Having tried to become a better heli pilot in flight sims for many years, I thought I would share a few of my experiences.
Firstly, my rather ‘home made’ looking setup started as a developing prototype, but once I got it working reliably, I never got round to tidying it up!
It is 100% reliable after at least 5 years of everything I can throw at it, so I don’t rock the boat.
The collective is a cut down £1 old monopod off of eBay. The head pans and tilts with full friction adjustment, which gives me the up down collective action and rotation for the throttle (just a shame MSFS doesn’t model throttle properly yet). A piece of black waste pipe slid over it and held in place, enables the handle to rotate whilst the shaft stays still.
A hall effect sensor detects magnets for throttle position, I use a Leo Bodnar device to decode this but Arduino etc. would also work. That is a lot simpler than it sounds too. Really easy.
I did use similar for the collective movement but the use of the Saitek Pro Throttle Quadrant was far more accurate once I came up with a fully adjustable linkage. It also adds a very smooth action to the movement.
The cyclic is modified to reduce the centering spring to zero. Extension and a cranked section give the extra travel needed for a heli and position the handle in the perfect place to allow ‘arm-on-leg’ support and fingertip movement. Getting this right, was the single most important improvement I made over 20 years of trying to fly. ‘Real’ heli pilots support their arm to avoid pilot induced oscillations and this is critical in my opinion. The car gear stick gaitor keeps flight snacks from getting into the joystick base but also provides a perfect level of friction to counteract the rather heavy Warthog head.
Finally, my MFG Crosswind pedals were a massive step up from my old CH Pedals. Real and solid as opposed to ‘toy’ and flimsy. They are easy to modify too, here I have two bits of an old broom handle that allow realistic operation. Either heels on ground with toes/ball pivoting, or toes/ball staying in one place while heels slide back and forth.
Having stated how important the right controls are to better flying, the most massive and unbelievable improvement came with the added situational awareness that VR brought. I cannot really explain how certain aspects of heli flying were almost impossible before and suddenly easy after.
Hope this little insight into my Heath Robinson like world was interesting.
