Best Helicopters for FSX Steam Edition

I have the DCS helicopters and they are awesome , however Im looking for some for FSX Steam edition

Which freeware and payware have the most realistic helicopter flight models?

I heard the Huey X is a great rotor bird for FSX.

Work your way through all the freeware choppers first, trying each one, and if you don't like it simply delete it and try another, I do it all the time with freeware planes and choppers.

Anyway it depends what you mean by 'realistic', for example I've been trying to land the default FSX EH 101 on that helipad on top of a Tokyo hotel in a light wind and haven't managed it yet, I come to a hover but it begins drifting in the wind and I end up panicking and dumping it on the pad at high descent rate and the dreaded 'Crash' message comes up (sniffle). I hear real-world choppers are notoriously difficult to fly, so in that sense I suppose the EH 101 models it realistically..:)..

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub2/FSX-helipad-tokyo_zpsb0d383b3.jpg~original

You might try taking a look at the Hovercontrol forums. They are, IMO, THE premium helicopter website. They have information, add-on choppers, special sceneries for heli-ops, utilities, you name it. Especially, to my way of thinking, HTR, or Helicopter Total Realism. Incredible bit of software. Makes helo's in MSFS fly the way REAL choppers fly in the real world. If that's what you like, anyway. MSFS is well known for not having very realistic areo-dynamic physics for helicopters. HTR rectifies that.

Fantastic site, Hovercontrol.

By the bye: If it works in FSX, it will probably will probably work fine in SE. Biggest trouble most add-ons is their auto-installers can't find SE because Steam buries it deeper in the directory structure. Personally, I don't trust auto-installers anyway. I always point them at an empty Temp folder, then copy-n-paste into FSX-SE myself. That way I KNOW what it's sticking where, and how to uninstall it easily if I need to.

Hope this all helps a little bit.

Pat☺

@ Cpt Caveman ( and others ) ,

I don't think that the OP will be buying any Aerosoft products in the near future : http://www.avsim.com/topic/479551-do-not-buy-mega-airport-packages-and-terrible-aerosoft-service/

John

Hi Folks,

Yep - the Huey for DCS is superb - been flying the F86 a whole bunch over there as well - and dare I say - DCS might just be the more capable platform for flight modeling... It just feels - - - real...

While I haven't messed with helicopters in a while - does MSFS model vortex ring state ?

Regards,

Scott

@ Cpt Caveman ( and others ) ,

I don't think that the OP will be buying any Aerosoft products in the near future : http://www.avsim.com/topic/479551-do-not-buy-mega-airport-packages-and-terrible-aerosoft-service/

 

John

I read several of the responses. It seemed as many people loved them as hated them. Isn't that a lot like every other product discussed on the internet?

I'd love to hear from buyers on this site. What do they think??

Hi Lesh,

Thanks - the Dodosim product has intrigued me for years - one of these days I'll probably pick it up...

Regards,

Scott

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/ExIS/chopper_zpsd4s4op1v.jpg~original

Incidentally we have to fly sim choppers using a combination of joystick and keyboard for cyclic, collective, tail rotor and throttle which is pretty unrealistic, so there's definitely a gap in the market for a "Sim helicopter control unit", or is there one already out there and I missed it?

I googled around but the only ones I've seen so far are big seats that you have to sit in, whereas i was thinking of a small desktop unit of some sort.

You might try taking a look at the Hovercontrol forums. They are, IMO, THE premium helicopter website. They have information, add-on choppers, special sceneries for heli-ops, utilities, you name it. Especially, to my way of thinking, HTR, or Helicopter Total Realism. Incredible bit of software. Makes helo's in MSFS fly the way REAL choppers fly in the real world. If that's what you like, anyway. MSFS is well known for not having very realistic areo-dynamic physics for helicopters. HTR rectifies that.

Fantastic site, Hovercontrol.

By the bye: If it works in FSX, it will probably will probably work fine in SE. Biggest trouble most add-ons is their auto-installers can't find SE because Steam buries it deeper in the directory structure. Personally, I don't trust auto-installers anyway. I always point them at an empty Temp folder, then copy-n-paste into FSX-SE myself. That way I KNOW what it's sticking where, and how to uninstall it easily if I need to.

Hope this all helps a little bit.

Pat☺

On their website HoverControl has an article about using Steam. As I don't use Steam, I didn't read it. But there may be helpful info there for you..

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/ExIS/chopper_zpsd4s4op1v.jpg~original

 

Incidentally we have to fly sim choppers using a combination of joystick and keyboard for cyclic, collective, tail rotor and throttle which is pretty unrealistic, so there's definitely a gap in the market for a "Sim helicopter control unit", or is there one already out there and I missed it?

I googled around but the only ones I've seen so far are big seats that you have to sit in, whereas i was thinking of a small desktop unit of some sort.

I looked at a "Bell Collective" selling for $250+ OMG!! but didn't see any indication it has a separate throttle control there either. And no, I'm an old chopper guy and don't even sim fly choppers because they are so far from being realistic using any combo I've found.

Hi Folks,

Flight Controls - as most of us know - one of the problems with our flightsim joysticks is the centering spring - as I understand it - you don't get that pressure in a real helicopter - as you move the cyclic off center for normal flight and it just kind of stays there until you move it.. With the joystick - it's always wanting to return to center and snaps back the second you ease up - same with the pedals... It's actually uncomfortable to hold in these positions for long periods of time... One way DCS Huey overcame this - is they have a virtual control that when triggered the joystick/pedals center is automatically matched to the current position of the cyclic and pedals... So what happens is you take off and you typically have to move your cyclic forward and to the right for level flight and adjust your pedals - once stable - click the button you mapped on your joystick - the center location on the joystick/pedals is now matched to the current location of the cyclic/pedals - so you can now let your joystick/pedals snap back to center and continue level flight... There is another control to remove this also mapped to my joystick... While certainly not ideal - I thought it was novel approach to improve helicopter sim flight with the joysticks we have...

Regards,

Scott

Hi Folks,

 

Flight Controls - as most of us know - one of the problems with our flightsim joysticks is the centering spring - as I understand it - you don't get that pressure in a real helicopter - as you move the cyclic off center for normal flight and it just kind of stays there until you move it.. With the joystick - it's always wanting to return to center and snaps back the second you ease up - same with the pedals... It's actually uncomfortable to hold in these positions for long periods of time... One way DCS Huey overcame this - is they have a virtual control that when triggered the joystick/pedals center is automatically matched to the current position of the cyclic and pedals... So what happens is you take off and you typically have to move your cyclic forward and to the right for level flight and adjust your pedals - once stable - click the button you mapped on your joystick - the center location on the joystick/pedals is now matched to the current location of the cyclic/pedals - so you can now let your joystick/pedals snap back to center and continue level flight... There is another control to remove this also mapped to my joystick... While certainly not ideal - I thought it was novel approach to improve helicopter sim flight with the joysticks we have...

 

Regards,

Scott

Actually on some RW planes there was a similar switch. On the cyclic of a H-46 if you pushed a thumb button, then released it and all controls but the collective held that position. Though you could push them off of position for banking, whatever. Then to resume normal flight just release the pressure and the controls returned to where they were when you pressed and released the cyclic button. The collective had its' own button or in some cases, a twist grip that did the same thing. Although it didn't have the spring and return effect. And we even had Altitude Hold.

I agree holding the joystick forward gets tiresome really fast in a sim. How do you deal with the collective pitch & throttle thrust issue? Using the keyboard in either case to my mind is not worth it. It prevents accurate simming, so I don't even fly them.

HTRv1.5 has a setting that will do the same joystick thingy very nicely, and without pushing a button. Just....fly.

It also does the best job of anything ever at converting what the Sim says is how a chooper flies, and changing that to the real physics of a real chopper.

There is an entire forum on Hovercontrol dedicated to it, including quite a large number of different helicopter config files. It also explains very nicely, as does the included documentation, just how it does what it does, and just what it is it does for the sim.

Just load your bird, run HTR and load the proper config file, and like it or not, it's gonna fly the way the real helo flies.

You can also modify the config files with Notepad very easily to adjust every single setting to match what you like. The documentation also includes just preceisely what each and every setting in the config files does, and how they affect the helicopter.

It takes up very little processor time and effort, so it won't cause FPS loss, stuttering etc etc etc.

Me, I don't touch a chopper in MSFS without it. I used it extensively in FS9, including writing a couple of my own config files for a few freeeware birds. I've been too busy with the FSDT F/A-18C's since I got FSX-SE, but I did try the default 206 in FSX, and again, never without HTR.

Just so y'all know, there are also available ob HC a couple articles on what to change how in the aircraft.cfg and .air files for a particular bird to make it as realistic as the sims can get without anything else involved. They are written by Mr. David "Opa" Marshall, and if there was ever a man knew about flight sim "stuff" it's him! I can post up the links to them if you want...

Pat☺

Hi Rupert,

I have a full CH Products HOTAS setup - so I just use the "Pro Throttle" for the collective - axis reversed...The actual throttle I have mapped to just a button - isn't the throttle on a helicopter just set it and forget it ?

Hi Pat,

Hmm - HTR - new one on me - I'll have to investigate...

Regards,

Scott