Flying the new AH-6 in VTOL VR!
- Santiago "Cubeboy" Cuberos
- Jul 19
- 3 min read
Completely out of nowhere, a new mod dropped on Steam for VTOL VR. This happens a couple of times a week, so I didn't think much of it, until I saw that it was an AH-6 Littlebird.
I was actually planning on writing about the DCS Germany map, but I just dropped anything I was doing and got in VTOL VR for a couple of sessions with the Killer Egg. We did a couple of initial runs with the AH-6, some single-player and some multiplayer, which landed us with around 10hrs of flight time with it. This was plenty enough to ensure we could give you guys the fairest look we could of this wonderful mod.
THE COCKPIT
The creators did a great job with the cockpit, not only modeling-wise, but also design-wise. The cockpit flow is intuitive enough that there was no need for me to relearn any new systems. I instinctively knew how to start it, since it follows the exact same cockpit flow as every other VTOL VR aircraft, with many systems being shared with the AH-94 DLC helicopter, a required install to even run this mod.
As it is a multicrew aircraft, you will be sitting right next to your co-pilot. They can operate the same systems you do, allowing you to offload targeting and threat assessment, while you or whoever is flying can focus solely on keeping the two of you alive.
Operation is simple and to the point, just what I would expect from a VTOL VR aircraft.
Additionally, you can actually use two SCAR rifles and a flare gun, which is quite the feature and a first within VTOL VR aircraft.
THE MODEL, CAPABILITIES AND FLIGHT MODEL
The external and internal models are up to par with everything that is currently in-game, or even better, depending on who you ask. The animations that were made for the blades whenever you deflect the controls are excellent, and the rotor blur is great.
In terms of capabilities, expect to have to rely on either having two or three of these Little bird working together, or heavier air support if you want to tackle anything bigger than your average uprising. Pylons are limited by design, and you can take a maximum of four air to ground guided missiles, or two rocket pods, along with two M164 miniguns. The most interesting capability was the crew carrying one.
You can choose to sacrifice your weapon pylons to carry several soldiers that will automatically deploy on the next landing, mission depending.
Now, unto the weakest part of this mod: its flight model. Just like the real bird, the AH-6 is quite sensitive at the controls, she demands a lot of attention, and you will have to get used to this if you want to fly it properly. You cannot manhandle her, she will fight back.
While this is all fine and well, there is something quite bothersome about its flight model. Under certain circumstances, usually at high speed, the entire helicopter will enter a harsh, uncommanded pitch maneuver which is similar to RBS (Retreating Blade Stall). This implementation, however, seems to be overly exaggerated and weird in nature.
Were this behavior to be less abrupt and better communicated to the player, then I would have little to no complaints about the flight model. At the end of the day, this is a minor complaint I had to communicate to you for the benefit of transparency, but in gameplay, I rarely even found myself looping the helicopter once I understood its limits.
CONCLUSION: IT'S FREE, GO FLY IT
The folks that made this mod poured quite a lot of effort into it, and it shows. It is up to par with any other content I have seen made for the game, including official aircraft DLC. There is no reason why you shouldn't try it out, you would be missing out on quite the experience.
If you want to try it out, then click the button below! It will redirect you to the Steam Workshop page made for this mod. Credits for the developers are on it as well.
About the Author
Longtime aviation fanatic with particular preference towards military aviation and its history. Said interests date back to the early 2000s leading into his livelong dive into civil and combat flight simulators. He has been involved in a few communities, but only started being active around the mid 2010s. Joined as a Spanish to English translator in 2017, he has been active as the co-founder and content manager ever since. Twitter | Discord: Cubeboy
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