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Call Sign: Mole

Age: 55

Internet Connection and speed: Broadband at 36.8 down and 3.8 up.

Timezone: GMT, based in UK. 

Language: English, French, (German).

Availability: Most nights, subject to family demands and commitments, but 5 hrs ahead of most of you guys.

Hours in DCS: Started with the original Lock-On way back when, so must be several hundreds of hours. I currently probably put in about 5-10 hours flying time per week.

Originally very enthusiastic about A-10 and SU-25 on release, but went mad for the Ka-50, many, many hours in that. Currently focussing on the Gazelle, which I can cold start, and getting up to speed on Nav and Radio. I fly all the DCS helicopters, rarely fly the fixed wings these days. Used to be able to cold-start the Shark, but got lazy, and the Mi-8 likewise.... I love the Huey too, so I basically have all the DCS rotaries.
I have a nice pit setup, with customised MSFFB stick and custom-built collective. 2 screens attached to a GTX 1070, and a fast PC.

My first simulation experiences go back to ZX Spectrum days in the early 80's, but I loved Digital Integration's amazing Hind! when it came out in '97 and of course Microprose's Gunship!

I have dipped in and out of DCS Multiplayer over the years, but have been looking for a helo-centric group like yourselves for some time.

Mission Editor experience: I have knocked out a few SP missions in ME for my own use, for when I simply want to set up an alternative shooting/nav practice scenario. So I understand the principles, but have not delved into triggers and complex ground and air battlefield set-ups. I am no stranger to complex set-ups of other kinds, and can deal with spread-sheets and other management tools, so I am sure I could get to grips with ME with some guidance.

Preferred Chopper: I have enjoyed getting to know all the DCS machines over the years. Sometimes I am amazed at how many years I have been active on them. The Shark remains a strong favourite, simply because of its strength and reliability on the battlefield, and its awesome firepower and stand-off capability. I love the Mi-8 and the Huey too, and look forward to seeing more developments on the cargo and troop movement levels of immersion. I think once we see actual troops in our passenger areas, sitting clutching their equipment, or running off to cover, DCS will be delivering a credible transport scene.
Like many, I seem to be putting all my hours in the Gazelle since its release. Still finding it twitchy, and I cannot let go of the cyclic for more than a second as its FFB is not yet implemented. Just starting to experiment with the trim system in more detail too. 
Also like many, I am looking forward to the day that one of the developers announces the road-map to a release of a Mi-24....

What am I looking for here? I am hoping to get some flying time with some fellow DCS Chopper enthusiasts, many of whom are undoubtedly more experienced and better pilots than I. I want to get some education, and co-operate on organised, structured missions with real world, real person interaction, not simply pitching myself against the AI. I suppose its that thing also of increasing the immersion in a sim, whereby my actions have real effects in a fantasy environment, and create responses from fellow pilots of either appreciation, or dismay. I like to fly fast and low, I like to blow stuff up, I like to rescue lost patrols and pilots, deliver urgent materiel to the frontline and limp back to base for a beer in the mess. 

A bit more...: I am now semi-retired, having run my own company for 20+ years. I am a trained garment designer/maker and have worked in the fashion/private commission and film costume world during that time. My time is very much my own now to manage, so long as dinner is on the table for my wife and son when they get in! Nothing to do with the military, apart from making the occasional uniform.... Flight simming for me has always been an extension of my childhood love of model making from Airfix to Tamiya and little lead soldier wargaming. 

I hope that the time difference between your HQ and mine does not mean that I can only fly with you when I am considering falling asleep! With planning, the benefit of an afternoon "disco-nap" can probably solve that. I am generally a bit of a night-owl anyway.

I have flown a real helicopter, under instruction (!), some 15 years ago, a Robinson, and loved it. The instructor commented that my cyclic handling was impressive for a novice, and I attribute that to long-term simulation use! And it gave me the bug for choppers, though I had to wait for a the amazing DCS products to come along to come anywhere close to the real experience.

Conclusion: I hope I have something to bring to the table, and I would be honoured to fly alongside the venerable members of BSD, many of whose posts I have regularly followed on the DCS forums. I look forward to hearing from you, hopefully positively!

Yours,

Molevitch.


Molevitch

  • Re: Application for Molevitch

    by » 8 years ago


    Hi Molevitch.

    Thanks for the impressive presentation. You are definitively the kind of profile we like here at BSD. 5-10 FH per week? Wow. I can't do that. Lucky you! My only worry is your location. So far we are mostly flying during the  week at night. It's always possible to have flights during the weekend in the afternoon or even during weekdays in the afternoon too (for our IRL retired pilots for example), but it did not happened yet (this group is only 6 months old though so this is not final). 

    The next step now is to find a time slot for you to have a quick fly together. I am a little bit busy this week but next Monday is bank holiday here in the US, so why not?



    Thank you said by: Molevitch

  • Re: Application for Molevitch

    by » 8 years ago


    Awesome glad to have you mole, I really hope the timezone difference won't be too much of an impact. Really looking forward to flying with you 

    Also Bad labor day is a real holiday don't take it away from us 


    Thank you said by: Molevitch

  • Re: Application for Molevitch

    by » 8 years ago


    Thanks Gentlemen! 

    But don't give up your holidays for me.... I am free to fly most nights, so I am sure there will be an opportunity soon. Give me some time to start to practice my Autorotations....

    Time difference, well looking at your Missions Calendar, 1.00am GMT/ZULU starts might be a bit iffy, but its only a few times a month. I don't have to go to work like I used to, so.... as I said, a little pre-flight kip in the afternoon and I''l be up til 3.00. If I prove myself worthy of course! How long do your sessions/missions usually last?

    And I might have over-stated that 5-10 hours flying per week. Probably closer to the 5. Plus all the fiddling with settings and tweaking the hardware.


    Molevitch


  • Re: Application for Molevitch

    by » 8 years ago


    I was just kidding  about the holiday, we have a lot of made up holidays here in the states plus there's nothing else I would rather do on my day off.


  • Re: Application for Molevitch

    by » 8 years ago


    We are trying to fly once a week, about 2 to 3 hours sometimes. We are considering two flights a week once we are reaching the critical mass. One 'fun' flight for training, one serious one for a mission. What would help you to fly at more reasonable hours I think is to be able to propose missions in the afternoons, like during weekends. I am sure you will have pilots to join.

    @Eagle: ah, yes well I never really understood the difference. What I know though is that I have half the days I used to have in France!



  • Re: Application for Molevitch

    by » 8 years ago


    I am happy to fly 2-3 hours once a week. If I have to flake out cos I'm falling asleep... well I hope you will forgive me. But as I said, I can prepare for such an event. I don't sleep much any more anyway. And I can always try for the weekend afternoons too, or instead.

    Let's get me trialled and see what you think. You might suggest I need a bit more practice before you'll have me on your roster.


    Molevitch


  • Re: Application for Molevitch

    by » 8 years ago


    Welcome!  As the local rep for Polychop Sims, I'm happy to report FFB is on it's way.  What controllers do you use?  Currently I can only test on the sidewinder so would love to get someone with the 940 to help out.


  • Re: Application for Molevitch

    by » 8 years ago


    Hi Spiderpig,

    I use a customised MSFFB2so cannot help with the 940. Sorry! In fat I am running 2 FFB2's built together as one, following the PeterP Frankenstick recipe of a few years ago, with a stick extension of about 30+ cm and a CH Fighterstick grip. All working very well with Ka-50, Mi-8 and Huey.

    Collective is my own design using Hall sensors and a generic switch box head. 

    I have a stalled project build of a Mig 21 stick as well, but I don't know what has gone awry with it. The FFB has gone screwy. 

    Anyway, happy to provide testing on the MSFFB2, if it helps....


    Molevitch


  • Re: Application for Molevitch

    by » 8 years ago


    That looks awesome actually.  How much did it cost you to build the collective?  I've tried in the past using a throttle from a X52 pro...but found it wasn't sensitive enough.  So been looking for something better to put into my modular pit.


  • Re: Application for Molevitch

    by » 8 years ago


    Hi Spiderpig,

    The collective about £40/$60, mostly on the Bodnar board. Did you see pics of it on DCS Forums? The switch box I made out of plasticard, and the lever is a cut-up adjustable crutch I found at the roadside (!), conveniently featuring 2 aluminium tubes nested together. The outer tube is the throttle, concealing a rotating magnet and Hall sensor, while the axis of the lever has a curved magnet mounted and another Hall sensor. Originally I used potentiometers with gearing, but it was fiddly and prone to failure. Leo Bodnar board to run the 2 axes and all the switches. Wiring the switches in a matrix was NO fun at all in such a small space. I would do it differently next time(!). And I do plan on altering this one a bit, as it sits a bit low and the travel of the lever could be improved.

    I have been dreaming about building a set for the Gazelle of course. I learned a lot from the last two stick builds. The Mig 21bis one still not right.... I tried to use the MS pcb's on that and have had some trouble getting the FFB to work correctly. My Frankencyclic works well, and the collective could be improved. Thinking about modelling and casting the Gazelle pilots' grips

    If one has a soldering iron, a craft knife and some courage, a hacked up old joystick off ebay will furnish most of the parts, and comes with ready made hardwired pcb's. I just wanted buttons and stuff in different places. A collective is really a joystick with differently placed axes. One goes up and down (collective) and one goes back and forth twisted (throttle) and the rest are buttons, triggers and hats. But you know all that!

    I used a pair of kitchen cabinet flap-stays a braking system for the collective, which can have their friction adjusted with allen keys. But I wish now I had got some RC car suspension dampers. 

    I was just looking up how to change a gameport plug for a usb plug. There are plenty of gameport MSFFB sticks on ebay, for not much bucks, if you fancy a custom stick of your own. But you don't want FFB for a collective. 

    Last night, I hooked up a regular joystick to fly the Gazelle without using simffb to run my usual cyclic. It took some getting used to, but it was quite a thrill ride! It was an old stick and had a slightly loose centre, but there was a sense of security which I had not had before. (My trusty Warthog has a broken-off button and is in the repair shop...) I know some choppers are very sensitive on the cyclic, but with conventional PC hardware joysticks, I think it would be good to have just a little more leeway on the Gazelle... Having said that, I commented before, that learning to fly the Gazelle has hugely improved my handling of all the other DCS helicopters!

     


    Molevitch


  • Re: Application for Molevitch

    by » 8 years ago


    We need pictures in a dedicated section of this forum!

    Hey Mole. There's a training setup Sunday night (Monday 0000 ZULU) if you think you can make it.



  • Re: Application for Molevitch

    by » 8 years ago


    Welcome Mole!

    A little late to the party but thought I say hi. I hope you can make it for Sundays training flight. How's the weather on that side of the pond? :D I used to fly with a lot of ww2 sim guys from out your way. Are you close to Duxford? I keep getting invited there for the airshow each year and tea and biscuits. Beer and potato chips is fine with me! (that's my Yank showing) I'll get to that airshow one day.

    I'm very new to the choppers so I'm easy to spot on the field, if its flopping like a fish or a smoking hole..its probably me. Although with the guys help I am getting better, I don't crash every time. Looking forward to winging up with you sometime!

    BK


  • Re: Application for Molevitch

    by » 8 years ago


    Mole, welcome!  I was accepted into the group last week and I'm happy to see it is a good group of people.  

    Regarding time zone differences, I would think the room is open for you to schedule flights at a time on weekends that fit your schedule.  As Bad said, as we grow, people will be looking for different times to fly.  Don't forget, if you are making your own missions for the group, you are the one that schedules the meet up, so you can set the schedule.  

    Regarding FFB sticks, if you need help figuring out why your 2nd frankenstick isn't working, don't hesitate to contact me.  Or if there is a forum topic where you are discussing it, point me to it. I design electronics and software for a living, and in fact one of my projects is to design my own FFB stick from scratch, so I am very familiar with the circuits for driving a FFB stick.  I was considering doing one of PeterP's sticks using a pair of Microsoft FFB2's, but I concluded I would rather design and fab my own gimbals, circuits, etc. and merge it with a Thrustmaster Cougar/Warthog.  Not a trivial project, but something I will achieve eventually.   

     


  • Re: Application for Molevitch

    by » 8 years ago


    Hi Bad,

    Monday Zulu 0000 it is then! I will get my Teamspeak set up etc. Please supply details of where when how etc. so I am not late to the gig. I am looking forward to my assessment and hope I pass muster....

     


    Molevitch


  • Re: Application for Molevitch

    by » 8 years ago


    Hi BlackWolf,

    I look forward to having a crashing competition with you!Most crashes or least crashes in a single mission? :E

     


    Molevitch


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