RFM Rotorcraft Flight Model¶
RFM swaps out Arma Reforger's helicopter flight model for an actual physics sim. Every blade on every rotor is simulated moving through the air, along with the engines and gearbox turning them, the fuselage and tail, the skids or wheels on the ground, weight and balance, the wind, damage, weapon mass and multiplayer.
It comes with the UH-1H and the Mi-8MT. It's also built so you can put your own helicopter on it, anything from a light single on skids to a big twin on wheels. These docs are for version 2.0.5.
Where to start¶
- Just want to fly? Go to Playing RFM. It covers the aircraft, the controls and how to report bugs.
- Building an aircraft? Read How RFM works first. Then fill in the research worksheet and work through the step-by-step conversion and the first-flight test card.
- Something broke? Check Troubleshooting.
Every field in here is named the same as it shows in the Workbench inspector, and every field has a tooltip there too. If you're hunting for one, use the search box.
All pages¶
| Section | Pages |
|---|---|
| Playing | Playing RFM · Release notes |
| Getting started | How RFM works · Pick your starting point · Axes, units and PointInfos · Reading the log and debug drawing |
| Building an aircraft | Research worksheet · Step-by-step conversion · First-flight test card · Families, variants and spawning |
| Flight topology | Power groups, engines and shafts · Rotor units · Control maps · Wake links · Rotor config · Engine config |
| Recipes | Light single on skids · Medium twin on wheels · Tandem rotor · Coaxial rotor · Other layouts |
| Systems | Controls, flight assist, SAS and autopilot · Crew, cargo and fuel · Ground contact · Airframe aerodynamics · Damage, engine switches and rotor brake · Weapons and stores · Visuals, sound, gauges and displays · Multiplayer · Environment and wind · Performance |
| Reference | Troubleshooting · Known limitations · Unit conversions · Glossary |
What it simulates¶
- Rotors, blade by blade. Each blade is split into sections that each feel their own airflow. Lift, stall, flapping, ground effect, vortex ring state and autorotation all come out of that, nothing is scripted.
- Engines and drivetrain. Turboshaft engines with governors, start sequences, temperatures and fuel burn, driving the rotors through freewheels and gearboxes. Twins share the load and can fly on one engine.
- Pretty much any rotor layout. An aircraft is a flight topology: engines, shafts and rotors hooked together by name. Main and tail, tandem and coaxial can all be described this way.
- Airframe aerodynamics. Fuselage drag, fin and stabiliser, stub wings and any extra surfaces, all sitting in the rotor downwash. RFM can also measure the fuselage drag straight off the model's shape.
- Ground contact. Skids or wheels with struts, tires, brakes, steering and surface friction.
- Weight and balance. Crew, cargo, supplies, fuel and weapons are weighed where they actually sit, so the CG moves as you load up.
- Environment. Wind changes with height, terrain, buildings, weather and time of day. Turbulence and thermals always have a cause you can point at.
- Damage. Hits turn into engine, gearbox, rotor and tail drive failures. Rotor strikes and mast bumping are simulated too.
- Flight assist. Keyboard, mouse and gamepad fly like vanilla, autohover included. Joystick and HOTAS fly the controls directly.
- Multiplayer. The pilot runs the full sim and the server and everyone else follow it, including every engine, the rotor and damage.
Key facts¶
| Mod | RFM, GUID 6A4320961CBBA026 |
| Dependency | Arma Reforger core (58D0FB3206B6F859) only |
| Script class prefix | RFM_ |
| Templates | Prefabs/Vehicles/Helicopters/UH1H/RFM_UH1H_base.et (single engine, skids)Prefabs/Vehicles/Helicopters/Mi8MT/RFM_Mi8MT_base.et (twin, wheels, autopilot) |
| Works with, no dependency needed | MFD Framework displays, AHC Fuel Systems, WCS-style weapon mounts |