The EC-635 and OH-6A Little Bird

[JTF2_darkloop]

They basically are fun to fly, but landing them majority of the time causes them to roll. Which is frusterating
anyone feel my pain.

[AncientSerpent3]

Never had a problem.

Do you fly by mouse or joystick?

When picking the birds up, do it slowly, feel it out. Same with landing the birds. Try to use some forward momentum. Im not saying a running landing but just a little forward movement when your touching down.

When you're in a real bird, you could set the chopper down nice and slow but if you dont use forward cyclic once the skids touch the ground, it's still gonna' be rough as all hell.

Atleast you dont have to compensate for the torque of the rotor and wind! :)

And I think it's an MD530 in AF. The OH-6A is in PRMM?

[ronnie c.]

try doing this - when you get really really close to the ground but your not yet touching press "e" and jump out. youll be close enough to not take much damage plus your chopper will usually just fall straigh down and not take damage either. youve gotta be careful with it though b/c if you do it wrong itll probably kill you.the ground your trying to land on has to be realitively level and you cant be moving foward very fast.

[AncientSerpent3]

Isn't that kinda' like cheating though?

Doing that reminds me of hover-auto's, I wish you could stay in the bird for that.

[Venomous]

Rolls for me alot when some noob is down there jumping for a pick up i land real fast cause im getting locked on and it just rolls like the **** it was made from

[JTF2_darkloop]

Rolls for me alot when some noob is down there jumping for a pick up i land real fast cause im getting locked on and it just rolls like the **** it was made from

I feel your pain bro!! :(

[AncientSerpent3]

The chopper is rolling because your letting it drift side to side as it touches down and the weight is rolling over the skid. Once it starts to go, you'll never get it bacl.

Dynamic Rollover at its finest. And people say this game isn't realisitic? :D

[JTF2_darkloop]

do you fly real helocopters
i assume you know your stuff

[*DEAD*]

do you fly real helocopters
i assume you know your stuff
Look at ancient signature... it says he flys for real.

[AncientSerpent3]

Yes. Im a student pilot building hours for my CFI.
As a matter of fact, one of my instructors and myself just ran into a hell of a snow squall on the way back in from some basic maneuvers.

Just had to tell someone cause it was so incredibly awesome yet dangerous. :)

[ronnie c.]

Isn't that kinda' like cheating though?

Doing that reminds me of hover-auto's, I wish you could stay in the bird for that.
how is that cheating?

[AncientSerpent3]

Hopping out of the bird in a 3ft. hover because you can't put it down without rolling it over?

Well if you don't like to call it cheating, we can call it cutting corners or glorified wussyness.

It's cheap.

[ronnie c.]

well id much rather be a live wuss than a dead......non-wuss.

[AncientSerpent3]

Haha. Valid point.

:D

[[3MD]A|Pvt.iTrek]

its really not hard to land...

[Varsol]

I've discovered that I have landing trouble as of late because apparently I never actually land. I usually like to keep a slight hover over whatever I would be landing on. I just discovered this because for the TWL ladder we actually have to set down and I've just never done that.

Maybe think about wether you have to land at all, why not just keep it up in the air a bit.

[vs._9mm]

I usually just slightly hovered as well. So in TWL you have to land to reload/repair? That's crazy. Can you hover over some armor with engi inside?

[AncientSerpent3]

That's a good rule that you have to touch down for TWL.

Certain flight operations require you to touchdown at your destination, such as cross-country flights, to credit the hours as a XC in your log book. Gosh dern' FAA. :p

[JTF2_darkloop]

you know my problem is gone! and i learnt to properly do it! and yeah its all about ease and care:)

[AncientSerpent3]

Congratulations. Keep up the good work.

[JTF2_darkloop]

i will, i actually flew from vancouver BC to Victoria BC in a sawroski 12 passenger jet helo, IT WAS VERY NICE!! My first time in a real helo, and my pilot had over 1000 hours in a chopper!

[AncientSerpent3]

Umm a Sykorsky?

12 passenger you say...Sounds like an S-76. Those are very nice machines. I had the oppurtunity over this past summer to hop in the seat in a S-76. Way too big for me. One of the pilots was an ex-Marine who had flown Cobras and Apaches. I had to ask which he prefered for kicks, also because Im in love with the Cobra. He said he enjoyed flying the Cobra more than the Apache due to the fact that it was rated safer when it came to crashes.

1000 hours is a lot of hours. Definately more than me but minute compared to some pilots. Get this man, there's an FAA check ride dude in my local area, Massachusetts, that has over 20,000 hours!!! The guy is like a god around here. Guess he flew a few years in the Nam. He told me a story about a checkride he went on with someone going for their Private Pilots License. It came time for a forced landing to see how the new pilot would handle the autorotation. Turned out, the engine actually did conch out during the forced landing. The student started having trouble hitting the correct airspeed and glide scope and began to panick. He took over the controls in the final seconds to land the bird safely. Dude didn't even break a sweat. He knew the engine was really dead too. He didn't even tell the student what was going on during the auto. It was obvious to the student after the landing though. Haha.

[KC-10]

Ah, Sikorsky S-76. Very nice chopper, I think, Trump owns one...Dauphin kicks a$$ though...

@AncientSerpent, is that a Schweizer 300 in your avatar?

@OP, just FYI, it is an MD-530 Defender, not an OH-6A Loach/Little Bird/Flying Egg. ;)

[AncientSerpent3]

Yep, 300CB.

I've been waiting to get some pics of the new 300C with all the new goodies. Instrumented for IFR flight. Garmin GPS. More power. Etc...

Took a while getting used to flying in the left seat after flying the CB and CBi for so long.

[KC-10]

Oooh, IFR and Garmin GPS. Is it actually possible to do an ILS (don't see why you would want to though) landing in a chopper?

I also :salute: your chopper license at the age of 19. The best I have done is a Cessna 152 at the age of 11.

[AncientSerpent3]

It's possible to do an ILS approach but doesn't happen often. Only if you're a medevac pilot, I suppose. There's a medevac Bell 427 down at the old airfield I used to fly out of, KPYM. I've also been told they make the call on whether or not they wanna' make a flight in bad weather. They are also not told details of injuries of those they are extracting so it will not hinder their choice or disrupt the flight.

Most likely scenario is being out for a flight and a snowstorm or rainstorm moves in quickly.

Im only on the hood stage right now. Im not instrument rated, even though I know how to read the instruments and how to use them. The full instrumented set-up and GPS make night flights a lot safer, IMO.

[KC-10]

Still, you are the luckiest 19 yr old on Earth to own a 300, even if you are only VFR rated. However, I intend to do something a little more..."radical". Buran Analogue - launched off the back of an Antonov 225...at the age of 13/14. I would end up flying a 20 AoA approach to Kingsford Smith Intl. Yes, Buran Analogue is for sale. Yes, 13/14.

[AncientSerpent3]

Hell, I wish I owned that chopper man. It's one of the choppers from the school I attend. I started off flying at a helicopter academy up near Boston but the CFI's there decided to start their own flight school. I ended up making the transition with them to the new school because I had the oppurtunity to fly better choppers and hopefully end up flying for my buddies as a CFI. They keep hinting to me that they'll need another CFI. So let's hope for the best.

You hear about that chopper that got hijacked in Belgium? Couple dudes said they were toursists then pulled out a pistol and hand-grenade. They requested the pilot land the bird in a prison courtyard. The pilot didn't wanna' land there because it was too small of an area but he was at gunpoint and did make his way into the courtyard. A fugitive hopped on and the hijackers began deploying tear gas to keep the other convicts and guards at bay. Then the chopper touched down near a getaway car and the hijackers made it away. I have no idea why the pilot didn't pursue them afterwards...

Also, if you wanna' hear somethin' nuts...I met this girl who started training with us at school. She's 16 years old and from a well off family. Her parents are paying for her training so she can get a Private rating. Once she completes the PPL course and she passes the checkride, they're gonna' buy her a brand new helicopter. Go figure. :(

[KC-10]

On Topic: Seriously, they are not that hard to land. If you want to be EXTRA SAFE, come in perfectly level, at a speed of 2 knots, and a 2 ft per minute descent rate. Easy. I admit, they have flipped on me, however I was rushing it in to an extraction point.

@AncientSerpent: Sometime in the VERY near future, most likely while I am still 13, I will probably aim for my PPL. I have already flown, at age 11 (crappy old Cessna 152, was using BEECHCRAFT GAUGES!) and I have been rated on heavies in Flight Simulator. I also fly MD-530's and Mi-24 Hinds alot in FS, and man is it rewarding to get somewhere those fixed wing pilots can't.

[AncientSerpent3]

If you're in the States, you're gonna' have to wait another 4 years...

[Cherni]

They basically are fun to fly, but landing them majority of the time causes them to roll. Which is frusterating
anyone feel my pain.

Way more to fly then the Big *** Bh

[KC-10]

AncientSerpent...one more question about becoming a pilot. What subjects would I have to take up in High-School and Univesity to be accepted into the USAF/RAF/RAAF or an airline?

[AncientSerpent3]

First, if you're interested in the military. I'd check and see which branches offer the best shot at gettin' in a bird or plane. Something like a guaranteed flight program...

I know in the States for the USCG Blue 21 guaranteed flight program you need to score above a certain measure on the SAT's, have a 4yr. degree in Engineering, attend OCS and have a PPL, and before age 35 I believe it is.

I've got a buddy from India that goes to college here in the good ole US of A. He is 21 and going for his master degree. Imagine that. Just goes to show how other countries stress education. He's gotten so far in a short period of time because they are big on mathematics and sciences in India. I'd pay attention in those 2 classes, especially Algebra because it makes weight/balance sheets and flight plans easier.

I'd also read a lot about history. From the beginning of time, till now. Especially if you want to be a soldier. Sadly, history repeats itself. Who knows what kind of situation could arise in the future...A lot of high ranking staff in the military are constantly brushing up on history of old battles and comparing them to new ones. The geographical landscape hasn't changed much in the past few hundred years so even if the times are a changin' and you go from sticks and rocks to guns and bombs, might be able to shape a battle into a victory.

[ZanderArch]

try doing this - when you get really really close to the ground but your not yet touching press "e" and jump out. youll be close enough to not take much damage plus your chopper will usually just fall straigh down and not take damage either. youve gotta be careful with it though b/c if you do it wrong itll probably kill you.the ground your trying to land on has to be realitively level and you cant be moving foward very fast.

Or, you could switch to an empty seat. That wouldn't give you the chance for death by mistake.

[AncientSerpent3]

If it rolls, you're still gonna' die...

Lol.

[KC-10]

Too true AncientSerpent. lol. Don't try and fight the rolling motion - you only flip over faster. How do I know? Experience. Because I'm used to the way a real chopper flies, I bring it in at about 5 knots. Don't do this. Bring it in at 1 knot and it will not flip.

Anyway, I tend to want to go down with the Littlebird...I just cannot STAND doing ANYTHING else other than flying.