23 responses so far ↓

• 1 thefriendlyghost // May 1, 2008 at 12:12 pm

  I was playing on Free Roam and I fly all around the city with a couple of friends and landed in time square with no problem. I like flying in the heli and recommend it. Doc why don’t we get in a Free Roam or Team Death match and you can hope in and get some kills with a rocket launcher. I fly you kill .

• 2 thefriendlyghost // May 1, 2008 at 12:14 pm

  I flow i meant

• 3 Doc // May 1, 2008 at 12:15 pm

  What? You don’t trust my flying??!?

• 4 irish boy90 // May 1, 2008 at 12:20 pm

  from the above article I don’t blame him lol.
  At least he trusts your killing skills

• 5 OverlordYertle // May 1, 2008 at 12:33 pm

  I find the best way to get used to how they set up their controls is to take sometime by yourself and just fly around.
  What you need to do is make small small adjustments when you move around. Like tap the joystick slightly when you need to change something. The biggest problem i see is that people over adjust when they feel they’re getting off course. Which is natural because with cars this is how you have to do it. But heli’s have always had a problem with that. I keep thinking back to Desert Storm mod for 1942 (i think thats it). You take an hour to yourself making small adujstments and you’ll get it.
  Even if you’re moving small and its not enough you’ll get used to limiting your movements vs. over moving which is why most people who get in heli’s for their first time flip over one way or another.

  after i was able to get used to doing small movements it makes it easier to switch from game to game cus it seems to help with frustration and you get a feel for it faster since you’re not crashing as often.

  I hope that helps.

• 6 Gareth // May 1, 2008 at 12:36 pm

  Well Doc you said yourself what your problem is, if you’re coming in to fast then you need to time when to slow down. It sucks that the controls act as they do but you’ll have to compensate for that.
  Or do a controlled crash so you can kill everyone. Think what would Dave do?

• 7 Sean "Rothbart" Workman // May 1, 2008 at 2:07 pm

  While I haven’t actually _gotten_ the helicopter yet, one of the “biggie” reviews (was it IGN’s video review?) said controlling the chopper with motion controls on the PS3 was much nicer than using sticks… just thought I’d toss that out there… for those, you know, that have the PS3 version and didn’t realize you could use SIXAXIS to control it.

• 8 Phoenix // May 1, 2008 at 2:10 pm

  Have you tried holding go and brake at the same time? I tried it on my ps3 and the Heli just seems to stop and not go up or down. Give it a try and let me know if it helps you doc.

• 9 thefriendlyghost // May 1, 2008 at 2:19 pm

  I landed on top of the met life building which is called Get A Life. the Empire state building look beautiful at night. RockStar really got that perfect, right on the money. Listen Doc my GT is casper663 and lets do this. hit me up.

• 10 Doc // May 1, 2008 at 2:21 pm

  Great idea Phoenix… the thought crossed my mind but then I smashed into the statue of happiness, and it was lost to the sandbox. I’ll give that a shot tonight as I neglect my wife for another adventure in LIberty City.

• 11 paulmess7 // May 1, 2008 at 2:25 pm

  Doc, I thought you didn’t get it yet? Playing at Daves?

• 12 Phoenix // May 1, 2008 at 2:55 pm

  no problem dude. I’m kinda lonely right now not being able to play online cause the ps3 online for GTA went down again

• 13 Anski // May 1, 2008 at 4:28 pm

  Your mention of other games with helicopters reminds me of how I read tons and tons of material on how helicopters work (how they fly, airflow, how the engines work, how lift works in regard to them… why it takes more power to hover low to the ground, etc., etc., etc.) just to be a great pilot for my clan in BF2. I have a sort of problem like that.

  Years ago I also flew in an online squadron for GraphSim’s F/A-18 Hornet (which was comprised mostly of older gentlemen who had actual experience flying military aircraft (my wingman being a B-1B pilot, and subsequently the squadron falling apart after the events of 9-11 because most of them got deployed), I read many books on the F/A-18 itself, and books on air combat… just to be a better sim pilot.

• 14 Phoenix // May 1, 2008 at 4:46 pm

  Guess you were really commited to your BF2 Clan huh?

• 15 the 6th degree // May 2, 2008 at 3:53 am

  I found that flying wasn’ t too bad - so long as you are gentle with the controls, but I couldn’t shoot for sh*t….there needs to be at least a targeting recticule.

• 16 SarcasticSparki // May 2, 2008 at 7:24 am

  A reticule would help a lot. I was able to fly and hover decently from the get go… and attempted to provide air support. 2 things would help the ability to turn w/o leaning the helo to the side (can’t they just rotate around do I have to bank it? IDK I’m new to the game and didn’t look at the controls, maybe I’m missing something) and a reticule. I strafed a few targets and on one target I thought I had but I was firing off to the right of where I thought I was aiming.

• 17 Phoenix // May 2, 2008 at 10:27 am

  For ps3 R1 and L1 were to rotate so I’ m guessing on the 360 RB and LB?

• 18 wonzomo // May 4, 2008 at 10:37 pm

  never flew the heli in gta4 yet but have been able to pick up controls on most any game for heli. anyways sparki try strafing like you said see the team and just back and forth spray lol that should work

• 19 Zartemis // May 12, 2008 at 7:20 am

  Yeah, I’m still working on my helicopter controls. It is infact LB and RB to strafe in the Heli, and I think I’ve got the slow forward hover down. You tilt your copter forward, then pull back until it’s evened out, and you should slowly hover forward. Great for onfoot chases. Now I just need to learn how to pick up people in the water, and where to find ‘em in the story, and I’ll be golden. Also, folks, my GT’s Zartemis! Hit me up.

• 20 AH-64Aviator // May 25, 2008 at 12:52 pm

  Doc, when going to pick up the heli in multiplayer and then coming back to your team, once you reach the area you want do a quick banked turn. Either press RB while holding the left stick to the right, or hold LB while holding the left stick to the left. In my opinion this is the fastest way to bring a heli to a stop, and even if you overshoot by a little bit your heli is already turned around so your facing the area, good luck with the flying.

• 21 Sirus // Aug 5, 2008 at 12:59 pm

  The controls come with a steep learning curve, but by being very specific, you will be able to perform almost every maneuver that a real helicopter would be able to perform. My situation is the opposite of yours: I went from Grand Theft Auto IV’s helicopter controls to Battlefield: Bad Company’s controls, and I absolutely hated them. They were too simple, and I found myself being frustrated upon realizing that the controls were severely limiting the helicopter’s potential. GTA IV’s controls allow for a more effective flight ‘n’ fight experience, assuming you are willing to master not only the controls, but the other aspects of flight as well–the perfection of certain maneuvers(such as water rescue, under-bridge flight, nabbing health packs while continuing flight, etc.), aerial combat, being aware of all obstacles in front, to the sides, and behind your chopper, and knowing what your helicopter can and can’t do, including both the Maverick helicopter and the Annihilator helicopter. Now, for some of the difference between those two helicopters: Annihilators are, overall, the better chopper for a simple reason–they are equipped with guns, giving them the ability to defend themselves. They are sturdier, take more damage, are significantly faster than Mavericks, , and can be more stealthy in night combat or recon. Also, there are more Annihilators on the map than Mavericks, making them easier to find also. Mavericks, on the other hand, are more maneuverable than Annihilators, are more fun to pilot, and have a smaller roter, meaning they can fit into spaces larger helicopters can’t, and finally, they are easier to use in water rescues because their landing stilts are easier to grab on to than the Annihilator, which has wheels–also, the Annihilator’s tail has to touch the ground, while the Maverick’s tail is light enough to be supported by the weight of the rest of the aircraft’s body. Finally, I leave you with this: If you can suffer through the steeper learning curve used in flight, then you will be rewarded with a far more capable, and far more deadly aircraft than the clumsy tin can you have made them out to be. Also, keep in mind that you have Sixaxis controls available to you if you feel you will do better with those(assuming you aren’t using them at the moment–I, personally, don’t use Sixaxis controls to fly my helicopters). Best of luck to you.

• 22 Phil McCraken // Sep 27, 2008 at 10:39 am

  This might help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqnxSLG7sO8 I think all The GTA hellicopter missions SUCK but this video did help me mop up the paper trail mission mess. I am sure there are more to come. . .

• 23 Phil McCraken // Sep 27, 2008 at 7:11 pm

  hey doc or anyone, drop me a line. I am going to get the live subsciption card tomorrow and finally hook up my xbox live account. (aborted@cox.net) I wanna play GTA 4 online Also quit making fun of my name. I am an irish guy named Philip McCracken.

Leave a Comment