How the hell do you fly these things?
 

As I start upgrading my system in anticipation of Battlefield 2, I am still playing the Mods for Battlefield 1942.

I would really like to learn how to fly the helicopters, but I usually quit after 30-60 minutes worth of frustration.

I've got the crashing part down real good, you could say I am an expert at it.

Now, I would like to actually fly these stupid things for longer than 20 seconds.

Anybody have any hints/tips/suggestions? I have read a couple of tutotials on the net, but they haven't helped much. I usually end up spinning out of control and crashing. I just can't see to graps the concepts of this to correctly control and use the helicopter during gameplay.

I am using a Logitech Attack3 joystick.

Suggestion would be greatly appreciated!

Wish I could help you... but I had no luck with those crazy things in Vietnam! Planes in general in those games were a headache for me!

Good luck! I stopped playing those games cuz my puter isnt powerful enough for em.

For the helicopters in Desert Combat? Please, for the love of all things holy, do NOT use a joystick. I don't see how anybody in the world would use one of those over a keyboard and mouse. Switch to keyboard and mouse and see if you can handle them.


Practice makes perfect on them. I picked it up almost immediately; some people it takes longer.

Keyboard & mouse is the way to go for me. I've never tried a joystick so I don't know how much harder it is. I'm a pretty good chopper pilot in DC. I can straffe pretty well, land, fly low, in air combat, etc. It's all about constant compensation and adjusting. A lot of tapping on throttle and the different axis. I suggest you start a solo game and just practice flying around. If you are able to master, you will definitely dominate. Good luck!

Use a Saitek X52, its super easy to get the hang of, and it works well with tank combat/vehicles

I don't think flying helicopters in DC is too hard either (I'm also a keyboard/mouse user btw). The trick to learning it is to start slowly.

(for keyboard control: )
Press the 'up' key (or 'W') to start lifting, and don't press anything else. When you let go, you should float back down quite nicely.
Next, press the left or right key ('A' or 'D') once while your in the air. you should start turning. Press the opposite and you should stop turning (or almost).
Now you'll move with the mouse, and this is the tricky part:
move your mouse slowly forward a little bit. (you'll tilt forward, and move in that direction). To stop moving, move your mouse back about the same distance slowly. Never over-compensate or you'll crash.
Take it easy and just move the mouse a bit in any direction and watch what happens, move in the opposite direction to counter the movement, but stop moving well before "you're there"; the movement will still go on for a while hopefully stopping just where you'd want it to.

With practice (start a one person game) you'll be flying and capturing spawn points with the helo in no-time. (that is until you get a decent plane-opponent and he'll blast you out of the sky ;) )

I am a pilot, and god dang those things in Battlefield are impossible to control. Ha.

no there not, it just takes practice, creat your own server and practice. go around and blow up tanks, practice against easy bots for moving targets. take it slow and steady befor you start ramping it up.

I got pretty good at the ones in Desert Combat, which are significantly more difficult than the ones in Vietnam. Just remember to take it REAL slow and don't oversteer. There's a natural tendency to jerk the mouse around when things start going bad. Just relax.

definitely. I forgot about that.......


Take it super slow and don't oversteer. I'm guessing this could even be translated into joystick terms. Relax, and when you start to look like you're gonna crash, just be gentle and try to correct it slowly.

I've got a logitech freedom, and it's perfect for chopper flying. Just be sure that your joystick has a rotating shaft for rudder control. With a little practice you'll be kicking ass in no time.

As everyone else has said, take it slow and don't oversteer. Also, the throttle on a joystick will beat a keyboard any day.

So I tried the keyboard....

and....

I crashed....many, many times. I kept getting crooked and wasn't able to right myself.

I will keep practicing, maybe I can figure this out.

My joystick doesn't twist, so I use buttons for the rudder.

Thanks for the input.

stonegrody & Silvy

Thanks, the keyboard/mouse combo actually worked for me.

I still suck, but I suck less than I did yesterday.

I'll just keep practicing.....