INSTRUMENT PANELS OVERVIEW
2-1: Ka-50 instrument panels
The cockpit of the Ka-50 contains several instrument panels that include gauges and indicators that display flight parameters, aircraft system states, engine state, control positions, and system warnings. Owing to the single-pilot operation of the Ka-50 cockpit, all flight and weapon system controls must be accessible to the pilot, whereas they are often divided between two cockpits in a traditional, tandem seat attack helicopter. This has led to a rather crowded cockpit that at first can seem quite intimidating! However, with practice and a study of this manual, the cockpit will soon feel like home. Many of the controls in the cockpit have pop-up tool tips displayed when the mouse is placed over them. This can be a useful tool when trying to remember the many control functions within the cockpit. These tool tips can be toggled off and on from the options menu. Using your mouse, you may manipulate many of the controls. This can include:
When the mouse is placed over a control that can be manipulated, the cursor will turn green and provide you an icon to indicate the type of possible action. All of the mouse click functions also have keyboard press equivalents; these can be reviewed in your keyboard input control list. These keyboard commands are listed in blue within this manual. Let‟s do a walk-around of the primary areas of the cockpit: The primary flight instruments are located on the forward panels, beneath the dashboard anti-glare shield.
2-2: Power plant controls
The collective is your primary means of controlling how much lift is being generated by the rotors. When you want to generate more lift, pull back on the collective; when you wish to reduce lifting power, push the collective forward. The other controls are used during the engine start procedure and you will often not need them during the course of a mission.
The two engine cutoff valve levers open and close fuel injection into the engines. These two red levers are moved independently:
Behind the engine cutoff valve levers is the rotor brake:
The two throttles at the base of the collective are used to set the RPM of the engines and each engine can be set independently or linked:
2-3: Side and rear panels
This portion of the cockpit has a wide array of controls that include built in tests (BIT), video recorder, countermeasures dispenser controls, weapon controls, cockpit lighting, engine governors, and engine monitoring systems to name a few.
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