Helicopters are still a rare sight in Flight Simulator. Asobo/Microsoft didn’t create one, so it’s up to third-party developers to put all the work into creating a custom flight model that replicates the real-world physics of rotorcraft. We’ve seen that with Hype Performance Group and their very popular Airbus H135 (with a very promising H145 currently under development) and FlyInside’s Bell 47.
Now, we have two new freeware projects coming to life from a team of independent developers. The plans have been revealed by Rotor Sim Pilot, a YouTube channel dedicated to helicopters in MSFS. In just a week, the developers have gone from a simple idea of making an heli for Flight Simulator to a couple of fine-looking models that already represent the Airbus H125 and the Robinson R44 inside the sim.
It’s impressive what the developers have managed to do in such little time. The H125 looks particularly well advanced both inside and out, and will feature a cockpit with a mix of glass screens and steam gauges. While the 3D is going impressively well, work on textures is still to be done, as well as animations.
Also impressive is that both of these helicopters already fly inside MSFS! The developers promise to deliver a very realistic flight model for both helicopters, with all the dynamics that you would expect from a real aircraft. There’s already a custom flight model in place that is powering both of them, courtesy of a developer that has joined the team with his contribution.
Right now, the visual models need to be connected to the flight model, so that you can actually see in the instruments what the helicopter is doing. This will be coming in the near future, as both of these helis continue to be worked on. Custom sound packs are also to be expected, counting with the contribution of a developer that has also worked on a sound set for the HPG H135.
The next steps for the team, besides following up with the crucial steps of keeping up with the development, is to release a first flyable version of both helicopters already next month. This will also be the time to start a beta-testing phase in order to gather helpful feedback from the community.
Things are moving fast here, so let’s see if the developers can keep up with their pace so far and deliver on the promises that have been made. In the meantime, you can follow their work on the official Discord server.
