Mi-24 VUAP-1 and SAU-V24-1 Auto pilot functions and usage

Author: Aeria Gloria

VERSION 6.1, 09/23/2023

Hello, to resolve any doubts about the functions of the Mi-24P

autopilot and their implementation in DCS World, here are an
enthusiast’s findings
This guide is not to tell you how to use weapons, or procedures,
for that the regular manual/guide and chucks guid can do that
job just fine along with other video tutorials. This is for an in
depth understanding of how to get the most out of autopilot system

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction: description of similar Mi-8 and Ka-50 autopilots,

and the physical panel in Mi-24

Section A: Mi-24P Pitch and Roll Autopilot

Part I: Pitch and Roll channels
Part II: how to adjust them
Part III: Compensation channels

Section B: Yaw AP and it’s peculiarities

Part I: System in Reality
Part II: DCS Implementation/Simulation
Part III: Special Options
Part IV: SPUU-52-3

Section C: Barometric altitude hold

Section D: Upper AP panel

Last Section: Limits, and BONUS

Anything with Green Text is optional and can be mostly skipped.

Ex: This Autopilot is unchanged from 1976 Mi-24A
Terms:

Autopilot = AP

Dampener: autopilot will output signals proportional to change in

attitude movement rate, i.e dampening functions will fight changes
in rate of movement. Consistent movement such as turns and barrel
rolls would not be fought, but decreases or increases in rate of turn
would be slowed down

Attitude Hold Stabilization: Autopilot outputs signals equal to

difference between set attitude and current attitude onboard, i.e will
fight any changes from the set attitude. This is true for Heading
Hold mode of Yaw AP.

Servo Spindle Displacement Windows: These are physically by your

left knee on the AP panel above each button for their respective
channel. They show you the output the AP is adding to your
controls. May also be referred to as deflection windows for the sake
of simplicity. The hydraulic deflections it shows are a separate unit
on top of your controls, and doesn’t limit your own control. They are
easiest to see with control menu on upper right by pressing Right
Control + Enter. These will be shown and explained in first section

AutoPilot Specific Equipment:

SAU-V24-1: Entire AP Complex

VUAP-1: Executive controller of pitch/roll/yaw/altitude channels,

all inputs are sent to this controller to change hydraulic deflection.
Also usually the name given to refer to lower AP panel for pitch/roll/
yaw:altitude channels.
PVM-24: Hover/Route Control Panel

PVP-24: Radar Altitude Hold Panel

ZPU-2: Route heading selector, called RMI-2 rotary heading

selector in controls options likely because you are using the RMI-2
HSI as heading reference. The diagram at the bottom of the section
refers to it as SFPA, selected flight patch angle. Confusing enough?

BV-24: Main Computer

BSV-24/KZP: Altimeter Correction Unit

RM-24: Vibration absorbing frame that attaches entire AP panel to

Pilot cabin with all associated buttons and dials and gauges

Sensors that input to Autopilot are:

MGV-1SU: vertical gyro determine attitude for pitch/roll channels

DUSU-18AS: angular speed sensor for pitch/roll/yaw channels

Greben-1: Gyro Compass system, feeds heading to Yaw Channel

DISS-15: doppler feeding ground speed and vertical speed in

relation to ground

RV-5: radar altimeter telling Altitude hold (radar altimeter) the

current AGL to hold
KZSP: airspeed correction unit, feeds Speed Stabilization mode

KZP: altitude correction feeding Barometric and Radar Altimeter

Hold

Trim buttons and Trim hats: feed Pitch/Roll Channels, when trim is
pressed the pitch/roll AP is set to 0. After trim released the AP is re
aligned/zeroed out and normal operation resumes with new attitude/
cyclic position information updated. Trim hat moves cyclic but only
tells RCS/PCS sensors new cyclic trim position

MicroSwitches on Pedals: by sensing if feet are on pedals, puts the

Yaw Channel AP into Coordination mode or Heading Hold

Hydraulic Dampener SDV-5000-OA: Hydraulic damper that slows

down pedal movements and can be disabled by red guarded switch
on left side of instrument panel. When Yaw AP is in heading hold
and reaches its 18% limit it will use this hydraulic dampener to auto
trim the pedals on it own. Turning it off with the switch will not stop
this

KAU-115: Hydraulic system that outputs signals to rotor head as

physical deflections

RCS and PCS: Roll Compensation sensors and Pitch Compensation

sensors, detect movement of cyclic from trimmed position and adds
movements to KAU-115 Pitch/Roll channels to allow AP to not fight
pilot in pitch and roll. Essentially any cyclic movement is
transferred to pitch/roll AP to stop AP from fighting you
Introduction:
Here I will describe the Auto Pilots of several other helicopters
in DCS, so if you have these other modules this might help you
understand what is different about Mi-24P AP. If you don’t have
any other helicopter modules you can skip the first few
paragraphs about Mi-8/Ka-50/Apache

Mi-8: Many of you have flown Mi-8 before, in Mi-8 we have

simpler earlier system. With 20% the authority of your cyclic It will
dampen and stabilize your attitude. This set attitude can be changed
by the adjustment knobs, or the attitude the Mi-8 is In when the AP
channels are turned on. These Pitch and Roll channel movement is
proportional to the the sum of,

Difference from Set Attitude + Change in Angular rotation

speed + Copy/Replication of Cyclic movement from trimmed
spot (these are officially referred to as “Compensation” channels,
and will be described in depth in a later section)
 Also In Mi-8 the altitude channel is linked to speed hold, as speed
lowers the pitch AP will try to make you pitch down, and when
speed is faster then set speed it will use Pitch AP to pitch you up.
There is also the Yaw AP channel, in real life this is activated by
pressure sensing micro switches on the pedals, but in DCS these
switches are simulated as being pressed whenever pedals are moved
more then 9% from center. The Micro switches are simulated as
being released When within 9% of center, and the Yaw AP will
maintain the heading you are at. Out side of the 9% center zone they
will do nothing. But if the 18% authority of the Yaw AP isn’t
enough, the pedals will move and trim themselves to make you
maintain heading.

Ka-50: A lot of you are also likely familiar with Ka-50, in there
the AP will both dampen and stabilize attitude and heading, or only
dampening when trim button is pressed and/or in flight director
mode. When trim button is released, the current attitude/heading is
set for the autopilot to maintain

AH-64D: I won’t go too in depth with Apache or it’s altitude/

speed hold modes, but it does have some similarities to Mi-24P.
Above 40 knots It’s AP attitude hold system has 10-20% authority,
and when it reaches it’s authority limit you will get a “SAS saturated
warning.” By pressing trim and holding it for 3-5 seconds, the SAS/
AP will be reset to zero. Like Ka-50 and Mi-24P, you basically use
the trim button to update attitude-hold what attitude you want it to
maintain, and to make sure the cyclic is trimmed so that the AP
doesn’t need more authority then it has. If you maneuver too far
from this attitude you trimmed at, the AP will be at its limit and no
longer able to do its job. Like Mi-24P you can see this happen with
the R control + enter menu. The Heading Hold of the Apache only
functions when roll is nearly level.
End of Optional Comparison Section

Figure 1 below is the SAU-V24-1/VUAP-1 AP panel, the

windows that show autopilot channel outputs, also referred to as
“Autopilot servo spindle displacement windows” are shown in a red
rectangle in Figure 2. Each window shows the movement of the AP
channel activated below it by the green button light, these windows
are also shown on the upper right screen by the Rcntrl + enter menu

The order of the channels left to right is same as Mi-8, by seeing

these either in the panel or by Rcntrl + enter will help you
understand the autopilot on your own. Figure 2 is of the spindle
displacement/AP deflection windows in Mi-8. Only differences
between the spindle displacement windows on Mi-24P compared to
Mi-8 is on the physical panel of Mi-24P roll channel displacement
window is vertical instead of horizontal, and pitch AP window is
reversed in Mi-24P both on physical panel and Rcntrl + enter menu

Figure-1
Figure 2
Section A. Mi-24P pitch and roll Autopilot
Overall The Mi-24P autopilot has features that place it in between
the Mi-8 and Ka-50. Similar to Mi-8 these two autopilots will try to
stabilize/hold your set attitude, and dampen any changes in
movement. The end of this guide will Link the Cold War air
Museum manual for the Mi-24, where it describes the pitch and roll
channels as outputting signals in proportion to attitude difference
from set attitude + in proportion with rate of change of attitude + in
proportion to cyclic position from trimmed center (these will be
described later in Section A part III: Compensation channels).
Features it has that are different Compared to Mi-8 for Pitch/roll are

1. Pitch/roll AP is affected by trim button, with trim button turning

AP off then resetting the set attitude and compensation sensors,
will be further explained in point A of the next list. And trim hat
changing stick position and pausing compensation sensors
2. Autopilot only has 18% authority compared to 20% in Mi-8

Section A Part II, AP adjustment of set attitude to be

stabilized

The pitch and roll AP will stabilize/hold the attitude you are In
when they are turned on, for example if gyros are caged when AP is
turned on this is +3.5 degrees pitch on the ground. To modify this
set attitude there are 3 distinct ways versus the 2 on the Mi-8. On
Mi-8 these two ways are by adjustment knobs, and turning it off and
on again. So for Mi-24 to adjust set attitude the AP stabilizes you at,
your options are…..

A. Press the trim button, it will effectively turn off pitch and
roll autopilot while trim is pressed, and turn it back on when the
trim button is released changing the set attitude to the attitude you
are at during trim button release. This is effectively more like Ka-50
using trim button to set current parameters you want autopilot to
maintain, and one of the most obvious features of the Mi-24 AP
system that is more of an evolutionary step between the Mi-8 to
Ka-50. Be aware that this is what causes your trim position to
“jump” if using trim button. If you turn on AP on ground after
aligning the gyros, since your nose position is +3.5 degrees on the
ground, the pitch AP would try to hold +3.5 degrees if turned on at
that time. Let’s say You take off and transition and trim for level
attitude 0 degrees. While trim button is pressed AP turns off (you
lose the pitch AP trying to pitch you up to +3.5 degrees) and when
trim button is released the pitch AP will now try to maintain 0
degrees. This means that the forward cyclic needed to “fight” the
pitch AP trying to get you to +3.5 degrees will now pitch you down
further then level attitude. Wether you prefer frequent taps of trim
button or holding it then releasing it, just do what works.

WARNING: Avoid doing all trimming with trim hat as this will not
change set attitude. Pitch AP will reach it’s limits 10 degrees in each
direction from your set attitude. In other words you may run out of
Autopilot authority when only using trim hat for serious flight mode
changes such as hover to fast forward flight and vice versa that
require more then 10 degrees pitch. For more info see Part III

B. Similar to Mi-8, The set attitude can also be modified with the
adjustment knobs on the bottom of the AP panel. However unlike
Mi-8 they will go to 0 the moment you press trim. Each numerical
mark on the adjustment dials corresponds to 1 degree of adjustment
(1 on pitch dial is equal to set attitude -1 degree, 9 is equal to set
attitude plus 1 degree. 9 is the first number in the counter clockwise
direction, 1 is the first number in clockwise direction).

C. Same as Mi-8, You can also just turn them off and on again
as preferred and referenced in the Figure below. As they hold the
attitude at which they are turned on, just be aware that if you turn it
on after a generator failure during maneuvering it may not help you
fly straight and stable until you re trim or only turn it on while
straight and level.

Tip: If you turn on pitch AP before caging gyros, the default set
attitude will be 0 degrees. When caging/aligning gyros you will see
pitch AP start to give pitch down in attempt to fight the 3.5 degree
pitch up angle on the ground. As mentioned earlier, AP will be set at
3.5 degrees if turned on after caging/aligning gyros

Description of Figure 3, The following except from the DCS

Mi-8 manual shows you a photo of the autopilot positions when:

Picture labeled 1: hovering with AP turned off

Picture labeled 2: hovering with AP turned on before takeoff
Picture labeled 3: in cruise with AP turned on before take off
Picture labeled 4: in cruise when AP is turned off and on (or
adjusted with trim button or adjustment knobs) during cruise

Figure-3
 The differences you see between pictures labeled 3 and 4 in
Figure 3, is that in picture labeled 3, since autopilot was turned
on while on the ground, it is constantly trying to maintain the
nose up position that occurs while on the ground, to the point it
has reached the limit of its authority while the nose is down to
fly fast. Whereas adjusting it in flight to change the set attitude
to your current attitude in picture labeled 4, the autopilot now
tries to maintain the nose down attitude for level flight at
200-300 kmh, and does not run out of authority. (You will also
see that since AP is not at its limit in picture 4 and doing less
then picture 3, picture 4 shows greater cyclic deflection needed
to make up for AP being closer to center, you see the same thing
when comparing pictures 1 and 2 of figure 3)

Hopefully this might help show the importance of the need to re

adjust the set attitude of the autopilot system so it does not run out
of authority. Though the deflections shown will be different in
Mi-24P as these pictures are from Mi-8 manual, the principle of
needing to adjust it via trim or adjustment knobs or cycling the AP
channels off and on is the same

I usually trim/adjust my AP to stabilize at -5-7 degrees pitch,

which is good for the benefit of weapon aiming from 0-15 degree
dives (as well as cruise at 260-280 kmh), because as mentioned
before the pitch autopilot will try to maintain the set attitude for 10
degrees in each direction before reaching its limit of authority. For
example its authority is +5 to -15 degrees pitch before it runs out of
authority if trimmed at -5 degrees pitch. And as mentioned in my
weapons guide, the radar altimeter overestimates readings beyond
15 degrees of pitch/bank, so using auto ranging CCIP beyond 15
degrees is only with degraded accuracy. By making it stabilize at -5
degrees pitch, the pitch AP has the authority to not only stabilize
weapon aiming down to -15 degrees pitch but also the authority to
resist the movement from gun and rocket recoil within that range,
increasing accuracy. I may trim periodically in straight and level
flight to zero out the autopilot. Use trim hat for very small
adjustments (I have also found it helpful to use trim hat to make
helicopter attitude stable before using Trim button), and then use
trim button again on landing to set AP for more level attitude. As
mentioned, it is a good idea to trim at least twice to get rid of the
“jumping issue.”

Here is a picture of the AP giving full up pitch in a dive in the

bottom left picture. At max deflection, all it is doing is
commanding your swashplate to be 9% further back then your
cyclic commands.

In the below two pictures, the one on the right has The Pitch AP
servo/spindle is closer to center, and thus have the authority to make
constant corrections in either direction using the full range of
authority.

So by using trim button in fast cruise when nose is low (-5-10

degrees), or even trimming after nosing down for dive,, the channel
being deflected very little will help make you more accurate.
SUPER TIP: Trim after you dive on target, that way pitch AP will
not use all its authority trying to level you, and will best be able to
fight recoil and increase your accuracy. You just might need to trim
again when you level out…..

Section A Part III. Compensation channels

With pitch and roll activated, it’s inputs are used for dampening
rate of attitude change and attitude stabilization, however there is a
third factor that moves the AP hydraulic displacement/deflection
spindles. The AP pitch/roll channels will move with your cyclic
movements so that the AP does not fight your maneuvers, Mi-8
works similarly. Almost always referred to as Compensation
channels.

They are also the main means of checking if the AP channels

work, done by moving the cyclic on the ground and seeing the AP
channels deflect with the cyclic via the spindle displacement
windows on the AP panel. You will see that the amount the
compensation channel deflects is not based on how far cyclic is
from physical center, but based on how far cyclic is from trimmed
center.

As an example, The farther you move cyclic down and right from
the trimmed center position, the more down and right cyclic input
there is in the autopilot. So essentially, if stick is exactly in trimmed
center position, compensation channels would be doing absolutely
nothing. This compensation effect can mean that you might be able
to exceed the 10 degree authority limit from the set attitude without
reaching the limit of the autopilot. As your cyclic is forward of
trimmed center, the compensation channel makes autopilot also
command nose down. But as nose moves down, the AP also wants
to maintain set attitude and will balance with a certain amount nose
up AP command depending how far from trimmed attitude it is. If
you are nose down because of excessive trim hat forward and not by
normal stick movement, you may have problems for reasons
outlined in the below warning because the trim hat is moving
trimmed center forward without changing set attitude >>>

Warning: the hat trim does not interact with AP. But you may still
see AP deflection change as you trim with hat. This is because As
the hat trim physically moves the center trimmed spot, the output of
the compensation channel is also changed. For example if you
Move cyclic back, you will see compensation channel make the pitch
AP copy your cyclic and command nose up. If you press trim hat
down for nose up hat trim, you will see the deflection in the AP
Pitch channel decrease, as the nose up trim is moving the “trimmed
center” closer to your current cyclic position.

FYI, The Yaw AP has no compensation channels, wether it is

holding your heading or dampening yaw movement, it will not
move with your pedals the way pitch and roll AP move with your
cyclic as “compensation” channels.

Because these compensation channels add 18% authority when

close to trimmed center, you will actually notice more
maneuverability but still good stability by having AP on and not
using trim in a turn/maneuver
Section B, Yaw AP peculiarities
Yaw AP: circular button on bottom left of AP panel,
under left most window showing it’s deflection/
displacement. Has a heading hold and dampening mode

Heading Hold mode: Yaw AP tries to hold heading it

was in when mode was first entered. Output is
proportional to difference between original heading it was
activated on and current heading.

Coordination Mode: AP fights changes in rate of

yaw movement. Output is proportional to slow down or
speed up of yaw movement/rate. Allow coordinated and
stabilized turning.

Pedal MicroSwitches: Switches on pedals that are

pressed when feet are placed on pedals. When pressed
Yaw AP is in Dampening mode. When released Yaw AP is
in heading hold. The bind for this is called “Yaw Chanel
Microswitches button - ON/OFF,”

Hydraulic Pedal Damper: This is a hydraulic

dampener that connects to the pedals, and slows down
their movement. When pedals are moved fast enough to
be limited by this hydraulic damper, you will see a yellow
caution light come on by the vertical gyro lights that says
“Caution High Pedal Push Rate.” Technical name is
SDV-5000-OA for the hydraulic unit. Turning it off with
red guarded switch on front panel will turn off Yaw AP.

When Yaw AP is in heading hold mode and reaches its

limit, this Hydraulic Damper SDV-5000-OA will move
the pedals and trim them on its own, which can be a
nuisance. You will see a yellow cryllic letter next to Yaw
AP window on R control + enter menu when this auto
trimming happens

Section B, Part I: The system in reality and Operation

Earlier I mentioned that in Mi-8, only function of Yaw AP is that

when pedals are within 9% of center position they are controlled by
AP to maintain heading, or “heading hold” mode. And that this is
because in reality, the pedals have micro switches on them that
detect pressure. This heading hold only working while pedals are
close to center are there to simulate the fact that the pedals have a
switch in them to detect pressure, and our consumer pedals at home
don’t have a switch to detect foot pressure. So ED coded it to be that
moving the pedals far from center would activate the “microswitch”
in the pedals.

A. When feet are on pedals in Mi-8 (micro switches pressed) the

heading hold does nothing. In Mi-24P, the Yaw channel enters
Coordination mode.

B. when feet are off pedals in Mi-8 (micro switches released), the
yaw AP goes into heading hold mode and maintains heading using
its 20% authority (18% in Mi-24P), and when it reaches this limit it
will use the hydraulic damper in the pedals SDV-5000-OA (which
usually just slows down pedal movement) to trim the pedals for you
to maintain heading.

The only difference between Mi-8 Yaw channel with Mi-24P in

reality is that, when the yaw AP is not in heading hold and feet are
on pedals (micro switches pressed), Yaw AP goes into a
Coordination Mode.

In reality all is done when you press microswitch with Yaw

Channel on is a “Low Bypass Filter” is added to heading hold. This
filter will force the yaw channel to neutral if RATE of heading
change stays the same, such as in a turn. It functions to keep you
smooth during maneuvers and slow down sudden jerks/changes.
Only significantly holding heading in extremely fast changes of yaw
rate

The purpose of the microswitch is to switch from this mode to

heading hold and vice versa.

The Coordination mode will fight yaw rate changes caused by

rapid collective movement, adverse yaw from cyclic inputs,
smoothen the yaw movement caused by jerky pedal movement, and
fight turbulence/wind that causes changes in yaw rate. Just not as
much as heading hold

While heading hold may also fight these things, Heading hold
will try to return you to the original heading it was activated on,
while Coordination mode will go neutral once yaw rate stops
changing.
 If you were to turn left, Coordination mode would slightly fight
the initial change in heading but as you settle into a steady turn it
will go to neutral. As you stopped turning it might try to slow down
how fast the turn stops by giving left deflection, but when you fully
level out and stop it will go to nuetral as your yaw rate is no longer
changing.

If you turned left in heading hold mode, Yaw AP would not only
fight the change, but actively try to return you to original heading no
matter where you are, it only cares about nose postion and will fight
any turn.

Having yaw channel and Coordination Mode on will make you

more stable then no Yaw AP, but will never fight constant/sustained/
consistent turns. It will help you aim better, allowing you to make
more precise aiming adjustments. It will allow you to fly smoother
and more precise, as turns will not start and stop so fast, and yaw
movements you don’t want will be slowed down.

It is instructed in real life to have roll pitch and yaw autopilot on

from before takeoff to after landing, and only allowed to fly without
them for training. But if using Yaw AP and heading hold keeps
interfering because of your control set up, it may be better to keep it
off.

Section B, Part II: DCS Implementation/Simulation

It will be easiest when you can tell yourself the mode the yaw AP
is in, wether heading hold or coordination mode. The easiest way to
tell is to turn on the control display by pressing Right Control +
enter, and looking at the autopilot deflection/displacement windows
on the top right, as described earlier the yaw autopilot is the left
most window.

Knowing what mode your Yaw AP is in

Method 1: Moving the knob- There is the adjustment knob for the
yaw channel below the off button. If you rotate the knob and the
needle in the deflection gauge above doesn’t move, your
microswitches are pressed and you are Coordination mode.

If the knob does move the needle in the deflection gauge, the micro
switches are released and you are in heading hold mode.

Method 2: Turning-let’s say your level. And turn left 90 degrees

and stop, this is what Yaw AP would do

Yaw AP Coordination mode (micro switches pressed): it will fight

the sudden change in yaw rate as you start to yaw left with right
yaw channel output. As the turn becomes consistent it will go
neutral. Then as you slow down to stop turning after 90 degrees it
will fight the slow down in yaw rate to make you stop less suddenly.
When you are completely stopped the Yaw AP will go completely
neutral..

Yaw AP heading hold Mode (micro switches released): It would

fight your left yaw with right AP input the more you turn

If “PEDAL AUTO MOVE” is checked in special settings, After

you pass 9 degrees left it will reach its Yaw AP authority limit, the
SDV-5000-OA hydraulic damper will then move and trim the pedals
on its own to try and return you to the original heading. You might
not even be able to turn 90 degrees left becuase eventually it will
trim your pedals 100% right to stop the turn, You can even turn
back, and In heading hold mode see it move closer to center as you
come close to original heading.

Method 3: Press Microswitch- The MicroSwitches are also

controlled with the “Y” binding, pressing this while turning and
watching the yaw AP spindle deflection window can help. If
microswitch button doesn’t bring the deflection close to center then
your in heading hold or your bind doesn’t work.

ATTENTION: If something is trimming your pedals despite not

using pedal trim, it might be becuase your Yaw AP is in heading
hold mode and the SDV-5000-OA is trimming to hold heading. The
only special option that can stop this is making sure “Pedal Auto
Move” is unchecked.

Checking “No Pedal Trim” will only stop YOU from trimming
pedals. If the heading hold trims your pedal axis, the trim can only
be reset to 0 with the “Reset Trim” control. The pedals can also be
manually trimmed by using “X/Z” keyboard button binds for pedal
axis left/right to trim manually.

You will know when the auto trimming happens when A yellow
Cyrillic letter appears next to Yaw AP window in R control + enter
menu. You can use this to see exactly when and what direction
your pedals are being auto trimmed. With Yaw AP in Coordination
mode/microswitches pressed there will be no auto trimming and
you will never see a yellow Cyrillic letter, so you can use the
Cyrillic letter as an additional way to see what mode you are in
during a turn.

< This is the cryllic letters that appear when

heading hold is auto trimming pedals, it
will appear next to the window that shows
the Yaw AP movement in the “Right Control
+ Enter” display

Before a recent patch it was identical to Mi-8 implementation,

only difference being having Yaw AP Coordination mode added
when pedals where deflected farther then 9% from center. Then
microswitches were added but the auto trimming from SDV-5000-
OA in heading hold was removed. Eventually the auto trimming was
added back in. If you are confused by Yaw AP differences since
release, this may be why.

But now, we have multiple special settings for the Yaw AP

microswitches that control heading hold/dampening mode, and I do
not blame you if you are confused! In special options there is the
“Micro Switch Logic” category. You’re options there are
Section B Part III: Special Setting Options
Trimming Modes
Stick Trimmer Modes
And among these trimming options, there is also “Pedal Trimmer
Mode” and “Stick Trimmer Mode,” your options here are

A. Instant: This isn’t exactly instant, but .5 seconds after releasing

trim button the trim position will be applied, meant to give you time
to center controls. For FFB sticks it will be truly instant.

B. Return to Center: What is often preferred for centered Springed

Controls. When releasing trim button controls will freeze, and when
controls are returned to center the trim setting will be applied.

C. Joystick without Springs and FFB: this only applies to Stick

Trimmer mode, this should be truly instant trim, but I’ve never used
it as I have FFB.

Pedal Trimmer

A. Cyclic Trimmer Button (T): this is same as selecting Pedal Trim

option before the patch this was added. Press the cyclic trim button,
and both Cyclic and Pedals will be trimmed simultaneously.

B. Pedals Micro Switch Button (Y): This will allow you to use the
Pedal Micro Switch bind to act as a dedicated pedal trim button.
This way you can trim cyclic and pedals separately. The bind will
still perform it’s normal function of switching Yaw AP into
dampening mode when pressed.
C. Pedal Trimmer Off: This is the same as not selecting Pedal
Trimmer before, with this setting there will be no way to trim
pedals. Be aware that even if you select this the SDV-5000-OA
damper will still auto trim pedals when Yaw AP is in heading hold
mode and reaches its limit. Only way to stop this from happening
is by making sure “Pedals Auto Move” option is NOT selected

Pedal MicroSwitch Logic

A. Disable by return to Neutral: This is identical to original

implementation before the patch that introduced microswitches, and
is identical to Mi-8 implementation. When pedal deflection is more
then 9% from center the yaw AP is simulated as being in Yaw AP
Coordination Mode (micro switches pressed/feet on pedals), and
within 9% of center in heading hold mode (micro switches released/
feet off pedals). You will want to be aware that when turning or
making heading changes, to either deflect pedals enough to be in
Yaw AP Coordination mode, or to not have yaw AP on. In left turns
you will often need centered pedals for a coordinated left turn, and
this will put it in heading hold mode and fight you. Some people use
excessive left pedal in left turns to fight this (if they are not aware of
or do not wish to use the MicroSwitch bind or turn Yaw AP off).

B. Enable/Disable by absence/presence of pedal movement: This

will mean that if pedal movement is detected, the Yaw AP will be in
Coordination mode (micro switches pressed), and when pedals are
still Yaw AP will be in Heading Hold Mode (micro switches
released). For old jittery pedals, or twist sticks and T16000m
paddles that have low resolution/very sensitive, it may never detect
them being still and always be in Yaw AP Coordination mode. I
believe this mode will cause the most issues as your pedals do not
move in a constant turn, and so when they are still the Yaw AP will
go into heading hold and fight your turn and trim your pedals.

C. Automatic MicroSwitch Off: This will mean that by default Yaw

AP will be in heading hold mode, and not able to go to Coordination
mode except by manually using a bind for the Pedal Micro
Switches. The point of this mode is to give you full manual control
like a real pilot would have.

In Control Menu the bind is called “Pedal MicroSwitch button

(keyboard button Y),” or “Pedal Microswitch button ON/OFF,” It
is in the Rudder Pedals and Flight Control Categories.

This micro switch bind attached to “Y” on the keyboard has to be

CONSTANTLY pressed to work. Instead there is a “Microswitch
ON/OFF” you can bind that works as a toggle. This way you can
press a button once to switch yaw channel modes instead of needing
a switch to constantly hold the “Y”key in position to keep
coordination mode on.

Option for “Sensitivity Of Button Controlled Pedals”: This

special option adjust how fast the “Left Pedal” and “Right pedal”
buttons move the pedals. If you don’t use button/keyboard binds for
pedals but only an axis, then this setting will not do anything. If you
use buttons to control pedals, you can use this setting to fine tune
how fast the pedals move when you press the left/right buttons

Pedals Auto Move: Checking this will allow the Yaw channel in
Heading Hold mode to auto trim your pedals when it’s 18%
authority is at its limit. This option was added so that you can
turn off auto trimming from heading hold to make it is easier to
fly. I personally have this blank so that heading hold never trims
my pedals.

Collective Threshold for Alt Hold: Discussed more in depth in

later Altitude hold section, this option controls how much you
can move collective before Altitude hold is turned off

Collective Brake Mode: Default allow collective to move

freely, second option makes it more realistic by forcing you to
press “Collective Brake” (keybind F) to move collective. This
also turns altitude hold off.

Personally what I run is instant for cyclic trim, no pedal trim, and
Micro Switch logic as “Automatic Off” so I can completely control
switching between Yaw AP Dampening and Heading Hold modes.

Fun fact: Other then the MI-24P having a more sophisticated auto
pilot then Mi-8 due to being more modern, one reason it likely has
the yaw dampening mode feature of the Yaw auto pilot is to combat
Dutch roll. An effect that can happen because of the wings which
are swept backward 8.5 degrees. When a yaw movement happens
very often a side slip will occur, this makes one swept wing leading
edge become more parallel to the airflow then the other, Increasing
the lift and drag of the wing more parallel to the airflow. This can
cause a roll and yaw movement in opposite directions to happen,
often fighting the yaw movement that caused it, creating an
oscillation where this happens in a loop. In order to fight this back
and forth roll/yaw oscillation, the designers added 12 degrees of
anhedral, where the wings are tilted downwards so the tip is lower
then the root(this helps by reducing the amount the wings want to
stabilize you in roll). This doesn’t entirely fix the Dutch roll issue
however, and Yaw AP dampening mode is often added to auto pilots
in order to help reduce the yaw movements that cause these Dutch
rolls.

Part IV: SPUU-52-3

The SPUU-52-3 is technically not part of the autopilot system, but

as it’s panel is joined with AP panel, and it still affects anti torque
flight controls. I thought I would shortly cover it.

Mil designed the Mi-24 tail rotor to have as much authority as

needed even if in thin and hot air. To do this Mil needed a tail rotor
that could pull some large pitch angles. For example main rotor goes
from 1-15 degrees pitch, the tail rotor goes from -14 degrees at max
left pedal, and 26 degrees at max right pedal! However at low
altitudes with thicker air and dense colder air the massive 26 degrees
of pitch the tail rotor can pull when full right pedal is commanded
would stress the tail boom. So the SPUU-52-3 limits the max
deflection of the pedals only in the RIGHT PEDAL direction
anywhere from 20 to 26 degrees, and limits it based off of
temperature and pressure. You can see that it has its own spindle
deflection window like the AP Chanel’s that show deflection of the
system. If the spindle is all the way to the left (like it is when off),
you have the full 26 degrees of right pedal tail rotor pitch. If the
spindle is all the way to right, you will only have 20 degrees of tail
rotor pitch with full right pedal. There is a dial and a switch on the
SPUU-52-3 panel that allows to either test it or manually adjust it.

You will see that when the system is on, and you press Right
Control + Enter to see your controls and AP deflection, that with
SPUU-52-3 on there is a chevron/arrow pointing left on the line that
shows pedal axis travel. This chevron/arrow shows you how much
of your total right pedal travel is being Limited, and when the
SPUU-52-3 is at 100% then 23% of your right pedal travel will be
limited.

If you look at the chevron or the spindle deflection window, you

will see that at low altitudes and medium temperatures it is still
often only very slightly limited. So the difference is often small!

However, there is a catch. This system is on the Mi-24 to limit tail

boom stress, well, the tail boom stress isn’t a worry in DCS.

So basically in DCS, you are free to have it on or off.

Pros to having it on are, realism, and limiting the amount that full
right pedal can slow down main rotor RPM. The con being you
can’t use full right pedal.

The pro to never turning it on is having full right pedal authority at

all times. But the con to not turning it on is not being realistic, and
increasing the likelihood that you lose generators mid flight because
of how easily full right pedal can slow down rotor RPM below 87%.

What do I personally do? Just like how engines are limited to 5

minutes above cruise power for the sake of preserving engine life in
reality, but using full power for multiple flights in a row would
cause no reduction in power (in game and in reality), I personally
keep SPUU-52-3 off so that I can utilize full right pedal when it is
needed.

Section C. Barometric altitude hold

The barometric altimeter hold is part of the same bottom row of
buttons/spindle displacement windows as the yaw, roll and pitch
autopilots, it is the right most window/button of that row, activated
by a circular button.

This is the most fickle of all the autopilots, as you have to be as

close to 0 climb/descent rate/VSI as possible in order to activate it
and have it work right. One reason for this is that it’s frankly not
very smart, it changes collective in proportion to the difference
between your current altitude and the altitude you were at when you
turned it on.

However what causes it to be an even bigger headache in my

opinion, would be that the elevator/stabilator moves up and down
with your collective causing a pitch response and that this is what
often makes your barometric altitude AP not so reliable. At high
speed the pitch response from the elevator will become more
pronounced, and using the barometric AP above normal cruise
speeds may be more difficult hands off, except for usage as an
“assist” to help you hold altitude along with manual control. The
switch below barometric altitude hold is for testing its movements,
but can be used in flight as a sort of manual control. In the Mi-8 the
altitude and speed holds are linked, I find that turning on speed hold
along with altitude hold in Mi-24P sometimes makes it more
reliable, as when it slows down or speeds up because it overshoots
its
set
altitude, the speed hold will move pitch AP back and forth to
maintain speed and minimize the severity of altitude hold
overshooting. Sometimes it’s more stable without speed hold
(shrug).

At high altitudes, the altitude AP also will become less marginal in

its hands off stability no matter the speed, I have not been able to
achieve consistent hands off flight above 3,000m

Below is a diagram that shows the movement of the elevator in

relation to collective. 1 degree collective is the left side, full 15
degrees collective is right side, the scale on the left is elevator
movement. As you can see at 1 degree collective the elevator/
stabilator is 12.5 degrees up, and at full 15 degrees collective the
elevator is 7.5 degrees down, and as collective is raised the change
movement becomes exponentially slower. The elevator is centered
right at 6 degrees collective.

While it’s a pain for barometric altitude hold, it’s usefulness is

likely many things.

There’s the idea that As forward flight requires lots of forward

cyclic, and hovering flight requires significant rear cyclic, the
moving elevator increases the range of center of gravities allowed in
flight and less cyclic movement. This way you can have a wider
range of payloads and locations with less adverse effects, and have
to move cyclic less throughout flight. You could say it’s designed to
make sure the fuselage is always at good angle in flight

The most credible idea is it gives a horizontal component to thrust,

nosing you down with added collective, and nosing you up with less
collective, helping you speed up and down more like a throttle in a
plane, especially considering how the Mi-24 is often flown like a
fixed wing and is a helicopter out of convenience more then
anything else some would say…. This theory that the elevator/
stabilator movement is to aid control of horizontal speed with the
collective is espoused by the popular Mi-24 walk around video by
The Cold War Museum, which makes me more apt to believe it
https://youtu.be/H17sXrWgAgQ

The Mi-6 had similar system, and it’s intent was to keep elevator as
close to aligned with airflow as possible at all times to have the
largest margin of stability

Fun fact, the elevator is mostly covered in fabric!!!!!! But I heard

that later modifications changes the fabric for fiberglass, how sad is
that? Vintage Fabric skin is pretty cool!

Notice: “Collective Threshold for Alt. Hold” in special options

will allow you to move the collective 2-40% without disengaging
altitude hold. I set mine to 9% as that is the authority of the system
in each direction. This way I can move the collective slightly to
adjust with altitude channel on. But can still quickly disengage the
system by moving the collective rapidly

Section D. Upper AP panel

One of its largest departure from Mi-8 System is the additional

upper AP panel, it’s functions are
 1. Route Mode and Route heading Selector Knob: This uses
information from the heading gyro and doppler drift indicator to fly
you along a set course within +/-15 degree bank (for the purpose of
safety in case of malfunction). It also requires roll channel to be on,
as it will ONLY try to control your path by using the Roll AP . Roll
can be manually increased to 30 degrees if deviation from set
heading is large enough. If it rolls on its own to 18-20 degrees re
trimming may be needed. If it is not turning you to correct heading
while on, move cyclic in direction that roll AP is deflected by either
looking at the roll AP displacement window on the panel at your left
knee or via the Rcntrl + enter menu. When roll autopilot is at neutral
deflection, you will be on the course it wants you to be on. Will only
function up to 3,000m altitude AGL same as doppler system. If
heading is still different then assigned heading it may be correcting
for drift which can be checked via the drift gauge, As the route
mode will use doppler drift to make sure your ground track is along
set heading even if nose is not pointed directly ahead. 3 degrees of
right drift will mean your HSI will show approximately 3 degrees to
the left of heading set via route selector (when route mode is no
longer deflecting the roll channel signifying you are on the correct
“route”). Because it uses the drift indicator, it allows your ground
track to be perfectly along the set heading regardless of wind. If you
set this to same heading as doppler navigation panel, and use them
together, you will find they complement each other VERY well.

(Make sure to press OFF button after using route. If turned off
automatically it’s inputs will be saved in the autopilot and continue
to affect you. The “OFF” button is the only way to return roll
autopilot completely to normal. Beware this will also reset your roll/
pitch attitude hold as if you had just released the trim button or just
turned them on)
The graphic below should show a bit about the system
2. Speed Stabilization: on and off is part of this panel, requires
pitch autopilot to be on to function. It’s light on the dashboard does
not currently function, and I often forget to turn it off. When speed
changes drastically with it on, you will see it give full up or down
pitch AP deflection/displacement, as it tries to control your speed by
making the Pitch AP move to make you climb or descend

3. Hover Hold: uses doppler system to maneuver you within +/-5

degrees pitch/roll to maintain hover, inputs to the roll/pitch AP are
based off longitudinal and lateral speed signals from doppler
system. 5 degree angle limit is for safety in case of malfunction. Be
careful that it will not just try to STOP horizontal movement over
the ground, but will try to return you to the original spot you were
over when first turning it on. If you turn it on and then move and
stop, it will try to return you to original position, so try to turn it on
after already stopping and being over intended hover point. If you
see erratic movements in it, this could be why. I enjoy using it on
take off as well, to be as vertical and limit tipping as much as
possible.

The graphic below should show a bit about the system, it’s on the
radar altitude hold section because that is also part of the auto hover
system

(Make sure to press “OFF” button after it turns off automatically in

order to not have its outputs continue to affect your autopilot. Only
when “OFF” is pressed do roll/pitch channels to back to normal.
Beware this will also reset your roll/pitch attitude holds as if you
has released the trim button or just turned them on)

4. Altitude Hold (radar altitude): This only works together with

hover hold. This can be differentiated from the barometric altitude
hold by the radar altitude hold being a rectangular button on the
upper panel whereas barometric altitude hold is a circular button on
the bottom row to the right of the Pitch AP button. The barometric
hold will activate at same time as radar altitude hold and the radar
altitude hold AP movements will be shown in the same AP spindle
displacement window used by the barometric altitude hold. If you
turn it off by moving collective, the circular barometric altitude hold
button will stay lit, in order to turn it back on just press the
rectangular Altitude Hold (radar altitude) button on top of the panel.
You will see some literature refer to this as “Altitude Hold -
Landing,” as it cannot be used faster then 50 kmh ground speed like
barometric altitude hold.

(If you use it, turn it off by pressing “OFF” button even if visually
the button light is off, as using it just once can cause using
barometric altitude hold later on in flight to try to return you to the
barometric altitude you used the Radar altitude hold for)

The “Collective Threshold for Alt. hold” setting also works for
radar altitude hold.

Tips:

In order to turn on all of these but Speed Stabilize, you must be

within +/-7 degrees of pitch or +/-30 degrees of roll for the doppler
system to work. They will also turn off when exceeding these limits.
This is their limit because all of these but Speed Stabilize use drift or
ground movement information from the doppler in order to work

The hover and radar altitude hold can only be activated under 50
kmh ground speed, and will turn off when exceeding 50 kmh ground
speed. When the doppler hover gauge starts working, you can use
hover/radar altitude hold. They work best when already in a stable
hover as it will try to hold you over a certain point.

Other Limits:

Systems required for AP function of all channels is main

hydraulic system and No. 1 vertical gyro. Route/hover/hover-radar-
altitude hold requiring doppler to work, and speed hold requiring the
pitch AP to be on. Route mode requires roll channel to work. And
radar altitude hold will require radar altimeter to work and force
barometric altitude channel on,

Heading accuracy: 1 degree, dependent on Greben-1 gyro compass

system for accuracy

Roll/Pitch accuracy: 0.5 degrees

Pitch limit: +/- 10 degrees from set attitude.

Route limits: 120+ kmh required for use, maximum of 2 degree

deviation from selected flight path. Make sure to use sea mode over
water for best accuracy and for all doppler related needs like map
accuracy.

Hovering: drift after one minute in hover hold should be no

greater then 15m at a wind speed that does not exceed 5 m/s

Speed hold: +/- 5-15 kmh, differences of 20 kmh causes only

2-3% difference in fuel efficiency
 Barometric altitude hold: +/- 6m up to 1,000m, over 1,000m
accuracy is +/- 12m. Range between full low collective and high
collective on AP spindle deflection window seen on panel and Right
Control + Enter menu is only +/- 10m.

Radar altitude hold: +/-4m in altitude AGL

Any questions, feel free to ask any Mi-24P IP on the Mi-24 Help
channel of the rotor heads discord

Here is the manual for the Cold War air Musuem Mi-24 made
from the US military threat evaluation manual released to the public
via FOIA, it briefly describes the autopilot starting on page 46.
https://mudspikefiles.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/
original/3X/7/a/7ab064a7f951b9f0325354f257f5e58c571936d6.pdf

Other General Tips!

1. The main rotor is not a true gyroscope, but there is some degree
of gyroscopic precession that is close enough to 90degrees. So be
aware

A. If you pitch up, aircraft will want to roll left

B. If you pitch down, aircraft will want to roll right
C. If you roll right, aircraft will want to pitch up
D. If you roll left, aircraft will want to pitch down

For pitching up and down for rolling, be aware of this when entering
and exiting turns as it will influence how much stick is needed. The
precession from pitch up and down can hurt you on dive and lift
attacks if you aren’t ready for it.