Helicopter SAR missions want you to land in unsuitable locations

ISSUE DESCRIPTION

Description of the issue:
Helicopter SAR missions sometimes end up with the user finding themselves having to land their helicopter within a dense forest, very steep terrain, too close to water, or other unusable surfaces.

With no other option but to land near the target in order to complete the mission, it always results in many of the helicopter SAR missions, particularly the ones in the European mountains, very difficult or outright impossible to pass.

ICAO, coordinates, or specific location:
Many of the SAR missions

[PC Only] Did you remove all your community mods/add-ons? If yes, are you still experiencing the issue?
No mods/add-ons used ever

FREQUENCY OF ISSUE

How often does this occur for you (Example: Just once, every time on sim load, intermittently)?
75% of the time

REPRODUCTION STEPS

Please list clear steps you took in order to help our test team reproduce the same issue:

  1. Load a helicopter SAR mission
  2. Find missing person
  3. Attempt landing near missing person, crash in trees because that’s all there is around the area you need to land in

YOUR SETTINGS

If the issue still occurs with no mods and add-ons, please continue to report your issue. If not, please move this post to the User Support Hub.

What peripherals are you using, if relevant:
Not relevant

[PC Only] Are you using Developer Mode or have you made any changes to it?
No

[PC, MSFS 2020 Only] Are you using DX11 or DX12?

[PC Only] What GPU (Graphics Card) do you use?
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070

[PC Only] What other relevant PC specs can you share?

MEDIA

Please add a screenshot or video of the issue occurring.
This is Val D’Isere:

[END OF FIRST USER REPORT]


:loudspeaker: For anyone who wants to contribute on this issue, Click on the button below to use this template:

Do you have the same issue if you follow the OP’s steps to reproduce it?

Provide extra information to complete the original description of the issue:

If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:

7 Likes

Do you have the same issue if you follow the OP’s steps to reproduce it?

Yes
Provide extra information to complete the original description of the issue:

Dense forests, slippery slopes, cutscene makes it impossible to control helicopter when in slope.
If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:

3 Likes

Do you have the same issue if you follow the OP’s steps to reproduce it?
• yes. On every SAR mission

Provide extra information to complete the original description of the issue:
• I’ve had rescues in dense forest with no potential landing zone within a mile, a person on a 70 degree slope, and a dozen crashes from trying to thread between trees. It makes any SAR missions in a forested area borderline impossible.

If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:

3 Likes

Do you have the same issue if you follow the OP’s steps to reproduce it?

Yes, happens on both Xbox and PC
Provide extra information to complete the original description of the issue:

I’ve tried several SAR missions with the H125, and every time the victim has been on the side of a mountain, with no place close by to land.

If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:

You need a hoist. (Kidding)

1 Like

4 Likes

Plus 1 for the cutscene interfering with helicopter control. I can’t understand why there’s no option to disable them.

9 Likes

Or even better, freeze the aircraft position during the cutscene

6 Likes

Same issue, requires to land on unlandable slopes, when I do, the heli slides and cuts mid scene of the rescue till I return if I don’t crash
Landing near and walking there triggers the cut scene but the rescue doesn’t continue

2 Likes

A picture is worth a thousand words, a video a million?

8 Likes

Do you have the same issue if you follow the OP’s steps to reproduce it?
• Yes
Provide extra information to complete the original description of the issue:

If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:

Haha 4/5 missions are like that. I gave up and waiting for a fix. Until then I will not play the missions. So stupid and frustrating. It’s the same with hoist and cargo.
Lack of guidance make it so unrealistic when it comes to hoist rescue.

7 Likes

And I thought I couldn’t land on rocks on a plane… It’s a good thing I didn’t buy a helicopter.

Do you have the same issue if you follow the OP’s steps to reproduce it?

Provide extra information to complete the original description of the issue:

If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:
• All of this just shows that they never play tested the game. Note even once. They couldn’t have

2 Likes

Do you have the same issue if you follow the OP’s steps to reproduce it?
• Yes

Provide extra information to complete the original description of the issue:
• The location of the person to be rescued is spawned in impossible-to-land areas most of the time, often between trees on in an inclined slope.

If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:
• This was a SAR mission in southern Australia. As seen in the screenshot, it is not possible to land here on an inclined hill and between trees.

Completing this mission without stepping outside the simulation is practically impossible. We often have to land by colliding with trees, particularly in the Mansonville missions. It’s worth noting that these are rescue missions requiring landings, without the use of ropes or other equipment. I believe this situation can be improved, as these missions are among the most engaging for me.

3 Likes

So far about half the helicopter SAR missions were not completable, due to no suitable landing area close to the missing person. Either in the middle of a forest, or on a steep surface with no close by flat surface. Easy workaround for now would be allow us to walk away from the heli more than 0.05 miles (I have found that passing 0.05 miles from the heli fails the mission).

1 Like

Well said, and further to your point about Masonville, I would suggest that those missions would be great for hoist, but not for landing.

1 Like

I’ve managed some rescues on forest slopes by landing in a clear, more flat area and then slowly sliding closer to the mission target. Tree trunks won’t kill you as long as you’re touching the ground. The tricky part can be taking off, might need more sliding for some clear area and need to go as vertical as possible.

Same problem. I have only one SAR heli mission and its bugged.

1 Like