FAN- bloody -TASTIC !!!

Been flying around messing with the new update.... loving it.

Thank you, TAOG'S Hangar for the Dauphin /Dolphin... you guys Rock !!!

Edited July 15Jul 15 by aerostar

14 hours ago, outermarker said:

is it worth the price tag?

Keep in mind, you are getting two helicopters in the pack. And they are different helicopters IMO. So its more value than you think. Definitely a solid 9.5/10 pack, losing only .5 from me due to the AS365 having all the good liveries and the HH65, which I prefer out of the two, having only US coast guard liveries :(

9 hours ago, ryanbatc said:

The other nice thing about this is it's pretty fast as far as helicopters go. You can easily do 140 KIAS (and a bit more if you push it).

Embarrassed to say that I didn't realize for a couple hours that the first caution mark on the airspeed indicator was for gear down max speed, so I thought never exceed was only 130kts LOL. Wasn't used to retractable gears on a helicopter. Yes, you can easily do 140 and cruising in the yellow doesn't seem to get too hot either.

13 hours ago, ryanbatc said:

I have not tried the TDS after the update in the HH65 USCG variant. I believe it has an FMS so I'm not really sure why it would also have a GTNxi.

The FMS was painful for me, likely due to my lack of airliner experience - I was happy that there was the PMS free alternative mentioned in previous posts, that was a game changer. I did notice that the EFB Send to Avionics doesnt always do that however, I've had to manually enter the flight plan again to get the GPS nav to work. Direct To works well though.

I'll be spending some more time this week in the AS365 VIP variant, its classy with that black and gold livery to be sure!

12 hours ago, UrgentSiesta said:

If you’re seeking a great helo for hand flying / sightseeing, then the Taogs OH-6/H500 or the Digital Aeronautics Mi-2 (or Cabri G2 😎) are much better choices. 🤙

@outermarker I know that It depends on everyone likes but I have the Hughes and the AS365 and I prefer the AS365 above the Hughes for hand flying / sightseeing...the view from the cockpit is much better in my opinion, It's faster and in SAS mode flies better than the Hughes.

27 minutes ago, Kristofski said:

Embarrassed to say that I didn't realize for a couple hours that the first caution mark on the airspeed indicator was for gear down max speed, so I thought never exceed was only 130kts LOL. Wasn't used to retractable gears on a helicopter. Yes, you can easily do 140 and cruising in the yellow doesn't seem to get too hot either.

That limit bar in 135 kt is the maximum speed you can reach with engines off (autorotation) and the landing gear operation (up and down) if the landing gear's door are installed, if I remember correctly the Taog's one doesn't have them installed. Even if you had the landing gear's door installed you could fly above 135 kt with your landing gear down, what you couldn't do is lower or rise your landing gear above that speed.

7 hours ago, Soul Rebel said:

I prefer the AS365 above the Hughes for hand flying / sightseeing...the view from the cockpit is much better in my opinion, It's faster and in SAS mode flies better than the Hughes.

Interesting! 🤙

There’s nothing I like better than flying with the doors off for the increased lateral visibility (and having ridden in a few doors-off IRL, it’s fantastic there, too!).

While the canopy bow in the Hughes is intrusive to the left, the unobstructed top to bottom visibility more than makes up for it. (Truth be told, my fave view is the SA 315’s, but it’s not 2020 native, so…)

The Dolphins instrument panel really blocks the visibility preferable for confined area landings, and a huge chunk of terrain for sightseeing, as well

The Hughes is quite easy to trim to practically zero force on the controls, and so the relative mush of any SAS kinda kills it for me in the “for fun” flights. The Hughes is like a sport bike - the Dolphin is like a sport sedan 😎

13 minutes ago, UrgentSiesta said:

The Dolphins instrument panel really blocks the visibility preferable for confined area landings

I feel like this is a function of the the tricycle style landing gear; the expectation is for these helicopters to take off and land on runways, no? I think this is also why in career mode, you cant use these for SAR landing missions, only SAR hoist missions - MSFS expect you to have skids for those confined areas, bush landings, landing on slopes etc.

48 minutes ago, Kristofski said:

I feel like this is a function of the the tricycle style landing gear; the expectation is for these helicopters to take off and land on runways, no? I think this is also why in career mode, you cant use these for SAR landing missions, only SAR hoist missions - MSFS expect you to have skids for those confined areas, bush landings, landing on slopes etc.

I prefer wheels to land anywhere, you only need 1, 2 or 3 points to put your wheels and the helicopter be "stable". With skids on uneven terrain is more difficult to find your stability and even you can get in ground resonance.

For confined areas (or any place really) you can put your nose to the left a little with your pedals and see your landing area all the time through the window where your feet are.

5 hours ago, Kristofski said:

I feel like this is a function of the the tricycle style landing gear; the expectation is for these helicopters to take off and land on runways, no?

....or aprons/tarmacs I guess.

But I would think to some extent you can land on dirt or whatever.

On 7/14/2026 at 3:59 PM, outermarker said:

So... is it worth the price tag? Most of your reviews have been quite positive, but after converting from euros, it comes out to about $63 for me. That's more expensive than the Fenix A320 and even some of the PMDG 737/777 variants. A pretty steep ask in my opinion. What do you think?

Hells yeah. You're getting a state-of-the art gorgeous helo here with multiple variants, gobs of features, totally realistic and finely tuned flight model, so many customizable options, the best autopilot there is (not that there are many others, since the only other one I'm aware of is the Cowansim S76C+) etc etc etc, all backed by a passionate development team with a fantastic track record and transparent, open communications on their Discord. It's the Fenix of rotary winged flight, best there is.

7 hours ago, UrgentSiesta said:

...The Hughes is like a sport bike - the Dolphin is like a sport sedan 😎

LMAO I was thinking along the very same lines the other day. The H500/OH-6A is great for scootin' around and a little bit of hooliganism. The AS365 is refined, great for longer flights, sitting back and enjoying the ride. I was thinking the Hughes is like some of my old Suzukis (including my V-Stroms, since it's also versatile and eager to go just about anywhere) while the Dolphin is like my current Goldwing bagger.

Does that make it an "old man" helicopter? 😁

Edited July 16Jul 16 by Stoopy

Anyone experience this after patch?

Some light reading for those who like to do it By The Book (578 pp):

Google for the document name "CGTO 1H-65C-1"

Unfortunately, there isn't one for the B model that I've found yet, but this is a lot more about "how to fly" rather than which buttons to push.

Gratuitous screen shot, first flight post patch (much happier with handling now! 😁)

Further Deck Landing Quals on USNS Mercy hospital ship:

12 hours ago, UrgentSiesta said:

Further Deck Landing Quals on USNS Mercy hospital ship:

That's some of the Miltech scenery isn't it? The Amphib Ready Group scenery?

I have some of their stuff but not the ARG. That's pretty cool, I need to get that one.

Are there any U.S. Coast Guard cutter sceneries that you know of? Like a landable cutter (either High Endurance cutter or Medium Endurance)?

36 minutes ago, Mace said:

That's some of the Miltech scenery isn't it? The Amphib Ready Group scenery?

I have some of their stuff but not the ARG. That's pretty cool, I need to get that one.

Are there any U.S. Coast Guard cutter sceneries that you know of? Like a landable cutter (either High Endurance cutter or Medium Endurance)?

I honestly don’t know because I have something like three ship sceneries running 😂

But yeah, I believe you’re correct. 👍

I did a quick search and it seems like there’s a USCG cutter in the Seafront Simulations Hawaiian Islands pack.

Not sure at all if there are others…🤷‍♂️

TBH, It doesn’t matter all that much to me given the USCG’s crossover roles…

and the fact that I like confined area landings regardless of what color the ship is painted! 😎🤙

1 hour ago, UrgentSiesta said:

I honestly don’t know because I have something like three ship sceneries running 😂

But yeah, I believe you’re correct. 👍

I did a quick search and it seems like there’s a USCG cutter in the Seafront Simulations Hawaiian Islands pack.

Not sure at all if there are others…🤷‍♂️

TBH, It doesn’t matter all that much to me given the USCG’s crossover roles…

and the fact that I like confined area landings regardless of what color the ship is painted! 😎🤙

Oil rigs are fun too, considering that 😉