NZFF

Probably the best of the available models: The HPG H145

Some random screens picked from the collection

Lovely work Charl...love that paint.
Thanks for the 747 comments, glad you liked them.

Yes, the H145 is so far the best MSFS heli. Great shots.

I've mentioned the Taog's Hangar SA315B - Lama before, it is my toy of the moment and it grows on you the more time you spend with it.
It is meticulously crafted, cast your eye if you will, over the tail rotor guard NUT



Here's a walkaround clip, note the spotlight lense as an example of the incredible detail here



...and a quick circuit at Westport, another favourite NZA scenery.
Check out the careful rotor animations at the start

Holy Cow Charl ....that is amazing. Aren't there some clever people out there...the work that must have gone into that model ......
Beautifully presented as usual. Looking forward to more screens.

Thank you Marty, I have no concept of the skills and time required for these models, but I agree they must be considerable.
More helos:
The Cowansim MD500E popped up again, it has more NZ repaints than anything I can remember.
I picked one at random, and put it down at home next to the Fox Glacier.


ORBX is working on an addon kit which does industrial mowing...
However, there is of course plenty of helo scenery about



Up the glacier we go:



... and over, the 500 easily tops 16,000ft which is enough to cross Mt Cook's 12k.
Handling is pretty docile at altitude, managed a decent landing.


Tasman Glacier now on the left, Mt.Cook airfield should be over to the right, and there it is: so that's where we'll go!

Charl, 110% admiration .....I cant hover, transition, and every "landing" is nothing more than a semi controlled crash.
Great post, and as always , presented beautifully.

Thanks Marty, it's just you and me, mate.
Let's enjoy ourselves eh?
I am getting more and more into this flightsim, late in the day true, but there is now so much NZ ground to cover.
Next time I will include the "Like" button, you can just bump it to show you were here

Charl wrote:Thanks Marty, it's just you and me, mate.
Let's enjoy ourselves eh?
I am getting more and more into this flightsim, late in the day true, but there is now so much NZ ground to cover.
Next time I will include the "Like" button, you can just bump it to show you were here

I bet you can't fly the Kai Tak chequerboard approach going backwards in a helicopter, like I can, even though I don't mean to.

Thank you Mike, it's OK, I understand...

Another local rotorwing found, and that takes us back to NZCH, whose weather seems to have improved over the last visit !



It's the stock Guimbal Cabri G2, and on closer inspection, it ain't half bad.
Again, fantastic detail on the rotor animations, and beautifully detailed if you can get a look at its rump, hot exhausts and all.

And in the cockpit, stuff like an electric trim button!
It's a real 21st Century device.
Very popular as a trainer, our local has a couple which I see daily.



Somewhere I must've put "NZFF" into the sim as a default tail number, which all my flights seem to carry!



Just the ticket for a little easy sightseeing



On to the city, good rendition with PG pretty convincing.



Hard to believe after 13 years the Cathedral restoration has been mothballed.
That's almost as long as it's taking to ship Kim Dotcom off to jail in the US...

Back to the airport, the way you would drive it faithfully reproduced



Umm perhaps not quite

Very nice indeed. The Cabri is an interesting bit of kit. It's not like any other helicopter that I've ever flown and requires a few different techniques. Quite good fun to fly once you get the hang of it

Thanks for stopping by, Nick.

I am a sort of <CTRL-E> simmer, get in and see if it works, then figure out the finer detail later.
But I got interested in this one's systems quite early in the piece.
I read that developer Bruno Guimbal is a former Eurocopter engineer with a dream.
Interestingly he kept in touch with EC while developing the Cabri, and produced the first new light helo in 30 years.
So there would be some quite significant advances in that time.

What are the big differences between this one and say, a Robinson R22?

This is a great thread...my helicopter flying is pretty average. Maybe my flying would be better with a VR set and more helicopter specific controls. Was thinking about payware heli. but might stick to the default.

There is a a free improvement mod for the default 407 if anybody is interested.

https://simfocus.com/product/simfocus-b ... ement-mod/

Yes I have that update, never flew it before though.
I find it a little sluggish?
Anyway plenty of time to learn it better when the time comes, many helo's to process here!

The payware models are superb, see top of this thread, but do require a big time commitment.
I always feel somehow guilty when I haven't delved fully into the modeller's every feature...

I am using TrackIR which improves things somewhat, but in the end you have to get to know the fixed points of cockpit and horizon to make a rotorcraft fly.
I rent a VR every end of year to see what's new - last year did not yet convince me for the MSFS application.

Back for a moment, to the Heaven Designs EC120 available on the MSFS Marketplace at reasonable cost.
It is rated there at 3.5/5 which is about right - flight model is OK, interior textures are OK everything is OK, you get the idea.

But sometimes you will get it out because you want something a little more Classy than a no-door deerhunter.
Like an evening out at the Casino maybe?



Unfortunately there is no video of this one-off landing in RW gusty weather and poor light - I really did not expect to put it down, but there it is on the roof.
On reflection I also have never seen or even heard of, anyone landing on Auckland's ASB building.
Maybe it's just another flightsim fantasy.

Charl, that entire Cabri set was amazing , scenery is just gold.
Well done Sir, love your work.

Charl wrote:I read that developer Bruno Guimbal is a former Eurocopter engineer with a dream.
Interestingly he kept in touch with EC while developing the Cabri, and produced the first new light helo in 30 years.
So there would be some quite significant advances in that time.

What are the big differences between this one and say, a Robinson R22?

Bruno was the one behind the EC120 primarily. When you get into the Cabri after the 120, you can definitely see the similarities. The Cabri is largely composite and it produces some odd vibrations. I had a drive link crack on me in one which became an AD (it's still my photo on the AD). I'm not sold on composites in helicopters. It's a totally different aircraft to fly than the R22. It's VERY heavy on the controls due to the use of elastomerics in the head. The pedal position vs tail rotor thrust is a curve not a straight line like in the R22 so you have to stomp on the pedals. It's comfortable and has good visibility and is reasonably quiet. Much more stable X and Y than the Robbie so probably not as good as a pilot trainer. Virtually all of the accidents have been from loss of directional control due to people not understanding how a fenestron works.

Interesting!

understanding how a fenestron works.

Possibly not modelled in the sim, but what is the difference? Just the nonlinear behaviour?
We need all the help we can get