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John_Cillis

Flying Helos Dont Be shy simmers....

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Guest A321

Hi all,I am currently into my 3rd week of mainly only flying Helos, and I have to say its been one of the most fun and fustrating times ive had with FS. However I have now learnt how to fly Helos, not perfect but still good enough to either take off, air taxi, hover and land with some percision. I feel there is nothing quite as satisfying as touching down like a feather in a helo in a tight spot, or the gracefulness of coming out of flight into a hover and landing.Ofcourse Im not great at it yet!! but I can honestly say that it has open up a whole new world to me, and flying helos around Misty Fjords is amazing or over Flight1's Ultimate terrain is a blast.Also because of the percsion needed to fly helos, It is my opinion that in a way it will improve my fixed wing flying even though its a different ball game, I have noticed that when I fly fixed wing I have have much more confidence and control over the plane now.Yes simmers, If you have the time and paitence I really urge you to take the time to learn how to fly helos, contary to popular beleife the flight model is not messed up, and if you check out http://www.hovercontrol.com there is a wealth of helo flying information there to get you started.Jasonhttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/111623.jpg

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I fly the Robinson a good bit lately...It seems the helo's in 2004 are much better than say fs2000...In the older versions, I never could hoverworth a dang...Always had to have some forward movement, or it would spin, and do the crack up...In 2004, I can actually hover...Even move backwards if I want...Seems much improved as far as the flight model...It is a challenge thats for sure...As an example, I'll often try flying into the Houston "minutemaid stadium" that is the major league baseball stadium, psuedo dome, etc...In the sim, the roof is open, and it's possible to land on the baseball field. I've found visibility is the main thing, as far as landing, getting into tight spots, etc...It's hard enough to fly, without also not being able to see. So what I do, is use the virtual cockpit, and I'll zoom out to about 45-55 percent or so...Gives a more natural view, and is easier to see. I do this also on the fixed wings when using the virtual cockpit..Say the baron...I'll usually zoom to about 60-70-80 percent zoom, and also back the seat up until the last notch, but not too far as to lose the "view" of the seatback. Gives a pretty realistic feel, and view...BTW, I didn't really like the virtual cockpits at first, but I wasn't aware of how to zoom properly...They are pretty good if you zoom out a bit...Now, I'm getting spoiled to where I usually prefer the virtual cockpit...It's the only way to go for the choppers, if you want a good view.. I often fly around Houston in the robinson, and play "police helicopter"...:/ HPD actually flew those back quite a few years ago...I think they have upgraded to mostly bigger ships now though...As far as viewing scenery, the choppers in virtual cockpit are great...You are low, and can't beat the view below...I usually fly my chopper out of Hobby, or Sugerland....Same as many of the Houston real world...BTW, if you have a radio, try helicopter unicom...Lots of action in a big city...MK

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Guest OwenH FSD

Sure, anyone who's been intimidated by flying the defaults, it really has gotten easier. I recently released a gmax revision of the default Bell 206B, available here in the AVSIM library. Just do a search for b206b3.zip and b206tv.zip (and b206pk.zip if you are into repainting).http://www.fsd-international.com/temp/misc/b206_1.jpgBest,Owen

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helicopters are fun to fly but I find the robinson in fs2004 hard to fly, its not sensitive enough. Flying on Hovercontrols multiplayer server is tons of fun though.Andrew

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Owen's Bell is a blast to fly--I can bring it into hover and keep it fixed over the same spot and within 1-2 feet of whatever altitude I want to keep it at--it's not hypersensitive as some copters tend to be.-John

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>Owen's Bell is a blast to fly--I can bring it into hover and>keep it fixed over the same spot and within 1-2 feet of>whatever altitude I want to keep it at--it's not>hypersensitive as some copters tend to be.>>-JohnSounds like what I need! I've always had trouble with the default copters, so maybe I'll give it a try.KP

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Guest allcott

I can also recommend the Nemeth Designs Mil choppers - the Mi-2 particularly is one of the best compromises for air file design for a helicopter yet seen, and with the need to manually start the engines you will discover a unique feature of the design that I hope will lead to lots of other developers following their example as it improves realism by about, oh, 120%!Allcott

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Ken,I wanted to mention there's also some great repaints for Owen's Bell--some of the best copter repaints I've ever seen. I'd love to see Owen and his team do the Rotorway Exec 162...a copter like that in such skilled hands would have to look outstanding.I flew the '206 some more last night, trying out a couple of new repaints. Whether in FS2004 or FS2002 (requires conversion with MDLC for the visual model to display), I've never flown a copter in MSFS with such great manners. I had it in a hover in some light chop yesterday, just a few feet off the ground, and held it over the same spot for nearly twenty minutes with only very light touches on the collective.Now if Owen ever adds a small reflective glass texture in addition to the dynamic shine, it would really look incredible. That's one thing I love about looking at copters--their large glass area really looks cool as it captures the light. I haven't seen many designers include a texture for reflective glass, let alone dynamic shine. I'm really happy Owen included the dynamic shine, since it gives a hint of what I am talking about. Sorry for going on about Owen's copter, but I am thrilled to death with this payware quality freeware effort! Kudos to all who helped.-John

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I agree Andrew, lifting off in the R22 is like it has rubber bands attached to the tarmac.Even though the airfile in Owens 206 is a slightly modded version (jordans?) of the default, it does handle exceptionally well and is very flyable at fuller realism settings, unlike the default.Even though Owen is a design master and this bird has a good mix of detail vs performance, I am convinced the the additional LODs he incorported are why it is fantastic for AI, I have so many versions cruising all thru the Fs skies with several in heli lines when landing and get very little FPS hit, thanks again Owen, hopefully this will be a trend in designing, we need more AI capable helis!Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://www.calvirair.com/mcpics/mcdcvabanner.jpgCalVirAir International


Best, Michael

KDFW

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Guest OwenH FSD

Thanks much for the kind words, gentlemen!I incorporated the multi-LOD for the purpose of being more friendly within MP environments, but I'm glad that it is serving equally well for the purpose of AI.And yes, the slightly modified .air file is Jordan's work to reduce the adverse yaw while in forward motion.Best,Owen

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Guest Kingair315

Try flying into the Kremlin, its more fun than Red Square...-----Those who have seen my messages for years, Know how addicted to the FS I've been.... Now, I have another addiction which takes as much time ! Between FS and this, it takes most every waking hour. Just Click to see what I've done lately, Bobhttp://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZsouthwestQ5fartist

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Ho OwenI have used your exellent Bell 206 TV for the lastn few days. Its really a nice Heli.BTW I am danish, and don't know what LOD and MP means. Could you cast some light over it for me?

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Guest OwenH FSD

Very sorry, as this is "FS" lingo. LOD is an acronym for Level Of Detail. Based upon what pixel count is seen on the screen, the model itself will display less and less complex polygons, increasing the speed it takes for FS to refresh drawing the object. MP stands for Multi-Player, such as VATSIM or any other similar server system.I'm glad you are enjoying the camera version of the Bell!Best,Owen

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BTW Owen, I still enjoy running MSFS on a P3/800. Even at max detail and/or in the VC, I am getting great performance both in FS2004 and in FS2002 using my MDLC converted model.All of a sudden, other aircraft seem pretty boring...Question for copter pilots--I notice when I fly at max cruise, I have to have the nose pointed way down in pitch to keep from climbing. If I reduce the collective, I lose speed. How does one trim for cruise without the nose pointing towards the earth in a copter?-John

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