Trying to understand the flight behaviour of GS Helo units has been the most difficult and time consuming exercise so far. Consequently, this section has been binned and rewritten many, many times.  Most of the tests were initially carried out with a 3 Helo flight, but the results were also tested with 2 and 4 Helos. The conclusions I eventually arrived at were very different from what I would have expected and it seems that Microprose needed a compromise to fit the game mechanics. It's actually quite an elegant solution and is almost unnoticed during gameplay. This section illustrates how 'I think' GS Helos fly.

The following may eventually turn out to be complete fiction, but at present it does hang together (....just).

Helos will always travel in a 'Helo Diamond' formation. This is similar to the ground unit Diamond, but the order is changed with 2 and 3 being reversed. I think that the formation is made up of 'flying slots' rather than the Helos themselves and the Helos are then assigned to a slot. Unlike ground formations which are oriented in the direction the unit faces, the Helo Diamond is always fixed, facing either North or South. The diagram below shows how this seems to work.

The compass is divided into two arcs by a SW to NE line and any unit crossing this line will have to reverse its formation. In the North arc, Helo 1 is always positioned to the North of the formation, whereas in the South arc he's always to the South. The formation does not turn when the unit does, so when flying North or South, Helo 1 leads, but when flying East or West, he remains in position and becomes the right wingman. This means that a unit flying East ,then turning South will stay in the same arc and retain their same relative flight positions. The same unit flying East then North, would cross over into the Northern arc and this would involve every Helo having to swap places. (Try it!)

Apparent Formation

Because of an accumulation of factors, the 'apparent' formation of the Helos in flight will vary greatly and will more often resemble a Line, Wedge or Echelon. The major determining factor being the individual positions at which the Helos begin the flight to the next WP, but the longer the flight, the greater the chance of the Diamond being fully formed. After a turn from  East to North for instance, Helos 2 and 3 will gradually cross over during the flight. Helo 1 should be in the lead, but as he started much further South, Helo 4 will be out in front. Helo 1 will gradually catch up and overtake, but trhis can require a very long flight.

So for much of the time, you will not see Helos flying in formation, you will see them trying to fly into formation. More often than not, they arrive at their next WP still strung out and then have to begin the process all over again.

Another point to bear in mind is that Helo1, as Platoon Leader, is always the first to change direction. Even if the rest of the flight arrive at the WP first, it's Helo 1 that makes the turn to the next WP; the rest then follow. This can often mean that Helo 1 is even further out in front of the formation.

In diagram A, the Diamond formation is still discernable in its corrct alignment. But note that Helo 1 is much further ahead, which due to the direction of flight, effectively pulls slot 1 to the left. Although Helos 2, 3 and 4 are all in their correct relative positions, the formation now resembles a staggered column.

In diagram B, a 3 Helo flight heading north would resemble a Wedge. A similar 2 Helo flight would appear to be in Echelon Left. If the unit were to turn East or West, the apparent formation changes completely and this brings us to the 'trailing slot'.

The Trailing Slot

One recurring problem, which brought me to a complete standstill is the trailing slot. When flying East or West, Helos 2 and 3 are on the same horizontal flight path. Although Helo 2 should lead the formation, this does not always happen and the trailing Helo, in this case Helo 3, will often seem to catch up and fly alongside.

In diagram C, Helos 2 and 3 are flying dangerously close, competing for the same airspace and almost certain to collide. A collision usually results in both Helos loosing altitude and speed, causing them both to fall behind.

I suspect that two Helos can become 'captured' by the same flight slot. This could be due to a bug in the flight model, or may be there by design. There is some suspicion that when Helo 2 leads, rather than Helo 3 catching up, it's the No 2 slot is deliberately retarded. The intended result could be to ensure that Helo 1 leads the formation, even though still positioned as right wingman.

This can occur with Helos 1 and 4 when flying North or South, but does seem to be much less frequent.

In diagram D, Helos 2 and 3 fly close in the centre with Helo 4 trailing. The formation appears to be a Left Echeloned line. If the flight were to continue however, Helo 4 would catch up and overtake 2 and 3, leaving the appearance of a Vee formation.

It must be stressed, that in all cases the flight formation is actually a Diamond in a fixed North or South alignment

I frequently found  occaisions during testing when all this appeared to be wrong, but by extending the flight time, it always fell into place and followed the same pattern.

Despite their single unique flight formation, Helo units will (in fact must) spawn in a ground vehicle formation. They will spawn in a reversed direction and in a fixed ground vehicle order, based on the initial direction and formation written in the platoon header, but will abandon it immediately and move out into a diamond. I think that a Staggered Column is probably the best to choose and this should be used with a reversed heading. This usually gives the least chance of collision, with no cross over required when flying North or South and minimal realignment needed when flying West or East. The example below shows a unit spawning facing West (reversed) prior to flying East. Without the reversal of direction, the Helos would struggle to avoid collisions and unit would be strung out. This is much less important when using a 2 Helo flight.

Mid air spawning has been the subject of many a lively discussion amongst GS players, but one factor could be the need for an instant transition from the ground order they spawn in, to the strictly Helo formation in which they fly.

It's always worth checking that Helos that are ordered to spawn at Nap of Earth actually have enough space to do so. Helos can sometimes spawn inside trees or buildings, leaving them trapped and lost to the game. I have also seen this happen when a Helo is bounced into trees by a mid-air collision.

Why Bother?

We don't really need to know all this stuff (fascinating though it is); all we need to do in a mission is throw a bunch of Helos from A to B. Thankfully, most of the time, Helos will fly from A to B without too much trouble and then do their stuff. But sometimes, trying to keep Helos in a reasonably tight formation, can be quite important. The flight leader is invariably the first to crest a hill or to arrive at a WP and if the Wingmen are way too far behind and a contact occurs, then he's out there on his own. (Or to put it another way, you're out there on your own).

Also, if the WP is an LZ, then the Flight Leader can often land and lift off well before the rest arrive, forcing them to abort the drop (see Helo Orders section for LZ and SAR).

The positional focus for Helo units seems to be the leading slot and depending upon the direction of flight, this is not always Helo 1. When flying East or West, Helo 1 will always overshoot the WP to the right, with Helo 2 (or 3, whichever gets there first) stopping at the correct map coordinate.  This is much more noticeable at an LZ or SAR.

This makes a good deal of sense, because a Helo unit in flight covers a much wider area than a ground unit. If the focus was always fixed on the Helo 1, the rest of the unit would be strung out, well to the left.

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