Wiki/Guides/Helicopters

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Building a helicopter (Normal Mode)
A minimal standard helicopter requires:


 * 1) To be light enough to take off
 * 2) An engine to provide power
 * 3) A main rotor to turn power in to vectored thrust on the vertical plane, at least a large rotor.
 * 4) A tail rotor to turn power in to vectored thrust on the horizontal plane, including correcting for the spin generated by the main rotor
 * 5) A pilot seat to allow the captain to start the engine, control the throttle, and to steer
 * 6) A gyroscope to stabilise the controls from the pilot seat in to useful values for controlling the rotors of the helicopter

Stormworks provides a starter helicopter preset which can be loaded in the editor to save time, or you can continue reading to learn how to make your own from scratch.

Center of mass
In a helicopter design, you generally want the center of mass to be as close to directly under the rotor as possible. Without the soft cushion of an ocean to stop the helicopter tilting, it will permanently lean in the direction of the center of mass if it is off-center from the rotors, resulting in a hard to control helicopter. Since the weight of the vehicle is absolutely critical to generating lift, it is also quite undesirable to use weighted blocks, since even a few weighted blocks can greatly reduce the capabilities of the helicopter. This means that putting thought in to the frame of the vehicle can pay dividends later on.

engines
The simplest way to build a helicopter is to install a diesel engine. In Normal mode, the direction in which it is installed does not matter.

Since the engine is quite heavy, where it is placed can be critical to achieving a correct center of mass beneath the rotors. In our basic design, it is recommended that it be placed behind the rotors to counteract the effect of the pilot seat.

The engine will be connected to the rotors via the Logic Power system in order for them to work. Click 'Logic' at the top then the 'Power' icon on the left, then drag from the engine to the two rotors.



The engine also receives Logic Data connections.

Since all the basic axis controls of the device are often taken by steering the helicopter (W/S, A/D, Left/Right, and Up/Down), a simple design to control the engine's throttle is to place a throttle component in the helicopter, then use the throttle output from that to control the engine's throttle. The inputs for the throttle component can then be controlled using hotkeys from the pilot's seat.


 * 1) Click 'Logic' at the top and then the 'Data' icon on the left to enter the Logic Data screen
 * 2) Drag from 'Throttle Value' output on the throttle component to the 'Throttle' input on the engine (we will connect the throttle component to the pilot's seat later)



Main Rotor
The Main Rotor is the primary means of controlling the helicopter and is what provides lift to the vehicle, allowing it to fly. The easiest rotor to use for a typical helicopter is the large rotor. It takes its inputs from the gyro, which converts the pilot's controls in to inputs that are easily accepted by the rotor.

The main rotor should be placed according to where the center of mass of the vehicle is, on the top of the vehicle. If the rotor is overlapping any other components (including the tail rotor) it cannot be placed.

The main rotor has 3 inputs: Pitch, Roll, and Collective. In this simple design, collective can be thought of as 'lift' or 'up/down'. It is also sometimes known as "collective pitch" or "thrust control", but this is dependent on how it is used.


 * 1) Click 'Logic' at the top and then the 'Data' icon on the left to enter the Logic Data screen
 * 2) Drag from the gyroscope's 'Stabilised Pitch' output to the 'Pitch' input on the main rotor
 * 3) Drag from the gyroscope's 'Stabilised Roll' output to the 'Roll' input on the main rotor
 * 4) Drag from the gyroscope's 'Stabilised Up/Down' output to the 'Collective' input on the main rotor



Since we are using the collective in this design, it is also necessary to ensure that the Main Rotor's blade pitch is neutral. To do this, click 'Select', click the Main Rotor, then set the Blade Pitch to Neutral.

Tail Rotor
The tail rotor complements the main rotor by providing a corrective force on the horizontal plane. Since the main rotor spins in a particular direction, the helicopter's body will want to spin the other way. The tail rotor corrects for this by applying an equal force to the spin, and therefore stopping the helicopter from flying out of control. It can also be adjusted to allow the helicopter to spin positively or negatively by accepting a yaw input from the gyroscope. In simple terms, it allows the helicopter to 'turn'.

Like the main rotor, the tail rotor accepts inputs from the gyroscope.


 * 1) Click 'Logic' at the top and then the 'Data' icon on the left to enter the Logic Data screen
 * 2) Drag from the gyroscope's 'Stabilised Yaw' output to the 'Yaw' input on the tail rotor



Gyroscope
The gyroscope in Stormworks is a component that provides adjustments to the controls entered by the pilot to make them suitable for controlling the various inputs of the main rotor. It takes its inputs from the pilot's seat, whilst providing outputs to the rotors.

The gyro also offers an 'auto-hover' functionality, which can be controlled via a toggle input and assists the pilot is maintaining a hover in the air. It can also be used to assist in vertical take offs and landings.

Pilot Seat
A pilot seat is the easiest way of setting up a simple helicopter using keyboard controls. To use a joystick or gamepad, the Pilot Seat (HOTAS) can be used instead.

A pilot seat, once placed, needs to be connected in the Logic Data screen to the components which it controls.

For a basic design, W/S is used to control pitch, A/D is used to control roll, Up/Down is used to control the collective (up/down), while Left/Right is set to control the yaw. It is highly recommended these are all set of 'Reset' Mode using the 'Select' tool.

Using the Select Tool, the pilot seat's Hotkey 1 can be set from 'push' to 'toggle' and used to control the on/off state of the engines. Hotkey 2 and 3 can be used to control the throttle for the engines (in push mode), whilst Hotkey 4 is used to control the gyroscope's auto-hover (in toggle mode).

It is highly recommended to go in to the 'Select' tool, click the pilot seat, and name all of the controls. This will cause the game to display the controls in the bottom left when in-game, allowing the pilot to see at a glance how to control the vehicle. It can also be helpful for the designer, you, if you come back to the design later and need to remember how it works.


 * 1) Go to the Logic Data screen and drag from Axis 1 (A/D) to the gyroscope's Roll input
 * 2) Drag from Axis 2 (W/S) to the gyroscope's Pitch input
 * 3) Drag from Axis 3 (Left/Right) to the gyroscope's Up/Down input
 * 4) Drag from Axis 4 (Up/Down) to the gyroscope's Yaw input
 * 5) Drag from Hotkey 1 (Engine Start) to the engine's On/Off input
 * 6) Drag from Hotkey 2 (Throttle Up) to the throttle component's Up input
 * 7) Drag from Hotkey 3 (Throttle Down) to the throttle component's Down input
 * 8) Drag from Hotkey 4 (Auto-hover) to the gyroscope's Auto-hover input



Troubleshooting

 * If the engine won't start (makes no start sound), make sure to set the engine on/off to a toggle button or hotkey on the pilot's seat.
 * If the engine starts but the rotors won't spin when throttle is applied, make sure that the throttle is connected to the pilot's seat and to the engines. Also ensure that the rotors are receiving power from the engines. It is also be worth checking that throttle is connected the right way around (try putting the throttle in reverse to test this).
 * If the controls are not working as expected ensure they are connected to the right gyroscope data connections, and that the rotors are only accepting 'stabilised' inputs from the gyroscope. Also check that auto-hover is not enabled.
 * If the rotors are spinning but the helicopter won't take off when you press up/down, and you're sure it's connected correctly, it could be that your helicopter is too heavy.
 * If you take off but the helicopter spins uncontrollably, it is likely your tail rotor is not connected correctly.
 * If your helicopter tends to tilt in a particular direction without the pilot's input check the center of mass for your vehicle is directly underneath your rotors. Any deviation can be corrected using trim (brought up using the ALT key on Windows).
 * If the helicopter is working but can be a bit hard to fly, congratulations! Your helicopter is working, and flying a helicopter with a keyboard, no flight computer, and no practice is hard. Don't expect to fly like the Night Stalkers immediately.

Next Steps
Common requirements for a helicopter:


 * HOTAS! Install a Pilot Seat (HOTAS) to get better controls that don't rely on the keyboard
 * Displays. Installing displays in the cockpit can help the pilot fly better in first-person. Suggestions include the Artificial Horizon, a Throttle Dial, a Speed Dial, a Compass Sensor, an Altimeter, and a Wind Sensor.
 * More power! Installing more engines allows you to carry more weight on the vehicle and move faster. Don't hesistate to adjust the sensitivity and maximums of some of the components to retain the ability to control it, however.
 * Co-pilot! You can use numeric switchboxes to allow a co-pilot's seat to be connected and allow control to be transferred between the pilot and co-pilot using a Toggle Button. You could also build a microcontroller for this task.
 * More seats! Place passenger seats to allow passengers to be safely transported.
 * More lights! Add lights for when it gets dark, or you won't be able to see what's happening.

Also checkout the Helicopter Standards.

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