Get to da choppa! (Lynx quick start guide for noobs)

  • The purpose of this guide is to help people who would like to try Larry's Lynx Mk 7 chopper but are intimidated by all the buttons.

    larrylynx Please do not read this article, it will make you cry or rage.

    Our goal is to get the chopper started and flyable with as few steps as possible.

    Once you've achieved that, the mystery and magic is broken, and you should then read the manual cover to cover a few times and follow the startup instructions properly.

    For now, we're in that scene from movie Jumanji, where The Rock is under fire and running toward a chopper he's never flown before. He doesn't care about breaking the machine, and has no time to test the systems first, just jump in and hope fly to safety, I mean crash softly somewhere else.

    The controls we care about are located on the center consoles, mostly ceiling and floor between seats.

    We must prepare these items:

    1. Electricity

    2. Fuel

    3. Engines

    4. AFCS/ASE (can fly without)

    5. TANS/Doppler (can fly without)

    6. Trim (can fly without)

    Battery

    1. Battery on

    2. All AC and DC on

    Fuel

    1. Up to Manual first

    Wait for blue light above

    Down to Auto

    (Repeat for both sides)

    2. All on except crossfeed

    Engines

    1. Rotor Break down to off (if not already)

    2. Starter Master on

    (Left side first)

    3. Igniters down to on

    4. Move the throttle cock down a bit (or all the way)

    5. Press the red starter button

    (Repeat for right side, shift camera to see what you're doing)

    6. Set drive from ACC to Main

    7. Speed Select all the way down

    (Move both throttles all the way down)

    !!!

    At this point you could pull back on the collective and head into the sky.

    However one warning remains on the central warning panel, AFCS.

    AFCS / ASE helps stabilize the chopper, so best continue with the next few steps.

    !!!

    AFCS / ASE

    1. Turn AFCS panel switch on

    2. Press ASE button (lights up)

    3. Press all these buttons (light up)

    TANS / Doppler

    1. TANS system on (Fail light illuminates)

    2. Doppler On (Fail Light extinguishes)

    3. S/Y Switch (Selects Doppler, nearby light extinguishes)

    Trim

    1. Position/Demand switch right to Demand

    2. Pitch/Roll switch down to Roll (if not already)

    3. Trim Pitch 2 clicks Backward

    4. Trim Roll 2 clicks Right

    5. Cyclic Trim On (Needed for ASE)

    When configured as described, you will observe calibrated trim on the needle gauge to left, and any trim you supply from the simulation inputs.


    Find the cockpit lights on the bottom left end of the middle console and flashy lights on the top left of the middle console.

    After flying and landing or crashing, go read the manual and try to follow all the startup and shutdown instructions.

    EDIT: Updated and added Trim.

    Edited 4 times, last by GregDude (February 12, 2020 at 1:38 PM).

  • I'll pretend I haven't read this 8)..its what we call a Main Drive Start, operation necessity only and can be very very deadly in a real Lynx.

    You need to release the rotor brake before you start the engines...

    If the controls, no not the collective and cyclic stick or your joystick, are not down(collective) and central (cyclic) the Lynx can flip. We always checked this on the AFCS display box before we did a main drive start to ensure the controls were central and down. The pilots controls in a real Lynx can all be moved without hydraulic power, they simply did nothing, there is no manual flying in a Lynx. Yes my Lynx does this too.

    To prove the point. apply full trim left or right for about 20 seconds after you do the elec bit above. On the AFCS display everything looks normal in position and demand, now start your engines, the rotors will engage a low RPM with Hyd pressure on the low side, if the display is left in the position setting all looks ok but demand shows you the full trim applied. Now carry on, fully wind up the rotors, engage ASE and all 8 lanes. All ok now nothing happens. Now switch on trim. ooops we just rolled over. It is slightly different in a real Lynx as it would be rolling over as you accelerate the rotor but I couldn't achieve this in the sim so trim was the only way I could catch people out :saint:

    In the ASE section above It would also help to switch on the trim else that won't work either

    I never saw this post =O Steve

    Edited once, last by larrylynx (February 10, 2020 at 1:09 PM).

  • Yes, you need to follow the checklist. The blue lights are early in the checklist and are required. You have a few more steps before pressing the starter (left). then be ready to move the throttle to ground idle, then move on to the other engine. Don't forget the trim switch and ASE systems and lanes before takeoff. Bar Alt and more. Then fly.

  • I'm not talking about the blue light for the fuel system before switching down to Auto. This is the blue light above the IGN No 1/2 for the Fire Extinguisher - Bott 1/2.

    You mention "more steps" but I am following Greg's list carefully.

    Dave

    EDIT: Whoops - I am not pushing the Starter Button!!

    EDIT#2: Final comment - This heli is awesome in VR. Thanks larrylynx for such a wonderful flying experience!!!!!

    Edited 2 times, last by whitav8 (February 10, 2020 at 9:33 PM).

  • Thanks ever so much for putting this together Greg, and thanks Steve for looking the other way. It does mean that more people will get to experience your work, so it's in a good cause :thumbup:

    i5-12600K/MSI RTX 3080/Win11/64Gb RAM/Asus Xonar DX+ Beyer DT990 pro headphones/LG 34" UM65 @2560x1080/Quest Pro/TM Warthog+VKB MkIV Rudder pedals

  • I'm not talking about the blue light for the fuel system before switching down to Auto. This is the blue light above the IGN No 1/2 for the Fire Extinguisher - Bott 1/2.

    You mention "more steps" but I am following Greg's list carefully.

    Dave

    EDIT: Whoops - I am not pushing the Starter Button!!

    Greg is missing some. I suggest you go back to the manual and locate the items on Larry's checklist then try again. Start with battery on first, then bus, then AC/DC, then top to bottom on the switches with the wait 12 seconds for the two blue fuel sys lights. Work your way down to the starter and igniter row. Turn on the starter switch, then test the left igniter (listen for the clicking sound) then turn to full on (down) and press the left starter button. You should hear the whine if your speakers are on and volume turned up. Move throttle to ground idle.(just a tad). Then continue with the checklist.

  • Managed to get her (quick)started and airborne, pootled around Monterey a bit then landed nicely. Biggest issue was getting a grip on the switches and levers in VR, that was a bit frustrating, but that's more to do with the sim than the Lynx I'd imagine.

    Anyway, it's a monumentally impressive achievement and a lovely machine, thank you so much for your effort Steve, you should be very proud of your baby.

    i5-12600K/MSI RTX 3080/Win11/64Gb RAM/Asus Xonar DX+ Beyer DT990 pro headphones/LG 34" UM65 @2560x1080/Quest Pro/TM Warthog+VKB MkIV Rudder pedals

  • Hiya

    Fantastic helicopter Larry! I flew in a few AAC Lynxes back in the day. Never PiC I am afraid :(

    I am following the checklists as far as I can tell but when I select MAIN the Hyd1&2 warning illuminates and the controls stop responding. This pretty much happens every time.

    Any suggestions of what I am doing wrong. Its just when MAIN/ACC is selected to main.

    Thanks

  • If your following this post then it will probably happen as the rotors are what is driving the hyd pressure which is why it is not the recommended way to start a Lynx.

    In ACC, No1 engine is providing the Hyd pressure through the accessory drives, so all systems can be checked and central before starting the main rotor

    In Main the Main gearbox provides Hyd pressure, so until the pressure is up you are at the mercy of where they were last set prior to shut down.

    Steve

  • Hi Steve,

    Thanks for your reply! I most definitely am following the thread :)

    Great work on the Lynx! its absolutely amazing and I think it really cements AFS2 as the premier VR (VFR) simulator. Shame orbx have pulled out of the AFSscenery gang :(. True Earth UK would have been awesome, as it stands I have moved (virtually) to the Netherlands and now I'm happily floating around above Rotterdam!

    I really want to ask for a 'ready to fly' option just so it doesn't feel quite so PMDG... you know, not being an actual helicopter pilot and all that... :| but I sense this isn't something we are likely to see anytime soon.

    I can get the Lynx to start using some of the shortcut methods but I really want to go through the checklists properly and this is when the hyd warning indicates. I have sussed it though, it was me misreading the section *** prior to selecting main***. If No2 ecl is advanced and No1 in ground idle it doesn't break the hydraulic system.

    it will probably happen as the rotors are what is driving the hyd pressure which is why it is not the recommended way to start a Lynx.

    I am following your checklist though so I don't understand this sentence - am I missing something?

    I hope you get the time to reply as I love your Lynx and just want to fly it properly as you intended

    cheers

    Andy

  • FS2 does not yet like the way I use freewheels and clutches to model the Lynx ( and many other multi engine helicopters) transmissions system. It for this very reason I cannot supply a rotors turning start, it simply breaks the sim.

    So having number 2 forward and number 1 back (which is correct for a real lynx as well) allows FS2 to shift from a clutched freewheel to a regular freewheel without throwing it's toys out of the cot. In a real lynx this is the same so I have modelled this accurately. I appreciate not everyone want a PMDG type experience but there is no other way at the moment with FS2. The CH53E I am working on will effectively have 4 engines all trying to the same thing so it could get interesting

    Steve

  • The CH53E I am working

    YEAH!!!!!! ^^^^^^

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