Aircraft Review : BK-117 by ND Art & Technology

[Adrian 2]

 

History

The BK-117 was a joint development between MBB (Germany) and Kawasaki (Japan) during the 80s and 90s. The Bk-117 has been very successful as a medevac helicopter thanks to its exceptional performances, generous cargo space and smooth flight model.

After the merge of MBB and Aerospatiale in 1992, the BK-117 became part of the Eurocopter line-up. The BK-117 evolved into what is known today as the EC-145

 

BK-177 model from ND Art & Technology

 

This model is not new, as it was initially released in 2009. However, it has been updated to work perfectly with X-Plane 10 and it is 64 bit compatible.

 

Where to get it: BK-177 X-Plane.org Store

Download size: 68Mb

Price: $29.95

X-Plane requirement: X-Plane 10. 32 or 64 bit.

Updated store#

 

Includes:

Two versions of the BK-117: Regular model and BK-117 with Weather Radar Radome

PDF flight manual

7 paint schemes

 

First Impressions

 

When you load the BK-117, the first thing you see is a unique menu where you can decide which doors to open and close.

 

 

Door controls can also be assigned to buttons. By default the Bk-117 comes loaded with a pilot, 2 paramedics and 1 (badly hurt) patient:

 

You can adjust the number of occupants in the BK-177 using  the Weight and Balance menu of X-Plane.

 

 

Cockpit

The cockpit is a full 3D cockpit. Instruments are well modeled and easy to read:

 

 

The Bk-117 includes many systems such as autopilot, stability augmentation, and engine controls.

 

A default GPS 430 is installed. It also comes with a Medivac G20T handheld GPS. The G20T will only give you the distance to a target coordinate.

 

 

Overall the cockpit is very well made and easy to navigate:

 

 

Dark and cold start-up

 

The Bk-117 does support a dark and cold start-up.

 

Nils from ND Art & Technology has published a video about the start-up procedure:

 

 

 

Exterior and flight Model:

 

Everything is modeled in detail: The frame, doors, Main rotor, and blades.  You'd be highly unlikely to find any defect in this model.

 

 

Details on the rotors:

 

 

The Bk-117 is fairly easy to control.  As long as you own a decent joystick you should be able to master the Bk-177 very quickly.

 

The aircraft is very forgiving thanks to the Stability Augmentation system implemented by the designers.

 

Thanks to the autopilot you can use the Bk-117 for longer flights such as search and rescue missions. The Sperry helicopter autopilot is fully simulated in the systems plugin.

 

SAS Control and Sperry Autopilot:

 

Additional Paint schemes:

 

 

Conclusion:

 

Hard to believe this model is four years old already. It still looks like a brand new release .

ND Art & Technology's BK-117 is a pleasure to fly. It has everything you would look for in a payware model: Detailed graphics, systems to mimic the real aircraft, and great flight model.

On top of all that, the Bk-117 is easy on your computer. I was able to maintain a frame rate of over 55fps during all my tests.

 

Highly recommended for anyone who is interested in learning to fly a chopper.

[blacky75 0]

in despite of no dreamsounds, it remains my beloved chopper of all :-)

 

-> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbLFU5WBZq0

[Guest Douglas Culver]

I had this chopper several years ago before I went to Microsoft Gold. I have missed it every since. Microsoft doesn't have anything remotely close. Nemeth Designs is coming out with the BK117 this Fall. I might try X-Plane 10 in the future just to be able to fly the BK117 from ND developers once again.

 

Doug Culver

Watertown, Wi.

[Guest BK117Pilot]

Hey , i can't Start Up the Engine in the Virtual Cockpit. I use Xplane on Mac OSX

 

[Stephen 162]

8 hours ago, Guest BK117Pilot said:

Hey , i can't Start Up the Engine in the Virtual Cockpit. I use Xplane on Mac OSX

 

 

Sorry can't help you with that as I haven't graced the BK117 cockpit for ages...  you will need to go to the support page for the aircraft.

[DerHeiko 0]

Hi there,

the BK117 is a modell from X Plane 10. I would be interested in if it also works with XPlane 11 in the actual version?

 

Kind regards

Heiko

[Stephen 162]

The BK117 is now just too old and without updates for too long 😢, Yes I tried the BK117 not long ago and it is not flying correctly in X-Plane11...  and yes I miss it badly.

[Woasnix 0]

Thanks for this challenging product!