Learn how to fly helicopter missions in MSFS 2020 using activities, custom routes or mission generators, plus fix controls and landing detection.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 has helicopters, but no built-in helicopter career with an endless contract list. Fly helicopter missions through compatible Activities or MSFS 2020 add-ons, use an external mission generator, or create a route on the World Map. Bind collective and anti-torque controls first, and use the aircraft required by scripted missions.
Does MSFS 2020 include helicopter missions?
MSFS 2020 includes mission-like activities, but its base simulator does not provide a dedicated helicopter career or a continuously generated list of rotorcraft contracts. Installed official or add-on content may provide individual activities, while many Bush Trips and Landing Challenges lock the player to a particular fixed-wing aircraft.
Native helicopter support arrived with the 40th Anniversary Update. If no helicopters appear in the aircraft selector, update the simulator and check that the relevant aircraft packages are installed through Content Manager. Our overview of where MSFS 2020 activities and missions are found explains how the different activity types are organised.
Do not confuse videos of the MSFS 2024 Career Mode with MSFS 2020. The newer simulator's structured career operations were not added to the 2020 release.
Which type of helicopter mission should you use?
The right option depends on whether you want a scripted challenge, repeatable jobs or simply a realistic purpose for a free flight.
| Option | Best for | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Compatible Activity | Guided objectives and scoring | Few activities are designed specifically for helicopters |
| MSFS 2020 mission add-on | Scripted rescue, transport or sightseeing scenarios | May require a particular aircraft or scenery package |
| External mission generator | Repeatable passenger, cargo and emergency jobs | Completion detection may not handle every helipad or rooftop |
| World Map route | Custom low-level operations with any helicopter | No scripted objectives, scoring or automatic completion |
A mission generator is usually the best choice when you want new jobs rather than one fixed scenario. Follow our mission-generator setup and flight workflow, then confirm that the selected job permits rotorcraft and does not require a conventional runway or parking brake.
How do you start a helicopter mission?
- Choose a compatible mission. Check its required simulator, aircraft, departure point and dependencies. An FSX mission cannot simply be copied into MSFS 2020, and some MSFS packages lock the aircraft type.
- Install any required package correctly. Add-on missions normally belong in the Community folder unless their installer says otherwise. If the mission does not appear, check for an extra nested folder and restart the simulator after installation.
- Configure the helicopter controls. Bind cyclic pitch and roll, collective, anti-torque pedals and any aircraft-specific throttle or governor controls. Collective is not the same control as aeroplane throttle. Our helicopter control configuration guide covers the essential bindings and assistance choices.
- Load the specified aircraft and starting state. Do not swap aircraft after loading a scripted activity unless its instructions explicitly allow it. Changing aircraft can break payload, waypoint and completion triggers.
- Follow every trigger in order. Fly through waypoint centres at the expected altitude, land inside the marked area and remain stationary. Some missions also require engine shutdown or arrival at a precise parking position.
Can you create your own helicopter mission?
You can create a practical helicopter scenario from the World Map, although MSFS 2020 will treat it as free flight rather than a scored mission. Select the helicopter, use an airport, represented helipad or custom map point as the departure, and set a destination appropriate to the aircraft.
Give the flight a specific task: carry a realistic payload between hospitals, inspect a power line, follow a river below a chosen altitude or perform several confined-area landings. Set weather and fuel before departure, because changing them halfway through removes much of the challenge.
Practise stable hovering and approaches before adding tight landing zones. Our guide to helicopter take-offs, approaches and landings covers the technique needed for rooftop and confined-area missions.
Why does the helicopter mission not recognise the landing?
Failed landing detection usually means the helicopter has not satisfied the mission's exact trigger conditions, even though it appears to be on the ground.
- Wrong touchdown point: Land in the centre of the marked area rather than merely inside the visible boundary.
- Residual movement: Lower the collective fully and let groundspeed settle to zero. Light skid-equipped helicopters can continue sliding almost imperceptibly.
- Missed waypoint: Return to the previous objective and fly through its trigger area. Cutting directly to the destination can prevent the landing stage from activating.
- Unsupported surface: Some external tools do not detect rooftops, ships or scenery objects as valid ground. Use a normal airport or terrain landing zone, or select manual completion if the tool provides it.
- Fixed-wing completion logic: A mission that demands a parking brake, runway arrival or aeroplane-specific system may be incompatible with a skid-equipped helicopter.
- Aircraft substitution: Reload the mission with its specified helicopter. Swapping models can change contact points and prevent an on-ground trigger from registering.
The mistake we see most often is treating the objective marker as approximate. Scripted missions can use a much smaller trigger volume than the visible scenery suggests, so precision matters more than a tidy-looking touchdown.