Got it ealier this afternoon, very detailed, love the animation (eye candy), wish ALL helis had this. Not a big Gazelle fan, but it is still very cool! Lots of good stuff coming out lately!thanks for the heads up!Regards, Michaelhttp://mysite.verizon.net/res052cd/mybannercva1.jpg

Hi all, thought I'd let you know about this gem - an Aerospatiale AS342 Gazelle. Just found it on Cyril Pioffet's site. It's a GMAX model with VC, sound, pretty reflective textures, etc. Definitely worth a look.Btw Cyril has also created one of the nicest freeware jet fighters for FS2k2; his Rafale, which is also on the site. Good on you Cyril!Go check it out : http://perso.wanadoo.fr/gmaxflight2002/

Having a wonderful time. Wish you were here.Mike

I love the visual model!!!! But....and this is just my opinion, this helo is way to easy to fly. You can basically hover, just by adding collective and with no joystick inputs. You don't have that "balance" for control feeling you get say with the default Bell. Like I say, a great job by the developer and much apreciated by me. What do you think about these flight dynamics?Harry

At the risk of drawing fire and ire from the Jet Ranger crowd (oh, well), I'll have to say I think the default Jet ranger was a sloppy early version of what FS2002 could support. It's sluggish and requires admitted and unreal sim-techniques few have the patience to master.Question: How much larger would the helicopter fan-base be, if the default Ranger were actually flyable? Hats off to those who have adapted themselves to that finicky default Jet Ranger, but the "new breed" of FS2K2 helicopter seems to be done right. It's not just the new Gazelle that handles well, there are many, many others in 3rd party-dom. I loved Steve Hanley's make-over of the default Ranger enough to adopt it for keeps.I honestly hope those critical of the flight dynamics of the Gazelle and other choppers that actually fly in a controllable way--aren't standing in sour-grapes, having mastered the Jet Ranger as some sort of cockeyed "badge of authority." I know of several proficient default Ranger expert flyboys who celebrate this Gazelle. But those who complain the Gazelle (and others) are "too easy" can take heart, because most FS simulator VA's and such still require proficiency in the Ranger and I for one look forward to that changing.So what do I think of these flight dynamics? You can quote me on this: "It's long overdue and about damned time."YMMV ;-)Mike

Helicopters are not easy to fly. They are flown with a CONSTANT (capitals not for shouting, but for importance :) input during ANY (aside from autopilot equiped helo's) part of the flight, from the cyclic, the collective to the foot pedals. Right pedal is required the instant the rpm's are increased, to counter act the torque the engine develops turning the main rotors. If "anti-torgue" is not increased, your helo will start to spin the minute the skids leave the ground. This does not happen with the new Gazelle. You begin a "balancing" act the minute the helo leaves the ground also, especially in close to the ground. This requires constant cyclic input. This does not happen with the new Gazelle. Helo yaw and pitch are constantly being corrected or adjusted in forward flight because of both atmospheric and mechanical forces. This does not happen with the new Gazelle. This is why the helo's are more difficult to fly....constant input on ALL controls, and this is what makes them so fun to fly! It is not a matter of "standing in sour-grapes, having mastered the Jet Ranger as some sort of cockeyed "badge of authority." It is more just "having mastered the Jet Ranger", a difficult a/c to fly. My flightsimming enjoyment comes from getting as much realism as possible from the software. FS2K2 gets any where near being or flying a real chopper. But I do know, helo's DO take practise and are NOT easy to fly. Having flown many flights with the RCMP and SAR people here on the island, and watching the pilots with great interest....all three controls are constantly being worked!Now, the fan base for the Jet Ranger. I'm not sure the number of fans would increase if it were an easier machine to fly. Sure, you may increase the number of pilots that fly it because they now can......, but you will loose many that won't fly the Ranger because it has become unrealistic.It does take patience to master the jet ranger....but it can be done. Just as in real life, helo's take more time, more patience and more "finesse" as do fixed wing a/c.This developer has put out a beautiful model, both visually and moving parts. But in my humble opinion, missed the mark with the flight dynamics.Harry

You misunderstood?You may not have noticed the Gazelle is very easy to crash. Your opinions are your own. I respect them, I stated mine and the debate is finished.Time will judge, and I love how the Gazelle handles. As I said, "YMMV" which translates to: "Your Mileage May Vary." Perhaps you missed that. Flail away at the Gazelle if you like, and AMIIC. ;-)Mike

This Gazelle is a nice piece of work visually. However - I have only flown it a little bit so far, but one thing I immediately noticed is that its autorotational characteristics are way off. I think it's actually worse than the stock FS2002 JetRanger in this regard, if that's possible. (What I mean is that it over-represents (by a huge margin) the amount of rotational energy that is stored in the rotor system, so that at the "bottom", as you get within 100' or so of the ground, you can flare, almost hover, flare some more, and set her down as easy as you please. (Sorry, too many commas there...)But admittedly, most sim pilots probably don't ever auto these things. I didn't either, until I recently downloaded the Digital-Flight.com Jet Ranger that I mentioned in another thread here. That thing is a blast to do autos in, and so the bar has been raised to the point where it's one of the first things that I check on a new helo model.Hopefully FS2004 will make it easier for the Helo Makers to get these things right... I'm praying that the new R22 model in that release has resulted in some improvements in the helicopter flight dynamics and systems modeling.Dave Blevins

Yes, Dave. I read what must have been your comments on that, tried it, and agree. Also, the Gazelle, at sea-level literally "leaps" off the runway in a white-knuckle Disney-esque sort of way.But as the "Limousine" of helicopters, with first rate animation, texture, and VC, you will agree we needn't toss the baby out with the bathwater. I believe those issues could be easily tweaked by one who understood aircraft.cfg files.I love the Jet Ranger too, but Microsoft chose to make the shape in such a way that adding other liveries, specifically liveries containing text is all but impossible because the left and right sides use the same texture map (and text will reverse on one side.. . .and without the shape file, you are powerless to change the material mapping.I have already personalized and custommized several Gazelles for myself and others. Want one? Request it here and it's yours.Am I any good with Photoshop7? Oh yeah. Try me but Abacus take note: I am not for hire. ;-)EM