Flying planes and helicopters

[Deathtouch007]

Ok, I must be doing something wrong. I have flown in many other games and it is not nearly as hard as in BF2. Is there a setting I am missing or something? Cause all I can do is 'not crash' in the helicoptors. I have have only tried in single player so far, i would say for about 3 hours.. and it's not getting any better. With planes its even worse... I fly out of the combat area and then have a extremly hard time simply turing around.
There has to be something I'm missing that is making this harder than it should be. Somone help please, I bought a joystick just to be able to fly in this game, and as of right now there is no way in hell I would get in any aircraft in a public game.
My joystick is a Saitek Cyborg Evo btw.. it shouldn't be so hard to fly in this damn game :-( Help please

[toader]

Re: Flying planes and helicopters

I just got the game last nite...and I had the same experience.

All I could do while in the air was 'not crash'. I didnt feel like I could manuvure the air vehicle around tactically at all. Very very tricky controls.

[ELI]

Re: Flying planes and helicopters

Use the stick for planes and adjust your sensitivity according to your flying style. For the Heli's, I use the mouse and kb and have my settings turned up to be able to roll and pitch with the mouse. Use the W,S,A,D keys for the throttle and to turn. Play ariound with it til you get comfortable taking off, landing, hovering, and firing at stationary targets. It takes a little time but it will come to you.

[Chenzo]

Re: Flying planes and helicopters

Do your joysticks have twist? Make sure you're using the rudder controls as well as banking and turning. There are plenty of tutorials around to get first time BF2 flyers airborne.

[Chenzo]

Re: Flying planes and helicopters

Like this one perhaps:

http://gamewag.com/archives/2005/07/gamewags_bf2_he.html

[dragon159753]

Re: Flying planes and helicopters

have u inverted yet?

[imported_xRandoMx]

Re: Flying planes and helicopters

Practice, practice, and more practice.

Don't expect it to come naturally, just because you're using a joystick. A good deal of it is not even remotely intuitive.

Practice in single player, or on an empty server. During practice, don't practice fighting and flying, practice flying and flying only. Once you can fly 'naturally', the combat part is pretty easy, mostly common sense.

You have to get to the point of not thinking about every maneuver you're doing, wondering whether you can do it or not, or exactly how to do it, and get to the point where instead you think "I want to be in this position, at this orientation" and your reflexes do the rest. Once you're that comfortable flying, you get to use your brain for putting ordnance on target.

A good example is wake island in the attack copter. You'll be cruising the shore off one of the two arms, and maybe you'll catch a stinger, or an eryx, or some heavy damage, and you have to get low and out of site ASAP. If you're near the bridges, you can make a hard bank, fly sideways under the bridge and be on the other side of the arm in a couple seconds. Not only have you switched over to the other side of the arm, you've also reversed your direction 180 degrees. You'll lose just about anybody following you on that maneuver. Only another helicopter has a chance of following you through that and he'll probably chicken out and go over instead of under, making himself a target for just about every stinger site and enemy jet.

Oh, one other thing, you need a variable throttle if you want to be really good. I think that joystick you have has one. With the throttle, you can instantly set a thrust percentage, and not have to continually tap a key to try to keep it there.

[InTeL420]

Re: Flying planes and helicopters

If you're trying to learn how to fly a plane with a mouse and keyboard I've noticed it really helps when moving the mouse to pick it up and move it back to allow a quicker turn. For instance if you're trying to make a right turn angle the plane so the cockpit is facing the direction you want to turn so it is a matter of pushing the mouse up to complete the turn. Once you push the mouse up to the top of your mouse pad pick it up and move it back to the bottom of the mouse pad and repeat. You we realize you dont need the entire mouse pad. But if you repeat this motion over in smaller distances but more rapid you can get the plane to bank a hard right turn. My sensitivity (Yaw and Lean) is @ 7-8 so when I do this the plane can make really sharp turns. Works for me, test it out.

[imported_BaronViolence]

Re: Flying planes and helicopters

I had a hard time with flying in this game as opposed to others. The first good thing, is that you got a joystick. Assuming it has twist and throttle, you're in good shape. The second smart thing you've done, is to restrict your practice to empty servers. There are plenty around, and you can often get into 1-on-1 dogfights for practice, because that's the only reason anybody else is coming to the empty server also.

Major thing to recognize, roll does NOTHING. Turn 90 degrees, and you still have the same amount of lift. Slight turns can be done with the rudder (twist), but to really turn around you must bank 90 and use pitch to turn quickly. (Why do the elevators disrupt airflow when your wings don't? Shhh, it's not a sim.)

This basic point will probably get you everywhere you need to go, but it will take time to deal with it. Try flying around for a while with one wing pointed to the ground.

Don't ignore your afterburner, which should be mapped to a joystick button within easy reach. This will also increase your rate of turn and takeoff.

Watch out for the speed and altitude ceilings, you will lose control above 1000 units of either.

Then read all of the other good advice in Tips & Tricks.

[Deathtouch007]

Re: Flying planes and helicopters

BaronViolence, Thanks for those tips. I will definitley need to do some practice turning by banking 90 degrees and then using pitch. That explains alot cause when I try to turn left and right just by using the steer left and right controls.. it didn't seem to do anything.

Chenzo - thanks for the link

Someday soon, I hope to be comfortable to fly in a public game.. I hate feeling like I am missing out on half of the game.

[nikolaf7]

Re: Flying planes and helicopters

What does yaw and lean stand for?I fly on default controls,using key&mouse for bombing and keyboard only for dogfight,so will changing yaw and lean affect key only flyin?I ask you cus i dont have time to practice.Tommorow when i start playing with friends we will play in LAN and need to fly good from the begining....i`m not beginer,i fly simulations since `97 and bf since 1942 but this is way too arcade,much less diference between expert and beginer than in sims
So,what exectly does increase in yaw and same in lean?

[Ozirtz]

Re: Flying planes and helicopters

If you're trying to learn how to fly a plane with a mouse and keyboard I've noticed it really helps when moving the mouse to pick it up and move it back to allow a quicker turn. For instance if you're trying to make a right turn angle the plane so the cockpit is facing the direction you want to turn so it is a matter of pushing the mouse up to complete the turn. Once you push the mouse up to the top of your mouse pad pick it up and move it back to the bottom of the mouse pad and repeat. You we realize you dont need the entire mouse pad. But if you repeat this motion over in smaller distances but more rapid you can get the plane to bank a hard right turn. My sensitivity (Yaw and Lean) is @ 7-8 so when I do this the plane can make really sharp turns. Works for me, test it out.

I do the same thing but both are set to 9 Pushing forward (or down)when flying really low when mouse is up that high can prove disasterous.

[gungho]

Re: Flying planes and helicopters

I've got the Cyborg Evo too, its fine for Helos & Jets. But as people say, PRACTICE. You have to learn the limits of each aircraft & then push them. Learn how sharply you can bank & turn at different speeds & heights without stalling or hitting the ground. Dont just turn on the level, dive and turn - the extra speed will help. Experience will help you master good manouvers.

[timsgameonline]

Re: Flying planes and helicopters

i use the keyboard only to fly andits surprisingly manoeuvreable!