Stormworks: Build and Rescue

Stormworks: Build and Rescue

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Simple (but advanced) Float Helicopter
   
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Tags: v1.12.2
File Size
Posted
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423.737 KB
Oct 10, 2022 @ 4:09pm
Sep 20, 2024 @ 7:45am
10 Change Notes ( view )

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Simple (but advanced) Float Helicopter

Description
Very simple float helicopter made with the advanced - modern parts including a modular engine

It will float as long as the sea is fairly calm and there is little wind. Otherwise it will very likely tip over.

Weight is ~750 kilos and cost is ~9500 stormbux, so it fits into career nicely.

35-45 Minute flight time, ~40-60kts max speed (in hover mode), no autopilot or heading/altitude hold (yet!)

This is my first steam upload/workshop/share ever! I would like to hear your feedback, so please comment if you enjoyed or are having problems with it.


Instructions
Checklist
  • Turn on main power (First toggle on top right of dash)
  • Wait for E (engine RPM bar on display) to show green (only 2-3 seconds)
  • Turn on Rotor Engage Toggle to engage Rotor (Second toggle on top right of dash)
  • Wait for R (rotor RPM) and C (clutch engagement) bars to be green (4-5 seconds)
  • Press `1` or toggle the button at your left foot to turn off Landing Locks (you should hear the maglock "thonk", tap again if not)
  • Pull up on the collective gently (Up arrow)
Congrats! You are flying!

Basic Controls
  • W/S - Pitch (forward/backward)
  • A/D - Roll (bank left/right)
  • up/down arrows - Collective (up/down alititude)
  • left/right arrows - Yaw (tail rotor, spin left/right)
  • 1 - Landing Lock (maglock) toggle (helps hold you down to your landing surface)
  • 2 - Disable Hover Mode on GyroStablizer (Default on, no indicator, I cannot fly with this disabled)

The top two buttons on the upper right of the dash board are;
  • left - system power, turns on engine and all systems
  • right - rotor engage, speeds up engine, enables variable clutch to rotor

The bottom two buttons on the lower right of the dash board are;
  • left - spot/landing light toggle, also turns on instrument backlights
  • right - locator beacon transponder activation

Hints
  • For sustained forward flight push forward on the stick (press W) and also pull up on the collective (UP arrow) to keep yourself airborn.
  • Maneuvering while hovering use gentle pressure on the stick and collective (tapping the controls).



Notes

Very finicky controls, I ended up setting hover mode as default on as this makes flying the helicopter easier for me. You can disable the hover mode of the gyro stabilizer with the `2` hotkey.

Short flight time, about 30-45 minutes. When you pause or put the game into camera mode, the fuel time remaining will default to `--:--` that is why it shows no time in the photo above.

Editable/Changable PID settings - I watched MrNJersey's tutorials quite a bit, as well as a quite a bit of engineering documentation / debugging info about PIDs and I really couldn't get the hang of it, but it does work if a bit jittery. The engine controller is my own though and you are free to change the PID values which are properties. The engine/rotor micro controller is on the bottom back of the airframe.

I did my best to optimize the physics with the physics flooder in the floats. But since there are a lot of slope parts in the model, it's not the best it could be. Plus, I really don't know what I am doing to be honest. If anyone has advice, please let me know.

I did model it after the Calypso Schweizer Helicopter by GERUNIMO, however I did not want to use any XML edited parts (I don't know how), glitch welded or placed parts (I REALLY don't know how) or base on items in the workshop (I don't want to anger anyone for using their thing in my thing). So while the glass and forward fuselage shape is very definitely based on the Calypso Schweizer Helicopter, everything else is my own design and doing; good or bad.



I had fun and for as long as I have played Stormworks, this is the first thing I've made that I am proud of. I hope it works for you!

Thank you MrNJersey for your videos on the PID controllers, though I am still struggling with it.
Thank you GERUNIMO for creating the Calypso series of models, you've caused a lot of inspiration.
13 Comments
Laci Sep 20, 2024 @ 9:08pm 
nice
JoelleCorgi  [author] Sep 20, 2024 @ 7:48am 
@laci I've made some minor edits. Added in the pressure relief valve to the fuel tank, removed the unneeded generator that was robbing rotor power anyway, fixed the fuel display to stop blinking, improved the floats a tiny bit I think as well. I still have to rewrite all the code associated with the controllers and whatnot. But I think it's back to being a bit usable now.
Laci Sep 16, 2024 @ 1:24pm 
:D
JoelleCorgi  [author] Sep 16, 2024 @ 7:47am 
Oh, I had no idea. :) @laci I will do my best to figure out how to make it work well again. Very neat someone is actually using it, thank you!
Laci Sep 8, 2024 @ 1:57pm 
yes
JoelleCorgi  [author] Dec 2, 2023 @ 6:47am 
Does anyone still use this? Is it worth going through the fixes needed for the latest updates?
Kmkee Oct 15, 2022 @ 2:03pm 
@joellecorgi keep up the good work and I would be happy to try anything else out that you create and I would go for the mini-tanker to fill a bit of a gap in the starting line-up
JoelleCorgi  [author] Oct 15, 2022 @ 2:01pm 
@kmkee, I added two passenger seats to the top of the floats near the center of mass and a welder to the right exterior side for you. If you're taking on passengers, I suggest putting them in this order to maintain some balance; the right side cockpit, left side float and finally right side float. The helicopter is so light that passenger mass actually affects things quite a bit in my simulation.

I don't have my gaming computer with me, so I was unable to update the snapshots and thumbnails. I will do at a later date.

Thank you very much for trying it out and leaving feedback/suggestions, I really appreciate it. I'm working on a cheap exploration boat to go with it, or maybe a multi-role mini-tanker for early game play.
Kmkee Oct 13, 2022 @ 4:59pm 
Its great there just little improvements keep up the good work
JoelleCorgi  [author] Oct 13, 2022 @ 11:58am 
@kmkee It uses diesel, also there are 3 small tanks that it fuels from, however about 13.25L "drain" into the engine when it first spawns, so you can get another 4-5 minutes of travel time by topping up.

I didn't put extra seats on the floats as the weight of passengers can really throw things out of balance, but I'll give it a whirl and add in a welder as long as I can keep the in-game cost down. Because I buy this in my career a lot too.