Hovercontrol.com - Articles and Updates

Flight Simulator X - EH101 Engine Surge Fix - Flight Simulator Setup

Flight Simulator X Acceleration offered a sophisticated new option with the EH-101 helicopter. However, it has frustrated many Flight Simulator X enthusiasts with its tendency to have engine surges. The following information might help members to correct the problem, or at least make it better.

How to Choose the Right FS Controllers - Flight Simulator Setup

Most PC games may be played by means of regular PC mouse and normal computer keyboard: if you are a typical, regular gamer. But if you are a grave and die-hard player , those peripherals are just not enough. That is why computer makers produced and actualized other gaming gear to offer greater enjoyment and real-life experience. A joystick belongs to those accessories.

FSX Settings Examples - Flight Simulator Setup

When it comes to flight simulation in Flight Simulator X, no two systems are alike. What settings work for one person's hardware and software might not necessarily work for another. However, quite often is the case that a new user of Flight Simulator X might have chosen Flight Simulator settings that are working against them no matter what hardware or software they are using. This article will provide a basic set of sample settings that might help at least get you started.

FSX Tweaks for Helicopters - Flight Simulator Setup

An article by Jesus Altuve describing his work into various performance settings for FSX. This may help your helicopter flight simulator performance. What you are about to read CAN PRODUCE UNFAVORABLE RESULTS depending on your particular setup and slider settings, so this is NOT a 'solution' to any problem, this is simply a hidden, undocumented tweak that can be applied to Flight Simulator X to obtain aproximately a 30% performance improvement.

FSX Settings - How to edit FSX.cfg - Flight Simulator Setup

If you have searched for configuration tweaks to make your helicopter simulator perform better than you have certainly seen edits that can be made to the FSX.cfg configuration file. This article will explain where it is and how you can edit it.

Which Flight Simulator is the best? - Flight Simulator Enjoyment

Flight simulator users have several choices these days. A common question asked by those wanting to become more involved with the flight simulator community is which desktop flight simulator software is the best? It can sometimes be difficult to get a straight answer to this question due to so many competing viewpoints and loyalties. In this article I will try to provide a simple answer for you.

A place to fly - Hope, British Columbia (CYHE) - Flight Simulator Enjoyment

After hours of tweaking Flight Simulator X performance, installing new addon sceneries, and getting the best aircraft available for flight simulator, you might feel the urge to fly. A few nights ago, a friend from British Columbia recommended that I check out a little placed called Hope. Using Flight Simulator X with FS Genesis terrain mesh, Ground Environment X textures, and the trusty FSX Dodosim 206, I set out to explore this area. It turns out to be one of the nicest areas of terrain for flying helicopters in Flight Simulator X.

Flight Simulator X vs Flight Simulator 2004 - Flight Simulator Enjoyment

Four years after the release of Flight Simulator X, Flight Simulator 2004 downloads remain popular. Users of Flight Simulator 2004 are still well represented in the flight simulator online environments, and it would seem that the Flight Simulator X vs Flight Simulator 2004 question will remain for at least a couple more years. What will this mean for users of Flight Simulator 2004, Flight Simulator X, and the developers of Flight Simulator downloads and expansions?

Flight Simulator X - Best yet to Come? - Flight Simulator Enjoyment

It was a time when the possibilities were endless, the community was passitionate and imaginative, and small sub-communities of highly creative developers gave rise to an endless and dazzling array of developments for our favorite software. Is it possible that some elements of this bygone golden era in the flight simulator world are starting to come around again?

Would Simple Flight Simulator X Aircraft be Popular? - Flight Simulator Enjoyment

Given the low number of available aircraft for the latest version of flight simulator, and the complexity involved with developing new models, a question arises. Would enjoyable aircraft for flight simulator x be popular, even if the amount of non-flight related animation and eye-candy was reduced?

Students, Instructors, and Flight Simulators - Helicopter Training

There continues to be a strong connection between those that enjoy serious helicopter simulation, and those that are poised to participate in, or continue with actual helicopter flight training. Helicopter schools, and the instructors that work for them, should keep this in mind and learn to benefit from it.

Future Helicopter Training leads to Flight Simulator - Helicopter Training

When it comes to helicopter training and helicopter simulators, seasoned helicopter pilots might not appreciate them, instructors might dismiss them, and students might secretly wish they were flying the real thing every day.... But the fact is that helicopter training is heading towards helicopter flight simulation no matter what.

Helicopter Training and Desktop Simulators - Helicopter Training

In this article I'll take an unapologetic look into the training capabilities of desktop helicopter simulation using Microsoft Flight Simulator and other important tools. Is preparing for Helicopter Flight Training via a desktop simulator going to work for you?

10 Helicopter Training Tasks using Flight Simulators - Helicopter Training

If you are an instructor in the world of helicopter training, then you probably have a list of things that you are certain that PC-based helicopter simulators are NOT good at. We won't try to change your mind (at least not right this moment), but here are 10 Helicopter Training tasks that can be learned quite well using helicopter flight simulation.

Almost 7,700 Hours of Flight Time Logged - Helicopter Training

In just a few months of operation, our dedicated multi-user flight environment has seen almost 8 thousand hours of flight time logged by our members.

FSDS - Creating Virtual Cockpits in FSX - Flight Simulator Development

Anyone who uses Flight Sim knows that a virtual cockpit is the 3D version of the aircraft cockpit. Today I am going to use FS Design Studio v3.5 to create a virtual cockpit for FSX. Not only will I make the main cockpit area, I’ll add a panel to it and show you the basics of how to get gauges onto a virtual cockpit panel. Making this tutorial simple while still coverimg all of the major details needed is difficult. So what I’ll do is use the Curtis Jenny that comes with FSDS v3.5 as a starting point.

Making a Hard Surface and Using Attachpoints - Flight Simulator Development

One of the great new features of FSDS v3.5.1 is the ability to create hard and landable surfaces as well as using attach points to add lights. Today I’m going to create a building and add a helipad to the top of it. Then I’m going to add some lights around the helipad.

Adding Parts Names to FSDS - Flight Simulator Development

In FS Design Studio, there are a series of standard part names that are used for animation, reference parts and so on. These part names are used when you want to animate a part. You select one of these special part names from the Part Properties dialog by clicking the Browse button by the Part Name and then select the specific part name you want. Did you know that you could customize this list? That’s right, you can add your own list of part names and even your own categories!

FSDS - Animating Parts with a Tipped Axis - Flight Simulator Development

Previously I covered how to animate ailerons on the Cessna 172. I thought I should cover how to do something a little more complicated and show how to do animation on a part whose axis is not perfectly straight across or up and down. With that in mind, I looked through each project in the Samples folder of FSDS looking for a part that had a rudder that was not already animated for FSX and whose axis was not straight up and down. The only one I found was the Shorts 360, so I’ll use that one in this example of how to animate a rudder that has a tipped axis.

Animation for FSX in FS Design Studio - Flight Simulator Development

Today I’d like to talk about animation. In the older versions of Flight Sim and FS Design Studio, animation was pretty easy. I could assign a part a specific name and create the model and it would be animated in Flight Sim. More modern Flight Sims like FS2004 and FSX require a bit more work to get the animation to work as desired. My hope is that this post won’t be too complicated. There are some technical terms and procedures that might sound frightening, but really aren’t that bad once you understand them.

Take on Helicopters Review - Hovercontrol News

Panther (HC353PA), Acepdr (HC681AC), and Nightsta1ker (HC479NI) do short review of Bohemia Interactive's newest helicopter game.

Hovercontrol 412 Update for FSX - Hovercontrol News

The Hovercontrol 412 for FSX has received a major upgrade. It has been updated to include new models, have its flight dynamics overhauled, include helicopter rotor torque, and to resolve several problems that were keeping it from being its best in the FSX environment.

Jorge Roldan (HC362AE) - Certified Pilot - Hovercontrol News

It brings me great honor to announce our newest certified pilot into the very small population of CP's that roam around the Hovercontrol community.

FS InFocus Welcomes Jordan Moore - Hovercontrol News

December 28, 2010: Sky Blue Radio presents another exciting edition of FSinFocus, when “JT” welcomes Jordan Moore, founder of Hovercontrol.com. On January 8th, 2011, at 1900 Zulu Hovercontrol, the leading community dealing with helicopter operations within Flight Simulator will be discussed by JT and Jordan Moore. Jordan will discuss the history of Hovercontrol and his perspective on “community” within the flight simulation world.

New Hovercontrol Instructor - Connor Bourque - Hovercontrol News

Connor joined Hovercontrol in 2005 as a young student from Lafayette LA and from that time he introduced himself to the IP Team and they took him under their wing and ensured he pursued his academic studies first before the entertainment within our community. But the time has come!

Coaxial RC Helicopters: How Do They Work? - RC Helicopters

Coaxial helicopter is one of the more popular images that come to mind when people think about electric RC helicopters. And for good reasons too; these double-bladed helicopters is accredited with bringing hordes of new enthusiast into the world of RC aviation. Their popularity stems from their unequivocal stability in the air - which makes them relatively easier to master when compared to their single rotor counter part. They are also predictable enough to be flown within the compounds of one's home, securing its spot as one of the most loved indoor fliers. Being able to fly right out of the box because they are sold as RTF (Ready to Fly) kits adds to their appeal.

Esky Honeybee 4ch Rc Helicopter Review - RC Helicopters

Well, where to start with this one... This has got to be one of the coolest yet frustrating things anyone has ever bought me. Let me explain... My girlfriend bought me this for Christmas from Buzzflyer.co.uk for around £110, as soon as I opened it I was like a kid at 10 years old again. On the box it said for indoor/outdoor flight so naturally the box was flung open and the battery was straight on charge ready for a bout of flying round the living room.

Walkera 5G6 R/C Helicopter Review - RC Helicopters

This little helicopter is my first co-axial helicopter. I bought the Walkera with metal rotor head and the 2.4G transmitter. It’s a bit more expensive than the standard Walkera with plastic rotor head and normal 35 or 72 MHz transmitter. The Walkera 5G6 is the same size as the Walkera 4#3. The only difference is that the Walkera 5G6 have two counter rotating main rotor blades, and no tail rotor. Compared to the Walkera 4#3, the Walkera 5G6 weighs 53g, slightly heavier due to the extra main motor.

As I said in my Walkera 4#3 review, Walkera’s designing engineers have done it again to put a superb little helicopter (the Walkera 5G6) out there for everyone to enjoy.

FSInn Client - Example Settings - Multiplayer in Flight Simulator

For users that would like to get involved with helicopter flight simulator flying online, this article provides some settings examples to use with FSInn in order to connect to online flying networks such as Hovercontrol's dedicated multiplayer server.

FSInn Client - Controlling How Others Look - Multiplayer in Flight Simulator

When flying in helicopter flight simulator multiplayer, you can never actually control how others will see you in their game environment. All you can do is control how they will appear in your game environment. This article explores the settings in the FSInn multiplayer client that allow you to make better choices about how other players appear in your flight simulator.

HC Flight Simulator Online - Real Weather Available - Multiplayer in Flight Simulator

The Hovercontrol multiplayer server now supports real-time weather updates from around the globe.

FSInn Client - Aircraft Overloading On Top - Multiplayer in Flight Simulator

This article will show how to set FSInn client software settings in order to help avoid the appearance of other aircraft loading on top of you when you join the session.

Flight Simulator Game Online - Multiplayer in Flight Simulator

Brad Moreland led a very enjoyable group flight simulator flying event this Friday evening that lead a group of 10-12 pilots from Astoria, Oregon down the Oregon coast while passing through several small regional aviation facilities. A great time was had, and we hope to see you at one of our next flights!

Hovercontrol February Hop - Flying Events

With the new year brings many new ideas to the Hovercontrol community. One thing I would like to start doing is a hoplist type of event. Only this one has a bit of a twist! The challenge of this event is to test your flight planning skills, piloting skills, and your critical thinking skills. The flight is designed to mimic the real world as close as possible.

Steve Chase Memorial Flight 2010 - Flying Events

To commemorate & celebrate Steve's life,
and his contributions to the FS community,
we plan to hold a Memorial Fly-In
at Blackpool, (EGNH), around Steve's Irish-Sea scenery.

Flight Simulator Online - Crater Lake Fly-in - Flying Events

Come join us this Sunday June, 20 at 22:00UTC! We will depart from Beaver Marsh, Oregon(2S2) and head south, southwest for about 15nm. We will meet over Crater Lake then anyone willing can follow us westbound to Medford(KMFR) stopping at various airports. I'll provide some history on the various areas throughout the flight. Bring a helo that can climb because it's a big hill! See y'all Sunday!

Friday night flights #2 (KAST) - Flying Events

Join us Friday, May, 07,2010.Skids off at 01:00AM UTC for the second Friday flights. Will will depart from KAST(Astoria Rgnl) The flight will go south along the Oregon coast. Total flight time is approx, 1h 30m.

Multiplayer Event - Sat. Ops #3 - Hood river hop - Flying Events

Join us Saturday April, 24 at 5:00pm UTC. We will be departing from hood river (4S2) and flying a hop list through the hood river area down the columbia river.