FlightSimElectronics

And this is still a work in progress (modified the Mayo One livery)

OK don't laugh, but here is my attempt. I could have definitely done better with the stripe but I'll work on it some more. I realize it isn't identical but it's close enough for me to enjoy I basically took the University of Tennessee livery and changed it up, so just realize it's not my original work, all the hard stuff was already done. EDIT: Nicola, I just found your excellent tutorial Thank you for sharing that for everyone! http://xplane10.wordpress.com/2011/08/06/bk-117-livery-painting-tutorial-by-nicola-m/

That's all good, thanks for taking the time to post. I am not good at liveries but I'm taking a shot at it, I'll post my results later tonight

Well I am definitely getting better at piloting the BK If anyone has the time and interest, I would absolutely LOVE to have a livery of the Air Methods company used here in Kentucky. They have a website at http://www.airmethodsky.com/ and under "Photo Gallery" if you go to Elizabethtown there are some pics of a BK-117 they use. They also have a YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/AirMethodsKY which has a lot of good shots of the livery they use. I live in the eastern part of the state and in my area they fly either an AStar350 or an EC-130. But anyways, if anyone is up to the challenge you would become my bestest bestest pal LOL A Kentucky State Police livery would be cool too, but that's a request for a different day I could fly around looking for marijuana fields (my stepfather is a retired KSP trooper, I bet he'd get a kick out of that one LOL).

You may want to try deleting all the files in your /Output/preferences folder. (Usually I just move the files temporarily to see if that fixes it. If it doesn't fix it, then move them back and you don't have to reconfigure all your settings).

Shouldn't be a problem at all. I worked as a repair tech for years and now do electronic circuit design. I can tell you the hardest hit on the electronics is when you first power up your pc, just like when turning on a light bulb. The initial "shock" of current surge is what strains electronic equipment. That's why most light bulbs go out when you first turn them on. You do want to make sure your pc has good cooling. Most modern motherboards will shut off if the temp rises above a set point (which you can change in your bios). If you are really concerned about it though, look into getting some software that will shut your pc down if your graphics card starts overheating. More often than not a failed fan is what results in a failed card. And I don't recommend overclocking, that's just asking for a reduced lifespan on your pricey equipment. EDIT: Kaphias beat me to it

Thanks so much for all the tips everyone, it has really helped. Today I decided to finally start working on cleaning up my hard drive, I need to reinstall linux as the latest Ubuntu release broke some of my other programs. So while making sure I had everything backed up I gave it a spin under linux and I'm not having near as bad of a problem. I think I may have way too many addons in my Windows install as I'm getting some choppy fps. Under linux it's smooth as silk. I was actually in disbelief that I was flying so much better.

Yikes! All they needed was some chalk fixed to the rear and then they could play hopscotch

Well I think I finally had a breakthrough! I was just messing around seeing how fast I could skim over the ground and then from there started practicing reducing my speed. That evolved into slowing down to a hover and gently setting her down. I must have done 50 touch and go landing like that in a row lol. I'm still a little ways from landing on a helipad but I'm slowly making progress I think the main problem I was having before was trying to hover at 2,000+ altitude and trying to set it straight down. Seems like that always made me get pulled in by the "magnet". But coming in with a little airspeed then starting a hover once close to the ground has made a huge difference.

Thanks Nicola for the setup tips, very helpful. I'm setting up a similar system. I dug out an old Logitech Extreme 3D Pro, and using a Saitek throttle quadrant for collective. I didn't think the Saitek yoke would be a good choice for a Heli. Rudder pedals are homemade. I figured once I got some practice in I would start working on a custom cyclic and collective because I see myself flying the BK-117 a LOT.

Thanks! Really appreciated! I just purchased the BK-117 and I am speechless! WOW. Simply, WOW. Outstanding in every single way.

I really, really, REALLY enjoying flying Heli's in x-plane, but no matter what I try to do I cannot get landing down at all. I have watched several youtube videos and watched the BK 117 landing video (which, I am most likely going to purchase today btw) but even if I just try going from one end of the runway to the other and start to descend I always hit like a big giant "magnet" that pulls me to the ground, hard and fast. There is no recovering or stopping it. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

WOW. BK117 it is OK Nicola admit it, you've sold ice to an eskimo before? lol Thanks for taking the time to post the screenies!

Thanks! I am currently downloading the EC-135 and something that caught my eye was a little plugin for it that said "The plugin fixes the overdone plunge down by loss of translational lift in X-Plane." I read about this effect but sometimes I am ready to pull my hair out because I can't seem to get landing these whirlybirds under my belt. So, is X-plane at fault here? Is there something I can/should do to other models (like the Chinook) to fix this? Also getting the Sikorsky and will most likely purchase the BK117, although I can't believe the EC-135 is freeware, so we'll see. As per my original post concerning a Vietnam era Huey, the freeware one is the only one I can find. It is pretty awesome for freeware but man it is tough to fly.

I love the Chinook! I find it a very easy flier and have been using it mostly to learn on. I can't wait to turn off the "roll-stabilty augmentation" in joystick settings once I get more experience with these whirling top bladed contraptions. Thanks for all the other links. Could someone post a link for the BK117? My googlerthingy seems brokened! EDIT: Found it