Real Blackhawk Pilot Flies in VR! (DCS + RTX 3090ti + HP Reverb)

Today I try out the FREE blackhawk in DCS (also free). I show you how to crank it up and then fly around, land on a ship deck, and show you how to survive engine failures. The realism of this blackhawk is insane!
The techniques and tactics used in my videos are purely that of the simulated world of DCS. This does not represent real life flying, tactics, techniques, or aircraft capabilities.

[@kinkkujuustovoileipa4687]

Hi, glad you liked my mod. Really appreciate the feedback. I don't have much time for it these days since my DCS energy is focused on the Kiowa Warrior now, but I will make sure your points are addressed for the future update. All the data was sourced from easily available online locations - it's amazing what a simple Google search will provide. No skullduggery! E.g. there's a KZbin vid that demonstrates the APR-39 very effectively. Just have to know where and how to look! Also, if you want to do further vids, navigation (VOR, ILS, GPS) would be a good topic - it's quite complicated to understand but I had a lot of fun implementing the systems. The ASN-128 DGNS is...yeah. Special!

[@SnakPakFlight]

Wow! The creator! Amazing work man. I can't believe how accurate that thing is! Yeah the GPS is a fossil but it's a good GPS. I started in M models and had to transition to L's at my first unit. Definitely a steep learning curve with that 128. I will absolutely do some videos on the AVNX once I get a firmer ground in DCS. There's so much to it! Primarily just been doing vids in MSFS. There's an M model 60 WIP for that. It's looking good so far, but the level or realism on your 60L is remarkable. Great job and thanks for the comment!

[@SnakPakFlight]

Also, feel free to contact me if you want some specifics on those switches and such. Not to be too critical of this incredible feat you have accomplished, lol. But I'd be happy to help.

[@Darko7]

Hell yeah I'm excited for the Kiowa! Will be my next module purchase.

[@SnakPakFlight]

Also, what are the chances you could get this aircraft into Microsoft Flight Simulator? I would pay $100 to get it there.

[@toddw6716]

You did a great job making the Blackhawk. I have really enjoyed it. Glad to hear your working on the Kiowa, I know it will also be a success

[@terrencejackson4587]

I’m actually more amazed at how much you have to scale back your knowledge delivery in these videos. Way to keep in your range fan!

[@TheFberry100]

My first commander in the army, Major Otte, was a blackhawk pilot at Fort Ord. He saw how much I loved helicopters, he always took me on flights with him!! Loved it!!!!!

[@Woopass90]

Flying and racing in my G2 is a dream come true. What a time to be alive!

[@hootman_hawk]

Nice. I did 20 years as a 67T (later 15T) UH-60 mechanic/crewchief/technical inspector, 19 years on flight status. The author did a great job with this mod, the sound is excellent, the sound of the blades and the whine of the input gearboxes is awesome. That gearbox whine is the big indicator of power changes and an old friend to anyone who spent time with the H-60. Also the sweet smell of the fuel and the unique smell of the bleed air used to provide heating is unique, when I'm flying this mod I can almost smell those. I haven't got my Voiceattack profile built yet for this mod, but plan on working on that soon.

[@MikeInExile]

I'm pretty sure the seeds being referred to at 20:31 are the ones that come from maple trees. They're actually called "samaras" but people use many other names for them too - one of which is "helicopters"! (My dad called them "propellers".) I played with 'em as a kid, and to this day, when I see one lying on the ground, I'll pick it up and set it free. ;-)

[@SnakPakFlight]

Thanks! I am no horticulturalist! I always wondered what those things were actually called. Perfect example of autorotation.

[@BTKCuk]

Excellent video, and always really interesting to hear a RL pilot's take on the sim. Keep the videos coming! L&S.

[@fsprimo]

Learn a lot of cool stuff about helicopters today, specially about twin engine helicopters.

[@SnakPakFlight]

Glad you enjoyed it! I will be doing much more on basic helicopter functions, aerodynamics, systems, and all things blackhawk!

[@texel9]

Awesome video! Really enjoy RL pilots trying out DCS. Keep it up!

[@MrWolverine46]

Being a retired UH-60 crew chief and FI. I could picture the crew chief behind you shake his head after you locked the tail wheel, and then kicked the tail around with the response of “I think I broke it”😅

[@SnakPakFlight]

Yeah it normally works in the sim! No idea what happened. Actually never broke one IRL. Knock on wood!

[@SnakPakFlight]

I was just trying to show what that button does but it was user error.

[@MrWolverine46]

@@SnakPakFlight totally understand it was funny though. I like your content and review. I recently started flying this on DCS as well. One thing I really seemed to notice is that I need about the same amount of power to fly when I’m in a winter environment as well as a summer one. Granted I noticed the TGT limiting or tq limiting is changing with the environment. But power required for hovering seems to be very close to each other.

[@Lee-in-oz]

Mate thanks so much for this tutorial. The blackhawk is one of my all time favourites and I pretty much just use this aircraft since release. I've learnt so much in the last 30 mins. Cheers

[@SnakPakFlight]

I'm glad it's helping! I have another video on different ways to land it. Also about to drop a vid from MSFS talking about helicopter basics. LOTS more content on the way.

[@jessetait5839]

Nice! Go land that beauty on an Arleigh Burke!

[@Dull_Blade]

I just discovered your channel and demo videos for the blackhawk. I'm trying to learn the helos in Arma 3 and this channel is exactly what I was looking for! Thanks for posting and keep 'em coming!

[@SnakPakFlight]

Glad to hear it Dirk! Guess I need to check out Arma. I’ve heard there’s quite a bit to it. I have lots of content coming soon. MSFS just released helos with some super cool features so I’ll be able to show how they work in amazing detail. I appreciate the comment!

[@Callsigntitan]

Couldn’t ask for a better helochopper video, thank you and thank you for your service!

[@SnakPakFlight]

Thanks bro! I have a bunch more on my channel. Check em out!

[@GunnerRA155]

Ok, you got me subd up! Now I need to sort out a Virpil collective and base... Cool vid mate :)

[@terrencejackson4587]

I like that the glove is actually rolled down. I don’t think I’ve ever kept a glove at the unrolled position.

[@Mayhem925]

Hey man love the video! Your passion for the blackhawk is apparent and I'd love to see you give it a shot flying in Squad. It's not a sim but I have a blast and the interactions in game from troop transport/CAS/resupply missions always keep you on your toes.

[@SnakPakFlight]

I'll check it out!

[@toddw6716]

Thanks for doing the video. We will watch for more.

[@simonliin]

I'm a fixed wing pilot, but your videos are super cool and interesting. Thx a lot for sharing your knowledge, and sharing it the way you do. You got me hooked on trying that beautiful Blackhawk out :)

[@zulubravo9434]

Wow, you really love the Blackhawk.

[@johnwstruhar]

This should count for some sim time....you just need an IP...lol

[@SnakPakFlight]

I AM an IP! Let me know what else you'd like to see with this mod.

[@johnwstruhar]

@@SnakPakFlight Figured by your training voice. Just need the SP for a check ride...lol. No seriously, great video. As an FI, and crew chief myself, I'm impressed by the level of detail. By the looks of it, the graphics are far better then the actual Sim. Maybe we need DCS for aerial gunnery...lol

[@SnakPakFlight]

@@johnwstruhar Hell yeah I'm down! I think I saw a mod for the 240. We'll have to get together online and mow some shit down.

[@TFB-chris]

One can change the input by using "waves" in the settings. Maybe that helps with making it feel more like real thing and more responsive on the cyclic. Great content.

[@wolfpack2viking847]

Amazing vid sir. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. It's awesome the amount of things that we can learn from your video. Thanks a lot for sharing this! Subscribed! =)

[@justflyit7569]

Hello. Thank you for the video! As real life pilot myself I can’t stop telling to everyone that VR along with a very good FFB joystick will give you almost real life experience or at least close enough to get yourself prepared or trained for different scenarios. By the way as I understand from top camera and sound from your mic you’re using Bose A20? How did you manage to make it work it the PC?

[@SnakPakFlight]

Hey thanks for the comment. I use this adapter. New video coming out this weekend! flightsounds.com/products/solo-ga-general-aviation

[@justflyit7569]

@@SnakPakFlight Thank you!

[@Sandboxcode]

Awesome video, very informative. I appreciate the effort that went into this

[@SnakPakFlight]

Thanks! I have a bunch of other videos and many more on the way. Latest one I dropped yesterday on airspace in MSFS. Thanks for the comment!

[@Cleared_To_Land]

Do you guys teach flared-attitude roll-on touchdowns for the auto-rotations as well? In the Australian Army we use them for not only OEI runway approaches but also autorotations so that you rotate around the tail wheel to better the zero-zero autos.😉

[@Tatsukoa808]

I have this module, but I haven't taken it out for a spin yet. I guess I have a weekend project I need to work on! Which branch of service do you fly for? I was thinking Army when I saw your take off and landing! 🤣 Would love to do some formation work on the ship with you one day. The real magic happens when you get about four more birds in the pattern all landing at spots. You got bird turning in front and behind you as you are landing. Would love to do some formation flying with you one day. Marine Corps CH46E pilot driver here. Semper Fi and great video.

[@SnakPakFlight]

You guessed it! Yeah I’m still getting used to this mod. The sim is never as easy to fly as the real thing.

[@Tatsukoa808]

@@SnakPakFlight absolutely. Landing on the deck without the physical ques is a task. VR makes it easier. I'm always behind picking up drift, then over correct. I wouldn't give up VR for anything in the world.

[@Pallium_Industries]

Hey chief, how's about you uncuff those sleeves! 😂

[@SnakPakFlight]

Whaa??

[@pfv3462]

What a beautiful flight, usually it is said that a flight sim is not a true representation of a real plane or helicopter and you prove the opposite. Did you adjust the joystick and remove the spring?

[@rehil123]

I love this bird, it's all I fly now can you do a combat style insertion i.e. Nam style like they do with the Huey PS good video

[@SnakPakFlight]

Thanks Phil! I am planning on doing some time on target insert missions soon. Probably under NVGs!

[@Charlie-tl4dv]

So good! I wonder if you could use TactGlove DK2 to toggle switches. Would be gret with the haptic feedback!

[@SonB288]

Thanks for the video - it's awesome to hear from a real Blackhawk pilot just how close DCS can get these days. One (maybe dumb) question- is the real Blackhawk's handling significantly affected by your fuel load - whether it's the regular 2400-ish lb or if you have internal auxiliaries fitted? When you mentioned the sim controls being sluggish, I'm just wondering if this is being modeled too aggressively.

[@SnakPakFlight]

I think the modder just needs to double the cyclic sensitivity. Aerofly FS4 just dropped a UH60M today that is also fantastic and I did a review on it. The controls on that one are closer to the real thing. As far as fuel goes, no full tanks do not really affect handling. Actually, it you are low on fuel, it becomes a bit harder to ground taxi. The whole aircraft bounces up and down. Now with external tanks, you will get a porpoising in your flight path.

[@SonB288]

@@SnakPakFlight Ah that makes sense, and I'll check out the UH60M video. I've only really flown fast jets in DCS so I was expecting fuel weight to be more of a factor. Thanks so much for your answer, and definitely following your future content!

[@riceblk8005]

Nice video man! I love that mod, hope they improve it more again. Little question though, if I compare this chopper to others in the sim or even in real life it looks like a very stable machine, no need for much rudder pedal to counter the torque. Does all this comes from the sas systems ? This chopper is like you could almost remove your feet from the pedal

[@SnakPakFlight]

This is an excellent question that I will be addressing in a future video. However, the simple answer is, yes. SAS helps an awful lot with stability, but the FPS and trim also play a major role. There is also a mechanical gear box that does a lot of the work. For instance, as you increase torque when you take off, this wants to make the entire helicopter spin to the right due to Newton's 3rd law of motion. Thus, left pedal is needed to compensate. But not in a blackhawk or many other modern helicopters. FPS maintains your heading and also coordinates your turns at higher airspeeds so you don't have to constantly adjust your pedals. It is an incredibly stable aircraft and most of my students have no problem hovering on the first day. They do get a lot of training in a trainer helo before they come to me, but generally they do well. In fact, I often have to tell them to do less. The funniest days of training are when I turn all that crap off and watch them struggle!

[@thewarriorwithin7415]

Hey snak Pak, you can up the sensitivity of the stick in dcs settings. I think in axis commands and double or more the sensitivity of flight stick so it will be more responsive. Hope that helps

[@iljajekimov4997]

Do you miss like sudden up down and side rocking movements in dcs from no wind gusts? How does it make you feel while flying in dcs? I really suggest you add jetseat for some gforce feedback.

[@SnakPakFlight]

The blackhawk is a beast of an aircraft. You really don't feel too much from wind gusts unless they are fairly strong. You can never fully replicate that "seat of the pants" or proprioceptive feeling you get in the real aircraft. So it's not worth it to me. BUT, maybe if they want to send me one, I'll do a video on it!

[@iljajekimov4997]

@@SnakPakFlight Thanks for such fast and detail reply. So real life aircraft is easy flown with winds and does not need much input from pilot to fight it. I see now. Driving car sometimes really need to fught that side wind to drive straight. That jetseat also gives feedback on engine rumble, gun fire and ground bumps.

[@karlchilders5420]

@@SnakPakFlight Chinook driver here. :) Same with us - winds would push you around sure, but you didn't really feel it like you would in say, a little bird. Turbulence has to be quite bad to start being truly uncomfortable in the 'hook. We were even bigger than the Blackhawk, and much faster, but the Blackhawk is such a sleek and stable platform. There is a reason the 160th flies those alongside the 'hook and little bird. They are great at their mission and can really carry a lot and take it to the enemy when it matters. It was always fun for us to be the fastest helo around. In country however, we didn't make it a habit to outrun our gunship escorts for obvious reasons. After Turbine 33 went down we were very very risk averse in terms of flying without those escorts in fact. It's awesome to see them include this in DCS. I wonder if they will ever get a Chinook in the sim, that would be great. Good review snak pak, take it easy brother. Hooah!

[@andrewwickes1091]

Would love to hear the B/U pump kick on with the P genny coming on...

[@andrewwickes1091]

144% TRQ? Oh man, I wish!

[@andrewwickes1091]

You're an IP or SP aren't ya?

[@SnakPakFlight]

Yup

[@rmp5s]

Cool, man. I finally upgraded my ancient HTC Vive to a Reverb G2...the Vive is absolutely useless in DCS or anything else where reading and fine details are important. Should be here tomorrow.

[@SnakPakFlight]

Bro, it's really like being there in real life. This mod is incredibly realistic.

[@rmp5s]

@@SnakPakFlight It's cool that the mod creator chimed in, too!!

[@ChickentNug]

How's the upgrade? I've got a vive too and I've been wanting to upgrade to an index but they're still $1k somehow so I havent

[@rmp5s]

@@ChickentNug The clarity is great but the field of view is hot garbage and the controllers CONSTANTLY lose track, glitch out, etc. If you're just wanting clarity for DCS, it's cheap and works fine. If you're wanting to do literally ANYTHING else in/with VR, HARD pass.

[@dkgolfnut]

Loved the video and just subscribed. You mentioned settings you made to help with torque settings. Can you provide guidance? Would be greatly appreciated! In addition any other videos on systems management like GPS would be helpful

[@SnakPakFlight]

Yeah, I was just messing with the loading. I'm still new to DCS so trying to tweak things myself. I have several videos planned. GPS will definitely be one of them. Check back this weekend!

[@dkgolfnut]

@@SnakPakFlight sounds great. Thanks!

[@andretempler]

You can increase the sensitivity of the controls in the settings. I bet you can even perfectly match the feal of the real thing!

[@SnakPakFlight]

Yeah I need to get better at DCS. Very new to it. Thanks for the comment. I’ll mess around with the settings!

[@ChickentNug]

I don't think you can increase it to actually do any more than what full deflection does as set by the dev. You can just change where full deflection happens. It basically shortens the axis and leaves a big deadzone outside of it I think

[@vaudevillian7]

Absolutely superb

[@mickdavidson3755]

Would love some tips for washing off speed and landing.. for example, what speed and tourqe should you be at, I'm coming in way too hot for landings, and can never seem to get it back into a hover prior to landing.. Cheers 👍

[@SnakPakFlight]

Check back this weekend. I think my next video will be a variety of takeoffs and landings.

[@mickdavidson3755]

@@SnakPakFlight appreciate it! 🙏

[@SnakPakFlight]

Hey Mick, new video just dropped. You can skip to the Terrain Flight Decel where I show how to bleed off about 100 knots in seconds! kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYqxcoJnfJ2Sobs

[@mickdavidson3755]

@@SnakPakFlight You're a gentleman! Appreciate it! 🙏

Why does it tilt sideways when I land sometimes? Great vid. Thanks for sharing!!

[@SnakPakFlight]

Great question. I would have to see how you’re landing to give a correct answer. However, it may just be a principle called translating tendency. The main rotor system spins counter clockwise. Due to Newton’s 3rd law of motion, the rest or the helicopter wants to spin in the opposite direction. This is why most helicopters need a tail rotor. As torque is increased on the main rotor, the blade pitch on the tail rotor must also increase to prevent the fuselage from spinning. As a by-product, the tail rotor produces a sideward thrust which propels the helicopter to the right. This sideward motion is called translating tendency. In order to overcome this tendency, a bit of left cyclic must be applied to maintain a hover or groundtrack at a low airspeed. The blackhawk has systems which do this automatically. This is why the blackhawk and many other helicopters actually hover with a couple degrees of left bank applied. So when you come in to land, the left main landing gear will touch down before the right main. Tail wheel should touch first since the blackhawk hovers nose high.

@@SnakPakFlight Great response. Thanks a lot for taking your time to reply. Actually, you answered two questions that I had. I was also wondering why you land with the left main touching first. Now I know. Congrats on your channel, you are doing a superb job dedicating time for the videos and interacting with us. Cheers from Brazil!

[@BarkerVancity]

set up your curves in the axis control setting if you want your collective to be more sensitve

[@RotorBrake]

I really like this mod and use it for CTLD missions. I like to speed drop items sometimes and can't seem to open the radio menu in the air. I always have to land it. Anyway around this?

[@SnakPakFlight]

I’ll look into it. Not a DCS pro yet. Just playing around with the hawk for now.

[@canadiankrispybacon1450]

You would normally fly R seat? If so would the collective be active, mimicking the pilots input?

[@SnakPakFlight]

Just depends. Pilot in command for helicopters is traditionally the right seat but we switch back and forth for proficiency. Different sight picture on the left.

[@SWAM-B]

it is different than the real one... its old one too! why didn't you close the tail wheel when you landed ...? edit sorry looks like it was closed, i didn't saw you closing them though. wheel breaks are also different.

[@PvtHaskins1]

Be nice to have a link to the mod. Would like to test it out. Great information in your vids And thanks for your service

[@R.B_B]

Great video! What is your Vr setup and PC configurations? Thanks

[@jessekurisko5659]

I really suck at flying this but I really enjoy flying helicopters in dcs. You want to give out some lessons.

[@SnakPakFlight]

Hi Jesse! That's the point of this channel. I'm a blackhawk instructor pilot and also do fixed wing stuff. Lots more to come. Stay tuned!

[@EternalNico1]

dope vid

[@rgscomputers1]

in the closet?? great video. I recommend a better flight stick. The Logitech is great but considering how much you have spent so far the stick is the next thing or a nice collective. I use a VKB nxt.

[@SnakPakFlight]

Yeah so I got the honeycomb yoke as I do a lot of fixed wing stuff as well. Working toward my CFI/CFII on fixed so I put the money there. So far, Aerofly FS4 sent me their sim and their new blackhawk early for review. I just dropped a video on that. It’s awesome! So hopefully, these flight control companies will send me some stuff to review soon. Got to get a few more subs first so help a guy out! Thanks for the comment

[@kyleashford9563]

Do you increase cyclic pitch and roll with the curvature? Or does it fly a lot like the real thing?

[@SnakPakFlight]

Real thing is much more responsive

[@user-hp1mt9du6t]

It's sluggish after takeoff cause your wheelbrake is on! LOL

[@SnakPakFlight]

Huh?

[@user-hp1mt9du6t]

@@SnakPakFlight It's a joke. It was supposed to be a joke. Not funny joke. Have a good day! :)

[@user-hp1mt9du6t]

@@SnakPakFlight Ps. My friend flew Cessna once and somebody told him: gear up after takeoff... and he couldn't find a lever. Never mind :)

[@SnakPakFlight]

@@user-hp1mt9du6t Lmao

[@user-hp1mt9du6t]

@@SnakPakFlight Glad to hear that! 😁

[@damianmertes3536]

where can i down load it

[@BarkerVancity]

you dont need a super pc to play dcs...maybe in vr. but the game runs great in 30 fps..its a flight sim not a twitch shooter. i would rather play max graphic at 30fps then mid at 60fps anyday. ive only ever noticed framerates if im looking around to fast. then im just trying to see frames doing that

[@paristo]

The input system in DCS is little weird, many modules has this odd dampening in the controls that you can notice when you are sitting in cold aircraft and waving your controls around. Then comparing it to reality or even just videos of the real cockpit in same condition and it is easy to notice that DCS has such effect that it doesn't react so quickly as should. That is to me one of those things that annoys me as it detach me from some experience in real ones, but then makes unknown what it is in others. Another thing is the CAS and other AP system proper features. And as it is still connected to the DCS input system, it makes wonder that how accurately you can really get with those small controls. I tested the UH-60 mod update or two after its initial launch, and it was so stable to fly that it made question its authentity. I am currently just downloading latest version to test it out again. I love flying Mi-8, it feels so good without AP, but I have never flown UH-60 so hard to compare to it. The UH-1H is said to be very accurate experience, and it as well feels expectable helicopter to fly. I so wanted to like Gazelle as it was the closest thing for Bo-105, but its flight modeling was so abysmal and unrealistic that it made me worry about DCS overall. I purposely got an extended joystick for helicopters and build my own collective (although somewhat too long arm and range) as I couldn't get myself around anymore with short joystick and throttle as it gives so nice control as should. And for that reason I could understand that dampening effect in UH-60 mod to make it easier for players with table-top joystick that they don't roll around so easily. I would like to know something from the real UH-60, but I don't know is it under some secrecy, that what is the length from the floor to cyclic handrest/top/bottom etc? And what is the chair edge height from the floor? This as when adjusting the flight chair, it is nicer to get proper distances for pedals and length for cyclic.

[@SnakPakFlight]

Tbh, I don’t even know the exact lengths and heights. I can measure it and see. I’ll check to see if I can release that data. Also, can confirm that the real aircraft is as stable as this mod. Between the SAS, FPS, and Trim, among other systems, it makes it very easy to fly once you get the hang of it. I may be biased, but I think it’s the best helicopter in the fleet.

[@SnakPakFlight]

Also, the chair height is adjustable so it’s really whatever is comfortable. We adjust seat height to give the best view outside the cockpit and the cyclic is where it is.

[@paristo]

Thanks for your replies. Blackhawk compared to Apache feels strange how sensitive Apache is. Sure it needs to be to be agile, but it systems feels aged compared to Blackhawk that feels to be made for flying.

[@bryanholland6987]

Where do you go for the mod?

[@SnakPakFlight]

github.com/Kinkkujuustovoileipa/uh-60l/releases/tag/1.3

[@Heli4213]

Can you tell me exactly what to buy so I can get everything. head gear, program etc. I am new to this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@SnakPakFlight]

Whelp, gonna need a decent gaming PC. I chose to spend more on GPU, CPU, and HD. You can buy already built ones but I built my own. Definitely not the authority on that part! Lots of videos about how to build PCs if you DIY. Then I have the HP Reverb G2 VR headset. I am using cheap flight controls in this video but recently was gifted the HOTAS warthog by thrustmaster and it is awesome! The you download DCS World for FREE through Steam and download the UH60L mod also for Free! Just google. Super easy to find and install. Getting started with DCS is very complicated and I really am just a novice still.

[@oczhaal]

Do you play dcs with a refresh rate of 90hz on your reverb g2??

[@SnakPakFlight]

Yeah y?

[@oczhaal]

@@SnakPakFlight It looks really smooth. I can't get this level of smoothness on my rig which is almost the same as yours, unless i switch the g2 at 60hz, but it's uncomfortable...

[@natemorga]

turn the unit tags OFF!!! :) you dont have them in real life

[@SnakPakFlight]

Good advice! Will do next time.