[DCS] SA342 Gazelle Trim & Autopilot

[@RoamingAdhocrat]

It wasn't until watching this video I learned the auto-hover etc aren't autopilot functions but are simulations of a human pilot following instructions…! I just wish there were annunciators for the other autopilot modes.

[@Rasmorak]

I just tore my hair out over this, but if someone reading watching this video can't get it to work, and are trimming the Helo, hit your "reset trim" button and then activate the autopilot. The Gazelle's trim system appears to have higher authority than the autopilot. My A/P would engage but it wouldn't do anything until I reset my trim.

[@samsmith6791]

Thanks man !

[@ianboys1000]

If you turn the dial under the torque indicator to DOP mode it will provide a cross on the ADI. Simply centre the cross and you will have no forward/back or side motion. Then raise/lower the collective till you are stable vertically and you can enter auto hover very easily.

[@RedBravo65]

Superb video John! I surmise this will help a lot of people having trouble with the concept of this helicopter's trim and autopilot system. Again, beautifully done sir!

[@xxJohnxx77]

+RedBravo65 Thank you! Very appriciated! :)

[@TwoPlusTwoEqualsFive32]

I find the trim system on the gazelle is based upon the gyros/attitude where as other helicopter trims are simply based upon cyclic position. I find if I trim the helicopter to 5 degrees nose down, it will always try to be 5 degrees nose down regardless of my state of flight, hover, fast or slow. Where as other helis you need to constantly trim because the gazelle is attitude/gyro based, you do not. Trim reset just resets the trim to the horizontal attitude which I found to be pretty neat and intuitive compared to other helis that you need to constantly re-trim depending on your state of flight.

[@xxJohnxx77]

Yeah. This sums it up quit nicely! The Gazelle is a joy to fly, and with some training the AP and trim system is quit pleasant to use I would say.

[@marklopez936]

xxJohnxx, This is very very good. As always I enjoyed your commentary and instruction. I found today that that helo must be somewhat stable before Altitude AP can be engaged. Maybe this is part of an update. After I stabilized at 180kph I was able to hold alt. I find this very useful. My final comment is that I find speed hold to be useful for NAP of the earth. Simply using the throttle to raise and lower the helo was easy. Thanks again John, my Gazelle experience is changed forever.

[@NoFear1979]

Nice video, did help on some topics. The only thing I noticed from own flying is that you need to do quite alot of rudder right input to keep the heli straight when going slow (less than 18km/h groundspeed) or the heli will spin left around it's own axis. You could probably rudder trim, but with some muscle memory practice this should be no issue. But well worth to be aware of. Good thing you can slave the helis direction to the camera moving left and right when in autohover mode.

[@MrPhantom453]

Thanks John. Much appreciated. Picked up a few very helpful tips there.

[@alheeley]

Essential to have disabled FFB in DCS settings to get this to work, but I'm, still struggling with the logic here. No mention of the autopilot switch on the stick, and my control trim (mag brake 'stick') seems to work whether or not the Trim maser switch is up. Also the pov hat trim seems entirely ineffective, having very limited area of movenent.

[@ysiadpir1423]

7 years later Gazelle gets a rewritten flight model. Trimmer and Autopilot changed?

[@3Slippers]

Really enjoying your tutorials! :]

[@LymarkW]

Quick question, the manual said that the lower line in VS DER is deviation in degrees , do you know what kind of deviation it's referring to? I noticed the number changes rapidly as your speed's getting slower, so I don't think it's related to magnetic declination or something similar. Also, are you planning to do a tutorial for the NADIR system as well?:)

[@xxJohnxx77]

+Lymark Wong Hi, Yes, I have been looking at that as well! I assume that it is the ground track anlge, showing the diffrence between heading and track. For example at 10:07 I am moving 16km/h towards a direction of 126° relative to the helicopters heading. Similarly on the HSI, there is the hollow triangle that moves on the outside of the scale as well. I do believe that it shows some sort of doppler measured value as well, though I have not been able to exactly tell what it is displaying. Yes, I do plan to do a NADIR system tutorial (probably multiple, but short parts) at some point!

[@piston_77]

Hi! Which is the mode that the real Gazelle doesnt have? I didnt understand that.

[@Air-Striegler]

Great video! Frohe Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr! Say is there a cockpit indication (warning light ) for when auto hover or alt hold is activated like in the Ka50 for instance?

[@xxJohnxx77]

Thanks! Und danke gleichfalls! Not that I would know off. I usually just tap the rudder a bit and see if it still responds or not.

[@Air-Striegler]

xxJohnxx Wow! Now thats what I call fast as a Gazelle! Incredible. Do you think there is no indicators showing you the status of autopilot/(autohover)/altitude hold in the RL Gazelle either? How very inconvenient. ...

[@chadvader974]

Do you know how i ca map my ALT C function to my middle mouse in gazelle.... I use it to switch quickly between mouselook and clicking because i cant use track IR

[@lovecchio420]

What is the Auto pilot switch under the hazard stripes cover do? You can flip it up and turn it on and two lights turn on but what does it do?

[@xxJohnxx77]

+Mike Lovecchio That is the switch for the Gyro. It is neccesary for the autopilot system to work. For example you can't use AutoHover if it is not enabled.

[@llama1910]

Very helpful tutorial, thank!

[@_r.m.]

Hello John, which button is for use align autopilot with camera? (Mean align helicopter with direction where look camera)

[@xxJohnxx77]

+Radim Macan The button is called "SA342 Auto-Slaved Toggle" in the "SA342 Pilot Stick" catagory.

[@_r.m.]

Thanks much

[@JJGuardian]

Could you post a link to the Polychop auto hover Cyclic mod. I can't find it on the DCS download pages or on the Polychop site. Thanks

[@xxJohnxx77]

Hi, This is not a mod, this is a actual function of the helicopter / autopilot included in the module.

[@Nelion]

Outstanding! Thanks John!

[@xxJohnxx77]

+Kifsta Thank you! I always enjoy like to hear back from my subscribers! Appriciated! :)

[@nevyntanis2665]

Thanks John.

[@Soundwave857]

how do i activate the alt and speed autopilot?

[@randallshughart]

Just flick the switch when you are in level flight

[@MikeLitoris66]

Im new to Gazelle and my question is why does my Gazelle sometimes start to spin like hell? Its very hard if not impossible to recover from that spin. It usually starts when im getting low and trying to lower my speed. Like when im trying to go to auto hover mode or when im landing. Very annoying. Btw i love your videos and they have helped me a lot. Keep up the good work!

[@xxJohnxx77]

The Gazelle can require a lot of rudder input to stay stable. Make sure your axis are working properly as well. My old joystick had a problem with loosing some responsiveness on the rotation axis after a while....

[@MikeLitoris66]

vid.me/3yut Im talking about this! :D

[@xxJohnxx77]

kakka kikkare Do you have rudder pedals or a twist joystick?

[@MikeLitoris66]

xxJohnxx I have rudder twist in my joystick.Using rudder doesnt help, usually spinning stops when i apply more collective. Weird. I dunno if its a bug or am i doing something wrong. Probably the latter one.

[@Stahlwollvieh]

@@MikeLitoris66 The video is not active anymore, but is it possible you were overspeeding it? Retreating blade stall is a very real issue for the Gazelle.

[@JaySlaterOfMars]

Perhaps 120kmh is the best climb speed?

[@xxJohnxx77]

+Jay Slater Would be a possibility. Though the manual suggests that it would hold the "current" speed. Not sure! ;)

[@yahyeet1706]

Do you use headtracking? If so, what kind and how do you keep it so stable?

[@xxJohnxx77]

Yes, I do use headtracking. I have been using TrackIR 5 for a couple of years now and I have been very happy with it. The profile I created allows for steady views like you can see in my videos.

[@geoffgoldplum1231]

Is there some kind of indicator in the cockpit when AP is engaged, in any of the modes?

[@xxJohnxx77]

+Geoff Goldplum Unfortunatly not. You can tell if it is doing something (at least being turned on) by looking at the 3 gauges on the panel. Everyting else is unfortunatly not displayed inside the cockpit.

[@ianboys1000]

Yes if you show your red controls indicator

[@ajobis1881]

I found this helicopter very hard to control. It was Uber sloppy. And completely unstable.

[@Corsair8X]

Very helpful