HPG Hot Air Balloon Released

Discussion Hub Aircraft
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21

Unanswered questions:

  1. Full SimBrief integration?
  2. Working circuit breakers?
  3. Functional autopilot?
  4. Tiller steering?

:wink:

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Will it be RNAV/VNAV capableā€¦??? Now thats the million dollar question

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This is very fun. I had a blast with this balloon.
Iā€™ve posted a preview here.

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First video in this thread:

Hot Air Balloon Preview! | Hype Performance Group | MSFS 2020 - YouTube

Time 3:20

And

Time 6:53

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Have this one for free: Hot Air Balloon Ā» Microsoft Flight Simulator (there are others if you search BTW) - itā€™s not as detailed, but if you need to scratch that itchā€¦

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What about wingflex? :man_shrugging: :grin:

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Thrust vectoring would be useful. Rotate those bitumen burners and get some proper speed and directional control!

I wonder if hot air balloons can burst or pop if you heat them up too much? I have no idea how they are controlled so really looking forward to diving into this new experience!!

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Agree, no wingflex equals unplayable lol.

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Ahhh, the famous 400kn variant from fsx. Yep we defenitely need that one.

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Couple quick questions:

  • Paint kit? Or textures that are easy to modify? Iā€™m guessing itā€™s pretty straightforward and easy to just pull the textures up. Iā€™d like to do a livery for the Trump 2024 campaign (just kidding!).
  • Is it possible to use the EFB on an external device like an actual tablet? Not a biggie, but would be nice to be able to use it from different views and easier outside the sim.
  • Will the 400 knot version ship at release or will we be waiting for the Airforceproud95 videos? :wink:

Next Thursday will be 15 years to the day I did a hot air balloon flight. The pilot nailed the landing, setting it down right between the houses on a residential street. Canā€™t wait to try that in the sim. The improved Live Weather winds and hundreds of detailed POIs should make this a really fun and interesting addition.

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Paint kit available at Flightsim.to: HPG Hot Air Balloon - Livery Paintkit Ā» Microsoft Flight Simulator

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I sincerely hope there wonā€™t be a 400 knot versionā€¦

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Oh gosh, I was only joking. Didnā€™t know that was already done in the past!! Itā€™s only a matter of time then hahah

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Are there any plans to take it to marketplace? Iā€™m an Xbox user and would absolutely love a chance to use this!

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Weā€™d love to get all our aircraft on the marketplace and Xbox, weā€™ve got some work to do before we can submit a build to Asobo however.

No 400 knots version currently, also no external EFB connect for the HHAB currently.

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Great addon!

This probably is as realistic as is wind accuracy in MSFS. I assume you did extensive tests. How realistic will it be?

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Is there are a shot somewhere of all the included liveries?

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Thatā€™s awesome, yes, I personally need to find some flight plans. I think the world update areas will probably be the best, the cities look great!

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Here are the areas we think we can improve.

Known Issues With Release Day Build

  • The balloon is yawing too much in wind gusts, it should move much more gently. We will adjust this. Use manual wind layers if this becomes annoying during a flight.
  • The balloon can lift off the ground prior to the envelope animation being finished. We will adjust this timing to prevent the animation from diverging from the physics.
  • Lift-off is too aggressively moving into the wind. This will be adjusted to have a smoother transition into the air mass and more ascension prior to such high speed over the ground being achieved
  • Nearby Balloons app - Ensure the sliders are all moved from their default positions, otherwise you may end up unexpectedly with a value of zero for that slider.
  • Fireworks were not intended to be launched in multiples by rapidly clicking but we understand people are enjoying this.

Future Features Being Implemented Based Off Community Feedback

  • The COM1 radio will be made functional including a keypad. The electrical system has been removed prior to release but will be returning to enable functional radios for online flying.
  • A Transponder will be added to the same radio system to aid flying online.
  • The Nearby Balloons feature will be extended to enable the balloons to follow the wind or remain static. Static balloons will show more varied faces which may make for better screenshots, but following the wind will enable a fun experience. We need to ensure that performance is suitable but will be investigating and adding a little more functionality here.
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Better buy it a coke, then!

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Good catch, thanks :wink: