Since some of you posters are obviously experienced rotor heads, which do you think would be the best to learn the art of helicopters with: The DCS Black Shark that I already have, or the DodoSim 206 for FSX? I'm considering purchasing it as a result of this thread.

 

I'm gathering that for FSX, the Dodo 206 is essentially the only game in town, for realistic heli modelling, and that even with 3rd party FD tweaking packages other ones just don't compare?

 

Now all reports indicate that the Black Shark in DCS really nails the behavior of the real thing, but the BS is sort of a specialized thing that only really experienced helicopter pilots would be allowed to touch. I kind of want to pretend that I'm following some sort of real sequence of learning. Just as I once felt I should work my way through the world of pistons and turboprops and be darned competent with them before advancing to the heavies I like to fly in FSX, I'm thinking that I ought to do something more traditional as well with helicopters. I feel like I've "earned the right" to fly the most advanced or complex fixed wing aircraft available to us in FSX or DCS, but not with helicopters. Is the Dodo 206 for me, or is the BS, by way of its well-regarded helicopter physics, just as good a platform to learn on?

 

I'm gathering that for FSX, the Dodo 206 is essentially the only game in town, for realistic heli modelling, and that even with 3rd party FD tweaking packages other ones just don't compare?

 

 

I see your point, Dodosim seems to be popular among helicopter simmers. does by 3rd party FD tweaking mean Helicopter Total realism by Fred Naar available at Hovercontrol.com? have you tried it?

The dodo is very old iro "looks" and interior and exterior might be ven called "bland" in comparison with new releases.

So if you simply like "beuatifull textures" the dodo is NOT for you. The dodo is the best simulation ever produced and the only helicopter that come standard with auto rotation, proper start up sequence, (unlike the aerosoft huey or milviz huey that do NOT have authentic startup). The dodo is a procedural simmer not something to look at.

 

Remember:

You fly/experience the dodo, It is a living breathing thing (procedural correct).

You look/admire the milviz huey (fill in any other name for set of beautiful flying textures only) when it is standing in a lz.

(when it looks nice it does not always means it behaves "correctly")

 

Fred Naar utility to a large margin help get all other helicopters to be more to the standard they should be, but still it only get to 90% of Dodo.. yeah I know I am maybe a bit biased to the dodo.

 

and yes I have every payware helicopter ever released installed so I know them all, flown them all, but there is just one proper procedural correct helicopter and that is that "bland" dodo...

 

so you have one question to ask yourself. do you want looks or procedural correct simulation.

(even in the last 4 years there are not one helicopter that could rival the dodo. Just imagine how far ahead were the dodo developers at the time of its release, that even up to today, no other has been abled to topple the Dodo - now that should say a thing about the Dodo in itself.)

 

and if you want some souped up textures for Dodod, there are a number of HD texture sets been released for inside and outside, that in itself upgraded the dodo to be not so "bland" - check hovercontrol download section.

Since some of you posters are obviously experienced rotor heads, which do you think would be the best to learn the art of helicopters with: The DCS Black Shark that I already have, or the DodoSim 206 for FSX? I'm considering purchasing it as a result of this thread.

 

Either is fine, if you have the Blackshark then go with that, also being a coaxial contra rotating rotor setup means you can do things normal helicopters can't! I also find DCS looks better down way low where you'll live and as its been pointed out its all about the visual cues with a helicopter.

I purchased the AS Huey few months back (look at PC Aviator it is on sale from time to time :wink: ) and am pretty satisfied with the flight model which is challenging (the balancing act...) but not twitchy like the default choppers are. Doing things right you can land it with some practise (slow descent and landing in the wind) . But beware it is somewhat akin to a FS9 ship : the VC is nice but not so sharp and not entirely functional (including GPS guidance !) . I use CH HOTAS and pedals with it. Don't have any problem as some people have as I do not use FSUIPC.

 

Anybody has the CERA BELL which got good reviews too ?

Rotorcraft are fun for buzzing rooftops and treetops. Once you get used to them you'll be landing at ships and yacths with little effort. The default Bell Jetranger flies OK, but the EH101 is a joke.

Rotorcraft are fun for buzzing rooftops and treetops. Once you get used to them you'll be landing at ships and yachts with little effort. The default Bell Jetranger flies OK, but the EH101 is a joke.

Couldn't agree more!

Also, the Robinson is OK, but from the default choppers (and I don't have too many others) the Bell is simpyl the best. Take that one to get used to the different flying characteristics of helicopters. For example, I did all of the helicopter tutorials once again, but with the Jet Ranger, and I have to say, I found it a bit easier to land that one on the moving yacht (which is tricky though, because the ship moves a bit weird).

 

Regards,

Flo

Thanks KingGhidorah

 

I might just have to break down and make the purchase. I have found that, with TrackIR, flying these things is much easier and want to increase my proficiency. Hook's suggestion worked, but it does require pre-flight setup, which I tend to forget to do.

 

Thanks for the help from both of you.

 

John

Quraisy, if you "give up", you are missing out on a very rewarding aspect of flight-simming. I know that the default Bell 206 is not very realistic, but I have trained flying it to the point where I can land in unknown weather, and end up with the nose pointing to within 10° of where the wind is coming from, just by having aquired the "feel" of it.

 

Some people may find helicopters ugly or otherwise wrong, but the main reason for their existence is that they can do something that fixed-wing aircraft, who all have a minimum airspeed, can not: land almost anywhere, or at least hover over it. And this is no different in the world of FSX; the helicopter can get you to interesting places that are out of reach for everything with wings. It opens up all the scenery you may own not only to exploration, but as a vast area of possible landing sites. The lawn in front of inner-city buildings, a remote village up in the mountains, the shore of basically every lake and every river, and (now the music gets dramatic) mountain peaks.

 

I have only two tips for you.

 

1) Learn to hover.

 

2) To learn this, and everything else, head over to Hovercontrol, which is an entire community built around simulated helicopter flight, with vast resources for training, including reading material and - if you choose to become a member - the awesome feature of getting actual training lessons via FSX multiplayer and Teamspeak, from people who have experience in training people this way.

Good advice in this thread. Speaking as a new but dedicated FSX rotorhead, I agree completely that Hovercontrol is the best place to go for advice, insight, hands-on instruction and some great downloads. Agree also that Fred Naar's Helicopter Total Realism (available free at Hovercontrol) makes a lot of other FSX helicopters a lot better - not quite the equal of the Dodo but in some cases (like the Nemeth/Milviz Huey) very close.

 

Don't overlook the FAA's Helicopter Flying Handbook, available as a free PDF on this page (click the fourth link up from the bottom) - a wealth of good information there.

 

Finally, if you get serious about helicopters, don't overlook X-Plane. While the program is flawed in many respects (so is FSX, but in different respects), the native helicopter modeling is much better than FSX's. Check out the BK-117 from ND Art & Technology, or the R-22 and the upcoming AS350 from Dreamfoil. You'll probably need to add artificial stability in the flight controls section - at least around 30 percent - if you don't have professional-grade flight controls. A lot of real-world helo pilots do this.

 

The thing I like best about flying helos in either FSX or X-Plane is that I can have a really enjoyable, challenging flight in a short period of time. If I have only 15 minutes available for simming, a helo flight is a great answer and I don't even have to go anywhere - just an orbit over a city and back to base can be more than enough.

 

Hope this helps.

Helicopter flight in FSX... Hmm... Well, the sim doesn't do it justice, of course.

 

Helicopter flying is seat of your pants flying and looking outside the windows.

 

Controlling the attitude by reference of the tip path plane over the horizon, using visual references on the ground to control the rate of closure to the LZ, listening to the engine and feeling the vibrations of the aircraft. ^_^

 

Having said that, the Dodosim 206 is very good and comes the closest in FSX.

I now remember why I have not downloaded/used FSUIPC. When I go to the site, all I see is Euros - no USD ($). Obviously, I am missing something.

 

John

Sorry will update post later

Ok here is sort of a video.

PLEASE NOTE:

- I am not good at making videos

- I am not instructor

- I deliberately choose a very flat profile landing to be able to drawn out the landing as long as possible to

- give enough time to explain the training "HUD"

- to explain and whats all happening.

- Also note that lowest Collective was about 43% when landing was initiated and about 60% when

actual landing took place this illustrate the ground effect very nicely

 

(maybe watch in HD to see the gauge better)

the flying part start at 00:30

 

 

texture set by Timm Turner (Alpha20)

interior

http://www.hovercont...zip&img=&tt=zip

exterior

http://www.hovercont...ip&img=9&tt=zip

 

 

Traininghud

(for those trying to initially get the helicopter to do what you want it to do.)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have created my own version from the one in the link below.

I feel I dont need everything like in the gauge below and things do get a bit crowded.

I also adjusted to rather use it in the VC as in video above, just as a reference.

Once you understood the dynamics, delete the gauge and then fly off the seat of the pants..!

if you want my simple adjusted version, send me PM and I will email this to you.

http://www.hovercont...p&img=36&tt=zip

Good video, very smooth flight.

 

Now if we could get the "egg" to be a true "flight path indicator" so that if you're descending for a landing it will mark the spot where you will touch down, it would be just about perfect. That plus the red lines to indicate ground proximity and a special hover gauge to show if you were moving away from a spot on the ground, would be all you'd ever need.

 

Hook