The Bell 407 is a popular single-engine light helicopter, turbine-powered, 7-seat, the workhorse of news/medical/utility operations. In MSFS it's one of the most well-modeled helicopters available. 'Landing' a helicopter is more about controlled descent to a hover than runway technique, but the FLARE scoring framework still applies to touchdown rate of descent.
Landing technique
- Approach to a hover: slow to 60 KIAS at the IAF, 40 at 200 ft AGL, 0 at 10 ft AGL above the landing point.
- Establish a 3-foot hover; check torque, RPM, instruments.
- Lower collective smoothly to touch the skids down, descent rate near zero, vertical motion only.
- Wind into the rotor: nose into the wind for the hover and the touchdown.
- Run-on landings (forward speed at touchdown) only on prepared surfaces and only when hover power isn't available.
Common mistakes
- Rapid collective reduction causing a hard skid-on touchdown.
- Drifting across the landing pad instead of holding station, practice the hover before the touchdown.
- Crosswind issues: failing to crab into wind on the approach, ending up sideways at the hover.
Aircraft data
- Manufacturer
- Bell
- Model
- 407
- Variant
- 407
- FAA approach category
- A
- MTOW
- 2268 kg (5000 lbs)
- Vref reference
- —
- Tail-strike limit
- No check
- Ideal touchdown zone
- —
- G-force curve
- FLARE's general curve
- MSFS source
- Default Std
- FLARE matches
- Bell 407 · 407
Related reading
- → How FLARE grades a landing · the composite formula behind every score
- → What "stabilized approach" actually means · the gates, the criteria, the technique
- → Rotorcraft (Helicopter) scoring thresholds · the category curves applied to this airframe
- → Full scoring methodology reference · the complete breakdown in the help docs