Helipads AND heliports won't allow a helicopter to start Cold & Dark

[CasualClick]

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Are you using Developer Mode or made changes in it?

No

Have you disabled/removed all your mods and addons? 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.

Yes

Brief description of the issue:

Helipads at airports AND heliports will not allow helicopters to start Cold & Dark. When placed on a normal apron spot, the helicopter is C&D when you load into the cockpit. In a Helipad, the helicopter is always already running. I checked with World Hub Scenery authors and there’s no setting to define what the aircraft state is when they place a helipad in an airport.

Provide Screenshot(s)/video(s) of the issue encountered:

KUUU - the Cabri is on the sole helipad and is already running when you load into the cockpit

KUUU - the Cabri is at Parking Spot 1, and the sim honors Cold & Dark state.

ICAO or coordinates (DevMode > Debug > Display position)

Test case was KUUU, but this is true of any airport that has helipads. Heliports, of which there are approximately ten (?) in the sim, also allow Cold & Dark.

Detailed steps to reproduce the issue encountered:

Load the Asobo Cabri into any airport (not heliport) with a helipad. Place it on the helipad. You will enter the cockpit from Fly Now and the aircraft will already be powered up and running.

PC specs and/or peripheral set up if relevant:

N/A

Build Version # when you first started experiencing this issue:

SU15 Build 19

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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:

[SmotheryVase665]

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:

Test case was TNCS, which has one Helipad and two ramp parking spots
If the Helipad is chosen as the departure location, the Guimbal Cabri G2 was running.
If Ramp 1 is chosen as the departure location, the Guimbal Cabri G2 is cold & dark.

If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:

N/A

[NixonRedgrave]

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:

Have experienced this exact issue as described.

If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:

[ElasticSack182]

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:

I also asked the world hub alpha folks if this was a possibility. Mainly in adding the Nice France, parking and helipads that are there in the sim, but not available to select. The members on alpha also stated that ‘Star’ or Asobo handcrafted/bespoke airports cannot be edited. I guess that was missed on the recent Nice/Monaco update too…again. See post attached.

@World Hub Change Tracking?

In the past I’ve seen Heli Ramps added as Heli Pads, this starts the helicopter from a hot start. It would be nice to have a mix of both so we could choose either the pads with hot start ready to take off; or the ramps as a cold and dark option. I know this may confuse our fixed wing friends to select a ramp spot over here so maybe the naming convention is something like Ramp 1H, Ramp 2H, etc… The yellow ramp parking would be prime for cold and dark, while the large square pads would be great for hot start Heli Pad spawn points

World Hub Change Tracking?

Hi all, I’ve been tracking this topic pretty closely. Hats off to those in the World Hub Alpha Club making these outstanding changes! o7🫡 As a Heli simmer I am loving all the new helipads at airports all around the world. Your endeavors are not going unnoticed and the work you’re doing is much appreciated! I saw above that some alpha testers are reading and taking input. I don’t want to add to the work load, but if someone is ambitious enough (or bored enough ) And please forgive if these…

If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:

[CasualClick]

Zendesk Ticket # 217122

Also acknowledged by Seb as a bug during the FSExpo 24 Helisimmer interview:

Interview with Jorg Neumann and Sebastian Wloch - MSFS2024

[AlpineB4652]

As a fyi, as a workaround to this bug, when creating my helipad sceneries, I place a parking spot directly on the helipad. This then allows the user the option of selecting either the helipad for a quick start or the parking spot for c&d.

[CasualClick]

If you’re building freeware scenery to be loaded in Community folder, that will work. World Gateway Hub review will reject that approach.

[R6point0]

@AlpineB4652

As a fyi, as a workaround to this bug, when creating my helipad sceneries, I place a parking spot directly on the helipad. This then allows the user the option of selecting either the helipad for a quick start or the parking spot for c&d.

Thats greatly appreciated and all but nobody should have to build scenery just to get an aircraft to startup cold and dark.

[cyclicalobsessv]

@AlpineB4652

when creating my helipad sceneries, I place a parking spot directly on the helipad.

That’s what I did in MSFS2020 - really don’t want to have to do that in MSFS2024.

[Suburbannun]

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:

Just start a flight with any helicopter at any helipad.
If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:

[Rhinozherous]

Will this ever be fixed in MSFS 2020?

[OldTimer529]

@CasualClick

Helipads at airports AND heliports will not allow helicopters to start Cold & Dark.

That’s not a bug. You cannot start airplane C&D on a runway as well.

[CasualClick]

It is a bug. These are start points where airport operations park and ramp helicopters. They’re not take off points.

[LucasNT5642]

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

yes

My work-around for this: Copy the original apron.flt or hangar.flt from folder simobjects/airplanes…etc and rename it to runway.flt. (backup the original runway.flt). This makes the helicopter start in cold and dark state on helipads (worked at least for the CowanSim 500E)

[Pips26791]

Dear Microsoft Flight Simulator Team,

This is my first post on the MSFS 2024 forum — thank you to the whole team for your continuous work and commitment to improving the simulator.

I’ve observed an inconsistency in MSFS 2024 regarding helicopter startup behavior.

When starting a flight from a helipad (for example “Heliport H1”), the helicopter always loads with the engine and rotor already running at full power, as if it were ready for immediate take-off.

This behavior is not realistic. In real-life operations — and even in MSFS 2020 for airplanes — an aircraft placed on a parking spot or stand spawns completely cold and dark, allowing the pilot to perform all pre-start and startup procedures manually.

For helicopters, the simulator should behave the same way: if the pilot chooses a helipad or parking spot, the aircraft should appear cold and dark, with engines off.

This issue becomes even more problematic when flying on IVAO or VATSIM networks, since spawning “rotors turning” on a stand or helipad is not compliant with normal ATC procedures.

I kindly ask the MSFS Team to review this startup logic so helicopters can be properly cold and dark when spawned at any helipad or parking position.

Thank you for your attention.

Pips26791

[GeeStoerty]

Over 1,5 years after being reported, this annoying “bug” still persists. It makes me completely avoid any helipads.

I could not even find it on the last bug-best-of-table I could dig out in the forum from October, although it’s “bugged logged” here.

Any plans for a fix in 2026 ? SU5 maybe ?

[EtHaennesche]

It’s still not fixed - that’s really sad and so basic.

[TJTurner]

I’ve been trying to figure this out for a few minutes. It’s still true, theres no way to start cold and dark when spawning on a Helipad.

[ONEMEANPONY]

As a scenery dev who has produced over 50 sceneries I can tell you this issue is not a bug, it is how the dev created the scenery.

There are two types of heli parking in the SDK that players can choose from the GUI to spawn onto.

1. Helipad
2. Helicopter Parking

Both can be configured to show a landing circle or H or a combination of both. Both can be placed anywhere and both can be configured to be transparent, depending on the dev’s choice and how they want to present it on the landscape.

However, they differ in that only #2 allows a cold spawn.

Some dev’s on flightsim.to may have placed the wrong type, or simply don’t know the difference. Older scenery may have existed before option 2 became available. As for me, I never use option 1 in my scenery.

Don’t ask me why option 1 is a hot spawn, it never made sense but now you all know.