Cyrillic lettering + unfamiliarity + a task intended for 3 people = time. One of the reasons why I find the Harrier and Bug easy to start is because they have a lot of similarities with the Apache – no such familiarity with the Mi-8.
You know there is an English cockpit? Yeah?
It’s not that bad.
What I found difficult was the trim. Tonight I got a good start(RedShot video rocks). Then I flew from Vegas to Creech. I fought the pedals and trim the whole way. Not fun. The landing was… survivable and nothing broke. Played with lights and doors then it was lights out for me. Got to get that trim down.
Pitch & Roll autopilot ON all the time. SPUU-52 ON. Map a cyclic Trim and Trim off to your stick. Then its easy!
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Does Ricardo’s mod work without breaking IC? I was looking at those mods myself.
Ignorant imperialist capitalist language in MY great motherland helicopter?!
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There’s a stock English cockpit, no mods required…heartily recommended!
I may not be able to fit in much flying in the next day or two so I’ll be reading Chuck’s guide and watching tutorials for a bit.
This bird is so steampunk. There’s radios for Africa, including a long range HF radio to bounce stuff off the ionosphere with. The weapons systems look wonderfully powerful yet so inaccurate you probably need all that hate tonnage to get anything done. Bombs on helicopters but no bombing sight? Sign me up comrade! 
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Actually, most of the inaccuracy has to do with the slip. If you watch your slip and keep it mostly centered, most of the forward firing weapons are accurate enough. The bombs are used about like you would with WWII aircraft, with the caveat you can basically just fly high enough over the target, hover, and drop.
I find trimming a helo to go exactly where I want without crabbing like a drunken sailor a daunting task still, requiring a fair bit of luck.
So yeah, communist version of you get a rocket and you get a rocket, rockets for everybody!
I learned the start up before the manual was released you wusses 
Have fun with the bombs guys
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I found the Kneeboard files for the checklists ad modified them…the format is a bit off.
Hip_Checklists.zip (7.2 KB)
You can put these into the …ProgramFiles Eagle Dynamics DCS World (or DCS World OpenBeta) Mods aircraft Mi-8MTV2 Cockpit Scripts KNEEBOARD pages folder. You probably want to make backups of the original files.
Ironically, the provided checklist does not have the procedures for starting the APU or main engines…not sure what they were thinking. The APU is easy. The Start-Off-Crank switch to Start; push and hold the start button…once you get the Normal RPM light, move on with the rest of the checklist.
The engines are a little more doings. Per earlier in the checklist, First one needs to have set the power levers to the middle detent and the throttle to full left, and put the 115V inverter to Manual (up) - this second step s important because that is what gives you your engine gauges for temperature and the like. Again, the checklists will have taken care of all that.
To start the engines, set the Start Crank switch to start, then select the engine and push and hold the start button until the Starter Engaged light comes on, then move the fuel lever to on…and watch the engine slowly spool to around 60%. Note: during the first engine start the Hydralics systems come on.
You should see the main system pressurize and then the back up hydraulics pressurize. The back up pressurization will cause a few moments of a warning light. his is normal to tell you the back up has come on. It should switch back to main and the light got out.
Repeat for the other engine.
Once both were idling at around 60%, “twist” the throttle to full right or MAX. The RPMs will come up and stabilize at something over 80%
A couple of things regarding the “philosophy” behind starting the Hip. They seem to have set the procedures so there is a kind of built in checks. For example, the fire extinguisher light comes on when you close the CBs, and goes out when you activate it to auto. Likewise, turning on the generators illuminates the 3 rectifier lights, which are then turned on, and the lights go out.
I’ve put the “Betty” nearer to the end. It is just annoying to have it going off for things like hydraulics or generators when you are not even close to those steps in the checklist. Likewise, I’ve added the SPUU-52 back in just before take off because it seems to go off somewhere along the way…I think.
Instrument lights–the rheostats are all over the place - behind the pilot, near the copilot’s head and engineers right shoulder. Don’t forget the 5amp lights (radar altimeter light) - switch on Copilot’s triangle panel and restate behind his back - in VR the engineer has to lean way over and back to turn it up.
One could write a book on arming and using the weapons…in fact @Chuck_Owl did!
Basics:
- RKT/GUN Master to on
- Press the Arm button
- Set up the Lower Weps panel and Weps profile selector (Copilot’s side) per what you want to fire
- Adjust the site
- Master Arm ON
- Don’t forget to pop the safety cap off the firing button.
I usually set the gun site while I’m waiting for the engines to spool…
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Yep, it is big momma, no Bo105 
And usually we use tiny spring-centered joysticks.
Hard to get the feeling for different helo sizes and controls setup.
So definitely slowelly and be ahead of her.
But she fly really nice, I don’t need no autopilot.
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Not even the pitch and roll? My 
is off to you.
I’ve got my X-52 stick set up pretty light on the springs so I can be pretty subtle with the controls. But when I take a hit and lose the generators…and the P&R AP goes off, its like riding a wild bronco 
(albeit I’ve never actually ridden a wild bronco).
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They aren’t really auto pilots as we have in modern jets. More it takes some load off the pilot. I employ them on long cruises but sti k to trim for normal flights
Yes…my understanding of the P&R “autopilot” is that it smooths out controller inputs.
I’ve also played wit the rudder trim…set it and the using the knob to straighten out my course. Also played a bit with the Bank knob–when I use the trim button and have a bit more bank than I want, I can adjust it nicely. I’ve given up on the VSI trim - just finessed the collective to get it level.
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Thanks @Hangar200 for the big gift. Kneeboard will be updated. The advice was good too. Trimmed out nicely and flew so good. I think if this was an American ship, the autopilot would be called Stability Augmentation or Stab Aug.
Tonight I got my way. I started it on Normandy enough times to get starting her a breeze. I then leaped around the airfield from one parking pad to another until I could land faily good. I only lost a couple of ships lol. For my final trick, I landed aboard a moving ship. A Russian FFG something… I’m a happy boy No more wrestling with trim
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Congrats! That is some feat! You need some type of badge…perhaps 
While landing on a ship is more challenging than landing on land, you do have one thing in your favor; the ship is moving, hopefully into the wind. So you can take the windspeed and add in the ships movement to get a nice relative wind speed that can assist you. The important thing is that since you are moving at maybe 10-15 knots through the air, but much slower relative to the ship, the danger of VRS is usually absent. Likewise the helicopter maintains some of its forward flying characteristics which you don’t have in a hover over land.
Still, seeing of all those “ship parts” to you can hit, as you get close in, adds just that bit of visual anxiety to an already challenging situation.
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I’d argue that given you’re under ETL (effective translational speed - 16-24kts) you’re not safe from VRS / settling with power…but every little bit of forward speed helps to provide lift and to partially escape the descending air column, of course.
I’d expect that at 15kts forward speed, a 5m/s descent will still induce VRS, though I’d have to test to be sure.
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I usually have the ship going 17-25 kts into a 5kt wind so…
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Well there you go
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I’m gonna be late to this party (after Mar 9) due to some work commitments that are killing my sim time. I’ll be the last fool out there trying to figure the beast out…
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