Bell 407

[OldBear6732]

In the new beta sim update received some updates. Has anyone tried the new version, any opinions?

[phutyoo]

I like the 407 in it’s current non-beta state, other than as with all helis in MSFS, they need to implement force trim and tweak the general trim settings. I’ve kind of backed off of flying them until they sort it out. Even if not done perfectly, force trim is really needed badly. It’s just too tiresome just keeping a straight and level attitude for covering any notable distance. When taking off, landing, hovering and slewing around ‘targets’ it’s fine for the most part as that’s extremely interactive. But for covering 35 miles in an active world with other aircraft and limitations, it’s just too tiresome.

[IXSpectreXII]

The Bell has been through many phases of its time since the 40th anniversary release. For my pros, I absolutely love the sounds, textures, and idea of my favorite aircraft present in this simulator.
Here are a few suggestions I’d like to share for improvement based on my experience:

Inertia:

The Default inertia on the helicopter natively can be tedious for pilots to maintain heading and altitude during cruise. This would sometimes require a perfect blend of sensitivities, trim and changes to furthermore help reduce many inputs to assist with the solution. There has also been community mods made to improve on this issue.

Flight Model and Engine:

I noticed on the 407’s engines max torque should reach up to 100 as the real model. The in-game model tends to over-torque and lose RPM at around 72-75 Torque, thus making it underperforming

On takeoff, it can be tricky taking off as the helicopter doesn’t have an animated suspension with the weight in the skids, or animation with the main rotor. It can be unpredictable when it comes down to pedal pressure and knowing where it’s going to go initially after liftoff.

To me, the turn coordinator seems to be strange as it doesn’t correct itself all the way from forward flight to cruise, prompting you to use left pedal. I’m not sure if pedals should be used at all after you get going, some say yes, some say no.(Help me out with this)

The trim is still in some cases buggy because of the inertia. Another problem of the general trim in MSFS, which can cause the helicopter to still be tricky to maintain stability.

There is currently no throttle control when interacting with the “FADEC Mode” on “Auto”. To compensate for “Engine Control” is by pressing the “Manual” button and then interacting with the throttle to control the rpm, but the rpm doesn’t function exactly like a real helicopter, but it is similar.
For normal operations, the Manual” FADEC” is not to ever be used unless there is a failure with the Automated FADEC.

My perspective changed as the Aircraft now as decently good, but a tad unrealistic based on how it flies. The flight model feels forced and in a way that feels unnatural for the Bell.

Content:

When I first saw the 407 before it’s release, I once thought like with the Cessna 172, that there’d be variations with different configurations of Garmins like the G500H, G1000H, G5, or anything fitting for digital avionics. Sometimes, the Analog gauges can be a little hard to see, in which the default camera may need to be modified in order to see clearly of each gauge and the Navigation. Looking up and down on gauges and navigation can be disorienting for beginner pilots as there is a lot of workload involved. I feel like digital avionics for this beast would help with pilot workload for long flights.

Although, the GX series does offer an Autopilot(Which is unfortunately unavailable for helicopters natively). A good alternative like a SAS system could help out with stability in cruise, takeoff, and approach. Stability and Pilot comfort is something essential for the 407 because of its luxury like specifications and style.

I observed the Weight and Balance menu for rotorcraft shows the Bell’s outline with floats, can this be a reference for anything?

As the rise of rotorcraft hype for 2024 shows the the H125, I was inspired to spawn an idea for a wish to see the Bell 407 with an EMS Configuration with real life for its common usuage. The Bell 407 series have been used extensively for HEMS, Law enforcement, Military, Corporate and Utility users.

I was hoping that there’d be animating moving parts on the helicopter from the swash plate, main rotor, tail rotor, and skid. The missing Pulse lights would certainly be great for day operations, especially if birds are added into MSFS.

Additionally, a wire strike system, winches, cameras, searchlights, extended skids, baskets, and interchangeable removable Frahmn Damper(Rotor Disc) could further give the user more options.

Although, It is not expected that the helicopter will receive much content because it is a default Asobo Aircraft, seeing what it can be used for in MSFS would be interesting in concept. I do hope that this feedback is considerable to giving this helicopter the love it deserves.

Feel free to reply about what do you all think, I’d love to hear opinions!