Tips for the Helophobic, or, how to fly the Apache

[Morat]

Welcome to flight school. Today we're going to learn to fly the Apache AH64 combat helicopter. Firstly you must remember that the Apache is not your friend. It is of Satan. It does not want to help you. It wants to smash your pathetic body to pieces in the sand and will happily do so if you give it the slightest opportunity.

Ensure you have the right equipment available. The minimum you should have before even thinking about getting into the Apache is a good joystick with throttle. The ideal stick also has twist rudder control. Without these things you will be a grease smear.

The Controls
I'm going to assume that you know the basics of the controls. Stick pitches and banks as in an aircraft (cyclic), throttle controls lift (collective) and rudder controls tail rotor (yaw). The buttons do weapons. You don't want to mess with those just yet

The Collective
The collective (throttle) controls the amount of lift the blades generate. More lift and you go up, less and you go down. Just right and you hover. If you can't get the hovering right it should be roughly 75% throttle. Try reducing your air sensitivity in the options if this is giving you trouble.

Rudder
At low speeds your rudder spins you round like a ballerina. You should have a light touch though, the Apache is heavy and has a lot of inertia and momentum. It's slow to start turning, but once it does it's hard to stop. A light touch is required at all times with this big boy.

At higher speeds the rudder functions more like an aircraft rudder and will help you make tighter turns or line up on targets.

Cyclic
The stick controls your pitch and bank. When you pitch or bank the Apache it travels in the direction you tip it. Again, watch the momentum. Too much cyclic too quickly will tip you right over or pitch you into the ground. Remember the Apache will kill you if you're rough with her.

The further you tip the Apache from the vertical the more throttle you have to apply to maintain altitude. Let's say you're hovering at 75% throttle and you pitch the nose way down to pick up speed, you need to increase the collective way up just to keep off the ground. You're still falling so you pull the nose up and suddenly you're climbing. Maintaining altitude is a constant balancing act between the throttle and the cyclic control. You cannot maintain nose down attitude without ploughing into the ground.

So how do you go fast without crashing? It's easy. Pitch the nose down to gain speed, while increasing throttle to maintain height. When you're going fast pull up the nose. The momentum that's such a bitch to fight when you're turning is now working for you keeping the Apache going forwards. Don't forget to adjust the throttle to get the altitude you want.

When you're moving forwards the Apache flies like a light aircraft. To stop it you'll need to pull the nose up away from the direction of travel (yes, keep that throttle moving to counter altitude changes). With practice you'll be stopping the sucker on a dime.

Taking off on uneven ground
If you land on ground that isn't flat, you're in danger of instant crash on take-off. As soon as you leave the ground you must level the Apache immediately or it will accelerate very quickly in the direction the slope is facing, fail to counter and you could end up in a fatal side-slip.

Landing
Land gently. Once down throttle-off immediately or it will start to tip over if you're not careful. Always be aware of your environment when landing, it's easy to catch the tail on a building or tree and your vision is limited.

Hovering
Master the hover and the enemy is yours. Capturing flags, hiding in hollows and behind hills, rearming and picking up troops, all these things and more are possible. Practice practice practice. It is currently impossible to hover with keyboard control, as the collective is on/off with no way of holding down at the "hover" level of 75% throttle. Sorry

Combat
The Apache is not a plane. You can't fly it over the battlefield like a Stuka and expect to live long. It's value is in popping up where least expected then disappearing again. Use ground cover and the terrain to minimise your opponent's opportunities to shoot you down.

The Apache's chin-mounted MG is deadly to ALL vehicles and equipment (even main battle tanks) so be sure to fly with a gunner who won't bale on you. The Apache is both more lethal and more likely to survive with a good gunner. Don't leave home without one.

The Hydra rockets and Hellfire missiles have adequate range but are unguided. Maneouvre into position without opening yourself up to attack and you've half the battle won. If you can fire over an obstacle such as a house or hillock and let the drop of the missiles work for you you're half-way there. If you pitch up or down to get your range right you'll start going forwards or backwards. If it's safe to do so use your altitude (collective) rather than your pitch to adjust your aim or you may drift out of cover, into an obstacle or into the enemy's effective gun range. Remember though, the higher you are the more visible you become, so always try not to gain too much height.

For each target you face there will be an ideal distance to engage them from where you can hit them while hovering just above cover. In time you'll learn to assess the terrain around your target and look for cover at just the right distance.

Remember that the Shilka and Vulcan mobile AA have a limited downward travel. They have real problems hitting aircraft at low altitude, especially if they're a distance away, so don't drift over. Remember to watch your position. The Apache is loud and the engine noise is very distinctive, get too close and the Shilka gun will be facing you as soon as you break cover. He can kill you faster than you can kill him, if you give him chance.

The Apache is very, very vulnerable to all enemy fire. It is a one-shot kill for T72/M1A1 main guns, AT rockets, MLRS and TOW missiles. The high velocity of all these projectiles make the AH64 challenging to keep alive on a busy battlefield. Additionally the pilot is vulnerable even to small arms fire so don't loiter above infantry. Use your Hydras to clear them out.

Evasion
If you need to evade the enemy, whether in fighters, tanks or other helos, height can be your friend if gained quickly. Apply full throttle and climb at the maximum possible speed to get out of visible range. Remember that the higher you go the fewer visual cues to your attitude you will have, so it's easy to start drifting or even tip the helicopter right over and crash. At very high altitudes your main threat is enemy fighters.

Repair - NEW
If you land out to repair choose a nice quiet spot. The Apache can of course get into places where it'll be very hard to see and even harder even for planes to get to. It's also tough to repair. A single engineer with full "wrench power" (TM) can only repair about half the health of an Apache, so if you've got a 2 man crew then 2 engies would be a good idea.

Conclusion
The Apache is a deadly adversary in the right hands, and a danger to its crew in the wrong ones. No other 1942 vehicle requires as much practice, or rewards the skilled pilot quite so much. Take to your helos my comrades and let fear come to teh enemy

[reesy]

thanks for the excellent tips.. i'll practice practice practice now

[XF Clohvn]

Originally Posted by Morat

Firstly you must remember that the Apache is not your friend. It is of Satan. It does not want to help you. It wants to smash your pathetic body to pieces in the sand and will happily do so if you give it the slightest opportunity.

lol

Great flying tips. Ill go try them hehe.

[Imgine2002]

Thanks for the tips.. Ill get some serious practice in. The chopper is very useful if you can fly it. So far Im a better gunner then pilot. :/

Hopefully these tips will help me.

[XF Clohvn]

Nice new sig Morat

[Morat]

Ta man, makes a change from the spitty.

[JeanFrancois]

Good stuff Morat, the heli in the right hands is like vengeance from heaven! I'm not a bad pilot for planes, but the heli is over my head for now. Let's see if I can apply everything you just said, it's local game time!

[JimmyTheGent]

next time i play desert combat with u morat im going on your side :P

Great guide m8

**EDIT**

Wow this is a great guide,once u understand how the inertia works and how much it effects u its a joy to fly the apache. I set up my own server to practice using the Apache for 15mins, then went on a public playing El Alamein and Owend the whole server. Not even the shilka could take me out only migs posed a serious threat.

[Unknown Soldier]

It is always so funny. Whenever I play Desert Combat, I'll see up on the screen........... Dickey joined the Allies. Few seconds later, you see on the screen, Dickey is no more. I always type on the screen "Guess you just tried the chopper" and they always write back "lol" ..............never fails. Everytime.

[Morat]

Glad to be of service chaps. I've added a section on repairing the bird.

Jimmy (and Golan if you're reading) there's a shortage of DC servers in the UK so we opened up the Eye to the whole of Europe and we've been playing in a server called BOOMTOWN. Sweet pings, about 45-55 on ADSL and Cable. Not bad for Finland eh?

So far we've not played much "live" stuff, but it seems that the Allies are getting 0wned because everyone's queuing up for the shiny toys while the Iraqis are getting on with the job. That should change soon. Might even reverse when the Iraqis get the Hind

[JimmyTheGent]

Originally Posted by Morat

Glad to be of service chaps. I've added a section on repairing the bird.

Jimmy (and Golan if you're reading) there's a shortage of DC servers in the UK so we opened up the Eye to the whole of Europe and we've been playing in a server called BOOMTOWN. Sweet pings, about 45-55 on ADSL and Cable. Not bad for Finland eh?

So far we've not played much "live" stuff, but it seems that the Allies are getting 0wned because everyone's queuing up for the shiny toys while the Iraqis are getting on with the job. That should change soon. Might even reverse when the Iraqis get the Hind

ahh, good 'ol Boomtown(thought they were Dutch for some reason) Yeah I used to play DoD on Boomtown, not tried BF yet though. I'll give it a blast this week

[Dr Feelgood]

Nice server Jimmy, we've had some good games there.

Great guide Morat.

[hagstrom]

Do you guys know what to write in the ASE filter-file for a new "DC-only" option?
Edit: More

I´ve read somewhere that ASE should itself see that there is a MODS folder in my BF42 folder. And thereby create it in the ASE window. Well it doesn´t. Am I wrong, or have I done something wrong, or is my ASE f*cked up?

[-WOODY-]

While in ASE, try going to file, then download latest filters. I'm pretty sure that ASE has the latest DC mod included. If not, then do this:

Go to "filters" then select "new".

In the filter editor where it says "name", type: desert_combat

In the larger window below, type this in:
1 if gameid ~== "desert_combat" goto 3
2 remove
3 if ingame ~== "*bfield1942" goto 5
4 remove

Click "ok" then you should see a new folder in the "my filters" index in the left of you ASE window. Select the desert_combat folder, then right click on it and select "custom config"

On the custom config window at the very bottom, you'll see the listing "Cmd Line".

In the Cmd Line, type this in:
cprogram files\ea games\battlefield 1942\bf1942.exe" +game desert_combat ( or whatever drive letter the game is stored ).

Click ok, then you should be set. I don't know if that would give you a DC mod only listing of servers, but I it will allow you to play it through ASE. If you have the DC filter update from ASE, just click the folder in the BF 42 mods listing and refresh and that should do it.

[mr. peabody]

hey, i didnt know at rockets killed choppers in one shot. i managed to hit one once and it didnt even start to smoke, just turned around and blew me away.

plus, i hardly ever see anyone doing that hiding thing. everyone just flies as high as they can, and shoots rockets down. its makes it really easy to shoot em down somtimes.

[urseus]

Nice one Mo.

I find the blackhawk alot easier to land than the apache. Sometimes ive also ejected when i got in a flat spin, only to have it land on its own completly undamaged. Takes you a while to get used to the choppers, but youll find that one day youll be playing tobruk with 3 other guys and youll just decide to do it for fun. Youll crash but realise youve got the hang of it, then be a master of the universe from then on.

And thats the story of how i lost my virginity.

[maverick514]

More on helo controls, anyways, one must know, helo flying is a balance between Kinetic and Potential energy.


HELICOPTER FLIGHT CONTROLS

Learning Objective: Identify the three primary flight controls and the basic control systems components.

Helicopter flight controls differ drastically from those found in fixed-wing aircraft. Helicopter flight controls consist of both cyclic and collective pitch control systems and the rotary rudder flight control system.

The hydraulically powered flight control mechanism, shown in figure 10-6, provides you with an example of systems common to most helicopters. These are the systems on which you will most likely be working. Fairly exact values, such as tolerances, pressures, and temperatures, are given to provide instructive coverage. When actually performing the maintenance procedures, consult the current technical publications for the latest information and exact values.

CYCLIC PITCH CONTROL SYSTEM

The cyclic pitch control system provides the means of controlling the forward, aft, and lateral movements of the helicopter. Movement of the pilot’s or copilot’s c yclic stick transmits through control rods and bell cranks. This movement is sent to the auxiliary servo cylinders, the mixing unit, and three primary servo cylinders. These primary servo cylinders control movement of the rotary-wing blades.

The cyclic system has a stick trim system that hydraulically operates the controls for automatic flight. During automatic flight, trim movements are controlled manually by the cyclic stick grip switch. The switch is overridden for major control changes by stick movement.

Moving the cyclic stick forward extends the aft primary servo cylinder and retracts the forward primary servo cylinder. Aft movement of the cyclic stick extends the forward primary servo cylinder and retracts the aft primary servo cylinder. In both cases, the helicopter will advance in the direction of stick movement. Movement of the stick laterally will move the helicopter right or left, corresponding with stick movement. This movement occurs by retracting and extending the left and right lateral primary servo cylinders.

COLLECTIVE PITCH CONTROL SYSTEM

The collective pitch control system provides vertical control of the helicopter. Movement of the collective pitch control stick is sent through control rods and bell cranks to the appropriate auxiliary servo cylinder. Movement is sent from the servo cylinder to the mixing unit. At the mixing unit, all vertical movements of the collective sticks are sent to the primary servo cylinders and the rotary-wing swashplate. At this point, the pitch of all blades increases or decreases equally and simultaneously. A balancing spring attaches to the control rods to help balance the weight of the collective stick. A friction lock on the pilot’s collective stick applies the desired amount of friction to the tube of the collective stick. The lock prevents creeping during flight. It also provides feel for the pilot when operating the controls. The friction is applied by rotating the serrated handgrip on the collective stick to its stop. The grip of each collective stick contains several switches that are labeled for the function they control. In the automatic stabilization equipment (ASE) mode operation, the collective pitch operation controls through the auxiliary servo cylinder.

ROTARY RUDDER CONTROL SYSTEM

The rotary rudder control system controls the pitch of the rotary rudder blades. The blades control the heading of the helicopter. The pedals control the system through a series of control rods and bell cranks. These units connect to the directional bank of the auxiliary servo cylinder and the mixing unit. At the mixing unit, a control rod operates the forward quadrant. This quadrant connects by a cable to the aft quadrant. A control rod from the rear quadrant connects to the control rods, bell crank, and pitch control shaft. These parts are found in the rotary rudder tail gearbox. A hydraulic pedal damper is located in the auxiliary servo cylinder bank (directional). Its purpose is to prevent sudden movements of the control pedals. The damper prevents rapid changes in blade pitch, which might cause damage to the helicopter. As on conventional aircraft, the rudder pedals are adjustable for different leg lengths. The rotary rudder system operates by manual input or automatically by input from the ASE. The negative force gradient spring cancels feedback loads exerted by the rotary rudder during flight. It also cancels feedback loads when the auxiliary hydraulic system is off. When the rotary rudder is stationary, an initial force is required to move either pedal from its extreme position. With the auxiliary hydraulic system on, the effect of the negative force gradient spring is zero.

[English]

The apache in this latest release seems to have been dumbed down alittle. Or maybe its coss Im used to flying the choppers in CIS. They are more difficult to fly, but once u have mastered them, you have total freedom. Where as with the apache.... I dunno, feels more like arcade sim now. They are not as sensitive as they were before.

[Morat]

The Apache has been made easier in DC 0.3N, I believe they've made it hoverrable with the keyboard now, but there's currently a poll on the official site to see whether this will be kept.

The Apache and Hind are very similar but I find the Hind a little more responsive. The blackhawk is heavier and not as maneouverable, but boy is that baby useful and fun to fly.