Hovering With Helicopters (and Joystick)

[DeltaFart]

Ok, while doing trainig I decided to see what it would take to hover in a helicopter.
My set up is using the throttle on my joystick as a low throttle setting(hover setting), then my WASD and Mouse are my main movement controls.

I have found through my testing that when the artificial horizion is level, all helicopters pretty much hover around 25-30% throttle.
So when you warm up a helicopter, get some air, then set your throttle to a spot where it will sit around 25-30%, and when you want to add throttle use your WASD (if you use that) keys. When you let go of those keys it will automatically go back to where ever your throttle is set to.

[PFunk]

Thats a pretty good idea. I've been playing around with a joystick and helos and have found the stick end to be utterly useless for control compared to a mouse or keyboard.

However the throttle is very useful. I haven't tried your thing yet. Might be interesting to see if it works for me.

[unrealalex]

The throttle on Joystick is worse because its harder to idle the engine. On keyboard all you do is let the button go and it idles, on joystick if you move the throttle too far it starts descending instead of idling.

[DeltaFart]

Unless you put in a dead zone, which I have found to be quite useful

[SocketMan]

I use joystick and at 23-25 throttle and about 900m high can let it go completely,go take a piss or whatever come back and it's still at the same spot
Mouse however is more "precise" for things like hydras,but you shouldn't rely
on these anyway.

[@bsurd]

I use joystick and at 23-25 throttle and about 900m high can let it go completely,go take a piss or whatever come back and it's still at the same spot
Mouse however is more "precise" for things like hydras,but you shouldn't rely
on these anyway.

same here. but never tried to fly with keyboard... Its a better feeling with stick for me.

[Oddsodz]

This looks like a great way to hover. But it would be Joystick dependent. Meaning you will need a joystick that has the ability to have "on the fly" dead zones settings. Not all joysticks do. Mine does not . But a great idea indeed.

[PFunk]

The throttle on Joystick is worse because its harder to idle the engine. On keyboard all you do is let the button go and it idles, on joystick if you move the throttle too far it starts descending instead of idling.

Thats just a lazy habit though I think. At first it seems alien to think that 0% on the throttle is really -100% throttle but you get used to it. You learn to not focus on simplified control scheme or to rely on reading the throttle numbers so much.

You can listen to the engine to hear whether you're idling or whether you're going into negative thrust. It certainly takes more effort to learn but you will find I think that its more powerful for someone serious about flying a helo. Its much easier to increase the throttle gradually and not have to wear out your W key just to hover in place.

The hard part is coordinating alien controls. It gets familiar and I've realized I can't do some things without the throttle.

[hiberNative]

nice idea but i'd rather tap W since i'm used to it.

[CRAZYCOW]

So, I have a Saitek X52 pro, how can i set the "dead zone"? I mean, the problem that i have encountered in flight is that if i set throttle to 0, as Pfunk said, is like -100%, so the heli start to decrease high and is very difficult to hover, i remember that sometimes i can hover around 10% of throttle. Can you suggest me how to set dead zone?

[DeltaFart]

The settings of your joystick, I beleive there is a spot in control panel/game controllers, choose your joystick, then a tab that says deadzones
I'll update this with a picture for you guys.

[SHAz_181]

I use W and S for throttle/collective, A and D for yaw and the stick for pitch and roll. It's a pity the buttons are more like 'pedals' than a slider, if you get what I mean. So, thanks for sharing this with us.

[cfschris]

So, I have a Saitek X52 pro, how can i set the "dead zone"? I mean, the problem that i have encountered in flight is that if i set throttle to 0, as Pfunk said, is like -100%, so the heli start to decrease high and is very difficult to hover, i remember that sometimes i can hover around 10% of throttle. Can you suggest me how to set dead zone?

Gah you guys are thinking about this issue completely wrong. Idling an engine means cutting all thrust output from it. You guys seem to think that a heli engine at a hover setting is the same as idling. It ain't.

When you reduce your throttle to zero, THEN you are idling. This is what produces that "negative thrust" effect, which is actually you dropping out of the sky because your engine isn't putting out the power necessary to maintain altitude.

But why is it hard to control the helo when the throttle is at 0%? This is because your blades are moving much much slower, producing a minimal amount of lift. In a helo you need lift to maintain control.

And that's it in a nutshell. If further explanation is needed please ask!

[Smuke]

Are joysticks worth it in PR? I can fly pretty darn good without one.

[McBumLuv]

Are joysticks worth it in PR? I can fly pretty darn good without one.

For jets, I fly way better with a joystick than without

But I can fly well with either in helicopters, though it's not necessary, unless you want to fly upside down.

[cfschris]

Are joysticks worth it in PR? I can fly pretty darn good without one.

Definetly. It's a billion times easier to stabilize youself and control power output. If you're overwatching a spawn with an attack helo, you can stabillize yourself to the point where you're literally hanging in air with no further effort. When I do this I literally take my hands away from all controls and let the gunner.do his work. You can't do stuff like that with a keyboard+mouse!

[Pariel]

Definetly. It's a billion times easier to stabilize youself and control power output. If you're overwatching a spawn with an attack helo, you can stabillize yourself to the point where you're literally hanging in air with no further effort. When I do this I literally take my hands away from all controls and let the gunner.do his work. You can't do stuff like that with a keyboard+mouse!

I'll gladly show you how to do this with a mouse and keyboard should you like some help.

It all comes down to personal preference, but I've found that mouse and keyboard for helicopters, and joystick for jets work best for me.

[Smuke]

Anyone here up for giving me some more 'advanced' pilot lessons?

PM me or xfire me: recruiter7id.

[iOxide]

Definetly. It's a billion times easier to stabilize youself and control power output. If you're overwatching a spawn with an attack helo, you can stabillize yourself to the point where you're literally hanging in air with no further effort. When I do this I literally take my hands away from all controls and let the gunner.do his work. You can't do stuff like that with a keyboard+mouse!

Ah i remember doing this with you on the training server yesterday That was fun.

[cfschris]

I'll gladly show you how to do this with a mouse and keyboard should you like some help.

It all comes down to personal preference, but I've found that mouse and keyboard for helicopters, and joystick for jets work best for me.

How do you hover completely hands off with a keyboard and mouse??? It's literally impossible.