SR-35 Kittiwake | Light SAR Helicopter
SR-35 Kittiwake
The SR-35 is a light rescue helicopter designed for fast-response SAR operations in any conditions. With strong perfrormance, amazing fuel economy, and advanced QOL features, every mission will be a success.
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PERFORMANCE
The SR-35 was designed with performance and economy in mind. At 80% throttle, the helicopter consumes around 0.3L/s, or 20L/min of fuel, giving it almost 300 minutes of flight time (5 hours)!
Additionally, the helicopter only costs $21000, making it a very career-friendly option for the early game.
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AUTOPILOT & NAVIGATION
The SR-35 comes with a full autopilot suite for easy flying.
Hover mode, which attempts to minimize the movement of the helicopter while engaged, and inputs guide linear movement. You can comfortably disembark from the helicopter while it is hovering and return later; it will be there waiting for you.
SR-35 also has GPS waypoint guidance (controller made by Tajin) so you can automatically navigate to your destination. Simply enter your waypoint on the large keypad, allow the helicopter to rotate towards it, and engage cruise mode (which enables a hidden forward fan) to travel at high speeds of up to 150kts. Optionally, also enable altitude hold for hands-free flying. Once you reach your destination, disengage cruise and AP and fly the helicopter as you wish.
Alternatively, it is very easy to fly from the keyboard with simple, balanced controls that respond well.
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MISSION EQUIPMENT
The SR-35 has a convenient beacon location system for rescue operations where you don't know exactly where the target is, simply enable the beacon location system in the cockpit and you will get a distance read on the nearest emergency beacon. Additionally, on the map screen, you can enable the beacon distance visualization; this will draw a circle with the appropriate size to help you see where the target could be, and as you fly, it will get larger or smaller, telling you which way you need to go.
SR-35 also comes equipped with an internally stored, deployable rescue harness capable of being dropped up to 40m below the helicopter. It can be lowered and raised manually from the harness itself, or from the cabin, but there is also an included remote control to raise and lower the harness separately (if you are on the ground and lifting patients or yourself back into the air). There is a hatch below the harness which you can open and close to make sure you don't accidentally fall out or drop any patients from the harness by mistake.
There is plenty of onboard equipment; a defillibrator, lots of first aid kits, flare gun and ammo, transponder, fire extinguisher, welding torch for emergency repair, and both arctic and scuba outfits for missions in demanding environments. The helicopter also has a heater so don't worry about flying in colder areas where you would otherwise be unprotected from the elements.
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NOTES
I've found keeping throttle at 0.8 yields the most stable, optimal results.
Be sure to disengage AP and Cruise Mode at your destination.
The remote control lets you press once to toggle the raise and lower functionality of the harness, but on the harness itself and in the cabin, you must hold the button.
The battery is not very big, there is a refueling anchor and ground power plug on the bottom of the aircraft by the rear wheels.
Lastly, have fun! Be sure to like and favorite this creation if you find it as enjoyable to fly as I do.
