Some flying tips

[kennychr]

So today I onto the #2 server quite early so I got the chance to do some piloting, and here are some observations I made while flying..

 

 

#1 Planning the aproach

 

I see often that pilots aproach the AO head on and drop people far away from the objective because of the AA threat made by enemy infantry and AA-Vehicles.

 

This will make the infantry have to walk\run quite some distance before they se enemies and will also make them fatigued.

 

My solutuion to this problem is that I manuver behind mountains and other things that keep me hidden from the line of sight from the AO, and it usually works making it possible to land a full chopper of folks on a mountain overlooking the AO.

 

Last drop I remember from the last game : Here

 

So my advice to pilots that dont do this, check your map and make some quick plans for where you are flying so you are best concealed from enemy fire.

 

#2 Door gunners shooting like crazy with no targets whatsoever

 

Didnt happen alot to me, but there were to times where they just started spamming when I was litterly behind enemy lines, and I got lit up like a christmas tree. I sucsessfully got away one time, the other I managed to crash land the ghosthawk with a broken main rotor and some minor injuries. So my plead to the guys manning the door-guns, dont fire like idiots and hold fire untill fired upon or else we,as in the whole chopper, get fucked up! TL:DR: DONT FIRE THE DOOR GUNS,YOU DIE

 

#3 co-pilot seat

 

Dont get in it,just dont.. 4 times in a row I had to get the chopper repaired so untill the bug is fixed just dont get in okay ? 

[Archangel]

Hello Kennychr!

Thank you for your observations. If you're interested, Ahoyworld and I offer a pilot course which addresses these and many more problems and issues that the ArmA pilot will encounter.

Feel free to join the next one!

-Flying the unfriendly skies, Archangel

[David]

some good advice, I think that the people that will read this would probably do this anyway. I think it's only the non registered public players that don't do the above.

[Cain]

The co-pilot seat thing isn't an issue with the copilot seat itself, its players with relatively high desync getting into the copilot's seat.

[mykeyrm]

Perhaps a player dsync check before the player can enter co-pilot should be added to code if possible.

[razgriz33]

When attacking/ scouting always approach offset by around 45 degrees!

You see more, you are relatively slower so have more time, it's easier to escape

 

Ask infantry what direction to make the final attack heading

Especially when laser designating, they also might know things you don't about terrain, AA etc

 

Low and slow works

It's easier to stop, more time to react to problems, Arma's flight engine sucks .'. you are way more manoeuvrable at 100km/h than 300km/h

 

Long sweeping turns carry speed

Jinking 90 degrees right/left just helps the kajman out giving him a broad slower target

 

Real manoeuvres don't  usually work

I would recommend Dyslexi's videos, he understands + demonstrates the flight engine in arma perfectly

 

 

Buzzard

Energy is stored in banking turns

keep that in mind turning into the approach, your airspeed will climb as you roll out of the turn for some retarded reason, arma dev's should note: the only factor that should be increasing rolling out of a bank is the lift going directly up.

 

On take-off do not pull back too harshly

The buzzard is a training aircraft and doesn't quite have the thrust of an F15. Your average bicycle has more "oomph".

Pulling back just stalls the wing which means drag is greatly increased and you eventually die. Traditional stall recovery techniques can be used if enough height is available.

 

In short, at 150-170 she will fly, pitch back a little and hope mykey hasn't ended the runways with walls.

 

Obviously none of these techniques can be compared with real flying, arma is definitely not a training platform for flight!

[MDCCLXXVI]

My own observations, with a few hundred hours behind the stick:

 

1. 50m traveling altitude

 

2. check map often

 

3. if you don't know the LZ well, mark out the LZ and approach in Direct Channel map, so others dont delete your markings.

 

4. If you aren't approaching and landing behind defilade in the final 2km before LZ, low & slow is key. Low = under 25-30m. Slow = Under 150km/h. By doing this you can maneuver between trees, rocks and under powerlines, and if you get hit by a stray AA rocket, the guys in the back will still survive when you hit the ground.

 

5. Slow down 2km out from the objective as a general rule, straighten out and bleed off speed so you don't have to gain altitude in order to slow down to a stationary landing.

 

6. If you see a red triangle appear under your helicopter, take off immediately.

 

7. If there is a HEMTT or Hunter moving around near the helipads at airbase, keep your collective powered up enough that just tapping the throttle will lift you off the ground. Always keep situational awareness at base, just incase of the above.

 

8a. If someone is bouncing into your rotors and you are on the ground, get out and shoot them.

 

8b. If someone is bouncing into your rotors and you are in the air, land the helicopter like an airplane (at speed). You will break the helicopter most likely, but if you keep the speed up, the bouncer won't break the rotors until you're on the ground. It's only when you are descending slowly that they break the rotors. As in 8a. when you are at a safe stop, get out and shoot them.

 

8c. Issue a general warning that if someone is in the copilot seat and is not a pilot, you will shoot them upon landing, as a precaution.

 

9. Don't listen to players who tell you to get closer to the AO than you are comfortable with. They are lazy and don't want to walk 500m.

 

10. If someone on the ground says their area is safe to land, take what they say with a grain of salt. Safe on the ground =/= safe 50m above said ground.

 

11. When the AO is taken, there are still a few enemies left. Don't extract the soldiers until all armor is destroyed.

 

12. If your LZ is hot, rotate the helicopter to shield them while they are vulnerable and clumped together.

 

13. If you are hit with a rocket over 100m off the ground, it helps to have an "Engine Off" hotkey on your keyboard or joystick. By turning the "Engine Off" quickly, that releases the rotors and they will start to spin, allowing you to bring the heli down without crashing. (auto rotation). It takes some practice to do this effectively, and is easy to practice offline.

 

14. You are more vulnerable to rockets on your way out than on your way in. It is harder to dodge rockets while traveling away from them, and easier to dodge rockets when you are traveling toward them. This means, fly low and behind defilade on your way out as well. Try to keep trees/buildings/terrain between the AA and you.

 

15. If anything bad happens, it is your fault.

 

16. If anyone dies, it is your fault.

 

17. If they have to walk more than 100m to their firing position, you are a bad person and a worse pilot.

 

18. If you make one mistake, you're a troll and they will attempt to kick you.

 

19. If they have to wait longer than 2 minutes for a helicopter, they will steal one, or complain about bad pilots.

 

20. If you play good music at quiet volume with good microphone, 90% will enjoy it but one will complain and tell you to turn it off. Don't.

 

21. The UH-80 Ghosthawk is not stealthy and the AA specialists have no problem locking into it.

 

22. The AH-9 Pawnee is almost useless in current game modes. Its effective uses are isolated to: killing enemy Mi-48 Kajmans, and performing reconnaissance. If you attempt to give CAS in it, you will be shot at and 90% of the time you will be shot down.

 

23. The best use of an AH-99 is to hover 2km out from the objective and 'snipe' enemy vehicles. It is ineffective against enemy infantry and too risky to get within 1.5km due to effective enemy AA.

 

24. Be careful when performing tight, descending turns in the UH-80 Ghosthawk. It is heavy enough and lacks thrust to the point that you will simply hit the ground and die.

 

25. Traveling under powerlines, around trees and through mountain valleys will earn you respect from the soldiers.

 

26. If your ATRQ is damaged: 

a) gain altitude, 300m will do.

go into a dive to transfer about 200m of altitude into speed.

c) this will straighten you out, if you work with the spinning.

d) land with speed at a shallow approach angle and you sohuld be fine. if you land slow, you will start spinning again. 

 

27. Mohawks can currently be used in a combat role, utilizing the airlift function to "grab" enemy tanks and carry them away.

a) there are a few locations to drop them: in the ocean, lift them to 1000m and drop, or for comedic value, drop them at the airbase.

carry a friendly tank and hover at 1-2km from objective. the tank gunner will be able to shoot effectively. 

 

28. Try to co-ordinate with other pilots for best effect. Players enjoy when you take the time to plan a mission, even if they seem impatient. 

 

29. Ramming an enemy helicopter with your own works, although it can ruin immersion and feels like 'cheating' the system.

 

30. Its best to ignore SeaSiderzz.

 

31. ranranmilk is special.

 

32. [FOR]Reason will use a medic slot and systematically steal mohawks from other pilots in order to go "balls deep" with 10-15 of his followers, for about an hour.

 

33. Never engage Auto-Hover while performing a backflip.

 

34. Develop your own signature style and use it always. 

 

35. Land in a consistent, unique spot at the base so players know who you are. If you are a good, consistent and fun pilot, they will wait for you instead of boarding another helicopter.

 

36. Your travel back to base after LZ is the best time to try new things. Acrobatics, first-person or 3rd person (whichever you are least comfortable with), route selection, sight-seeing. It is your time alone.

 

37. Pilots don't get a break.

 

38. If you crash twice in a row in 'unforced errors' with passengers aboard, its time to vacate the pilot slot.

 

39. If you regularly use Auto-Hover, please practice more.

 

40. Bring Explosive Charges with you at all times.

 

41. Set yourself performance goals each time you log on. 

 

42. The Mohawk can take a beating.

 

43. First-person flying IMO, is not fun unless you have TrackIR or similar.

 

44. Listen to different LZ requests, but don't oblige unless you think it is safe.

 

45. Ignore all the requests for "Para-drops". It is gimmick and is not smart or fun on I&A where enemy can see/shoot them easily.

 

46. For a change, select LZs on flat ground. It will make the AO feel harder, and last longer, since the squads cannot sit on hilltops sniping. 

 

47. The MH-9 is about 25% slower than the Mohawk, but can get closer to the objective due to its maneuvability. Thus saving the infantry about the same amount of time as they lost due to slower flight. 

 

48. I personally have a (bad?) habit of checking the map quite frequently during flight. It gives me awareness of stuff happening around the map, but I've been known to fly into the side of mountains from time to time as a result. In my opinion it is handy to check the map frequently.

[Archangel]

Rule 31 is important to note.

Ranranmilk is a being that has ascended beyond the need to heed our mortal rules. As such, leave him be. Though, boarding his aircraft has been deemed hazardous to your health.

[Dingo]

extensive list there 1776, recon if people stick to most of this they can't go wrong

[Bruce]

Perhaps a player dsync check before the player can enter co-pilot should be added to code if possible.

 

sorry to necro an old thread but, it's worth it for 2 reasons IMO :

 

1)   the advice above is worth new subscribers seeing (some stuff I didn't know or took for granted)

 

2)   a request for future development

    a.   if the desync / copilot bug isn't yet ironed out,    is it possible to colour code player name if they have a high desync ?

    b.    is it possible to give an icon in the GUI as copilot  (currently in the vehicle screen list pilot and one gunner are iconed)

           it would be a handy guide to be able to see if there is an issue other than a person bouncing around the rotors,  and name that person so we can all scream at them in VON to exit the copilot and walk to the AO 

 

cheers