The H145 helicopter for MSFS reaches Beta #7, gets rotor downwash effects
Hype Performance Group continues to press forward with the development of its highly popular digital replica of the Airbus H145 for Microsoft Flight Simulator. After the release of the Early Acess version to those who believed in the project and contributed with the $42.99 asking price, the team has been putting out regular updates that bring forth new features and improvements. The latest version, Beta #7, adds some much-requested effects and various changes across the board.
The most significant addition brought by Beta 7 is the brand new rotor downwash effects, a new feature that was recently introduced for MSFS developers to implement. The H145’s powerful rotor blades now have an effect on the ground below, lifting dust, sand, water, or snow if flying at a low altitude.
The H145 is a very detailed model, stunning to look at both from the inside and the outside. With this new version, HPG also introduced a host of performance improvements that should help those flying on lower-end machines to better enjoy the experience.
Another new addition to the H145 is an anti-icing system, a user-requested feature that should enable pilots to tackle harsh weather conditions with more confidence, especially knowing how aggressive the icing simulation sometimes is in MSFS.
These are just a few of the changes introduced with the latest H145 Beta, and you can read the entire changelog below or on the official HPG website, where you can also buy the whole package if you haven’t already.
Finally, a word about the military variant of the H145, the one that is still waiting to be released (the Luxury variant was available from the start, and the Civilian came out with Beta 3). Hype Performance Group provided some preview footage of this variant, which features some significant changes on the 3D model to reflect the highly customized military version and its particular characteristics.
H145 Beta 7 changelog:
– Add rotor downwash effects
– Enable livery authors to select skid struct caps on/off (on by default, no user option)
– Various performance improvements for low end machines
– Fix flight model, rotor animation, N2/NR acceleration and strobe/beacon lights to not be connected to sim fps
– VNE and VY are now corrected calculated and presented on the airspeed tape
– Changes to basic weight of lux and civil variants
– Rework most built-in bindings to use H:Events
– Switch away from /Held/ bindings (Engine Up/Down) to avoid key repeat
– Slightly reduce engine starter .wav sound
– Adjust VMS WEIGHT page knob increment (100kg large, 5kg small)
– Fix for excessive engine N1 / hot starts
– Add weight stations for civil variant (3+2+3 pax + 2 crew = 10 total)
– Add MFD bounce light
– Reduce drag just a bit as both variants are very quick now
– Maximum speed aural based on IAS now
– Added a key bindings system to UserSetup to define any H145 bindings without additional software
– Added an anti-icing system to DEFOG
– Fix inverted EMER SHED BUS
