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Helicopter realism -- or not? Real pilot tests?

Helicopter flying is completely different from flying a fixed-wing aircraft and thus requires different skills.

Re: Helicopter realism -- or not? Real pilot tests?

Postby rastafioul » Thu Sep 01, 2016 10:55 am

For thoses who are new to flightgear or to the R22 helicopter side of this great simulator, here are some tips I found so it helps to flight helicopters.

First, read how helicopters fly!!! (it is already written in this thread)

As said in the thread move smoothly the commands (but this comes with time)

Then as a beginner, move, using ctrl key and the mouse, to the left so the view in from the center of the R22.
+++ edit sept 6 2016 +++
You can also set the horizon at mid screen using right-click mouse up/down
--- edit ---
This little trick helps to have a better vertical reference.
Eventhough some people might not consider this as real simulation this it helps pretty much to start, especially with the R22.

I also have noticed that the brain (at least mine) interprets the horizon going up or down as the aircraft going up or down and not always as its pitch which is sometimes confusing.
Thanks to every single person who helped and/or still helping to have such a great simulator.
For those who would find any complain to do: help or shut up and buy one!
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Re: Helicopter realism -- or not? Real pilot tests?

Postby rastafioul » Fri Jan 27, 2017 11:08 am

Hello everyone!
Here I come again to express my impression about Flightgear R22 and the real R22.
I had the luck (or bad luck according on why I recieved the money) to be able to go for a PPL (H) starting this beginning of the month.

First thing to know, I have trained for fun for a long time with the FG-R22 and consider I am able to keep a pretty good stationnary flight eventhough it goes wrong from time to time.
Therefore, before january 2017, on the simulator, I was also able to:
  • flight from the Vinscon, go land on boats around, come back and land just about where I want.
  • I am also able to go in the Vinscon hangar from one door and go out from an other one! (but that is still not a 100% hit, maybe 40% to 50% success

When I started the real thing, I was very smooth with the commands (the movement must hold in a 2 Euros coin or 0.50 US$) and the instructor was impress by how I hold about stationnary the R22. Sure it was not perfect but pretty good for a first time!
After 4h of flight ( 2h of ground work and 2h of flight) , I went around a plot, keeping about right the altitude, the radius length and the heading.

Therefore, there is truly a big advantage to train with FlightGear!
I met a guy with 55h who looked at my ground evolution and said he was only able to do now what I was already able to do!

At this time, I still struggle a little bit with the foot work and the collective as I had only a joystick to train with.
I also do not land pretty good: heading is wrong, ground effect keeps me in flight, I have a hard time keeping or feeling "light skid" part of the landing.

As for the erratic side of the FG-R22 ... Well.... when you drop the collective inflight, the real R22 DOES bend on the left side, turn left, and the nose down!!!! Maybe not as fast as in FG but I can tell you I did not feel comfortable when the instructor did it!

  • The foot work does react pretty fast on the R22 and the movement (how deep) of the pedals in FG do seem to be coherent with the real aircraft and its reactions
  • the same for The angles involved of the T-bar in FG leading to FG-R22 reaction: they do look to be coherent with the reaction of the real R22.

I want to thank again everybody involved in this wonderful simulator and the R22 aircraft as it is truly a great, outstanding and useful work!
Thanks to every single person who helped and/or still helping to have such a great simulator.
For those who would find any complain to do: help or shut up and buy one!
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Re: Helicopter realism -- or not? Real pilot tests?

Postby Johan G » Sun Jan 29, 2017 12:38 am

Thanks for that interesting report. :)
Low-level flying — It's all fun and games till someone looses an engine. (Paraphrased from a YouTube video)
Improving the Dassault Mirage F1 (Wiki, Forum, GitLab. Work in slow progress)
Some YouTube videos
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Re: Helicopter realism -- or not? Real pilot tests?

Postby Necolatis » Mon Jan 30, 2017 3:30 am

Cool.

Flightgear also has a JSBSim version of that helicopter by Ron Jensen.

You can download it here (kept there since Ron had it on defunc Gitorious): https://github.com/NikolaiVChr/Robinson ... master.zip

If it flies better or worse than the standard R22 I cannot say..but it flies.
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Re: Helicopter realism -- or not? Real pilot tests?

Postby rominet » Sat Mar 04, 2017 1:24 pm

Yep, thank you rastafioul for your report, very interesting!
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Re: Helicopter realism -- or not? Real pilot tests?

Postby rastafioul » Sat Aug 26, 2017 1:40 pm

Today, I just noticed something that might be very important to train: the joystick!

I used and still using microsoft force feedback 2.
It seems that the precision of the joystick is important: I tried a logictec raptor with no force feedback... I crashed the heli everytime as it was not responding or over responding (to me). As I took the microsoft again, it was ok.
Thanks to every single person who helped and/or still helping to have such a great simulator.
For those who would find any complain to do: help or shut up and buy one!
rastafioul
 
Posts: 18
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Version: 2016.2.1
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