Trainer / Drills / Clean touchdown
How to land a helicopter in Wardogs without rolling over
Landings kill more helicopters than enemies do early on. The fix is almost always the same: stop first, level the disc, then let it sink.
Updated 2026-09-28
Why landings go wrong
- Sideways drift at contact. A skid catches and the aircraft rolls over. Uneven ground makes it worse (Nova Gaming).
- Slamming the collective down. Holding collective-down all the way to the ground makes a hard contact that damages the aircraft. Feather it off over the last few metres instead.
- Panicking and over-correcting near the ground (OneTaps).
- Misjudging height on rooftops. OnMapleWings points out that with no nearby references, height is hard to read on a pedestal or roof approach, so pilots overshoot or undershoot.
How to land
- Arrive slow. Kill forward speed with the nose up and collective down before you are over the spot (see the flare stop).
- Stop over the spot and level the disc.
- Line the nose up with a yaw tap if the ground needs it.
- Lower the collective gently and let the aircraft sink. Slow the sink over the last metres.
- If it starts to slide sideways, lift off and try again rather than forcing it down.
- After touchdown, hold the collective down for a second or two. Hieb explains why: the game pins the collective down once you are firmly landed. If you skip it, the aircraft can lift and float away on its own when you get back in the seat.
For rooftops and slopes, Cologne TM practises balancing with one skid on a roof edge and the other hanging off. It trains exactly the fine collective and cyclic control that tight landing zones need.
The drill
Hop between three small pads and set down on each with no sideways drift (under 1 m/s), under 3 m/s forward, under 1.5 m/s sink and under 8° of tilt. Then keep it down for 2 s before the next one. The Little Birds crash above 4 m/s of sink or 15° of tilt, so the drill's limits leave a margin.
Fly the clean touchdown drill All drills
Related drills
Hover holdHold a steady hover for 15 s, then land on the spot.Speed-reset flareStop from 180 km/h in 400 m without ballooning.J-hookRun in fast, hook onto the pad and land.
Sources
- Nova Gaming: How to Fly Helicopters in WARDOGS – Complete Beginner Guide (YouTube, 118k views)
- Hieb: MASTER the Helicopters in WARDOGS... (Expert Guide) (YouTube, 147k views)
- OneTaps: The Secret War Dogs Controller Settings the Top Pilots Use! (YouTube, 10k views)
- Cologne TM: REAL PILOT Teaches You How To FLY - WARDOGS Helicopter Tutorial (Intermediate) (YouTube, 35k views). Real helicopter pilot, 3,000+ hours.
- OnMapleWings: WARDOGS Pilot Guide: J-Hooks & Double Your Profit From A Real Pilot (YouTube, 256k views)