Hardest thing I've ever done in flight sim

[Chock 17,769]

1 hour ago, Wink207 said:

was under the impression that the cyclic input changes the orientation of the rotor blade plane to fly the aircraft up and down and in banks?

Regards,

Rick

The best way to visualise what the cyclic does is to imagine that the rotor is a disk and the cyclic is tilting that disk in the direction you move the stick so as to apply some thrust in that direction. That's not exactly what it does in reality but it helps to think of it that way.

What it actually does mechanically, is vary the pitch of the individual rotor blades at various points of the circle the blades describe through the air so that there is differing increased thrust on a particular side of the rotor disk which corresponds to the direction you move the cyclic stick. 

That is why it is called the cyclic - i.e. it cycles the rotor blades through different pitch angles as they spin around.

[n4gix 4,953]

Expanding on Alan's synopsis, what the cyclic mechanically does is to control a 'swash plate', that is a circular disk that can 'tilt' in any direction. Each blade has a follower roller that rides on top of the swash plate, and controls the pitch angle of the blade.

The swash plate is also connected to the collective, the which causes the entire place to move up a down, thus adjusting the pitch of all blades simultaneously.

For a good description and illustrations of the concepts of the mechanism, see the Wikipedia article here:

Quote

A swashplate is a device that translates input via the helicopter flight controls into motion of the main rotor blades. Because the main rotor blades are spinning, the swashplate is used to transmit three of the pilot's commands from the non-rotating fuselage to the rotating rotor hub and mainblades.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swashplate_(aeronautics)

[Chock 17,769]

 

[n4gix 4,953]

19 hours ago, Wink207 said:

Hi Fr. Bill:

I like that idea!!! Since I will be buying a joystick, why not install as you suggest!!

Thanks

Rick

If I were to do this again, I'd look for a joystick that I could hack in such a way that instead of using a bicycle grip, I'd separate the yoke's entire grip and mount it on the upper end of my PVC pipe extension. If there were button(s) on the grip, I'd extend the wires so that I could solder them to the original wires in the base.

Here is a link to a site which lists most of the available commercial products for sim helicopter cyclic, collective and anti-torque pedals currently available. Note that prices cited are approximated (since they are subject to change over time):

http://helistart.com/HeliSimControls.aspx

Just for giggles, here is a site for professional helicopter simulator controls:

http://www.maxflightstick.com/store/index.php?route=common/home

[Camsdad13 65]

On 2/26/2020 at 10:07 PM, 188AHC said:

The 206 in FSX is poorly modeled to start with so it is even more difficult to operate properly. 

The main thing you need to learn is to use tiny cyclic and rudder inputs. Major movements will have you chasing the chopper. 

Gentle and slow is the key to learning rotor craft. 

Rick were you in the Black Widows? Noticed the 188 AHC

[Camsdad13 65]

Cyclic controls main rotor movement for Left, Right, Forward and backward. 

Collective controls rotor pitch for lift. 

Pedals control yaw 

Thottle is a twist grip on your collective.

Flight sim is horrible at replicating Helo's 

Think of your self balancing on a ball. That is what its like flying a helo. 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by Camsdad13

[188AHC 2,139]

No. My Brother in Law was. We lost him 10/13/67 along with Major Morrow in a crash.

I have been involved with airplanes and helicopters for the last 30+ years though.