Performance

The first thing I noticed with this model is that it is difficult to start. I tried following the directions in the supplied checklists, and I also tried the old Ctrl-Shift-F4/Shift E combination, but nothing seemed to get the rotors turning. The only way I could find to get the aircraft ready for take off is to load another aircraft, start that one up, and then swap back to the Dauphin. Once started, throttle/collective response is smooth and predictable, as is the cyclic. As power is added, the aircraft has a natural tendency to roll forwards and yaw to the right. However, soon after becoming airborne, the nose will continue to lift slowly until the helicopter wants to drift backwards. If left unchecked, the aircraft will gather rearward speed and soon begin to oscillate uncontrollably. To manage the tendency to yaw, very subtle rudder inputs are needed. I found the rudder pedals to be incredibly sensitive, so only very small corrections are needed. During ground taxi, pilots should be wary of managing speed and directional control with very subtle changes or the helicopter will quickly become a handful to manage.

With application of full power, the Virtavia Dauphin virtually leaps in to the air, easily sustaining a 2000 fpm ascent without any forward airspeed. Transition to forward flight, and a 3000 fpm climb can be maintained with 50 knots on the airspeed indicator. This would appear to be well above the quoted real-life figures found on the Internet. Once cruise power is set, the Dauphin will happily plod along at about 115 knots indicated in level flight.

Once you have the aircraft flying, you will need to watch your attitude constantly as the nose will want to slowly lift. If this is not corrected, airspeed will bleed off to the point that the aircraft will begin flying backwards and, as mentioned earlier, will begin to oscillate uncontrollably as speed gathers. There is no auto-hover gauge with this aircraft (which is not a negative, in my opinion) so pilots will need to manually control the aircraft in the hover. Again, the rudder/yaw controls are extremely sensitive so care must be taken not to overreact when countering any unwanted yaw.

Servicio de Urgencias Canario

French Aeronavale

During testing, I found the aircraft very responsive, to the point of fault. I had the helicopter performing loops and barrel rolls without problem. Even worse, I found I could get the aircraft to backflip by cruising at speed in level flight, and then suddenly full back pressure on the stick. The aircraft immediately loops through the air and is entirely recoverable with a minimum of skill to continue controlled flight. Of course, this kind of performance is unrealistic for a helicopter. I would hasten to add that I am not skilled in aircraft design for Flight Sim, but I do know that difficulties in modelling helicopters are well documented. I can only surmise that the usual high standards of the AlphaSim/Virtavia team have been necessarily compromised in order to supply a model which handles as near as possible to the real machine.

Royal Navy

Hellenic Coast Guard

Swift Copters

Virtavia do not include a 2D panel with the Dauphin, instead relying on their virtual panel to do the job. It is functional, for the most part, however there were a few issues that I noted.

The weather RADAR display is not functional. Most of the gauges are adequate however, the altimeter dial did not work, resulting in the altimeter not being adjustable to suit changing weather conditions, or to be zeroed for local operations. Likewise, the Directional Gyro (DG) course adjustment has no effect, although the heading dial will spin the DG card under the needle. There are a couple of pop-up panels, being the default radio stack, and the default GPS. Basic checklists are included, and are accessible via the kneeboard under the aircraft menu option.

Visual Features

The Virtavia Eurocopter Dauphin is a true visual representation to the real machine as verified by photographs found on the Internet, and my own personal observations. As interior fittings vary from aircraft to aircraft, depending on operator mission requirements, it is difficult to be critical of the Virtavia model. It appears to accurately reflect the variety of configurations used in the real world. All doors open in pairs (front, middle and rear). Each pair operates independently of the next, and are all operated by using the Shift+E, Shift+E+2, Shift+E+3 combinations. Exterior and panel lighting has been included, although the animation for the landing light globes is not aligned with the actual position of the lights themselves.

The crew can be turned on or off, depending on your personal preference. All helicopters are crewed by a pilot and an observer/copilot, and some of the variants also include a crewman in the rear of the cabin. The pilot in command is animated, and will raise, lower and rotate his head with movements of the cyclic. The undercarriage is also animated and fully retracts into the fuselage. The "readme" file supplied with the model states that there is a winch animation, but I was unable to get this to work.

Technical Features

Technical support is available through the Virtavia web site. The developer responded extremely quickly to my inquiries, although I am in the same time zone. Purchasers should be mindful that the developers are located in Australia, and make allowances for time zone differences for any delay in responding to requests for support. I found them courteous and helpful.

The Verdict

The Eurocopter Dauphin by Virtavia looks good, but I can't say that I am impressed with the flight model. Not being a builder myself, I don't know what limitations there are on making aircraft, and in particular, rotary-wing aircraft, for FSX. However, I can say beyond any shadow of a doubt that Virtavia's Dauphin does things that the real machine can not, to the point of being unrealistic. Whether this is enough to deter virtual helicopter pilots from adding this model to their hangar is a matter for personal choice. From where I sit, I found the Virtavia Dauphin visually pleasing, but far too sensitive and a little too labor intensive to fly for my liking. I wouldn't recommend this model for novice helicopter pilots, but those with a little more skill, particularly in maintaining a hover, may find this machine worth the purchase.

Test System

FSX Acceleration & DX9
AMD 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ 2.4 GHz
2 GB RAM
Saitek X52 stick & throttle

Scott Woodford
welly616@gmail.com

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