Few aircraft in aviation history are as instantly recognizable as the Bell UH-1H Huey. In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, this legendary helicopter is now taking to the skies in partnership with Taog’s Hangar, a developer known for high-fidelity, community-driven rotorcraft. Download the Stranger Things Expansion for FREE and fly the Huey through its dedicated missions or in Free Flight.
Before diving into the creative work behind the aircraft, let’s take a moment to understand its real-world roots.
The Huey In History
Of all the rotary wing aircraft ever produced, the most iconic is undoubtedly the Bell UH-1. This utility helicopter was developed for the United States Army in the 1950s to fulfill a mission requirement for medical evacuations and other light transport duties. Its original military designation was the HU-1 Iroquois (for Helicopter, Utility), so pilots gave it the nickname “Huey”. The designation was later changed to UH-1, but the Huey nickname stuck and is still used today.
With greater than 16,000 units built for both military and civilian operators around the world, the UH-1 is the #2 most-produced helicopter of all time, behind only the Soviet/Russian Mil Mi-8. In US military service, the Huey proved its worth as a capable utility helicopter during the Vietnam War. The US Army gradually started replacing its Huey fleet with the more modern Sikorski UH-60 Black Hawk during the late 1970s, but the venerable Huey remains in military use in the armed forces of many other nations to this day, more than 65 years after the chopper first entered operational service.
Civilian variants of the Huey (including numerous converted former-military models) are currently used by operators around the world for missions as diverse as police service, search & rescue, aerial firefighting, agriculture aviation, and forestry work.
The Huey has also been a mainstay in Hollywood productions where moviegoers have seen it appear in films such as Con Air, Courage Under Fire, Die Hard, Forrest Gump, Kong: Skull Island, Platoon, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and many more. Undoubtedly the Huey’s biggest movie star moment was the famous “Ride of the Valkyries” sequence from Apocalypse Now.
We recently sat down with Joss, lead developer of Taog’s Hangar, to learn more about this helicopter.
Introducing Taog’s Hangar
You may already be familiar with Taog’s Hangar, a small development team led by Joss, a passionate simmer who entered the MSFS ecosystem back in 2022.
“I just thought there was a real lack of rotary wing aircraft… it made me think that I could also give a shot to programming and bring my favorite helicopters in the game since apparently nobody was doing it.”
What began as curiosity shifted into a full development journey. His first project, the Alouette III, launched in 2023 to enthusiastic community support. That momentum that encouraged the team to keep pushing forward.
“Now in 2025 I have 4 released aircraft and have many more coming soon!”
Taog’s Hangar is now a recognized name in helicopter simulation, and adding the UH-1H officialy to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 marks a new milestone for the studio.
Referencing the Real thing
The Huey is Taog’s Hangar’s most ambitious project yet. With a small team working with Joss — one developer for coding and one for flight modeling — they brought this aircraft to life, carrying it through every stage of development: the model, the flight dynamics, the textures, and especially the sound. Above all else, they wanted players to feel the care and detail this aircraft deserves.
During development, Joss spends hours examining real aircraft in person or searching through reference photos. He pays close attention to visual cues like grime streaks, worn paint, instrument aging, and cockpit ergonomics.
“I stayed about 2 to 3 hours just taking pictures of each part of the machine, inside and out. It’s actually quite revealing about which instrument or switch is important.”
These reference sessions also shaped his own flying journey:
“One of the pilots ended up becoming my instructor for flying helicopters in real life.”
For simmers, this is a great reminder that recreating aircraft for the simulator is more than just technical work; it’s a bridge between the virtual and real aviation communities.
Each aircraft brings its own challenges. For the Huey, one particular detail consumed far more of Joss’s effort than expected — the subtle curvature of its forward fuselage. Joss recalls how persistent he had to be:
“For the Huey, I obsessed over the shape of the fuselage at the front… I probably remodelled it 10 times before liking it.”
Capturing the huey’s signature sound
Sound is one of the Huey’s most defining features, and Joss approached it with the same level of care as the visuals. The iconic “whop-whop” of the rotor blades is known around the world, and replicating it in MSFS 2024 took extensive experimentation. His sound library is built from multiple sources:
“Recordings provided by generous contributors… our own recordings done on site… or sometimes just libraries.”
But even with high-quality recordings, some sounds demanded extensive refinement.
“The famous blade slap… It took hours of mixing and editing to get the result we have now.”
Load up the UH-1H Huey today and let us know what you think of its iconic sound!
A Community Effort
Taog’s Hangar has built an active community that contributes to design decisions, testing, and even future aircraft selection. Joss openly credits players for shaping the studio’s direction:
“My community always influences me, literally all the time… They greatly influence my choices of upcoming releases.”
Polls, discussions, and direct conversations help determine which features matter most to simmers and how to improve each update. We invite you to join Taog’s Hangar Discord and become part of the conversation here!
Put your skills to the test by piloting the UH-1H Huey in all five Stranger Things missions. Then jump into Free Flight to experience the aircraft anywhere in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024!