AH64 D Spinning like crazy

[BrightStar19]

I'm probably not the best armchair pilot out there, but can generally fly a hele, or plane without too much trouble - but this thing, blimey, its hard!

My biggest issue, is that on take off - the spin is incredible, no matter what I try, its all over the place. I know there are loads of stories/hints/tips and thoughts out there, but nothing is helping, so assuming I must be missing something.

Sit on the ground, and bring up the collective very slowly, but as soon as wheels leave the ground, its like BAM, SIDEWAYS. I can get in the air very "ungraceful", and fly in a straight line though, but take off and landing is total mess.

Any thoughts?

I know I need to "get gud", but the Huey is easier to fly than this thing :D

[Troll Norris]

You have to use anti-torque pedals to counteract torque effect caused by main rotor.

[BrightStar19]

Originally posted by Troll Norris:

You have to use anti-torque pedals to counteract torque effect caused by main rotor.

So, I don’t have physical pedals, VKB gladiator with z axis (twist), but even that doesn’t appear to be enough.

Has to be something I’m missing…

[Troll Norris]

Because I don't own AH64 I can assume only some general basics. Like interference caused by autopilot.

[Jel]

Originally posted by BrightStar19:

Originally posted by Troll Norris:

You have to use anti-torque pedals to counteract torque effect caused by main rotor.

So, I don’t have physical pedals, VKB gladiator with z axis (twist), but even that doesn’t appear to be enough.

Has to be something I’m missing…

Apache doesn´t need a lot of pedal input on takeoff, it´s quite behaving for its size.
i´d rather guess your tail rotor axis bindings are a bit off. Have you checked those ?

[Maki Nishikino]

Originally posted by BrightStar19:

Originally posted by Troll Norris:

You have to use anti-torque pedals to counteract torque effect caused by main rotor.

So, I don’t have physical pedals, VKB gladiator with z axis (twist), but even that doesn’t appear to be enough.

Has to be something I’m missing…

I have pedals myself and use them but using the twist axis on my VKB Gladiator NXT is not a problem. As Jel said it doesn't take much input to keep yourself straight. Check the axis settings. Personally I have it set to default.

[cam8528]

no i agree the apache is weird unweildy to fly. totally different than hornet. liek completely different.

[Jel]

Originally posted by cam8528:

no i agree the apache is weird unweildy to fly. totally different than hornet. liek completely different.

not sure if just trolling or indeed misunderstanding the basics of physics :)

[BrightStar19]

Have checked the bindings,and all ok - Its very strange. Might just be my skillz though. Can just about Taxi now, hover, but it needs constant twist to stop spinning.

I was hoping i would be able to fly in a straight line at least. If i take my hands off all the controls, the apache just spins/banks and flips......

I'll keep trying....

[Troll Norris]

It always need Constant rudder input. Every helicopter needs that. Or you would enable rudder trim in special options menu.

[Jel]

Originally posted by BrightStar19:

If i take my hands off all the controls, the apache just spins/banks and flips......

That´s what helicopters do. Helos have no own stability like fixed-wing aircraft would. There is a trim, although that´s more like a stress relief rather than a hands-free mechanic :)

[Proskill]

Originally posted by BrightStar19:

I'm probably not the best armchair pilot out there, but can generally fly a hele, or plane without too much trouble - but this thing, blimey, its hard!

My biggest issue, is that on take off - the spin is incredible, no matter what I try, its all over the place. I know there are loads of stories/hints/tips and thoughts out there, but nothing is helping, so assuming I must be missing something.

Sit on the ground, and bring up the collective very slowly, but as soon as wheels leave the ground, its like BAM, SIDEWAYS. I can get in the air very "ungraceful", and fly in a straight line though, but take off and landing is total mess.

Any thoughts?

I know I need to "get gud", but the Huey is easier to fly than this thing :D

same here. i additionaly play on a gamepad so its literally impossible to control the thing

[Jel]

Hammering a nail with your shoe does work, althoug a hammer would be the right tool for it.
So as usual, yes there are some ideas on how to make helos flyable without using stick and pedals, those remain to be workarounds. I´d suggest you try activating pedal trim in special options for the AH64. Maybe this works out for you.

[spoondigity]

I just use a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro X3D right now and the stick has built in rotation for anti torque. It has always worked well for me so I think something else is going on in your setup. I have to put in some minimum input as I lift off and hold it as needed. I generally use a trim button (Forced Trim/Hold Switch R/Up) that keeps my controls' last location. So I can push that once I am stable and then basically let go and the helicopter usually remains pretty steady in place for a bit. To the point where I can take my hands off the controls in a hover a few feet above ground and the Ah-64 will stay stable, but I may have to make small inputs and lock controls again repeatedly over time. It also helps me to use Forced Trim/Hold Switch AT/Left to get stable enough to hands off the controls indefinitely.

Have you tried Windows' built in controller calibration? (assuming you are using a PC...) Sometimes it gets out of whack and you have to re-calibrate.

Also, you may want to edit the rudder setting for the AH-64 specifically to fit your controls. I have mine set to a deadzone of 20 and a curvature of 15 for instance. This setting is specific for pilot and copilot/gunner, so make sure you adjust for both or the specific position that you are in.

[BrightStar19]

Thanks for the tips everyone, have been playing around and managed to get some steady flight time :D before crashing nose first into the ground. Will play some more with settings and bindings and Trim - then once i can fly and hover, time to multi task and try and shoot stuff, without flying nose first into the ground......

[spoondigity]

Good deal. The R/Up setting really shines during forward flight, to let me reduce control inputs on the move.

AT/Left (attitude hold I believe) will really pay off for you in a hover. It is hard to trust at first that you have to get somewhat stable and ideally zero airspeed (or very close), set it, and then stop putting in control inputs and let the chopper settle itself down. It will completely stabilize for me to where I can go make a sandwich in ground effect hover. You will want to zero out your altitude though with your collective if needed. You can also engage a separate trim for altitude hold.

The other nice thing about AT/Left is that once you get the chopper settled, you then use your collective to pop up from behind cover and drop back down, while the chopper controls attitude. So in that case, I don't use the secondary trim for altitude. You have to be a bit easy on the controls though because adding collective often auto increases throttle, which can disrupt the choppers' ability to hold itself attitude stable. Also, the more collective up you input, the more auto throttle increases and then you have to softly apply left rudder to keep the torque from moving the nose to the right. And vice versa as you drop collective you will need to start reducing left rudder input. But the attitude pitch/roll should generally be zero input from you unless you have really unsettled the aircraft. For my control setup, these inputs are extremely small.