Four years ago, a team of community members – where I was included – started working on a freeware project for X-Plane. The Ka-32 Helix was to make an appearance in Laminar Research’s sim, through the effort of a very nice group of folks, giving their spare time to bring it to fruition.
Unfortunately, because of some health issues that affected the modeler back then, this project halted and eventually, it was put on hold indefinitely.
I won’t go into any details, but, fortunately, things turned out for the best, and the person in charge of the model managed to recover, focusing his time and energy on his job – family likes to have food on the table, it seems.
This developer is none other than Sebastian, the person behind Cockspur and now also the part of the MicroProse team, in charge with a line of products for MSFS.
A few days ago, Sebastian sent me some images that got me really excited: he wanted to revive the Ka-32 — but in a different way.
Since the early days of the initial development of the project, he has learned a lot about development and, especially, Microsoft Flight Simulator. So, instead of going back to the old project, Sebastian thought it would make more sense to bring it to MSFS instead.
He did not make this decision lightly, mind you, but I do think it makes sense for someone in his position. He has extensive experience and knowledge of MSFS, where he established himself as one of the greatest developers out there and there is also a very big community around the sim.
Instead of struggling to get the helicopter in X-Plane, he can work faster – and better – and make it happen in MSFS 2020. His initial plan was to develop it for MSFS 2024, but with the release of SU2, the SDK… well, it didn’t exactly cooperate. Microsoft really still needs to greatly improve that flow.
As such, Sebastian is targeting the Ka-32 for MSFS 2020, but he will make all his efforts to make sure it also works with 2024. Just not with all the bells and whistles.
As for X-Plane… Well, I am sorry, guys, but I can see Sebastian’s side here. It makes a lot of sense for him to be able to focus on delivering a free product quicker instead of struggling with learning another sim, slowing down development and potentially no one would enjoy the helicopter.
Not optimal. Frustrating for some, I totally get it. But it’s a good choice, although not perfect.
Right now, there is no ETA. Sebastian will be working on the project on his own time, so we will need to have a bit of patience.
Either way, it’s great to see this project coming back to life — and even better that it’s in the hands of someone who truly cares about doing it right.
