The H145 helicopter for MSFS is now available to Early Access supporters

We have been following the development of the Accelerated Flight Systems H145, the payware helicopter from the creators of the very popular and freeware H135. Today, after just a few months of development, Hype Performance Group (HPG) delivered on its promises and gave the Early Access pledgers the first flyable version of the H145’s Luxury Variant.

The H145 was initially met with doubts related to its business model, but the creators have made such an impressive job with development and communication (check our interview with Steve Daniels to learn more) that those times of uncertainty are now well behind us, replaced by confidence and excitement about what is being delivered to the community.

To show off their work, HPG also released today a new video showing the H145 in VR and a glimpse into the impressive sound signature of the aircraft.

Those who took the plunge and supported the development without an immediate reward have now access to an impressively detailed helicopter which, while still very much a work in progress, seems to be already an extremely pleasant surprise, at least according to early feedback. While the project will continue to evolve after this first milestone, there’s already a good feature set available on this first flyable build, namely:

• High quality cockpit modeling, textures and details such as dust & fingerprints
• Interior and exterior sounds (real H145 sounds)
• Avionics with NAVD, VMS and FND pages available (more coming)
• Weather radar, Terrain radar
• Fully supported pms50 GTN750
• Working emergency flotation system – Full VR functionality including VR Zoom

While extensive testing is needed to ascertain that the H145 is an authentic depiction of the real-world aircraft and worthy of its price tag, it’s clear that the developers have gone through great lengths to create something truly magnificent. And this is just the start of the H145’s history. The Luxury Variant that was released today is only the first of three variants in total (Civilian, Luxury and Military). Each of them will share the high-quality modeling that the Luxury variant is now displaying, while also sporting some unique functionality.

The H145 Early Access Bundle is still retailing for $42.99, and it’s available exclusively from Hype Performance Group. Plans to bring the H145 to the MSFS Marketplace exist, but that should only happen in 2022.

If still in doubt about the capabilities of this development team and their work with the H145, indulge in these new images kindly provided by HPG, which show their creation in all its glory.