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Thorne Midge I

17.4k Thorne  3.3 years ago

The Thorne Midge I


The Midge I is a single-seat ultralight helicopter with both recreational and operational uses in mind. Consisting of only 141 parts, mobile users will be drooling as there there aren't any sexy beasts like this that'll run better than the tutorial plane [or at least just as good ;)].

Part count was a key objective in designing the helicopter; it's a bummer to mobile users when they can't get the same experience as everyone else. Flight performance was also tuned to fly somewhat true to a real helicopter, particularly for in-flight power settings and auto rotations.


Autorotations in the Midge


After a loss of power in forward flight above ~500ft AGL, Immediately lower the collective (VTOL bar) and bring the nose up a bit to recover RPM, try to take no more than 1.5 seconds on the collective. Maintain 60-70 kts (or between 40-80 depending on how you make the spot), if you happen to be too high you may come down vertically, making sure to avoid overspeeding. In your last 500ft you should ideally have an airspeed greater than 50 kts in order to have an effective flare, which will be initiated within the last 100ft (or by natural feel). At the end of the flare you should level off at an airspeed below 20 kts to avoid a rollover on touchdown, and cushion for landing.

To autorotate in a hover, simply use the collective to cushion for landing; don't be too high, as you only have so much time left to land. The Midge autorotates more realistically in a hover than in forward flight.

Keep in mind that this isn't incredibly accurate (as you don't really have to monitor RPM like in real life), but it's as good as SimplePlanes gets!



Pilot Pal


The best part about flying is sharing the experience with others; SimplePlanes is a lonely game, and Pilot Pal is the perfect solution. Pilot Pal is designed to make your flying experience ten times better, he reacts you your yaw/Roll/pitch rates, vibrations, takeoffs, landings, hard landings, and crashes!

The original plan was to design 2 cockpits; one with a realistic instrument panel, and one with a simplified instrument panel using minimal parts [turned out to be 7], and this became Pilot Pal! I began work on a detailed instrument panel after completing the minimal Pilot Pal, it took an incredible amount of parts and it just wasn't as cool. I decided that Pilot Pal would be far more likeable and a lot more fun to use.



Customization


Everyone loves to customize their machines, the body paint is all kept to one box for simplicity.


Modifications


I will leave this space open for a list of people's modifications and attachments to the craft, feel free to share! I'll always upvote related posts!

Cowboy Hat Pilot Pal by Thorne!


Other


-Feel free to use this as a low part subassembly for any project, no credit required (just tag me in a comment because I'd love to see!). the cockpit is attached to the middle glass fuselage of the cockpit.


Fly the autogyro version by clicking the image below

Spotlights

General Characteristics

  • Successors 1 airplane(s) +7 bonus
  • Created On Windows
  • Wingspan 3.4ft (1.0m)
  • Length 18.2ft (5.5m)
  • Height 5.8ft (1.8m)
  • Empty Weight 2,226lbs (1,009kg)
  • Loaded Weight 2,716lbs (1,232kg)

Performance

  • Power/Weight Ratio 8313.922
  • Wing Loading 33.7lbs/ft2 (164.3kg/m2)
  • Wing Area 80.7ft2 (7.5m2)
  • Drag Points 838

Parts

  • Number of Parts 141
  • Control Surfaces 0
  • Performance Cost 618
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  • Profile image
    17.4k Thorne

    I’ll be trying it out for sure now lol @FlyingFish1

    3.3 years ago
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    3,306 FlyingFish1

    @Thorne I enjoy his company. You don't need a mod for it. You just need to change the controls in the controls tab and set it up for TrackIR.

    +1 3.3 years ago
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    17.4k Thorne

    I’d love to try SimplePlanes in VR someday if there’s a mod for it; I also have a set of helicopter controls I might give it a shot with, how do you find pilot pal? lol @FlyingFish1

    3.3 years ago
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    3,306 FlyingFish1

    I was playing with it around the temple on Maywar and I was booming around it, zooming in and out of superstructures without crashing. TrackIR would go great with this little helicopter @Thorne.

    +1 3.3 years ago
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    17.4k Thorne

    That’s good to hear, thanks man! @FlyingFish1

    3.3 years ago
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    3,306 FlyingFish1

    Flies very well with a flight stick! Awesome build.

    +1 3.3 years ago
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    17.4k Thorne

    Thanks, I find when a lot of them combine the throttle and collective for the PC players it makes it hard to land smoothly lol @donald347

    3.3 years ago
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    This is awesome. Not many ships on here that would actually let you autorotate.

    +1 3.3 years ago
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    17.4k Thorne

    :o @tsampoy

    3.3 years ago
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    33.2k tsampoy

    I will destroy pilot pal

    +1 3.3 years ago
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    17.4k Thorne

    Thanks again 🙏 really appreciate the spotlight! @FasterThanLight

    3.3 years ago
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    @Thorne No problem! You really deserve the support!

    +1 3.3 years ago
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    17.4k Thorne

    Awesome to hear that, because that’s just what I was going for! Thanks man! @FasterThanLight

    3.3 years ago
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    This is the chocolate truffle of SP builds. Small but sweet.

    +1 3.3 years ago
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    4,466 L0RR3B0RR3

    @Thorne tank you, realy helpfull tip, have a good day :)

    +1 3.3 years ago
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    17.4k Thorne

    C’est comme un Bell 47, mais l’inspiration vient du Mosquito XE et d’Hughes 300! @WarHawk95

    3.3 years ago
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    34.7k WarHawk95

    Nice ! On dirait un Bell 47

    +1 3.3 years ago
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    @Thorne np ! you deserve more visibilty out here

    +1 3.3 years ago
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    17.4k Thorne

    Thanks man!! @ollielebananiaCFSP

    +1 3.3 years ago
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    man this so coooool, take that spotlight :))

    +1 3.3 years ago
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    17.4k Thorne

    I used Gimp to cut the helicopter out and then used PowerPoint (I find it quick and easier to use than any proper software for small things like this). In PowerPoint I pasted the cut-out photo on top of the original and sandwiched the text in between. Thanks for the comment 🙏 @L0RR3B0RR3

    +1 3.3 years ago
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    17.4k Thorne

    Thank you! @Hira629

    +1 3.3 years ago
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    4,466 L0RR3B0RR3

    How did he place the text behind the heli? Great creaton BTW

    +1 3.3 years ago
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    16.1k HR

    This is a small and cool helicopter! very good

    +1 3.3 years ago
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    17.4k Thorne

    @HansUlrichRudel Thanks!

    3.3 years ago
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