Where to get Heli controls.

stuartc

I was asked during the flight at the weekend where to buy a Heli Cyclic.

So, here are some links to places that do Helicopter controls.

https://komodosimulations.co.uk/

https://www.flight-simulators.co.uk/acatalog/C1-Collective-with-Throttle-386.html

https://www.makinglowcost.com/en/project

https://www.helicoptersonly.com/contents/en-us/d62.html

https://www.apachesimulator.com/en/prodotti

https://www.pro-flight-trainer.com/collections/control-full-sets/products/custompuma

https://wwsimstore.com/p/329.html

Heli stuff is not cheap, so be warned.

You could also go down the route of building your own if you are brave enough.

stuartc

Heres a new manufacturer. No website yet, just a FB page

https://www.facebook.com/Dragonfly-Controls-104016221845723

stuartc

And another, and it has a discount code available:-

https://www.maxflightstick.com/?fbclid=IwAR2tYiRVh-X_MAl0uukNqtypV3NTaduRnOFsM_QcRZWqVPCE05nXiVRvrVw

Enter code: "ARTISTICFLIGHT" for discount. No idea how long the code will work for.

stuartc

And another

https://simulando3d8.webnode.it/

vanosten

Once you have controls or use existing gear: with which property in the property tree can one actually detect, that this is a helicopter and not a plane, so that you can adjust sensitivity of input etc accordingly?

stuartc

You cant. The sensitivity is stored per set of sticks, not per aircraft.

vanosten

Sorry, I was not precise enough. I am using my own configuration stored in xml - not through the FG UI configuration.

I found the following Nasal code:

is_helicopter = (func {(var n = props.globals.getNode("rotors", 0)) != nil and n.getAttribute("children")})();

It does the trick sometimes, but e.g. the Saab Viggen fighter jet is also recognized as a helicopter then.

The FG launcher somehow recognizes a helicopter automatically (see lower left icon, when a heli is selected). So there must be some indication somewhere.

stuartc

I wonder if its reading it from the tags section in the set file. Older aircraft, wont have that section, or some Aircraft developers may not have bothered to use the tags section at all.

vanosten

After a bit more investigations:

• The Viggen and possibly other fighter jets show as helicopters, because the OPRF group (mis-)uses some of the properties for e.g. flare release.
• Funny enough the FGAddon Alouette does not show as a chopper based on the Nasal script.

So I ended screening for /sim/aero and directly mapping to known helicopters flown be me than doing magic.

stuartc

well done