Taog’s Hangar, creator of the wonderful SA316B Alouette III, has released the new SA315B Lama as payware on flightsim.to
I will be away from my PC for another week so I cannot test it yet, but feedback on Discord is very positive: Taog's Hangar - Community Discord
As expected for a light helicopter from the late 1960s, it seems to be quite tricky to fly. Taog has added an optional easier flight model for beginners.
I really like Taog’s Alouette III, but the Lama looks so much cooler Can’t wait to fly it myself …
I was going to buy it for a group flight but ended up running out of time before the flight started so joined in another heli. The organiser ran a giveaway for a copy of it… and I won!!
First impressions:
Nice and lively, but more responsive than the Bell 47G (similar kind of character) so it’s easier than that!
Nice fluid flight model, very hands-on!
No “Cowan Lean”, so it’s automatically better than those!
Love the vibrating panels in the centre console
Very good sounds and great visibility (to the sides especially).
Nice set of liveries (but no British ones lol).
Excellent 3D modelling and extra toggle-able features.
Defo my kind of handling. Raw and totally hands-on required at all times. Gets very sensitive around the hover but it’s reactive and more direct than the 47G. Rotor spins opposite way to the ones I got used to so needs the opposite anti-torque pedal action but even that wasn’t hard to adapt to now.
I like this helicopter anyway, I have 3 of them here as RC models that I like to fly the most.
Now to the Sim model: Basically, the model is very nice to fly and constantly challenges the pilot - BUT:
A tiny inattention and the helicopter goes into a dive or rears up like a wild horse… I don’t believe this behavior!
Then the helicopter doesn’t remember the configuration from flight to flight, which means - if I attached the side baskets on the last flight, they are gone again when I take off for the next flight - unfortunately a big minus!
Has anyone found an assignment for the searchlight yet?
Because the mini joystick in the cockpit cannot really be operated during the flight…
I haven’t found a working assignment for the 2 middle levers (red and white) fuel levers either. Ok, this isn’t really necessary either.
You can activate co-pilots, but I haven’t seen one - they probably don’t want to fly with me - hahahahaha
Despite everything, I like the helicopter and hope that some of these things will be improved soon!!!
This aircraft has made me buy softer springs for my WH Hotas stick. It’s a handful.
There is no taking a sip from your drink while flying this. Or looking at a map to figure out how to approach a runway. Or even making a call to ATC.
Ok. I could have sworn it was more stable. I will test some more later. If I remember correctly there is a similar button on the Fouga, above the battery. If you don’t switch that on, the plane is very unstable.
All in all, I love this bird. Amazing little machine.
However, if you try to fly this with default joystick setup, you are in for a world of hurt.
Personally, for my Warthog stick, I went with -65% sensitivity on all axes.
Also I finally got around to assigning the collective axes on the joystick as well as the respective trims. This helped me a lot : Quick control setup for helicopters in MSFS - Microsoft Flight Simulator - Mudspike Forums
It’s still work, but at least you can make a call to ATC now and then.
FM UPDATES
Smooth out certain behaviors of the V1.0 and listen to the feedback of real Lama pilots who kindly stepped forward after the release to give me their feelings. Here are the main changes
More stable forward flight above 50knts
Easier to achieve cruising speed
Hover sensibility slightly reduced
Added
Camera attachment
Various 3D models around the cabin
Fixed
Altimeter QNH Strip now works
Fuel pump now cannot be activated if the battery isn’t on
Fixes to the rotorhead 3d model (butée basses are now as they should be)
Some warning lights lights that were always on are now off by default
Pitch indicator goes above 1 as it should IRL
Glass dirt texture is now less strong
Texture modifications of certain objects
Side note the FM from V1 is still available as a swap option for users that would like to keep it
Great update, this FM is much more pleasant than the first - I’m not a real pilot, but I have over 5000 hours of flying experience with RC helicopters and you can deduce the flight behavior to a certain extent from that - excellent work - congratulations
Question: does the SA315B even have a trim function in real life? I didn’t find anything about it quickly
I would be grateful if a pilot would have mercy and explain something about it
I am not a real pilot, but I am quite sure Taog wrote on Discord that the real Lama does not have a trim function. But as most people have joysticks/cyclics with springs, he left the trim bindings active in the sim.
Can’t wait to fly it myself …
- I’m not a real pilot, but I have over 5000 hours of flying experience with RC helicopters and you can deduce the flight behavior to a certain extent from that - excellent work - congratulations
