Review: Bo 105 Helicopter from Stratoware & Miltech for MSFS 2024

The Bo 105 helicopter is one of the most anticipated recent releases for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Developed by Stratoware in partnership with Miltech Simulations, it brings an historically significant aircraft into our sim.

Powered by twin Rolls‑Royce Allison 250 engines — the same family used in the Hughes 500 — the Bo 105 was the world’s first light twin‑engine helicopter when it entered service in 1967. Its rigid rotor hub and flexible composite blades made it aerobatic, agile, and capable of missions ranging from military and police work to medical transport and civilian operations. This add‑on, based on the CBS-5 model dating from the early 1990s, lets you explore all of those possibilities.

In the lead-up to release on Friday 22 May, I was given preview builds for the purposes of review. In this post, I’ll walk through the variants, visuals, sounds, systems, and flight dynamics — and help you decide whether this add‑on offers good value for you.

Stratoware and Miltech have delivered twelve variants and around fifty liveries, giving you a huge amount of choice from day one. Variants include anti‑tank, medical, mountain rescue, sling load, broadcast, tall skids, aerobatic, civilian, floats, and snow‑shoes configurations.

Each variant includes its own equipment and visual configuration. The police and broadcast variants feature a FLIR camera system. The medical and rescue variants include a dedicated medical cabin. Floats deploy cosmetically when touching water.

Some liveries repeat across variants, allowing you to fly your favourite paint job with or without sling gear or tall skids. A community paint kit is already available, so expect even more liveries soon.

This is a generous offering. On day one, there’s plenty to explore.

The exterior modelling is a standout. The exterior panels show uneven surfaces, and subtle shading that gives the aircraft a convincingly weathered look. Dan from Miltech mentioned that this effect took significant work, and I think it has paid off.

MSFS 2024’s lighting model adds dimensionality — light bends and shifts through the windows in a way that feels physical. The fuselage is sharply modelled, with high‑resolution textures and detailed decals.

There are minor quirks: occasional polygon edges in areas you’ll rarely inspect, and some stretching control rods in the tail rotor. But, overall, this is the most polished exterior I’ve yet seen in a Miltech helicopter.

Inside, the cockpit is crisp and high‑resolution. Even if you push your virtual head unreasonably close to the gauges, the text remains sharp with no pixelation. The cockpit feels used, worn, and authentic.

The artificial horizon is multi‑layered and beautifully rendered. The glareshield is selectable — either a heavily weathered, slightly reflective version or a cleaner leather‑style option. Both look convincing.

The only notable drawback is that some instruments — especially the turn coordinator — are darker than ideal and hard to read.

The sound pack from Echo 19 is superb. The gearbox whine, turbine spool, and airflow cues give the aircraft real presence. I feel there are opportunities to better balance audio levels around start-up, and I wonder if the airflow effect when flying at speed is too dominant.

The Bo 105’s flight model is one of its most enjoyable aspects, even in this early state. In the hover, the helicopter feels stable and intuitive. With a 12‑knot wind blowing into the tail rotor, I find that pedal demand drops noticeably — exactly what you’d expect when the rotor operates in clean airflow. Turning in the hover produces a small torque spike when applying left pedal, but overall torque requirements strike me as low for a helicopter with a 2,400‑kilogram take-off weight. I’d welcome professional insight on this!

Transitioning into forward flight is straightforward. Without adding collective, torque remains around 50 percent as the helicopter accelerates. At 60 knots, the aircraft feels light and eager, and converting speed into altitude is easy.

Approach behaviour is reasonable. Reducing collective and pitching up the nose produces the expected rise in gearbox noise, and the aircraft responds cleanly to attitude changes. A dramatic deceleration test reveals rotor‑RPM changes in the audio, while the NR gauge remains locked at 100 percent — a sign that transient rotor RPM modelling may still be incomplete.

Despite this, the Bo 105 feels energetic, responsive, and fun. A small control input produces a clear reaction, and the helicopter accelerates with enthusiasm. Trim sensitivity is on the higher side, but that’s common in MSFS 2024.

The startup sequence is easily achieved with a native checklist. But I spot some unexpected behaviour.

Turbine Outlet Temperature doesn’t rise dramatically enough. N1 overshoots on the first engine started, torque spikes too aggressively, and engine trim bindings don’t seem to function. I expect the engines should stabilise around 58 percent N1 at idle; currently they sit at around 55–56.

These issues don’t affect casual flying, but they matter if you enjoy realistic procedures.

I feel this is the area with the most room for improvement.

Cutting one engine should prompt an increase in power from the remaining engine to maintain rotor RPM. Instead, both engines drop together, and rotor RPM decays. This makes OEI flight impossible in the current build.

Autorotation behaviour is also incomplete. The sound suggests changes in rotor RPM, but the gauge does not. I find myself speeding along the grass with both engines at idle, which shouldn’t be possible — at least, not for long!

Miltech is aware of these issues and has talked about revisiting the engine logic. For simmers who start with the engines on and fly casually, this won’t matter. For those who enjoy the challenge of practicing emergency procedures, I think it will.

Unlike the Chinook or MH‑60 packs, the Bo 105 does not include built‑in sling‑load or mission activities. Career Mode support is uncertain unless you purchase through the MSFS Marketplace — and that option isn’t available on day one.

If Career Mode matters to you, I recommend you wait for confirmation of the Marketplace release.

The Bo 105 enters the market at USD $32.99. It’s visually impressive, fun to fly, packed with variants, and supported by an excellent sound pack. In my view, systems depth and OEI behaviour need refinement, but the foundation is solid.

If you enjoy helicopter flying, rotary-wing aerobatics, or mission‑style operations, there’s a lot to like here — and even more to look forward to as updates roll out. And, on the topic of improvements, you can contribute bug reports and feature requests to Miltech’s impressive new bug-tracking system.

Stratoware and Miltech have done good work bringing the Bo 105 to MSFS 2024, and I expect many simmers will get joy from it in the months ahead.