3 Commando Brigade

Helo Tips and Tricks

Hi chaps, seeing as I’ve been answering a lot of the samequestions on the public server and before/during/after ops in the last few weeks, after a chat yesterday I figured I’d write up a little list of tips and tricks for getting the most out of our current set of helos. This may be a little bit rambling and varied in skill level, but I’ll try and make it split into sane chunks (Note: I wrote this in Word and then pasted it here, and the forum completely bollocksed up the line breaks and bulletpoints, as well as removing the spaces between words in random spots. Do let me know if you spot any editing errors I've missed in the repair)
 
Apache/Wildcat variants and retasking
The new resupply/retasking options available for the Apacheand Wildcat are really helpful, but a lot of people still haven’t worked out all of the subtleties. So:

• The Apache has 4 variants, but they basically break down to different armament on two airframes: one has a pair of “jump seats” outside the cockpit for emergency transport, the other doesn’t. Simple as that! You probably won’t encounter the jump seat variant on the public server or for ops, though.

• All variants of the Apache can be freely rearmed with either Hellfire K (laser guided anti-tank), Hellfire N (laser guided thermobaric... err, big boom kill many baddies), Hellfire L (the radar guided anti-tank Longbow missile), CRV7 HEISAP (dumbfire medium-boom for light armour or groups of infantry) or CRV7 FAT (friggen large tungsten darts that can punch through the side of a T-72 3km away). The standard options available can be selected from the scroll menu when the pilot is alone in the helicopter with the engine off and parked near a 3CB helicopter resupply crate.

• The Hellfire K and N variants are laser guided,and you must have an active laser point locked for them to home in on. You can either receive third-party sparkle (lock the sparkle with the Hellfire selected, fire and then hold lock until impact) or self-designate (swap to laser, active it, point at the target, swap back to the Hellfire, lock and fire, then hold lock until impact). Lock can be achieved with either R or T in the default keybinds, and if one doesn’t work try the other – sometimes it gets finicky!

• The gunner can also have their cannon automatically zeroed by locking on to the laser while the cannon is active. Be aware however that this tends to not be terribly accurate unless you’re at the expected relative altitude above the target, so be prepared to fire a burst at low zoom (to see if the burst goes wildly long/short) and then manually correct or manually re-zero until you get a good ranging.
• The Hellfire L variant is radar guided, and usesthe vanilla Arma locking system. Simply look at what needs to die, and tap R or T (default), fire and then forget – as soon as the missile is off the rail, you don’t need to maintain lock and can freely reposition, retarget, or retreat.

• The Wildcat has 12 variants, but they basically break down to 3 sets of armament (cannon & dumbfire rockets, cannon & guided OR dumbfire rockets, Hellfires ) on 3 airframes (6 passenger A1, 8 passenger A1, 8 passenger unarmed HMA2 with radar).

• The Hellfire variant can only be loaded with either pure Hellfire K or a mix of Hellfire K and N. The cannon and dumbfire rocket variants can be equipped with either CRV7 HEISAP or FAT rounds (as described above in the Apache section), and its 1200 rounds of high-explosive incendiary cannon ammunition (these will kill clusters of infantry in a few rounds, and either rip the tyres off a BTR or make it cook-off in sustained bursts). The final variant can equip the cannon and dumbfire rockets as described above, or swap the dumbfire rockets out for laser guided rockets. These operate in a similar manner to the Hellfire K or N variant missiles, requiring a laser lock either from the co-pilot/gunner’s own lase or a ground source.

• There is a pair of screens in the centre of the dashboard that can be enabled to display a live feed from the co-pilot’s camera in both visual and thermal wavelengths. Unfortunately they are locked to the minimum zoom level rather than the zoom the gunner is using, but it’s still enough for the pilot to get an idea of what the gunner is looking at if they need reference for a gun/rocket target.

 
General Combat tips

• Whenever not actively doing something, you should probably be orbiting at altitude (I typically like about a 1.2-2km radius at 300-500m altitude). Waiting for an LZ? Orbit at altitude. Waiting for CAS order? Orbit at altitude. Searching for targets? Orbit at  altitude. There are a few reasons for this:

1. If you’re orbiting, your helicopter is always changing direction (as it traces the circle), and Arma’s AI tends to predict where to aim based on straight-line travel. You’re less likely to get hit by a lucky RPG/Shilka/Machinegun.
2. If you’re orbiting, you have a better awareness of the area, and can act as recon at the same time while you wait.
3. If you’re at altitude it lets you aggressively dive to gain speed in an emergency, and also increases the distance the enemy has to aim their big nasty helo-killer from. Also, it avoids deafening friendly infantry below!
4. Keep your speed at ½ to ¾ of your nominal cruising speed. Below about 140kph you tend to be a nice easy target for AI, whereas above that they tend to ignore you. Above ¾ of your cruise speed, you lose some of your manoeuvrability due to aerodynamic restoring forces. Always be ready to dodge that missile/cannon round!

• For general usage, I like to have my flares set to Burst (on vanilla helos) or 8/2s (Apache/Wildcat) to give myself the ability to rapidly dump flares in the case of an emergency. It’s better to swap to semiauto as-and-when I need it rather than having to frantically hammer to countermeasure button in the case of a launch (I don’t use the higher rate or 16 flare bursts typically, due to it normally being a waste. The 8/4s or 16/8s unfortunately tend to be slightly too sparse to give a good chance of shaking the missile).

•  If you hear missile locking tone (slowish high-pitch beeps), then get your finger ready on the countermeasure button, and start altering your flight path. If you think that the launch site is particularly close or you hear the missile launch tone (rapid high-pitch beeps) proceed to pull a high-g turn and pop flares while moving to egress the area. For best results throw your helo into a moderately steep dive and roll ~30-40 degrees away from where you think the threat may be, then steadily pull back to produce a fairly sharp banked turn while maintaining high speed.

•  If you’re getting HMG or autocannon fire from the ground, typically you can get away trivially by just accelerating towards max-speed while moving in a shallow S-shaped curve. I can’t really overstate just how little effort avoiding cannon tends to be, to the extent that I frequently ignore Shilkas and just continue orbiting as long as I’m more than 800m away. Autocannon is more scary than HMG simply because it has the capability to ruin your helicopter with a single impact – in that case, there’s no shame in getting clear! Remember, a helicopter costs more than your pride

 

•  If you lose your tail rotor, don’t panic! If you’re already flying, then just keep doing so until you’re clear of the hostile airspace. The aerodynamic restoring force will keep you pointing roughly forward as long as you keep your speed up, so do your best to stay fast – you should be able to feel the helo getting “squirrely” if you try and pull too sharp a turn or bleed your speed as the helo tries to turn into a bloody enormous airborne corkscrew.

•  If you’re just taking off or landed, the process is also relatively simple but takes a bit of practice to get comfortable with. I could type it all out, by Dslyecxi has a reasonably good pair of videos to illustrate it. I’d suggest the first video is better for getting clear of a combat zone due to getting you moving almost immediately to reduce the chance of you getting shot/missile’d again. The second video is a lot safer and easier to do in terms of avoiding hitting the ground, although it’s probably a worst option in combat. Remember that while being hit bit a missile may kill you, hitting the ground WILL kill you – so don’t undertake a manoeuvre you’re not comfortable with!

•  So you’ve lost your engine/fuel, and you don’thave the silky-smooth tones of Nick Seafort over the radio to talk you through your first autorotation? Never fear, because now you can have them in written form! You can break almost any autorotation into three basic phases: gaining control of the vehicle and LZ, preserving rotor RPM, and killing vertical speed.

1. When you lose your flight capability, you’rehopefully moving along at a reasonable pace and altitude. Take a quick glance, and work out which direction the closest reasonable LZ is likely to be. Don’t worry about specifics yet, just check whether one direction is impenetrable forest and the other is fields! You’re going to want to start moving in that direction, so put yourself into a shallow nose-down toward that destination and get a feel for how much control you have (ie, have you also lost tail rotor? Are you half-blind with bloody screen? etc)
2. HOLD “DOWN COLLECTIVE”. This is counterintuitive, but the thing we 100% do NOT want to do currently is press the “go up” button. Falling like a stone is your friend, as it’s keeping your rotors spinning as the air is forced up through them! Make a decision, how far will you be able to “glide” like this? Will you be able to make the desired LZ area? Do you need to bleed off speed to avoid overshooting, or shallow-out to stop from falling short? Get working on it! Steer your bird down to the area, and try and pick out the best LZ possible within your reach – remembering that you’re in a bent bird and will probably need extra space to smash into... ahem, land in.
3. So you’re getting pretty close to the ground,and it’s rushing towards you like the kitchen floor after a heavy night’s drinking? Wait until you’re within a couple of seconds of making a pretty yellow-red bonfire in the field, and then say “thank you” to me for making you keep that rotor spinning like a rapidly spinning thing. Go to maximum “up collective”, and watch as you rapidly slow your descent while hearing your rotor slow down. Balance the loss of rotor speed (and lift) with distance to the ground, it works best if you touch the ground BEFORE your rotor stops spinning

Whew! Now that was a bit longer than I expected, but should hopefully cover the most common things I get asked or spot. Many of these things require a bit of practice, but aren’t difficult or time consuming in-and-of themselves. Best of luck, and feel free to ask any questions or comments you have. Fly safe

Perfect lets see if i become top gun!

Leon 3CB

Nice writeup

Hopefully the next writeup will include how to not slingshot your Merlin into orbit

Step 1: Don't be a tit

WE NEED THE JUMP SEAT VERSION ON THE PUBLIC AT ALL TIMES

I was going to mention that.

Same can be applied to wildcats in the CAS/AT role. Sitting right up in the bright blue yonder is asking for trouble.
The the addition of FST and as we get better at utilising them, using the helos in that way would be a lot easier.

It really depends on the theater.  The Apache can be used from medium altitude at range (e.g. in Afganistan).  The x41 optics combined with Longbow and Hellfire that can reach 8km is rather effective.  Nap of Earth was primarily for Europe, where the idea was to stop mass tanks, supported by high quality layered AA.  NoE is fine if you have good recce elements. Not sure that applies to many of our  Ops

I decided against providing more general flying tips partly because otherwise I might as well make the whole damn training session and do it formally, and partly because a lot of it works best if I'm sat in the helo with the person, and we keep swapping seats and flying/watching as I chatter away. However, do feel free to hit me up on the server/PM/steam for specific pointers if you fancy.

With regards to proper usage being masked behind terrain, there are a couple of reasons why I didn't suggest that here. Firstly, people will get bored just staring at the side of a hill and waiting - bored pilots either quit, or go on a lunatic rampage that normally ends in fratricide. Secondly, Arma doesn't really have a concept of "front lines", so you'd inevitably get some dickhead trot up behind you from secured territory and fire an IGLA into your belly from 4 yards distance. Thirdly, as long as you're orbiting as described, you tend to be reasonably safe or at least have warning of threat.

People who've flown with me a bit will probably know that I tend to mask when possible in the Apache (or even the Wildcat in particularly unfriendly situations), but it's veeeery situational given how compressed an Arma battlefield is and the need for suitable terrain.

Great tips n tricks thread, Nick! Thanks