LZ IS HOT! Heli manners as a SL!

[CAS_117]

If you need a ride for your own safety please don't do the following:

1. Ask for an extraction while taking heavy fire from anything > or = to a .50 cal.

2. Designate an LZ with formidable terrain. (Steep hills, trees, meteor showers, or ailien invasions.)

3. Don't keep the chopper waiting, if not for general safety, then for courtesy (choppers are a limited resouce and need to be managed). Don't ask for an LZ when the squad leader is not present as all we can see is the big fat "3" on our screen. Its too hard to locate squad members behind fences and other obstacles. We'd rather be thinking about that guy with the RPG and MiG-29 that needs evading.

4. Don't fire at the chopper under any circumstances, as we lack any sort of FLIR to find out where its coming form, and can't figure out if its hostile. This can cause TKing from edgy door gunners and missed LZs. If you need a ride just type. This should help -> http://www.typingtutor.org/

5. Flying is hard at the best of times. Good helicopter pilots will practice flying on empty servers, doing things like fantailing (very hard in blackhawks), familliarization with terrain, slow/ fast gunship orbiting, low altitude insertion/ exfiltration, memorizing AA positions, AA break evasion, and general handling. This takes hours upon hours of practice. But even the best pilots will crash due to lag, miscommunication, pilot error, ambush, or just battle damage. If your are shot down, don't start mouthing off, despite the pilot probably deserving it, just laugh it off and take the boat, or just wait for a new chopper. If flying were easy, I probably wouldn't have to practice. Believe me, nothing is worse than grumbling pasengers. And if you find yourself ready to flame, just remember, we have parachutes, you don't...

6. Don't ask for an LZ that is obviously hot. If west beach just fell, and you are dropped behind a wall as cover, don't complain about the extra 100m you need to walk. Your chances survival get exponentially greater when you are out of sight. Instead, just be glad you and your teammate are alive and that you are there in one peice. Choppers are just as vulnerable as troops, except they can't take cover once the shooting has started.

7. Don't just sit in the chopper. Once you're in, look at your map and ask your squad where you should land. Ask the commander to verify with the pilots the best area the guarantee your survival. Look at the dead icons on the map (Always motionless and pointing North). Thats a good indicator of where to go. TYPE YOUR DESTINATION. IF YOU WANT TO DOUBLE YOUR CHANCES OF SURVIVAL, TYPE AN ALTERNATE LOCATION IN CASE NUMBER ONE'S HOT. Everything is speed, indecision gets choppers killed. So if the pilot has a plan in his mind its easy to fly it. But improvising in the air is usually fatal. Understand that pilots will generally not refuse you a ride anywhere, as that is their only purpose in many cases. So they will probably go to wherever you requested. If you are staying in the chopper, tell the pilot so you don't get blown up from hovering in one place too long.

[Zybon]

Oooo, that's funny

p.s. nice rocket

[[SAF]stal20048]

hear hear, the amount of times 'extractionees' ask for pickups when AAA or a mig or a hmg is overlooking is phenomenal.

very nice guide, i recommend all should read this.

i also get pissed off with whiney passengers...

[Ki|rBe3]

Good Guide. All squad leaders should read this.

[[R-DEV]epoch]

Sticky !

Better still - stick it in the tactics forum !!

[Expendable Grunt]

Nice post. TO the right of west beach is a large open area -- two guesses as to what that's for!

[eddie]

To give my point of view as (often) a Merlin pilot in PR, if I get fired on, whether it be friendly or enemy I fly away from it. Last time I checked, soldiers didn't fire their SA80s at a chopper for a lift.

[[R-DEV]Gaz]

Nice guide! Geared towards SLs and squad members, so moved to the SL Tactics forum.

[[SAF]stal20048]

even if they do i still fly away, if their gonna demand a flight by shooting at you they really dont deserve the flight :P

[daranz]

Seems like teamchat is the default way of asking for a ride... Instead of typing, you can always try coordinating through the commander, though. Many of them won't help you, but some will, and if they do, it makes it easier for the pilot. So, feel free to try to ask your commander to direct the chopper to you, they might actually help (If it's me, I most likely will).