Helicopter Flight Controls

🙄 Aloha, well all I could think of is saiteks (x-45) controls as the closest to a heli stick set-up,and there pretty reasonable.
Riclo

Going to be hard to find those. I do know some helicopter rudder pedals availible. Try this article:

https://flyawaysimulation.com/news/217/

Cannot vouch for them...I just found them on the web, but they look sharp... 🙄

Depends how much you want to spend I guess. Very nice setup for a reasonable price (if your last name is Gates).

($1399)

The biggest thing is having the pedals. I just so happen to have a Sidewinder FF Steering Wheel and after plugging it in, I can use the pedals along with my joystick. Works nicely.

I think if the demand were there, there would be many more large companies such as Saitek, Microsoft, Logitec making them for sale. Sadly, helicopter FS pilots are a very niche thing 😞

If anyone goes looking for PC helicopter controls like me and finds this forum, then I have found the kit we are all looking for.

Go to http://www.flightlink.com and click on Rotory Wing Hardware. They have a stuning piece of kit that kicks the CopyCats helicopter flight controls into a cocked hat. It looks a hundred times better, can have added digital displays and entry so you don't need your mouse or keyboard (since when would you find them in a cockpit anyway?), and, above all that, it comes in at less than two grand making it far cheaper than the CopyCat, and that's with the digital displays. Oh and it's fully compatable with Microsofts Flight Sim 2004. It's from the states but is 240v compatable.

Have Copter will travel. Hope this helps budding pilots like me.
Keep it real everyone.

Hi again everyone,

I know this piece of kit I wrote about above is expensive, so it will only appeal to those of us training to become helicopter pilots. It is however the closest I have found to home simulator controls.

Keep It Real 😉

dodge50

In reply to Dodge 50.
I'm not sure whether to flat out disagree or simply shake my head with these Flight Link people. First of all, the advanced package for stick, torque pedals and collective can, and does run over two grand if you want a seat to sit in with the collective mounted. The avionics is another 1,600 bucks, bringing your grand total to over 3,600 without a shell. This is still cheap by heli-sim control prices but this company currently appears to have some internal problems.
I followed Dodges' advice since I live within driving distance of the factory and got the run around about current pricing. Then, was hung-up on by one of the previous owners when I pressed her for delivery dates and prices. Seems the place went to pot with the old owner and while there are new proprietors in place, they appear to be learning but not in control, yet. The salesman is an off-shoot of the original owner and refused to ship product he first stated he had on the sales floor because of customer backlog but, stated if I came in, he could fix me up? This left me wondering where he could scavange controls from if the company didn't have any for sale except what was already being prepared for shipment. The only conclusion I could draw was that some other poor schlub would be waiting for his controls which would arrive at some later point down life's wind highway. Unethical if not worse to sell the same item twice.
And, life is full of choices. On this one however, I would suggest a real wary eye on delivery dates and take care when laying out a few grand until, and if these new fledgling owners of Flight Link get their proverbial act together. Unfortunately, they still are the only game in town. Just depends on how lucky you feel?
Who am I. Former UH-1 command pilot with 2700 hrs. who lost his medical after a pile-up and finally got it back.

Keep it real but, keeping it real sometimes also means carrying a very large stick.

Luck,
Jaywalker

After reading what Jaywalker has to say I'm leery of any big expenditure like this.
I just found another company.

found this
http://www.flightlink.com/hardware/rotorwing/index.html

Dear Fellow enthusiasts;
To start out, Helicopters Only is only a drop ship point for FlightLink controls as I wrote above. I took a chance and lost, laid out my CC for over two grand and more than a week has passed and, I have no controls, no ship date, promises, promises, excuses, more promises.
The salesmans at this joint first stated they had stock on hand for immediate sale so I took a drive over to the "Plant", and found exactly that, three people planted in chairs doing very little. Their warehouse was a bad rendition of a cardboard box factory with no visible parts anywhere to build the devices. More promises! I've had it. As I wrote before, unless you can afford to lose a few grand, be wary.

Keeping it real,

Jaywalker

I'm glad I joined this site. I was just about ready to spend $2000 on the flight simulator from "Helicopters Only". After reading about the troulble of getting one, I'll find something else that will work. I'm a liscened helicopter pilot, looking to find a cheaper way to fly. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

After reading these posts I decided to try to contact flightlink directly and so far have no response from them, but I did manage to contact Helicopters Only and got a response almost immediately. It seems that the problem lies with flightlink, who is apparently falling behind in production. I'm just glad I read the posts before I spent that kind of money. I hope flightlink gets there act together soon, I could really use these controls, but I don't feel like risking that much cash without being sure I'll receive my purchase. Anybody know of any other controls out there that are reasonably realistic?

This is an interesting discussion. I work at a helicopter flight school in Edmonton Alberta (Canada). We've just received level 2 Transport Canada approval for our simulator - which is custom-built and incorporates Flight Link products - specifically the controls and avionics stack. Not that I'm an expert on the project - but we've found that the Flight Link people will bend over backwards for us.

Just my 2 cents - I think they've responded very well to the challenges we've given them, and they have a great product.

Jennifer Watson
www.e-zair.com

A year ago I looked around at just about everything before I decided to purchase the CopyCat system. It was cheaper and apparently being used in a real training environment (RAF). It doesnt have a seat option, but ou can use any 4 legged chair (I was hopeing to buy a real helicopter seat from Army surplus or some such). Anyway, the CopyCat seems a bit overpriced, since it is nothing more than a Saitek USB Gold joystick exploded into its sub-component parts (joystick, rudder, throttle) and moved around on their custom frame. The one I bought runs about $1200 USD currently, but it lacks the twist throttle. You can get that, but its a LOT more expensive. I believe www.rcsimulations.com is their only distributor. So, it's a $50 joystick in $1150 worth of fancy welding and mechanics. Am I happy? Well, not really, but it's not the fault of the CopyCat. My helicopter training is currently in the Schweizer 300CB series. This model does not have a governor, only a correlator. The lack of a twist throttle really kills the realism because mastery of it is essential in this helicopter. I also havent found anything between X-Plane or FS2004 that gives me independant control over throttle and collective. If I were training in the R22 then this would be much better, since those have a governor. I think X-Plane may allow independant control of throttle and collective, but I am still new to it (and FS2004 to be honest). If it turns out to be true, I may try and get the expensive optional twist throttle.

The mechanics of it allow for some adjustment of the collective tension and cyclic height. It looks and feels well built. I have no doubt it will last a lifetime. Their new Ranger5 system looks even more impressive, but at 3x the price nearly.

Someone mentioned the keyboard and mouse earlier. You dont have to buy the pedistals for all that junk, it's modular and those are options. Dont kid yourself and think you will be able to fly a PC based simulator with your keyboard and mouse disconnected. Those pedistals are just to keep things in an easy to reach position (nice if you fly in front of an DLP projected screen and not a desk). Of course, if you have the $$ to dump on custom panels, knock yourself out, but you will still need a keyboard and mouse. Period.

Nothing you will ever buy as a consumer will compare to the Real Thing. This is even more true for helicopters than for aircraft. We fly low and the ground detail just isnt there yet for us. It's barely there for general aviation aircraft. If you like flying 747's then you're in luck. After 20 hours of real helicopter training, I think I would prefer to fly at night just to practice navigation. Anything else is just underwhelming.

Anyway, this is just my opinion on the subject. Take it for what it's worth... nothing.

Also, be aware that the CopyCat ships from the UK and it's friggin heavy, so the postage is a significant amount. It's well packed though. Mine survived all the way to Kuwait!

I stated the cyclic height was adjustable. This is not accurate. You can adjust the height of the hub, which will increase or decrease the ratio of stick movement to control input. The handle height remains constant or nearly so.

It also appears the latest incarnation of CopyCat uses the Saitek EVO joystick, not the USB Gold.

The very BEST helicopter controls for PC can be found at www.helosims.com.

These are USB and are 10X the quality of FlightLink and any other controls out there short of the real thing. They are not cheap, but if you want realism without finding an actual set and getting them rigged for use with the PC you just won't find them. The Pedals are high quality replications of the real thing. You can order any type of grips from comercial to military.

I just recently purchased Flight Link controls and was very happy with the quality of their product. It did take a couple of weeks to arrive but was well worth the wait.

[quote="HeliMedic"]Does anyone know if hekicopter style flight controls have ever been made for pc?

If so anyone got a link etc..

Thanks in advance..[/quote]

Heli-kit in Argentina

try Heli-kit.com