For those who are interested in flying but don't know how, or may not be very good.

The guide will go over basic terminology, flight mechanics, as well as what to do in the event of an emergency, and basic tactics. This guide is written around ACE for ArmA II. Some of the features I talk about are not present in the vanilla game.

Now I know what you are thinking. How can someone with zero hours logged in ArmA II know what he is talking about? Well, don’t worry, I’ve had ArmA II since it released, just in retail copy form.

I am a member of a group called, "Freedom Force Alpha Alpha Alpha," or FFAAA If you are interested in joining an ACE group, information at the bottom.

The basics, oh how could we not go over the basics? Some may find this information redundant, but some will find it helpful. Some will be totally new to flying a helicopter in ArmA, and lets face it, Fixed wing is nothing like flying a helo. Probably the most common aircraft you will be flying is the UH-60 Blackhawk. It has the ability to carry a full squad minus leadership elements in it’s chalk. It’s a workhorse and it’s worked hard. You should at the very least know how to fly this aircraft.
Control Surfaces:

• Main Rotor
  
  • Cyclic
    
    • Controls the "Roll and Pitch" of the aircraft
      
      • Push it forward to tilt the aircraft forward
        
      • Pull it back to tilt the aircraft back
        
      • Left to tilt the aircraft left
        
      • Right to tilt the aircraft right
  • Collective
    
    • Tilts the individual blades
      
    • Causes more or less of the blade surface to catch the air, increasing or decreasing the lift the blades are generating
      
      • Collective Down decreases the lift (z)
        
      • Collective Up increases the lift (q)

• Tail Rotor
  
  • Known as the Anti-Torque rotor
    
    • Counterbalances torque produced by main rotor
    • Foot Pedals
      
      • Controls the "Yaw" of the aircraft
        
        • Left Pedal to turn left (c)
          
        • Right Pedal to turn right (v)

Learning to balance the use of collective and cyclic is important and something you learn by doing. Balancing how much collective you should apply to your attitude is something that is difficult to teach in just a text guide, but it’s easily picked up with practice. I found the best way to learn is to fly a UH-1 Huey at low altitude hugging the terrain. You’ll get the feel real quick, or you’ll become a grease smear on the earth.

Getting your cargo to it’s destination safely is your ultimate goal as a transport pilot. This is where we will put what we talked about in the previous section to practical use.

When you can, fly with a crew chief. The Crew Chief has the ability to look out the door of the helicopter with the “W” key in the crew chief position. This is very useful for tight landings or sling loading. Of course numbers will play a huge part in determining if you have a buddy flying with you.

Know your task. On any given mission you may have a variety of tasks to complete. In my group, Freedom Force Alpha Alpha Alpha, we utilize a logistics system in many missions. So in conjunction with transporting troops, you may be transporting, via sling load, a variety of assets.


Let me get this out of the way now...AUTO HOVER IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. It turns you into a big, slow target. If you auto hover into an LZ you WILL be shot down, and or ridiculed by your chalk. Don’t do it. Learn to land properly.

During briefing the commander of any given mission will mark an LZ on the map that they want you to go for. It is YOUR job to read the terrain on the map, alert the commander to issues with that LZ, and then plan for alternate LZs should that first LZ be too hot to handle. Ultimate landing position is up to you to decide, and it is also your job to alert the chalk to any important information. My dialogue usually goes as such.

Me: “on final, get ready”
Me: “Wheels down, GO GO GO!”

When you reach wheels down you tell the chalk to disembark as only you know if the aircraft is on the ground. Ideally the commander of the chalk is the last to disembark from the aircraft. They should tell you that you’re empty and are good to go. You should still make a visual check before taking off if your cockpit permits it. On helicopters like the Mi-8/Mi-17 HiP or CH-47 Chinook, you will not be able to see the passenger compartment to perform a visual check.

Get in the habit of dumping flares on approach and after taking off from a hot LZ. You don’t have a warning system to alert you to incoming missiles. So dumping flares is just an extra precaution just in case.

So the Mission is winding down and the ground forces have called for an extract. They should find you a suitable LZ and call you in as such.

Ground forces: “Requesting extraction grid xxxyyy. LZ marked ‘LZ X-Ray”
You: *check map for LZ* “Got LZ, inbound”
At 30 seconds out
You: “30 seconds out, deploy smoke”
Ground forces: “Copy, deploying red smoke”
You: *upon eyes on smoke* “Tally Red smoke”
Ground forces “Confirm red smoke”
Then you land, load, and leave.

It’s as easy as that. Remember to get in the habit of dumping flares on take off. Like I said, it’s a just in case type thing, but could save your life.


Logistics is pretty different overall. It’s in a, sense, a lot slower paced. Yet at the same time it’s vital to longer missions. You’ll be working directly with troops on the ground. Communication is vital here because you can, and will mess up big time if you don’t communicate.

Logistics could involve wheels on ground physically loading ammo, or supplies into the aircraft, or it could involve sling loading. In terms of sling loading, you absolutely need a crew chief, or a competent logistics lead to guide you in. It requires you to hover over the object to be picked up. This usually occurs on the Logistics 343 channel. In FFAAA we use channel 3 for Logistics.

The operation commander will call for any given asset to be prepared by the Logistics lead. The Logistics lead will prep the asset by attaching a sling rope to it. In this situation the logistics lead is senior to you, the pilot. He will guide you in, have you hover over the asset, attach the sling rope, and then give you an all clear to depart. Ideally, he will also tell you how long the sling is so you can prepare to drop the asset without damaging it. Once you sling something you will get a big red “RELEASE LOAD” option in your action menu. Keep in mind that anyone in the aircraft will have this action menu item too.

In the case of preparing to sling, auto hover can actually be your friend. It can be difficult to maintain a manual hover without sliding around too much. Since it’s not a dire situation go ahead and use auto hover, it will actually be helpful.

It happens to everyone. We get hit and lose a tail rotor or an engine and we are going down. It’s a scary situation, and here is how to deal with it. (again another very hands on section. I set up triggers to kill certain parts of the aircraft so they can experience a failure.)

Bailing out of a damaged aircraft is never okay. Never, ever bailout under any circumstances. After you leave that aircraft you have no more control over where it goes. It could crash into friendly troops. As a pilot you do everything in your power to save that aircraft. There will be situations where you cannot, and that’s fine. But you put in the effort to keep that bird from planting itself into the countryside.


In the event of a tail rotor loss, you will be in one of two situations. Either already at speed, or at low speed.

When you are at higher speeds when you lose your tail rotor, it’s imperative that you maintain that speed. The magic number is around 60km/h. Anything below that and you will start to feel the effects of the tail rotor loss. Keep in mind, even slight tail rotor damage will have this effect. Though effects are less pronounced with slight damage.

At lower speeds you will notice the effects immediately. This is very intimidating to say the least. Your best bet is to attempt to rock the aircraft out of the death spiral. Gain altitude and rock in the direction you want to go. Or in any direction. The key here is to get your aircraft to a controllable airspeed. It may take some time, but it’s entirely doable. Dyslecxi has an art of flight video on this, it's linked below for your viewing pleasure. In some cases it’s best to just put the aircraft down where you were hit rather than trying to fly off. In other cases that’s not possible. A good pilot will be able to analyze the situation and determine the best course of action.


When landing, you need to keep your airspeed up till the last possible second. Flare heavily and ram that collective down. Like any landing avoid gaining altitude while doing this. Old landing rules still apply, but look for a long stretch of open ground to give breaking room. Damaging your aircraft on landing is OKAY in this situation. Yes you may be in pain. Yes your chalk may be ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. But you made it to the ground safely. That is what matters.


Engine loss is an entirely different beast, and in my opinion is far easier to deal with. In the event of engine loss, the aircraft will beep angrily at you and you’ll get a nice big red warning on your screen. Don’t worry, this is not the end. Even if you have no engine power you still have the ability to perform a maneuver called an auto rotation. This will allow you to guide your aircraft into a soft landing.

The Aircraft will be kept aloft by the rotational lift created by the rotors. While the engine is dead the rotors retain that rotation and still generate the much needed lift. This gives you time to choose a soft landing spot and 'glide' the aircraft in.

Keep the collective open and pick a landing spot. You will be descending, but the full collective will slow that decent. Flare like a normal landing and get your bird on the ground. This will not be verticle landing. There will be skidding when you hit the ground, but don't worry. As long as you don't cream your self on a rock or a tree, you'll be fine. Don't worry about damage, just land the bird and worry about other things later. Your focus should be not dying in a fireball.

We as pilots may have to fly scout or attack roles in conjunction with transporting troops. It’s an eventuality, and any good pilot worth their salt should be able to easily make the transition. In a sense, piloting attack or scout aircraft may be easier due to fewer instances of having to land to embark or disembark a chalk.


As a scout pilot your job is, well, self explanatory. You will be overflying enemy positions in a safe manner, and depending on your aircraft, you may be called in to provide fire support to friendly ground troops. The AH-6 Littlebird is a prime example of a scout aircraft. Small, agile, and armed to the teeth. Your tradeoff is being about as armored as a sheet of paper.

You can be called into a scout roll in any aircraft. Even Transports can scout, though visibility is limited in most transport aircraft. As a transport pilot you need to continue to take an active role in the AO situation permitting. If ground fire is light you should stay on station and scout.

You should be always scanning. Watch known enemy positions. In ACE the AI deploys smoke. Watch for smoke in known enemy positions then radio in when you spot it. Mark it on the map as best you can and make it known.

Scouting really is the most active form of piloting. You will always be referring to your map, marking targets, radioing enemy movement and watching for serious threats such as armor. All while not crashing into the side of a mountain. A good scout can turn the tide of a battle. You are no good to the operation dead. Take risks, but don’t get too cocky to the point where you are taking serious ground fire and hits.

Depending on the aircraft, you may be called into provide light CAS. Even most transport aircraft have gunner positions that your crew chief can swap between to lay down fire with. Russians liked to sucker on rocket pods to their HIP transports. The UH-1Y Venom has two miniguns, 14 rockets, and even a FLIR with a laser designator that can be used to effect.



As an attack pilot you answer directly to a forward air controller, or in some cases the platoon commander. You are not a flying death platform, you are an asset that is used where needed. From observation with the FLIR to engaging hard targets such as APCs and Tanks, or even providing fire support for infantry. You are the most valuable battlefield asset, so do not put your aircraft in a situation where you can be easily shot down. Also, avoid doing 45 degree suicide dives from 3500 meters. You will just end up lawn darting and embarrassing yourself, and giving the guys on the ground something to laugh at.

There is a chain of command that is in effect here. The Gunner is Junior to the Pilot who is Junior to the FAC who is Junior to the Commander. Yet each junior position can make suggestions to their superior as to how to proceed. A Gunner could ask the pilot to turn to a certain heading.

For this we will be using the AH-1W Cobra. It is an attack helicopter used by the United States Marine Corps.

The gunner has a plethora of weapons to use. 20mm Cannon, AGM-114 Hellfire missiles or BGM-71 TOW missiles. On top of that the Gunner has his optics which can be cycled through TV, BHOT FLIR, and WHOT FLIR. The optics have multiple levels of magnification. In my missions where I use Cobras, I use the 8 BGM-71 model. Simpler to use than Hellfires, but at the same time more difficult to use properly. It requires more coordination from both the pilot and gunner. The Gunner is responsible for locating, identifying, and assessing threats. Prioritize targets, relay information to the pilot, and engage when given the all clear. The Gunner should have a radio that is tuned into the CAS Frequency just to listen. In FFAAA we use Channel 12 on the 148/117

The Pilot generally has access to, depending on the model, FFAR Hydra rocket pods. The pilot also has the ability to view the gunner’s gunsight by hitting the “0” key on the numpad. But the Pilot’s primary duty is to fly the aircraft and preserve it. It is the Pilot’s job to keep the aircraft safe and to maneuver accordingly to provide good sightlines for the gunner. It is also the pilot’s job to relay information to the FAC will thus relay to Command. It is the FAC’s job to let the pilot know if the Gunner is clear to engage. The Gunner then engages the target.

The Pilot/Gunner environment is one of heavy communication. Neither the gunner, nor the pilot can do it alone. They should always be talking, relaying information and discussing the situation.

Be careful though. Attack Helicopters are extremely capable killing machines. Incidents of friendly fire will be devastating. Always know friendly positions. If you are unsure if what you are seeing, ask the FAC if there are friendlies in the area. Double check, no triple check targets before engaging and only engage targets that the FAC tells you to, or if the FAC gives the go ahead on a whole area. Of course, that should be avoid unless ground forces are taking a hard pounding.


As for threat identification. Don’t be afraid to boot up the editor and look at vehicles both friendly and enemy. Observe their size, shape, and weapon systems. Knowing the difference between incoming 7.62mm, 12.7mm fire and 23mm AA fire could save your life. Of course this goes for all aircraft. But it will be really helpful to know in threat identification, assessment, and engagement.

The best way to learn is to do. Boot up the editor and fly the aircraft. Learn the quirks and advantages of each. It’s the best way to determine a flight style for each. For instance, you can’t maneuver a HIP like you can a Little Bird of a Huey. Practice in your off time. A Mission is no place for an inexperianced pilot to learn how to fly.

You’ll get it with practice. You just have to be willing to learn. Flying Helos, to me, is one of the most rewarding support roles in the game. Saving a group while under heavy fire is both difficult, but invigorating. Not to mention the numerous thanks goes great for the pilot’s ego. Once you get the feel and the experience, you’ll be loving it. Anyone can shoot a rifle. Anyone can drive a vehicle. But not everyone can fly a helo effectively and with style. Pretty soon you’ll be flying like a pro.

I am a member of a group called Freedom Force Alpha Alpha Alpha. We are a semi-serious group. We are serious enough to work our hardest to complete missions, but we are not so uptight where we can’t joke around and have fun. We are always looking for new people to hop on and roll with us. We generally have around 30 to 40 people playing on any given game day. We use a lot of the stuff discussed in this guide.

If you are interested hit me or WhimsyKiller up on Steam and we’ll get you set up. The Modlist is located on our Steam Community page.

Game times:
Saturday at Noon PST
Tuesdays at 4 PM PST


Hope to see you guys there.