Big Tires Productions has released their own rendition of the R22 helicopter on X-Plane.org. Without much fanfare, the project was considered to be a maiden project to test the waters of rotorcraft add-on development. The development team is previously known for their GA airplane products; the Carbon Cub EX and the Kitfox.

The release of the R22, puts it in direct competition with another well developed recreation released by DreamFoil Creations, specifically the Beta II model.

Not much information was produced on the product page of the .org store, except the technical specifications of the real aircraft and a brief feature list of the product in question. The real R22 is a popular light two seater helicopter designed and manufactured by Robinson Helicopter Company, designed in 1973 by founder Frank Robinson, and manufactured from 1979 till today. Powered by a Lycoming O-360 flat 4 piston engine derated to 124hp, the helicopter is designed for light utility and as a training rotorcraft.

Product wise, this add-on is designed with considerable input from real world R22 pilots, along with the typical standard-issue bells and whistles of X-Plane 11 aircraft add-ons today; PBR, FMOD, "AAA Quality" 3D Modelling, and SASL codebase:

Features

• AAA quality 3D model & PBR textures.
• FMOD 3D Audio
• Detailed animation of all moving parts.
• Mechanical throttle correlation.
• Throttle governor; roll it on and off.
• Accurate night lighting & reflections.
• Garmin GNS 530 GPS + GTX330 Transponder.
• SASL based systems code.  
• Skunkcrafts updater support.
• Flight model developed with feedback from R22 pilots.

Purchase the Robinson R22 for $24.95 on X-Plane.org