DCS Ka-50 Black Shark – How to fly with the Trim, Autopilot Channels & Modes + Interactions & Tests

This video should help clear up some of the confusion about how to fly the Black Shark (Werewolf / Hokum), exactly what all the autopilot channels and modes do, how they interact and when to use which.
Skip straight to the 10:11 to get the summary of Autopilot Mode overrides, 25:16 to see the results in averaged seconds of the tests or 27:16 to see a shorter Summary of everything. Otherwise, use the timestamps below to skip to specific sections.

00:00 Intro
01:13 Autopilot Channels & Trim
04:49 Why not Tapping trim?
05:42 Altitude Hold
07:36 Stop here if you’re new
08:14 Flight Director
10:07 Autopilot Modes Summary
11:07 Auto-Turn on Target
12:08 Route Mode
15:34 Hover mode
18:39 Descent mode
19:20 Autopilot Channels Off
20:36 Collective Brake
21:07 Tests & Partial autopilot
21:13 Trim Reset
23:27 Special mode
23:44 Common issues
24:49 Test Results & Conclusions
25:16 Test Results Table
27:16 Summary

This video is in the order I feel you should learn the Black Shark in, so not every fact of the Channels are mentioned before I move onto Autopilot Modes. If you’re new to the Ka-50, you really can get by and fly really well with just Hold-Trim – everything else is just more icing and options you can choose to learn over time. The Modes turning you onto a target or polishing your hover are not perfect – it’s still down to your piloting finesse, which flying with Hold-Trim will reinforce. This is not always that easy if you’re new to helos. Of course, with its shape, powerful engines and fairly heavy mission loadout, the Ka-50 flies quite differently from other current DCS helos before one even brings in the autopilot dampening, correction and the coaxial rotors. With hovering, pop-up attacks and extreme ranges you can engage from and the need to aim complex weaponry in a single-seater Attack Helo, the flying techniques are also somewhat different from the utility/scout helos.

The tests are clearly flawed. The turns aren’t the best for *any* situation, and while consistent in my inputs using saturated & hair-trigger curves on most tests, each method of trim vs. autopilot channels on/off behaves differently, sometimes banking or pitching in a way that’s not best to get the turn done in the shortest time for that mode. Additionally, subtle differences in when the maneuver starts, whether the Black Shark was 1kph faster or descending 1m/s more does affect these tests. I would think for the most part the conclusions drawn would apply. Do not expect these test results to hold up in every weather condition, temperature, altitude, etc.
I did run some more tests not shown, including what trims altitude hold, which didn’t make the cut because it’d be a painfully long to show the effects. Some outlier results were also cut from the tests when I noticed a variable like the descent rate at the start of the maneuver (just from instability in the flight and not controls) throwing it off.

I clearly have my biases on which modes I prefer, but if anything, perhaps you can learn a few things on the subtler details and nuances of every flight mode and method and then figure out for yourself what works for you in which situation. Pretty much everything I mention I’ve tested in the DCS simulation during August + September 2020 – so it’s not a guide on how the Black Shark *should* fly vs. real life, but rather how it does behave in the simulation (as at the current version of DCS Open Beta). One think I know I didn’t test was if Route Datalink Ingress overrides Airfields (I know it does Waypoints), but I’m pretty sure it should, given they won’t have the same functionality or need as Target Points.
There are already some excellent videos out on navigation, HUD symbology, the datalink & PVI-800. RPM & elements related to your piloting I’ll cover in a later video. I show some methods for controlling the Ka-50, but check out other videos, including the original “eagledcs” youtube channel, for tips on how to fly helos in general and for maneuvers or acrobatics with coaxial rotors.

And yes, I’m still figuring out the best ways to video edit in keeping it compact without being too jarring as well as a more level voice over. And no, I ain’ no pilotologist, nor do I have special knowledge of the real Ka-50/52.
I guess if one wanted to expand on this it would be checking out various climb rates at different power levels, pitches and altitudes; exact effects of the Bank, Pitch and Heading channels, acceleration rates with various loadouts, differences in left vs right bank/rudder, proving if “Special Mode” has any effect at all (pitch?) or that Flight Director only dampens the light R-Alt light but technically still uses Radar altitude in the background mechanics rather than Barometric as it appears. Or going off the deep end with unique hair-trigger curves to get the maximum turn out for every combination of trim method vs. AP channel, loadout and speed.

Hope it helps

Видео DCS Ka-50 Black Shark – How to fly with the Trim, Autopilot Channels & Modes + Interactions & Tests канала Volk