When FSX first came out, several of the staff and IPs at Hovercontrol.com took a hard looking into X-Plane 9 to see if it was a suitable alternative to Microsoft Flight Simulator. After all, we had heard that the flight dynamics and physics used in the helicopter was more sophisticated and more realistic. Something that serious helicopter flight simulation enthusiasts would surely appreciate.

As time unfolded, we found that we were not as happy with that particular simulator as we thought we might be. More specifically, we found that the helicopter physics, while sophisticated, were strangely uninspiring. The best way I could put it at the time was that I felt like I was "flying a calculator". In addition, to that shortcoming, it was frustrating to know that I would have to give up the beauty of Microsoft Flight Simulator if I wanted to enjoy slightly more realistic physics in X-Plane.