Here comes the Hind!

Hi folks!

For those of you who do not follow flight sim news, Eagle Dynamics has finally given us a nice trailer for the Mi-24P Hind. If you haven't seen it, check it out!

The Hind is one of these helicopters I've been wanting for years in DCS. It's as soviet as it gets; badass, powerful, loud and dangerous. The Mi-24 was an attack helicopter that was feared (and rightfully so) due to its uncommon design and agressive pilots. There is an incredible story about how its design came to fruition and why it became able to do so many things, but I'll leave it for the guide. Fun fact: the Hind is one of the few pressurized helicopters that was designed to operate in NBC (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical defense) conditions. I find it hard to imagine flying in such horrible conditions... and it makes you think about what could have been. It comes with a fixed 30 mm cannon, rockets and 9M114 Shturm guided missiles. Later on, we will see 9M120 Ataka missiles and R60M air-to-air missiles adapted for air-to-ground use. It's amazingly russian in so many aspects... it's hard not to respect such a mean-looking machine. It's an aircraft that's meant to fly fast, strike hard, and bug out.

As most of you may have guessed, the next "big" project following the Mosquito (and maybe something else if I have time, no promises) will be the mighty Hind. There will obviously a lot of common systems with the Mi-8 (the engines, for instance), but the implementation of Multicrew will bring an additional aspect to the module that is very special. Tomcat and Huey drivers will know what I mean. The fact that there are two cockpits means that some tasks can be done from either the front or rear cockpit, while other tasks are specific to one cockpit over the other. I might have to create a new section about crew management, which will explain what can be done in what seat, how tasks are "managed", and of course showcase procedures both with a player copilot or the "Petrovich" AI in single player. According to the DCS Hind's Project Manager Interview with VargTV, the AI will be able to accomplish more advanced tasks than the basic "altitude hold / heading hold" functions implemented in the Huey and Mi-8. This should be very interesting.

The rear cockpit is where the pilot is, and the first thing I noticed is how many switches and panels are crammed into this alien-looking office space. One of the cool things I can't wait to write about is the doppler navigation system. Basically, you have a paper map where a mechanical cursor representing your position is moved as the doppler system calculates your position based on your heading and speed. Eventually, the system will drift and you will have to "zero" or "realign" the system. No GPS, old school... this is how I like doing things.

The front seat, on the other hand, is much lower and guarantees you will enjoy low level rides. You can also fly the Mi-24 from this seat, however do keep in mind that there are fewer flight instruments and that you are surrounded by an armored shield that also serves as the helicopter's structure. Bruce Stringfellow goes into great details about the helicopter's structure and design philosophy; the hour-long video is a fascinating watch. 

However, the copilot seat contains one of the biggest mysteries of the Hind: its optical sight and Shturm/Ataka missile guidance controls. From an educated guess, I think we can have a general idea of what it is but not necessarily how it works. This is one of these things we'll have to discover together because there is very little information available on it that's not an old scanned russian pdf with coffee stains on it. This is going to be fun!

There is a surprising amount of detail on the rear cabin (which is a much appreciated effort), and I believe this will come handy once the KORD gunner is implemented later in Early Access, alongside sling load operations and other goodies.

Overall, while I am not the biggest fan of Early Access in general, I have confidence in the way the project is managed by Alex Podvoisky, also known as PilotMi8 on the Eagle Dynamics forums. PilotMi8 was involved with the development of the Huey and Mi-8 modules,  which are both testaments that such projects can be very well simulated, scoped, and documented properly... if the vision is clear enough and the talent is there.

This summer is going to be awesome.