DCS: UH-60L Blackhawk (Mod)

I’ve got a friend who’s got a bit over 1,000 hours in the type- I’m tempted to shoot her a message and ask about that, honestly.

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Do It Episode 3 GIF by Star Wars

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Really cool mod. I like that it is a steam-gauges Blackhawk. I always had a sweetspot for it.

It seems to be pretty straightforward and easy to fly. This is with the FPS autopilot turned off. Disclaimer: I also fly the Hind exclusively with the autopilot channels tuned off. I am sure these things are great when cruising long distance, but I never quite understood the point of having these augmentation systems messing with my stick and rudder when helicoptering.

VRS seems to be excessive though. The thing falls out of the sky when descending 2 m/s in a hover. That can’t be right.

The cockpit is nice but in VR the scale seems to be off. The cyclic grips are huge.

Overall very nice for a free mod and the first release at that. But it seems not (yet) on the same level as the Skyhawk.

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didnt install this mod yet, but from top of my head you can understand trim on helos as an artificial force holding your cyclic in place (otherwise there is no other force to hold it in place).

with trim on holding your cyclic at place, if you want to change this actual position of your cyclic and set new position you will just push and hold trim release, what will release that artificial forces, and you will freely move your cyclic to new desired position. then you will release trim release button and your cyclic will stay in that new position.

this hard to visualise with spring cantered sticks. so I guess trim reset is there to move that forces back to centre so you dont have to remember where was your last trim centre.

but I could be wrong :slight_smile:

what I wrote explains also your exp Clutch, as the trim isnt exactly altitude hold but something like cyclic hold. so you need to ‘constantly’ change the trim as the other values changes like torque etc.

Agree, since you are trimming to reduce inputs at center, not control deflection. But I wonder, with something like the F-16 or Airbus fly-by-wire side stick, do you also trim to reduce input at stick center, similar to a spring-centered sim controller setup?

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That actually sounds exactly like I remember Amie talking about once.

I’ve never seen a helicopter cockpit like that, and this probably explains it. Helicopters need finesse around the full range of travel, and the force trim system allows that. Side sticks aren’t great for that. A long throw centre stick is much better for that kind of fine control.

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I have zero knowledge about fbw (Airbus, F16,…) but does it needs trim actually ? according to what I have heard and read so far it sounds like the computers do the work for pilot so the stick is always centered I would guess.

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Oh, that’s not the case.
I have first hand experience with the CH-53 and it’s such a departure from any other helo …

EDIT: also the trim works is a completely different way from what you can imagine.

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Intensifies Starship Troopers GIF

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Bell 525 has kind of side stick and fbw designed but I am not sure how far they went with implementation

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Got it

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I have zero first-hand experience in any .mil (or turbine-powered, for that matter) helicopters.

But I did fly briefly with a pilot who spent 40 years flying them and retired as a CW5.
He actually started his military career in Vietnam as USAF enlisted aircrew on AC-130’s, then switched over to a Warrant Officer to fly helicopters. Really cool gentleman to fly with and one of my favorite to talk to, had some awesome stories but was very down to earth. Flew UH-1’s in the 1970’s until 1991, then switched to the CH-47 and flew those until 2009(!), meaning he would have been sixty years old, flying in the sandbox during GWOT. :open_mouth:

Anyway, the way he explained it on the Huey was that they could get finer control by pressing the trim switch down and holding it any time they were maneuvering. He said the CH47 worked similarly, it had an ‘autopilot’ that was on all the time (SAS?), and you would press the trim switch to set an attitude, and then when you let off it would hold that.

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:point_up:

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we will put the pieces together eventually :slight_smile:

here some explanation of difference between trim release and beep trim. iirc some helos have both

Helicopters with hydraulic actuation of the swash plate usually have an artificial feel spring. The neutral position (where the stick returns to if released) of this feel spring is the trim position. The pilot holds the cyclic at the position where the helicopter has a steady flight path, and can then trim the feel force away by adjusting trim position in two possible ways:

  • Beep trim. A 4-way china hat switch at the control is deflected by the pilot, resulting in slow continuous adjustment of the neutral spring position. With a stick held in position, the feel spring forces are gradually reduced until the pilot stops deflecting the switch when feel force is zero.
  • Trim release. A push button that effectively removes all feel spring force: neutral spring position always follows stick position. With trim release ON the stick can easily fall over if friction is low. Pilot places the stick at steady flight path, then switches trim release OFF. The feel spring is now effective again.

Is the helicopter stable when properly trimmed. We need two answers here, for forward flight and for hover.

  • In forward flight: Directionally, yes. Pitch - often, if the heli has a horizontal tail. Depends on position of horizontal tail relative to rotor downwash, which varies with airspeed and gross weight. Roll - usually not. That’s considering aerodynamic stability only, an AFCS with heading & altitude hold would make for a docile trim situation.
  • In hover: it’s all unstable everywhere, like trying to keep your balance when standing on top of a large inflatable ball. “Trimmed” has very little meaning in the hover.

aerodynamics - Do helicopters have trim? How does it work? - Aviation Stack Exchange.

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here also good explanations of various related helo systems

https://helicoptermaintenancemagazine.com/article/sas-autopilots-and-flight-directors-what’s-name

New version uploaded.

1.1

Feature Changes

  • Radios refactored - FM1, UHF, VHF, FM2 radios all work in game
  • Communications must be reboud to ‘PTT - Push To Talk (Game Comms)’ key - Communication key will not work
  • Easy Comms mode no longer necessary
  • VRS improved
  • Flight model improved
  • FPS improved
  • Pedal trim enabled by default - option to disable to come later

Bugs/Corrections

  • GPS - We have to manually Enter N for North bug fixed
  • Nav flags during ILS bug fixed
  • Engine TGT too low correction fixed
  • Radar Altitude on HMD brightness doesn’t adjust fixed
  • Startup without APU bug fixed
  • Cockpit flood light correction fixed
  • Main Gen’s should drop offline at 85% Nr in-flight and 95% Nr on the ground correction fixed
  • SearchLight not synced in MP bug fixed
  • Starter drop out correction fixed
  • VSI Roll Command based on Heading not on Track bug fixed
  • HUD brightness switchs bug fixed
  • HUD Radar Altitude (AGL) Readout Formats correction fixed
  • Radios only work with Easy Comms enabled bug fixed
  • Aircraft too fast, too rapid acceleration bug fixed
  • HUD Bearing to Waypoint Pointer “V” behavior correction fixed
  • Aircraft trim in cruise bug fixed
  • Engine torque linked to helicopter pitch, not blade pitch correction fixed
  • Tail rotor angle wrong bug fixed
  • External sound bug bug fixed
  • VRS - too rapid onset; too gentle descent enhancement fixed
  • Roll command bar is jittery bug fixed
  • FPS on during hot start enhancement fixed
  • Clock time runs beyond 2400 bug fixed
  • Battery low caution bug fixed
  • Tail wheel switch label and operation. correction fixed
  • Turning CIS Heading mode ON disables SAS1 bug fixed
  • HUD Horizon Line Does Not Roll 0 - 359° correction fixed
  • Start without APU bug fixed
  • Stabilator Auto Control Mode should be on during startup. correction fixed
  • PDU press to test correction fixed
  • Radar altimeter low and high correction fixed
  • Stabilator Manual Slew Switch correction fixed
  • ILS Course Deviation Pointer Is Opposite Steering correction fixed
  • Tailwheel Switch Pushbutton lights correction fixed
  • HUD Barometric Altitude shows more than 20,000 ft correction fixed
  • HUD Changes to “36” when approaching “N” bug fixed
  • Torque should not change with forward or aft cyclic movements bug fixed
  • Search light correction fixed
  • artificial Horizon bug fixed
  • ETA to waypoint not working bug fixed
  • Fuel Quantity Digital Readout on CDI should display in 10 lb increments correction fixed
  • Radar Altimeter Indications correction fixed
  • upper and lower beacon light switch - function inverted bug fixed
  • Add Checklist to kneeboard documentation enhancement fixed
  • Radar Alt HI light not coming over when over Set High Alt bug fixed
  • Cabin light switch inverted bug fixed
  • HUD Radar Altitude (AGL) Analog Bar Appearance correction fixed
  • Have the course and heading knobs adjust by 1 with mouse wheel bug fixed
  • HUD Distance to Waypoint shows more than 999.9 km correction fixed
  • HUD Indicated Airspeed goes above 180kts correction fixed
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Took it for a spin. A really comfortable ride, no drama flying it and you can feel the weight nicely. Just spent a while going back and forth from a LHA to a CV in bad weather for no good reason other than it’s fun.

Awesome mod.

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Not being a rotor head, this is fun. Though mapping the throttle to “pull for power” (if I’m understanding that correctly) was tricky; I’m so used to the other way around. I may have broke it :slight_smile:

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You’ve got too much Harrier time :joy:

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