Algodoo

ngphil -- Very nicely done! It took me a while to get the feel for how this thing flies because I have some experience flying a conventional helicopter which is a little different. (A friend of mine owns a Robinson model R44). You obviously spent many hours working on the scene and it truly is impressive!

Xray, I'm glad you're still here. I have a video where I flew an R22 and HOVERED IN THE FIRST HOUR. They are truly unusual animals to control, and I did what I could to emulate as much of their dynamics in this sandbox, while still making it controllable for the layperson who doesn't understand that helicopters are inherently unstable and require constant control feedback loops. The TR SAS on this is satisfying, ever since I figured out what you can do with mixer linkages I've been hooked on the potentials. This is one of them.

I hope it gets more traction soon, this sorta stuff is what I'd been craving for years. I hope you enjoyed it!

Here's the links to my discovery flight and the trimmed hover scene, I hope you enjoy. Challenge: Try to guess the timestamp for when "the ship is mine/ I have the controls" on the short version!

https://youtu.be/VCQ5Ryr_z0Q - full length

https://youtu.be/HcaGE85hE5E - hover scene

Yes, I'm still here and I'm still the active Admin for Algobox.

I like to think of flying a helicopter is like playing drums. That is, you have all four limbs doing different movements and they are rarely synchronized with each other. After a while it becomes "automatic" and the chopper becomes an extension of your body and brain. I've had my private pilot license (fixed wing aircraft) for many years (I won't say for how long because you'll think of me as an old man! LOL) so I understood the basic concepts of flight before getting into a helicopter. I can't afford to own a helicopter but if I ever become wealthy, a helicopter (probably an R22) is the first thing I would buy.

If you do get there, I'm sure you know about mast bumping. "Keep it loaded or keep it centered" are the words I have come to recognize as the crux of avoiding mast bumps. It is not a trivial issue, mast separation at anything other than ground effect height is a good way to take your own name off the census! Otherwise, stay in envelope and Robinsons are excellent, budgetable helicopters!

Yup, I definitely don't want to win the Darwin Award!