We shouldn't need to taxi in helicopters just to take off

We should be able to just take off in the air without ATC saying we wasn’t cleared to takeoff or having us taxi in a helicopter just to be cleared for takeoff. I think we need more options for landings while flying in helicopters like in the real world. I can request to land at a fueling station without having to land on runway 23r and taxi all the way when I can just hover over the area and land. The same with landing at general aviation parking I should be able to hover over the area and land without taxing etc.

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To be honest - taxiing the helicopter to the runway is exactly how it’s done here. They want only one specific place where departures and arrivals happen, and not all over the premises.

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Xbox Series X.
I used once an helicopter and also the ornithopter, until there will be options which allow us to land directly to refueling station without all this babylonia of runway assignments and taxiing like on a plane, if there will be, i, every time, set all ATC options off and land directly at the point.
Lately i set iff ATC options even when fly planes when i want to land in runways i choose prior on MCDU during flught planning before taking off.
And i Actuvate ATC from CUSTOM bar on tool bar just to have ground services available for fuel and pwer supply and gateway connection (unles i have EFB who allow me to have them without ATC use like IniBuilds or LVFR planes…)

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I don’t think I’ve ever taxi’d one…? It never occurred to me to do so.

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Unfortunately it’s just the limited capabilities of the ATC in MSFS2020. It is mostly coded for fixed wing operations. Even in fixed wings, the ATC lacks simple procedures like a pop up IFR clearance for example.
I don’t think we will see any improvements on this front anytime soon, with MSFS2024 coming out this upcoming fall.

My helicopters haven’t logged landings or take offs in my logbook since they were launched. Even if I follow the “in sim procedure.”

In fact in real world, helicopters follow their own ground procedures depending on the Airfield and many other variables. Is there a tower, is there a lot of traffic, is there a noise abatement neighborhood near by, etc… But typically helicopters will air taxi to a take off point, often using a taxi way as their ‘runway.’ Making pattern turns opposite of fixed wings, at 500ft AGL. You’ll have to ask tower for a specific ‘takeoff from ramp, or takeoff from parking’ to hover and exit the airfield from your parked position.

I haven’t used ATC in well over a year now. I just suspend reality a bit and try to make procedures as real as possible. If I want to work on my call outs or radio work it’s better to use my own voice and a bit of imagination! :wink: :helicopter:

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it is very specific to each airport. For instance if a helicopter is using an international airport the last thing you want is it getting in the way of departing and arriving traffic so it will usually depart from a preset place and leave away from any conflict . it is all very dependant

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Here’s an example from Aberdeen (EGPD) in the UK, a heli heaven for the off shore oil rigs in the North Sea.

Not sure if this is the same for skis, most likely hover to the runway?

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Exactly, “hover taxi” they call it. Departure in case of wheeled helis like Mi-17 or S-92 is almost always along the runway, probably rolling takeoff.

It seems the aircraft can depart from runway axis without restrictions after liftoff, so they usually start along the runway and divert on course after climbing past certain minimum altitude.

Landing is done either along the runway, with taxi or hover taxi to apron, or perpendicularly to runway axis at the crossing of runway and taxiway

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Well… I think ATC most likely never will clear you for a direct landing at a parking spot.
If you don’t like it, ignore ATC and do your thing.
That’s how I do it, as long as the sim ATC tries to direct me into a Cumules Granitus ( AKA a controled decent into a crashsite)

The only time I see them taxi at my home KHEF is when they’re training. The police and private helis take off from their designated heli area/FBO hangars.

Hey! I’m at KHEF, too… on the southwest ramp… And yeah, usually it’s the people from American Helicopters hover taxiing over to the compass rose over there at the runup block by 34L. When they do that, I tend to do my runup somewhere else :rofl: Have watched many a student helicopter pilot try to hover over there lol… The lifeflight heli that is based over by APP and the Fairfax County Police helicopter usually just get ramp departures. Although I guess the police heli is based somewhere else now that they tore down Dulles Aviation (my old flight school).

Hearing the actual phraseology for that would be a hoot in the sim:

“Five Niner Alpha, landing at the west ramp will be at your own risk, use caution for vehicles and pedestrians.”

This is legit how it’s done in the US, with a bunch of local permutations depending on the tower.

We’d have to start designating and differentiating ramps in the World Hub (which should be a thing anyway).

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My home airport was a minor international airport. The police helicopter would hover to the runway, lift off and head whereever they needed to go. So there’S a defined point of departure and still separation from traffic. Doesn’t really matter if it’s a helicopter or a Diamond Katana - I was also told to turn to the right after take-off as soon as possible.

For Example landing like in this video with FlyingMair she crosses the runway and lands at the airport. Zero runways used or taxiways used. This is how it’s done in real life. It’s no where close to real life in MSFS.

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As already mentioned already by others IRL is a mix of cleared straight to parking or fuel or clearance to runway and taxi depending on airport.

Due to the limitations of in sim ATC I get clearance to land from ATC. I then approach the assigned runway adjacent to the first turn-off. Then come to a hover over the runway and transition to the turn-off before touching down. This triggers the usual handover to ground for parking assignment. Then I just hover taxi to the assigned parking, avoiding going too high and triggering the “You were not cleared for take-off”. Adds to the fun and good practice hovering and following taxiways.

It doesn’t seem to matter how we land, with or without ATC, it never triggers landings or take-offs in the sim Logbook anyway.

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I cant speak for every airport or situation, but when I was in the National Guard, we shared space with a regional airport. Our procedure was to not to taxi in the standard way, but we did taxi from our area directly across the runway (after clearance), land in the grass, and wait for clearance to enter the runway and take off in the same pattern as fixed wing aircraft. I have, seen rotary wing traffic at other airports have a seemingly more direct landing / takeoff procedure. That being said, I would agree whole heartedly that different ATC options should be available for the rotary wing crowd. (also i was not a pilot, I was a crew chief)

That does very much depend on where you are.
ATC may IRL clear you for takeoff from a pad and on untowered fields that does happen often as well.
However it is not universally applicable or granted. You are of course free to do as you please in FS, there is not going to be any certificate action against you.

That may be how it is done at that airport, Wenatchee , and you may have noticed that she is only talking on a CTAF frequency. She is not receiving instructions from ATC.
At my now demolished home base L67, the SBD-PD helicopters would occasionally depart from their ready ramp without any sort of pattern and if the circuit was quiet they would also land directly on their pad.
With most GA airports, the traffic usually consists of 99% familiar aircraft. And you get to know each other. And occasionally people agree to modify written rules without much fanfare, because it works for everyone……the only time there is a hiccup is when someone unfamiliar comes in, expecting the procedures published for that airport.

At KREI you find something like this in the airport information:
Pattern altitude: 2503.4 ft. MSL
TPA - 929 FOR FIXED WING ACFT, N SIDE OF RWY 08/26; 500 FOR HEL, S SIDE OF RWY 08/26.

At the airport in your video KEAT you have no such notice. Technically the lady is violating the flight rules. She should be flying a proper pattern, at the correct altitude and with the proper calls.
The wisdom of flying relatively low in a helicopter is a whole different subject. I remember a term called coffin corner, but I don’t know how high or how fast you have to be in a Robinson to be outside of that.

like i said it is airport specific

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lots of mix of terminology here … she isn’t violating any rules or wrong in not flying a pattern if the procedures for a helicopter are stated or indeed if atc have instructed . Helicopters do not always adhere to same rules as planes and quite often can be a nuisance to fixed wing when trying to fly a pattern. Helicopters are also more susceptible to wake turbulence and a quick read of the FAA site indicates it is preferable for helicopters not to follow fixed wing aircraft. of course one exception to any of what has been discussed are IFR flights all of which shall take off and land on a runway. so there is no set rule really

Coffin corner is used for airliners at high altitudes usually its the small area between where the speed of a stall and the minimum speed for level flight converge
for helicopters its often called dead mans curve .Helicopter height–velocity diagram - Wikipedia

ATC reprimands me when I air taxi a skid equipped hello to the runway. That’s a detail that could use improvement