Got Friends has announced a new aircraft for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which is joining the list of projects that the team has been working on. This time, Got Friends revealed that they are bringing the Revolution Mini-500 to MSFS, a light, single-seat kit helicopter.
Got Friends appears to like experimenting with new kinds of flying machines, as we’ve seen with recent releases such as the improved GeeBee R3 or the Edgley Optica. Furthermore, we know that they working on a vintage military airplane (the Grumman F4F-4), a STOL powerhouse (the Draco), a glider (the Stemme S12-G), and now the Mini-500 helicopter! Quite the list!
For this new project, Got Friends decided to ask the community whether an AirlandFS flight model or a native one would be preferred. Using AirlandFS would naturally save development time and allow quicker deployment, while native code would ensure a realistic experience with no need for external apps. In the end, the Got Friends community decided to go for the AirlandFS flight model, but the developers have since revealed that a breakthrough has been made in the development that will lead to an AirlandFS version with no external apps. We’re waiting for more details about that soon!
Got Friends hopes to release the Mini-500 to the public very soon, quite possibly during this month of May (an early estimate even pointed to the end of April). The team has shared a selection of very nice images of the model, showing the detailed exterior and interior visuals. Despite being a “low-cost” project, the Mini-500 should prove to be quite fun and interesting!
The Mini-500 is coming soon to MSFS, where it will be perfectly safe to fly, but that will be an entirely different experience to that of the real pilots who had an up-close experience with the actual aircraft. The real Mini-500 was plagued with issues, with owners complaining about poor overall quality, inadequate performance and reliability, and a sketchy safety record. There have only been around 100 completed units, with many reported failures, crashes, and several tragic fatalities.
Fortunately, this little kit airplane should be less nerve-wracking in Microsoft Flight Simulator, and we should soon get our hands on a new helicopter on the platform. These are still a rarity, with only a handful so far, but Asobo is slowly adding the features necessary for native helicopter development from developers. Hopefully, this will result in more and better rotorcraft coming into MSFS in the near future!
For now, while we wait for further news from Got Friends about the Mini-500, enjoy these first preview images.
