🚁 Helicopter Simulator 3D

A helicopter simulator you can play online

Helicopter Simulator 3D is a free online helicopter sim that teaches you to fly step by step and then sends you out to work. You start at the Skyhaven Heliport with a small trainer helicopter and a flight instructor's lesson plan: lift off, hold a hover, turn on the spot, fly a circuit through hoops and land on the H. Pass the lessons and you can fly charter jobs: commuters to a downtown skyscraper, a patient to the hospital roof, skiers up to a mountain lodge, and crews out to an oil rig in the middle of the sea.

It runs right in your browser with no download, and the hover assist makes it friendly for beginners, while turning the assist off gives a much more hands-on, realistic feel for experienced sim pilots.

How a helicopter flies

A helicopter is controlled very differently from a plane. The collective (R and F, or the slider on a phone) changes the pitch of all the main rotor blades at once: more collective means more lift, so you climb. The cyclic (↑ ↓ and Q E) tilts the rotor disc: tilt it forward and the helicopter leans forward and flies forward, tilt it back to slow down. The pedals (← →) change the tail rotor to turn the nose left and right. To hover you balance all three: just enough collective to hang in the air, and tiny cyclic corrections to stay over one spot. That is exactly what the first lessons practise.

Flight School: 8 lessons

Lift-off & Hover: stay inside a floating ring above the pad for eight seconds. Pedal Turn: spin a full circle without drifting out of the ring. Forward Flight: fly seven hoops around the airfield and land. Normal Landing: fly from the hospital and touch down gently on the heliport. Rooftop Landing: land on top of the Skyline Tower without clipping the skyscrapers around it. Mountain Pad: climb 500 metres to the Summit Lodge and land in the gusty air near the ridge. Engine Failure: the engine stops at 320 metres and you must autorotate, gliding down with the rotor still spinning, and pull the collective at the last moment to flare and land softly. Night Rig Landing: find the oil rig after dark and land on its tiny deck.

Each lesson gives up to three stars. For landings, three stars means touching down at less than 200 feet per minute, which is as gentle as a real pilot's landing.

Charter Jobs: fly passengers

Ten jobs send you all over the islands: the Commuter Hop to downtown, a Hospital Transfer, the Harbor Express, an Island Tour through sightseeing hoops, Lodge Guests up the mountain, a Rig Crew Change out at sea, a Breaking News flight where you circle the harbor festival while the camera crew films, a doctor to Fern Isle, a Sunset Tour and a Night Shift. Passengers walk out and climb aboard, and from then on they feel every move. Steep tilts, fast climbs and bumpy landings lower their comfort. Finish the job for one star, keep comfort above 70% for two, and stay above 85% while beating the par time for three. Each job pays, and your total earnings are saved.

Four helicopters

Stars unlock new helicopters, and each one flies differently. The Robin Trainer is light, slow and forgiving with one passenger seat. The Sky News helicopter is a balanced all-rounder. The Workhorse Utility is big and slow to react but very steady, with six seats. The Swift Medevac is the fastest and most lively, great for quick jobs but harder to keep smooth.

Eight helipads to find

In Free Flight you can explore the whole island world at your own pace: the heliport by Skyhaven Field, the hospital roof, the Skyline Tower and Bay Tower downtown, the harbor pad, Fern Isle, the Summit Lodge high on the mountain and the oil rig far out at sea. Landing on each one for the first time is remembered, and the arrow always points to the next one you have not visited.

Tips for smooth flying

Make small, early inputs: a helicopter takes a moment to respond, so if you wait until you are drifting, you will over-correct. Slow down long before a landing; it is much easier to creep the last 50 metres than to stop from full speed. Use the down camera (press C) to line up on a rooftop pad. On jobs, accelerate gently and turn in wide, shallow curves. For the engine failure, keep some forward speed during the glide and save the flare until you are about 10 metres above the ground.

Play on any device

Helicopter Simulator 3D runs in modern browsers on computers, Chromebooks, tablets and phones. On touch screens, the stick tilts and turns the helicopter and the slider works the collective. Progress is saved only in your own browser, there is no account and nothing to buy. See the Parents & Safety page for more.

More helicopter games

Want rescue missions? Try Rescue Heli 3D. For quick arcade fun there is the classic Helicopter Cave and the copter battle Copter Arena.io. Every helicopter game is on our Helicopter Games page, and planes are on the Flight Simulator Games page.

Frequently asked questions