A Critical Look at the UH-60L Mod for DCS World

The UH-60L Mod is a community-made simulation of the UH-60L for DCS World. The UH-60 Blackhawk is much-requested to be added as a full-fidelity flyable aircraft within the DCS ecosystem. This review taks a critical look at the mod as it exists as of the version 1.1 release. As an independently developed mod, the developers do not have access to the DCS Software Development Kit (SDK). This restricts many higher-level features, but should not largely impact the development of the flight model. This video focuses on the aircraft visuals (namely the external and internal 3d geometry) as well as the flight model and stability systems.

This video took a lot longer to complete than anticipated. The editing alone took many weeks of my spare time. I realize that the audio is far from perfect. I am not an audio engineer or audiophile, and so I'm figuring out a lot of this stuff as I go. Additionally, while I tried to record much of the script on the same day, much of it inevitably had to be re-recorded as new discoveries were made, and the editing process progressed. As such, my voice is not entirely consistent in places. I hope that the voiceover is at least tolerable to listen to, though I understand my voice can be a bit grating.

Once again, I want to emphasize that this video was made in an attempt to identify and bring attention to the various shortcomings of the mod such that they can be addressed and fixed for everyone's benefit. I don't think this mod will ever be at the level of a paid DCS module, nor would it be realistic to expect it to be. However, I would like to see it become as good as it can possibly be. As stated in the video, it's a fun stopgap until we (hopefully) get an official high-fidelity H-60 simulation for DCS world.

CHAPTERS:
0:00 Introduction
1:55 Part 1.1 - Exterior 3D Model
4:26 Part 1.2 - Internal 3D Model
8:03 Part 2 - Performance Comparison
9:50 Part 3.1 - Flight Model Overview
12:48 Part 3.2 - Flight Model Evaluation
18:03 Part 4.1 - UH-60 Stability Systems Overview
22:57 Part 4.2 - Stability Systems Evaluation
27:43 Part 5 - Other Comments and Concerns
31:09 Part 6 - Closing Remarks

REFERENCES:
1. Howlett, J. J.: UH-60A Black Hawk engineering simulation program. Volume I: Mathematical Model. NASA CR-166309, December 1981 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19840...

2. Hilbert, K. B.: A Mathematical Model of the UH-60 Helicopter. NASA TM-85890, April 1984 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19840...

3. Talbot, P. D.; Tinling, B. E.; Decker, W. A.; Chen, R. T. N.: A Mathematical Model of a Single Main Rotor Helicopter for Piloted Simulation. NASA TM-84281, September 1982. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19830...

4. Department of the Army; Operator's Manual for UH-60A Helicopter UH-60L Helicopter EH-60A Helicopter. TM 1-1520-237-10, October 1996 http://everyspec.com/ARMY/TM-Tech-Man...

5. Heffley, R. K.; Jewell, W. F.; Lehman, J. M.; Van Winkle R. A.: A Compilation and Analysis of Helicopter Handling Qualities Data- Volume One: Data Compilation. NASA CR-3144, August 1979 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19800...

IMAGES USED:
All credited images within the video belong to the original authors and are used under fair use.
All un-credited images are my own.