Another vote for the Dodo. The Aerosoft Huey X also gets good reviews from some of the RW helo pilots over at Hovercontrol, which is my go-to source for helo insight. Great resource for a newly-minted helo addict.

 

Also worth a look - the new Nemeth/Milviz Chinook. It's much easier to fly than the Dodo and most of the other smaller helos, but this seems to be authentic - a result of the counter-rotating rotors and stability systems. And the overall experience is more like commercial transport (think in terms of a well used, DC-3-like cargo plane) than general aviation.

 

About controls - there are good threads in the hardware section at Hovercontrol about this. If you want, you can spend a small fortune on a pro setup like Rainman's (I'm awaiting delivery of mine), or slightly less on one of these. I haven't tried the game controllers that Chock recommends. But I have used a joystick (in my case, the Thrustmaster Warthog) pretty successfully. The trick is to use the payware version of FSUIPC to tame the response curves, so you don't overcontrol. For the Dodo, a curve of about 7 or 8 on the aileron and elevator axes makes the cyclic much easier to work with. No adjustment needed on pedals or throttle (collective), at least for me.

 

If you use a joystick with a separate throttle, remember to reverse the throttle axis - up/back is more lift, down/forward is less. That way, you get the patting-your-head-while-rubbing-your-stomach sensation that's such a big part of helo flying.

 

Hope this helps.

Dodosim Bell 206 is heads above all else, but it does not look good but it does make up for it in the way it buts all other to shame in the way it fly's.

A step back and the only one to come close is the better looking Aerosoft Huey X

Aerosoft's Huey is very nice in some respects, but frankly, the modeling on the Nemeth Huey is far better in spite of the Aerosoft one being newer and shiner. Compare these pics for example: the pilots are supposed to be wearing US Army Vietnam War era clothing, including the Gentex SPH-4 helmet. The Aerosoft ones are very poor, not even getting the basic shape correct, let alone the details, the Nemeth one on the other hand is very good in these respects, and this is in fact the case where most of the modeling is concerned, the Nemeth one simply looks 'more like a Huey' in spite of its slight naff blotchy exterior texturing, observe the cockpit quilted panels on the bulkhead too for another example of where the Nemeth one is better:

 

Aerosoft pilots:

 

 

Nemeth pilot:

 

 

Also note this gem from Aerosoft: 'Please note that vortex ring state (VRS) is NOT included, because the Huey does not suffer from this dangerous condition.' Now there are certainly other FS helicopters which don't model VRS, but to claim that the Huey actually cannot suffer from a vortex ring state, is nonsense, because every helicopter can suffer from that unless it can defy the laws of physics.

 

Now don't get me wrong here, the Aerosoft Huey has much to recommend it, and I did buy it, but CERA's Twin Hueys are much closer to the incomparable Dodosim Bell 206 where quality and simulation is concerned, and Nemeth's, as these pics clearly show, has some better attention to detail.

 

Actually, outside of FSX if you want the best Huey flight model on a home PC, it is to be found here, rather than in FSX, since this one even models the infamous 'Huey Tuck' as well as VRS: http://www.1cpublish...ietnam/overview but beware, this sim is picky about what computer it will run on, but it is cool if your computer can manage it, although you only get to fly the Charlie gunship models, the Slicks are AI controlled, which is a bit of a bummer for Chickenhawk fans. On the plus side it does look great, flies great, and you get to hum Ride of the Valkyries whilst loosing off rockets and MGs at those sneaky Victor Charles and Nathaniel Victor pixels, and can even work the door gunner's position if you want to yell 'git some' repeatedly instead. Definitely one for those who love the smell of napalm in the morning.

 

Al

If you want the most realistic flight dynamics, consider DCS Blackshark.

 

Although its a military beast there is something soothing moving around in that ka-50.

 

It just feels right. FSX is great or fixed wing but helis I had trouble enjoying after experiencing DCS

If you want the most realistic flight dynamics, consider DCS Blackshark.

 

Due to coaxial rotors Ka-50 Black Shark is easier to control than typical heli sufferfing from torque effect.

Beside that DCS Ka-50 Black Shark is really great combat heli simulator.

Yes, and due to this you can have some fun with it. A loop or a roll can be performed although difficult. Lose too much alt too quickly and the rotors clash and break.

Actually, outside of FSX if you want the best Huey flight model on a home PC, it is to be found here, rather than in FSX, since this one even models the infamous 'Huey Tuck' as well as VRS: http://www.1cpublish...ietnam/overview but beware, this sim is picky about what computer it will run on, but it is cool if your computer can manage it, although you only get to fly the Charlie gunship models, the Slicks are AI controlled, which is a bit of a bummer for Chickenhawk fans. On the plus side it does look great, flies great, and you get to hum Ride of the Valkyries whilst loosing off rockets and MGs at those sneaky Victor Charles and Nathaniel Victor pixels, and can even work the door gunner's position if you want to yell 'git some' repeatedly instead. Definitely one for those who love the smell of napalm in the morning.

 

Al

 

Hey Al,

how in depth is this sim? The cheap price and the locations are calling me, but I can't find any material about the complexity of the simulator.

Hey Al,

how in depth is this sim? The cheap price and the locations are calling me, but I can't find any material about the complexity of the simulator.

 

It is surprisingly in depth. The Huey has a good VC, the instruments work in the VC, flight model is extremely realistic (probably the best Huey flight model on a PC), the guns and rockets work, via the correct foldaway gunsight which the real UH-1C and B gunship models used. Track-IR works too. There are I seem to recall just twelve missions (this is the only bad point, i.e. it is not a massively long game) with three difficulty levels, if you want to make it a bit easier. So you might feel a little shortchanged on missions in WW of Vietnam, but on the other hand, what you get is fantastic and you'll want to play it more than once, and can from different perspectives if you like, since the AI takes over if you man the door guns for example.

 

You fly a UH-1C gunship. The game (or more accurately - sim) starts off with you participating in the assault on the Ia Drang Valley in November 1965 (i.e. the battle detailed in Col Hal Moore's book, We Were Soldiers Once... And Young, which as you probably know was the basis for the Mel Gibson movie of the same title). Whirlwind of Vietnam is very historically accurate, featuring a well-researched rendition of the battleground, with the terrain accurately replicating the Chu Pong Massif, Ia Drang and most of the famous LZs that were part of the battle, i.e X-Ray, Whiskey, Albany, Columbus, Tango etc, plus of course the chopper's base, which is, as it was in real life, quite a long flight away from LZ X-Ray.

 

All this of course means that it is not an easy game, since quite apart from having to fly the chopper properly, it is a realistic one in the sense that when tasked with covering the UH-Ds making assaults into X-Ray and flying as a pair with another UH-1C, you have to keep the enemy's heads down by making strafing runs on the tree lines, where you will in fact be very lucky to actually spot NVA soldiers because of the detailed terrain, foliage and smoke drifting off the LZ from the artillery prepping, but it is enough to just pepper the tree lines instead of making perfect 'kills' on enemy units, i.e. it has realistic objectives, rather than simply being a 'video game shooter'.

 

The sim continues with other missions which support that battle, and then you go off and do some other missions which are also historically accurate. There are many aspects to the game which really add to it, such as the difficulty in navigating over the terrain, tricky target identities, and the radio chatter, which is probably the best I've heard in a combat sim, being both historically accurate and atmospheric too.

 

In short, this is the best Vietnam War flight sim by a very long margin, one which purists who know about the real thing will appreciate, but if you just want a quick blast on an easy to fly chopper where it is easy to shoot things, then it's not what you want, as it is possible to fall foul of things like VRS and Huey Tuck, and the fog of war is much in evidence. 1C's other chopper game, Apache Air Assault (also excellent with a good flight model) is more accessible in that sense - i.e. you can have unlimited ammo and stuff like that if you want. But both of them are really great though if you like combat choppers and want to actually simulate using them in combat. I have them both and recommend them to anyone who wants a bit of chopper action.

 

Apache Air Assault is the more accessible of the two though, and a much longer game than WW of Vietnam, so unless you really want a Vietnam chopper game, then it is probably the one which offers more value in terms of longevity, also having a multiplayer option which is excellent, since you can fly as a pair with a friend, with one of you laser designating targets for the other and stuff like that. Both games deserve far more recognition than they get. Apache Air Assault can be bought via Just Flight too incidentally, where they often discount it, but I think you can only get WW of Vietnam from 1C's site, and keep in mind that WW of Vietnam can be a bit picky about working 'straight out of the box', I had to mess about a bit to get it displaying properly on my system, whereas Apache AA fired up straight away and was easy to run. Both games get excellent FPS on full graphic settings incidentally.

 

Al