Rotary Wing

Rotary-Wing
Rotary-Wing Aircraft, more commonly known as helicopters, can be broken down into several groups, the main ones are Attack, Recon and Transport. Rotary-Wing can also be classified in size and weight as Light, Medium and Heavy. Most helicopters are multi-crewed: pilot and copilot or gunner, often also seats for door gunners and crew chief.

Attack: these are helicopters whose primary role is destruction of ground targets, they possess a wide variety of armaments, and sometimes are armored. They can also host air-defence assets, transport troops, etc. There are dozens of varieties of this type of helicopter.

Recon: these are helicopters whose primary role is observation, they often carry light-attack capability as well as better than norm observational equipment, other helicopters can also function in a recon role, however, these dedicated vehicles usually perform way better in their field.

Transport: these helicopters usually carry troops or supplies from one position to another, some of these helicopters are often armed with defensive or even offensive armaments, such as rockets and machine guns, in smaller nations they can be used for attack purposes, as well as recon purposes. There is a large variety of transport aircraft and they can perform dozens of roles.

Roles in the Helicopter

 * Pilot: Senior crew members. Primary operator of the vehicle, plans the route and has the final say on the landing zone. On attack helicopters, the pilot also employs his own armaments, maneuvers in accordance with the gunner, keeps situational awareness.
 * Copilot: Second to the pilot, often handles communication and in-flight changes. Operates the helicopter if the pilot is unable to, assists in landing and takeoff procedures, supports the pilot in any other form necessary.
 * Gunner: Operates as a copilot and gunner in attack helicopters, his primary job is to operate the helicopters armaments, observe, spot, and support ground assets. Has the same capabilities as the pilot in most cases.
 * Crew Chief: Often a role for the most senior member of the helicopter crew, not used often by player-operated pilots, he takes over all communication and planning duties if he is on board, essentially a ‘squad leader’ of the helicopter crew.
 * Door Gunner: Sometimes a part of the crew, at other times operated by the transported troops. Their primary job is elimination of hostiles, suppression of landing zones, assisting ground troops, observation and spotting.

Info For All Helicopters
Helicopter Crew are responsible for fast personnel transport, close air support and long-range reconnaissance. Every member of the crew should be specialised in every type of helicopter, be it heavy transport or light recon. They usually stay at the FOB waiting to be called in by the infantry.

Helicopters can be broken down into Attack, Recon and Transport roles and Light, Medium and Heavy weight categories.

Flight Modes
It's crucial for a pilot to understand what flight mode to pick when in transit, depending on the situation while traveling towards the intended LZ, and of course, assess the unfolding situation and preemptively transition from one flight mode to another if the situation requires.

HIGH-LEVEL FLIGHT
Generally, this is used when you want to be out of reach of small arms fire, meaning 400 meters altitude and above, where bullets are less effective. This flight regime is used when there are no immediate AA, AAA, or CAP threats. The downside is, you are vulnerable to heavy cannons and guided missiles, so it's not used on a hot  AO.

LOW-LEVEL FLIGHT
This flight mode covers 100-400 meters altitude level flight. You are high up enough to clear almost any terrain feature without adjusting your altitude. Usually, this is used in the first leg of your transit route, so you can go over your flight path and plan in your head without having to concentrate on avoiding trees and buildings. The downside is, you are well in reach of small arms fire, but luckily you can quickly drop down and behind some masking terrain feature like a mountain or pull up to gain altitude if you are facing only small arms fire.

CONTOUR FLIGHT
This flight mode generally covers about 30-100 meters altitude. You are following the terrain, comfortably above trees and most power lines or tall buildings, but close enough to the ground to use terrain as cover. This limits the exposure time and gives you the masking capability, hard to lead and track with weapon systems most of the time, unless you are flying right towards it. This is used on the approach to the landing zone most of the time. The downside is, you are well in range for any type of ground fire and you constantly have to track terrain, which can be mentally tasking.

NAP OF THE EARTH (NOE)
The premise of NOE is using any obstacles as masking features, trading speed for cover. While Contour flight is close above the terrain, NOE is well in between the trees. Usually, this flight mode is used in a smaller helicopter like the MH-9, which can utilize its relatively small profile to fit through gaps in obstacles. The downside is, it is very mentally exhausting and requires incredible hand-eye coordination, since a small input can be the difference between colliding with an obstacle rather than using it as cover.

Map and LZs
When picking an LZ, you should switch the map view to contour lines to be able to visualize the terrain better. To draw a path, you need to shift-click and drag on the map.

But first, you have to be able to pick a safe landing zone. Generally speaking, a good LZ has cover nearby for the troops debarking your aircraft, has enough space to accommodate at least one aircraft, has relatively level ground for a full touchdown, and is currently not under fire. To find the perfect LZ, you should: The more you plan the fewer surprises you will face later. If you picked a good LZ but you fly over every hill and expose yourself to all enemy threats on the way will result in a flaming wreck and disappointed passengers.
 * Always assume there are some kind of defenses around a contested area, gather intel from your last trip (if you can), from other pilots, from callouts and general chatter, and ask the ground troops if you feel you need more information.
 * Evaluate the terrain features and plan accordingly.
 * Think about the route to get there. Look at the map and try to visualize the route, threats to your aircraft, powerlines, trees, tall buildings, etc.
 * Plan your flight modes to use, ingress and egress routes, and alternate LZs if your original one is contested upon arrival.

Countermeasures
Countermeasures are used to defend yourself against AAs that track you.

Flares
Flares are burning objects ejected from aircraft in an attempt to spoof infrared (heat-seeking) missiles. They typically dispense in a burst that takes a second or two to complete, leaving a  dramatic flame and light show behind the aircraft.
 * Effective against: Infrared-guided (IR) missiles. The heat of the flares confuses the missile seeker, causing it to chase after a heat source that may not be the aircraft itself. Flares can also prevent the missile from being able to lock onto the aircraft in the first place.
 * When to deploy: Whenever you think an IR missile has been launched at you, or when pulling out of an attack run or overflying known enemy positions.

Chaff
Chaff is a packet of thin metallic strips that spread into a cloud upon release and act to confuse radar systems.
 * Effective against: Radar-guided missiles. The metallic strips of chaff give false radar reflections, confusing the missile guidance and frequently causing them to seek out invalid targets.
 * When to deploy: Once given a launch warning or when you think one is imminent (such  as when 'locked up' and hearing a radar warning indicator)

Evasive Maneuvers
There are several standard types of evasive maneuvers available to aircraft pilots.
 * Jinking. This is the act of making sharp, sudden, and unpredictable evasive maneuvers. Jinking makes it difficult to track and lead you. It is most effective against unguided weapons such as machineguns, cannons, rockets, etc.
 * Break turn. A break turn is a sudden, sharp turn, 90 degrees or more. This is often used to attempt to evade a rocket or missile system, or when a heavy machinegun or anti-aircraft artillery piece has engaged.
 * Emergency climb/dive. An emergency climb or dive simply consists of the aircraft gaining or losing altitude rapidly in an attempt to evade a threat.
 * Defensive roll. A defensive roll involves the helicopter rolling so that the bottom of it is between the threat weapon (typically machineguns) and the helicopter crew. A roll is usually followed by pulling the aircraft in the rolled direction and putting distance between you and the threat.

Minimizing Risk
The following list contains different methods of minimizing the risk of being shot down by enemy anti-aircraft weapon systems. The list is broken down into two main categories, namely, general tactics and specific tactics against the different types of enemy fire.

Prevention: General
These guidelines can be used to protect you from any anti-aircraft threats, regardless of type.
 * Limit exposure over enemy areas. The less you're around to be shot at, the less shot you'll get.
 * Mask with terrain. If they can't see you, they can't hit you.
 * Maintain relatively high speeds. If they can't lead you effectively, or you're exposed for short periods, they probably can't hit you.
 * Use unpredictable flight patterns, change altitude and direction frequently. If they can't predict where you'll be due to your maneuvers, they probably can't hit you.
 * Avoid flying directly at/away from enemy weapon systems. If you're presenting a target that is moving relative to their perspective, it's much harder for them to hit you.

Prevention: Guns
These guidelines can be used to protect you specifically from anti-aircraft guns
 * Fly at altitude. The higher you are, the bullets have to travel farther, the harder it is to lead you.

Prevention: Missiles
These guidelines can be used to protect you specifically from anti-aircraft missile systems.
 * Dump flares when going into a landing if you expect a MANPAD threat on the ground.  They will have a hard time locking on you.
 * Dump flares when taking off from an LZ. The enemy will very likely wait for a rear-aspect shot before engaging - putting flares in the air will cause them to have difficulty locking you up, and will confuse any missiles already in flight.

Tail Rotor Failure
Bullets impacting the tail rotor, or explosions near it, can damage the tail rotor or outright destroy it. The tail rotor is responsible for counteracting the torque produced by the main rotor in a single-rotor helicopter design - when absent or damaged, the helicopter will rotate in the direction of the main rotor's rotation thanks to this torque effect. Damage or loss of a tail rotor can be a  very serious situation in tight spaces, it is crucial to know how to react when it happens
 * Recovery at Speed: If at high speed and the tail rotor is damaged or destroyed, the helicopter will not visibly react. You'll know you're damaged by looking at the damage indicator on the HUD. At low speed, the helicopter will begin to yaw to one side as the tail rotor blades spin down. There are a few critical moments at the beginning of the process that should be used to get the helo down on the deck as quickly as possible before the full spin begins. Once the full spin begins, concentrate on controlling your flight and scanning the terrain (while spinning heavily) for any safe area that you can set the helo down on. Keep in mind that the torque of the main rotor will reduce when the collective is dropped and rise when the collective is raised - when you are fully down-collective, the helicopter will no longer spin due to lack of tail rotor, while full up-collective will cause it to spin again. Lowering collective before touchdown helps to reduce the chances of a fatal spin at low altitude.
 * Weathervaning & Low-Altitude / Low-Speed Recovery: Alternatively, a helo at low-speed can try to gain speed until the effects of the tail rotor (or lack thereof) are nullified by the higher speed. This is known as the weathervane effect - the aircraft will stabilize into the direction of the airflow, rendering the tail rotor less influential at higher speeds. This will temporarily remove the issue; however, you will still need to set down eventually, and at that point you'll have to fight with the spinning at low speeds. Keep in mind, a hit that is hard enough to take out the tail rotor is usually able to cause a fuel leak. If you have tail rotor failure at low speed, the best procedure is to gain altitude to at least 150 meters, then lower collective fully. This can be used in a safe environment, or when attempting to land near a service area. Lowering the collective reduces the main rotor's torque effect, causing the helicopter to not need anti-torque influence to stay steady - in effect, this makes the damaged or destroyed tail rotor a temporary non-factor. While down collective is held, your aircraft will be descending - as it does, it will stabilize and stop spinning. At this point, pitch forward until you gain enough forward speed to "weathervane". You will end up in controlled forward flight, and the lack of a tail rotor will not affect you until you once again slow down. Another technique, which is called “rocking out” is a bit more dangerous, but can be used in a  combat situation. There is a reason you lost your tail rotor after all. Gain some altitude, at around 50 m, lower the collective and whilst spinning, pitch the nose down when you are facing away from the threat, and pull up when you are facing the threat. Note that in a spin, your aircraft will start to wobble around, be prepared to fight this effect. Sooner or later you will gain enough speed to “weathervane” and mitigate the effect of a missing tail rotor. You will end up in one of three flight modes. You will either enter forward flight, sideways flight or backwards flight. As you gain speed and distance from the threat start gaining altitude to avoid any collision with ground objects, and when in a safe distance you can attempt another rock-out maneuver or use the aforementioned safe recovery technique.

Engine failure & Autorotation
The worst thing that can happen to a helo, aside from outright being destroyed, is for it to have an engine failure. Some mods and missions (realistically) do not allow for the pilot/crew to bail out with a parachute, meaning that the only way to survive an engine failure is to get on the ground as quickly as possible without killing yourself and everyone else in the process. A safe landing in a helo that has lost its engine requires that you be familiar with the concept of autorotation, and are able to carry out the required actions with split-second notice and timing.

Surviving an Engine Failure via Autorotation:
 * 1) When the engine fails, an alarm will sound and the rotors will begin to spin down. You cannot let them spin down, else you'll be in a smoking heap of all kinds of hurt.
 * 2) Immediately press and hold your "Thrust Down" key to keep the blades spinning and begin a descent, bringing your aircraft’s nose up, level out the frame at the same time. If you take too long, the blades will rapidly come to a halt and you'll be headed for the ground quicker than you would like. Keeping the nose more or less level is essential - if you pitch too far down, the helicopter will go out of control and crash.
 * 3) Scan your immediate area for a safe place to land. Since you won’t be forewarned, you may face some pretty tough landing spots.
 * 4) Identify the best landing spot and head for it while keeping your "Thrust Down" key pressed. At this point, you manage your altitude and speed by pitching the nose of your aircraft. Remember, you'll want to slow down to <50kph for landing.
 * 5) When 20-40 meters above the ground, level your aircraft and press the "Thrust Up" key. If done right, the last bits of energy stored in the spinning rotors will reduce your downward velocity to something survivable. If timed wrong, you'll stall out too high off the ground and then crash and burn.

Crew Roles
Most helicopters are designed to be multi-crewed. For attack helicopters, this means pilot and gunner combination, and even transport helicopters at least a pilot/co-pilot pair all the way up to pilot/co-pilot/crew-chief/door gunner team. Each role will be discussed first from a general point of view which is applicable in the context of both transport and attack types of aircraft, then extend it in the context of attack helicopters.

Pilot
The pilot maneuvers the aircraft tactically in order to accomplish an assigned mission.

Pilot Responsibilities (General) Pilot Responsibilities (Attack Helo)  
 * Commanding officer, leader of the crew team.
 * Flies the helo and is responsible for the safety of all crew members and the aircraft.
 * Plans the route of the aircraft in and out of a combat zone
 * Has the final say on LZ selection and is authorized to change the LZ en route due to evolving threat assessments, to include threats at the LZ itself.
 * Responsible for employing unguided rockets (FFARs) or bombs, if the aircraft has them
 * Communicates with the gunner to maintain the gunner's situational awareness. This includes notifying the gunner of locations of friendly forces, upcoming maneuvers, and anything else that might assist him.
 * Maintains situational awareness around the aircraft at all times. The gunner is often focusing on a given target, such as when using the gunsight, and thus it is important that the pilot continues to scan.
 * Maneuvers in a fashion that allows the gunner to effectively engage the enemy.
 * Maneuvers in response to the gunner's requests if the situation permits it
 * Gives guidance to the gunner on weapon type to use, authorize fire missions

Gunner
The gunner helps to observe and assist in navigating outside combat. Once in combat, the gunner scans and engages the enemy all the while communicating his limiting factors to the pilot. If the mission design enables it, the gunner can also take over the controls of the aircraft,  which is useful when a pilot is unconscious or killed in the air.

Gunner Responsibilities
 * Assists in navigation
 * Scans for and engages the enemy
 * Communicates needs to pilot. If the gunner needs the aircraft oriented in a specific direction or flying at a given height, he communicates this to the pilot so that the pilot can fly the aircraft to best accommodate him
 * Communicates with ground forces as required, particularly when the pilot must concentrate on flying and a copilot is not present
 * Takes control and flies the aircraft if the pilot is killed or incapacitated (optional, if enabled by mission design)

Crewchief
A crew chief is a member of the helicopter crew that, in Arma terms, acts as a door gunner for the duration of the helicopter's employment. Unlike the 'door gunner' role, the crew chief does not disembark from the helicopter except in the event of an emergency (such as being shot down). The crew chief is responsible for communicating the proximity of obstacles to the pilot when in close terrain and attempting to land. This is done with simple concise verbal commands to the pilot to tell him which way to move the helo to avoid obstacles, such as "Tree on left, move right  10 meters".

Crew Chief Responsibilities
 * Scan for ground threats and communicate them to the pilot. The crew chief must be constantly scanning for hostile threats. He watches for:
 * Enemy personnel and vehicles
 * Muzzle smoke
 * Tracers
 * Smoke trails from missiles or rockets
 * Trees, large rocks, and other obstacles when descending into an LZ
 * Upon spotting any of these, he immediately informs the pilot. The crew chief can use either clock directions or relative directions (front, left, right, etc) when calling these targets or objects out.
 * Scan for aerial threats, including other friendly aircraft. Particularly when situated on the side of the helicopter opposite of the pilot, the crew chief needs to keep an eye out for any potential path-crossing of friendly aircraft. If a collision seems likely,  the crew chief can instruct the pilot to make an evasive maneuver - such as to break up/down/left/right. The pilot should automatically conduct this maneuver without hesitation.
 * Be proficient with helo door gunnery. This includes knowing how to correctly lead targets when the helicopter is moving at a variety of airspeeds. As a general guideline, one must lead in the direction that the target is moving relative to the gunner's perspective. If a  target is crossing from right to left, he must lead the target by aiming to the left side of the target.
 * Stay alert and aware of where friendly forces are, to avoid engaging them by mistake.
 * Communicate with ground forces as required, particularly when the pilot must concentrate on flying

Copilot
The copilot's primary tasks involve observing, navigating, and communicating to help share the workload with the pilot. A copilot can take control of the aircraft from his seat (if enabled by mission design), much like a gunner in an attack helo can do. This is used if the pilot is wounded or killed, or to give the pilot time to spend 'heads down' in his map or similar.

Copilot Responsibilities
 * Navigation. The copilot is in a perfect position to navigate for the pilot.
 * Observation. Whether equipped specifically with an observation pod or not, the copilot - being in the front of the aircraft - is in a good position to assist with observation. The observation pod amplifies this.
 * Communication. Due to not being tied up with actually flying the aircraft, the copilot is able to spend time communicating with other aircraft, ground forces, etc.
 * Flying when necessary. By taking the aircraft's controls, the copilot can give the pilot some free time or get the aircraft to safety where a wounded pilot can be taken care of.

Hover
Hover insertions have two primary uses. The first is when dropping troops on sloped terrain. In most cases, trying to land on sloped terrain is a recipe for disaster, so dropping your troops off from a hover is a great alternative to crashing and killing everyone. The other use is any time that enemy return fire is a significant threat. In such a situation you want to minimize the amount of time that you're low, slow, and vulnerable to the enemy. Keeping your skids or wheels off the ground is one great way to accomplish this, as it allows you to more quickly get back into the air if things turn hot. A safe altitude for dropping troops in a hover is below three meters. Anything more runs the risk of injuring the troops from the fall.

Moving
A moving insertion is a variation of the hover insertion that is done while the helo does not come to a complete standstill. This method is even more secure than the hover insertion, as the pilot is at less risk of being hit in the cockpit by enemy ground fire due to his constantly shifting position. When doing a moving insertion, ensuring that the aircraft stays under 30kph and is less than three meters off the deck. These are the thresholds for safe troop drops from a moving helo.

Rooftop
Rooftop insertions can be done either at a hover or by landing on the roof - it's up to the pilot to decide which method suits the situation best. When doing a rooftop insertion, pay special attention to the rooftops of other nearby structures. If they are occupied, the insertion will likely need to be aborted due to the danger of being shot out of the sky. If the ground around the location is potentially hostile, attempt to land centered on the roof to present the smallest target to those at ground-level. If threats are expected primarily in one direction, land on the side of the roof furthest from that direction. Bear in mind that the security of a rooftop insertion depends largely upon the surrounding terrain, the surrounding buildings, and the height of the building that is being inserted on relative to both the surrounding building heights and the surrounding terrain. For instance, trying to drop troops on a low house in hilly terrain that has enemy infantry likely positioned in the hills, or other locations that are higher in elevation than the roof is a recipe for disaster. On the other hand,  dropping a sniper team on a very tall building in relatively flat terrain is much more likely to be successful.

Pinnacle
A pinnacle landing is a method by which a helicopter can deploy or pick up troops from terrain that it could not properly land on. This is often seen with large aircraft like Hurons, where the aircraft lowers its ramp and backs up against a slope such that troops can enter or leave it without the helo actually setting fully down. Pinnacle landings require good coordination between the helo's crew chiefs and pilot.

Bleed flare - From high speed traveling to a controlled state
Pick a flight mode accordingly from the previously mentioned 4 modes, and be ready to change it when the situation requires. When you are getting closer to the LZ, about 1.5-1 Km, you have to transition from high speed traveling flight mode to a more controlled flight speed. Work your way toward 120-180 km/h, depending on the aircraft characteristics, which is called the balanced state. This is important to gain back maneuverability of the helo but still keep the speed high enough to reach the intended LZ quickly and safely. Gradually decrease your speed, your target is around 70km/h when you reach the last few hundred meters near your LZ. Altitude can be NOE or Contour flight mode.

Balanced state - level flight, smooth slow down to transition into the final stage
You are now in a balanced state, and at the end of the balanced state you should strive to reach about 70-90 km/h speed. At that point you are approaching the LZ in a safe manner, keeping an eye for possible threats. When you are getting close to the Li, you want to slow down, which is achieved by bleeding speed without gaining altitude. Dropping the speed down to 30-50 km/h is ideal as you are getting close to the LZ, this gives you more control and you can set the helo down on a moment's notice.

Final flare + landing - relatively slow speed and set down
You are almost there, your speed is low, around 30-60 km/h, you are looking out and about for your LZ. Try to make a slightly curved approach when possible, the inside of the curve is the side you are sifting in the helicopters, so you have the most visibility. You are ready to land, set it down gently, this is the slowest stage of your flight, small movements and precise control is key. Since this is the most vulnerable state you can be, always keep an eye out for enemy threats, not just obstacles on your way.

Additional Notes
Place any additional notes here
 * A helicopter can have two roles; eg. the MH-6 Little Bird is a Recon helicopter but also a Light transport.