanks Ian.

 

Glenn

I have only recently learnt how to fly Helo,s since i found the gauge (rcbhhc22.zip) over at Avsim,dont know how i had missed this gauge since it has been around since 2007.What the gauge does is makes the aircraft a lot more stable below 1,000ft and so it is possible to approach real slow and touch down on the landing pads.

The gauge (easy_hap.zip) also on Avsim works above 200ft and 40mph and makes it a lot easier to do the cruise.

The main difference between the gauges is that the latter works similar to a normal Auto-pilot where you set the heading and altitude and then just sit back,whilst the first one mentioned uses the cyclic or joystick to control height and speed.IE.stick forward for forward speed and stick back for reverse.The throttle control on your joystick then controls your vertical speed,twist grip is used for turning and left and right to keep the helo level.

Scenery for the Oil rigs can be found over at the ODG Group(Offshore Developement Group).

The only drawback is that not all Helicopters will funtion using the 2 gauges together,but as luck would have it,the ones that will work are all the aircraft used by the Oil Industry.

I fly on FS9 and so dont know which FSX heli,s will work but i will list the ones that work on FS9 when i find time.

Sounds like your advice could keep me busy for quite some time. Thanks for the way you laid out a progressive path to take. Thanks Ian.

 

Glenn

You're welcome Glenn. They really can be a lot of fun, especially if you're not in the mood to do any serious flight planning and just want to look around some good scenery. If you find yourself really getting into it, you can even set up some "scenarios" like searching for a downed pilot in mountainous terrain etc. If you're ever interested, shoot me a PM and I can give some ideas of how to do it