ArmA: Armed Assault: Flying Helicopters

Introduction

Since the flight model of helicopters in ArmA is a bit more demanding than it used to be in OFP, here are some tips for beginners and experts on how to control them efficiently.

Controls & Flight Model

Controls

There are 3 controls in a chopper :

• Cyclic
• Collective
• Rudder

Cyclic controls the attitude of your chopper, it is the stick in the middle of the cockpit, between the legs. It banks the airframe left and right, and pulls nose up or down.

Collective control the global sustentation of the blade, so basically, when it is pulled, the chopper gains altitude, when it is pushed, the chopper loses altitude.

Rudder controls the power applied to the tail rotor or the differential of power applied to both main rotors in contra-rotative helicopters (like the Ka-50). It makes the chopper frame change direction without banking or changing attitude.

Typically, the controls in a chopper are found like shown in the picture above :

Flight Model

Several side-effects appear when you use one of the controls to change the helicopter flight. Few of them are modelled in ArmA :

• pulling the nose up at significant speeds causes the helicopter to gain altitude
• the opposite is true, when you pull the nose down to gain speed, you lose altitude
• the rudder loses authority when speed increases, up to a point where it has nearly no effect

Controller Setup

(joysticks vs. mouse/keyboard, efficient assignments, etc.)

• Increase Thrust
• Decrease Thrust
• Left Turn
• Right Turn
• Bank Left
• Bank Right
• Left Pedal
• Right Pedal
• Nose Down
• Nose Up

How-Tos

(how to turn, land, etc. What and how to practice)

Landing tips

Ensure the area under your chopper is clear of trees, building or other obstacles. Since it is difficult to look directly down, you will want to pick a suitable landing area before your final descent.

Dropping troops off in a combat zone

Avoid flying directly over the area of engagement if possible to prevent yourself from becoming a target.