[Vehicle] Zhi-9 & Panther Helicopter Series

[Rhino]

Zhi-9 & Panther Helicopter Series

This has been a very long time coming and we know many of you have been eagerly awaiting these but these babies are finally here and ingame for PR:BF2 v1.0!

First a bit of History on this projects development for anyone who is interested:

Spoiler for Development History:

This helicopter project first started almost 5 years ago now in 2008 with [R-DEV]Foul_Killer (now retired) modelling out the foundations of the Zhi-9, before he no longer had time to finish the project and had to be handed off to someone else to finish.
With the model still needing quite a lot of work, I took over the project in 2010, cleaning up the foundations, adding details and making the Panther series off the Zhi-9, as well as doing all the UVs.

This also included making a 3D, working cockpit since [R-DEV]mosquill had been experimenting with the concept on a small scale using the vBF2 Havok and shown some promising results.
This helicopter series was going to be the main test bed for implementing this idea into PR, but as we found out later during the export process, this concept was a no-go since there was a limit on the amount of moving parts you can have on a vehicle, which was especially a problem for this chopper due to its moving landing gear etc, as well as many other complications so while we don't have a working cockpit, it is still nicely detailed.

Two months after taking on the project I had finished off the modelling and UVing work, everything but the LODs (which are best to do once the textures are done to ensure the UVs don't get messed up), but then the project sat on the shelf for 5 months, until [R-DEV]SashaSK8 (now retired) came along and started the textures.
After 3 months of work in February 2011, he had finished all the textures for all the different versions, and their interiors which all looked very nice!
However after that, with a lack of exporters in the team and still missing LODs, this sat on the shelf again waiting for someone to make the LODs, and an exporter to finish up their current exporting tasks.

[R-DEV]Hauteclocque did do some exporting work on this when he got time, but since these vehicles didn't have any LODs, there was only so much he could do but he did manage to setup a good export foundation with [R-DEV]J.F.Leusch69 also making a good foundation for its code, but that was as far as they could go.

In mid January of this year, I took over the project again to make the LODs, cleaning up and finishing the export, help finalizing the code and overall giving this the final push it needed to get ingame! With the help of [R-DEV]Jafar Ironclad on finishing up the coding work, [R-DEV]-=anders=- making some awesome custom sounds for these and [R-CON]Moszeusz6Pl fixing up the HUDs, this project is now finally finished, ingame and ready for PR:BF2 v1.0!

Zhi-9B - PLA Light Transport/Utility Helicopter

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Design and Development

The Zhi-9B (Z-9B) helicopter is a Chinese "indigenised", licensed-built version of the Aerospatiale (now Eurocopter) AS 365N Dauphin II. The helicopter has been built by Harbin Aircraft Manufacture Company (HAMC) since the early 1980s. The Z-9 is possibly the most produced helicopter in China, with over 200 machines delivered to both military and civilian customers.

China signed a contract with the French company Aerospatiale in 1980 for the co-production of its AS 365N Dauphin II helicopter. The helicopter was to be built by the Harbin Aircraft Factory (now HAMC) under the designation Z-9. Under the agreement, Aerospatiale would provide 48 sets of AS 365N kits. The first Chinese assembled AS 365N was completed in 1981. The initial 48 helicopters included 28 examples of the basic variant Z-9, which is equivalent of the AS 365N1, and 20 examples of the Z-9A, which is equivalent of the AS 365N2 with increased portion of Chinese-made parts. All 48 helicopters had been completed by the late 1980s. In 1993, HAMC signed a new contract with Eurocopter to build a further 22 examples of the AS 365N2.

In 1988, HAMC was ordered to develop an "indigenised" Z-9 with further increased portion of Chinese-made parts. In order to achieve this, HAMC experimentally built two Z-9A-100s, which were powered by the Chinese indigenous Wozhou-8A (Turbomeca Arriel-IC1 copy) turboshaft engine. The Z-9B, an "indigenised" variant with 71.9% Chinese-made content, flew successfully on 16 January 1992. The helicopter completed its flight test by November 1992, and was certified for design finalisation in December. Batch production of the Z-9B began in the mid-1990s, with 25 examples ordered by the PLA by 1997, and a further 7 examples in 1998. Over 150 examples of the Z-9B and its follow-on variants are believed to have been delivered to the PLA so far.

Generally the Z-9 is identical to the AS 365N Dauphin, though later variants of the Z-9 such as the Z-9B incorporate more composite materials to increase structural strength and lower radar signature. The helicopter has a four-blade main rotor, with two turboshaft engines mounted side by side on top of the cabin with engine layout identical to the AS 365N. The Z-9 teardrop-shaped body features a tapered boom to the tail fin, with rounded nose and stepped-up cockpit, and retractable gear and all flat bottom.

The Z-9B features an 11-blade Fenestron faired-in tail rotor with wider-chord, all-composite blades replacing the 13-blade in AS 365N. As a light tactical troop transport, the Z-9 has the capacity to transport 10 fully armed soldiers into battle.

In-Game

In-game this helicopter will server as the PLA's new Light Transport/Utility Helicopter much like the USMC UH-1N Huey and the AAC Lynx AH7, being able to carry a squad fast and swiftly into battle, with also being able to quickly maneuver and land into those tight and tricky landing zones the bigger helicopters can't easily fit into.

Screenshots

Note: The maps these helicopters are seen on may not include them ingame.
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Zhi-9WA - PLA Light Attack Helicopter

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Design and Development

Harbin Aircraft Manufacture Corporation (HAMC) began to develop an attack helicopter based on the Zhi-9 helicopter in the mid-1980s. The early versions of this attack helicopter, designated Zhi-9W (Z-9W, aka WZ-9, note, not the Z-9WA), featured a pair of external weapon pylon and a roof-mounted optical sight for target searching and tracking in daylight. The helicopter was mainly intended for anti-armour warfare role, carrying four HJ-8 wire-guided anti-tank missiles. Alternatively, the helicopter could carry rocket pods or machine gun pods for a close air support role.

In 2005, HAMC introduced an improved "night attack variant", also known as Zhi-9WA (Z-9WA, aka WZ-9A). The most notable improvement was an under-nose observing and tracking unit housing a low-light TV and an infrared search and track (IRST), allowing the helicopter to operate in all-weather, day/night conditions. Other improvements included redesigned weapon pylons similar to those of the French AS 565 Panther that allows it to carry eight HJ-8 Anti-Tank Missiles up from the Z-9W's four, a self-defence electronic warfare suite and a new cockpit with multi-function displays (MFD).

In-Game

In-game this helicopter will server as the PLA's new Light Attack Helicopter much like the USMC Attack Huey with Rocket Pods and will come in 4 separate versions, each carrying a different load out of weapons.

Zhi-9WA - HJ-8 Anit-Tank Missiles

This version of the Zhi-9WA is equipped with eight, Hongjian-8 ( HJ-8 ) Anti-Tank Missiles and is designed to hunt down and destroy enemy armoured vehicles. This version requires the co-pilot/gunner to optically track the missile onto the target, or to lock onto a laser designation, in much the same way other attack helicopters ingame track their missiles onto their targets, from the camera housed under the nose in either day or inferencer viewing mode. It also should be noted that to do any significant damage to an armoured vehicle, you need to get a direct hit now with all Anti-Tank weapons in PR v1.0. If the missile hits the ground or something else close to the target, the explosion from the missile will do hardly any damage to armour, although will do some damage to soft skinned vehicles and infantry within around a 10m radius depending on the missiles warhead size.

Note: The maps these helicopters are seen on may not include them ingame.
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Zhi-9WA - HF-7D 90mm Rockets

This version of the Zhi-9WA is equipped with 14, 90mm HF-7D Rockets, loaded into two rocket pods. While 14 may not sound like many rockets, don't be fooled into thinking this isn't a threat. The Hydra 70 rocket which is fired from the Attack Huey with rocket pods, is only a 70mm rocket and that extra 20mm really dose make a big difference in how much punch these rockets pack and one or two close hits with these rockets will easily take out a soft skinned vehicle where a direct hit will cause quite a lot of damage to an armoured vehicle. The other advantage of only having a few, big rockets is that it doesn't have to spend much time loitering over the enemy while it fires off its rockets, instead it can deliver its punch in a quick burst, and run rather than wait a long time for all its rockets to fire, which could leave it in a vulnerable position. The co-pilot can also spot and lase targets with the nose camera in both day and inferred viewing modes and while the pilot can't lock his rockets onto the lases, he can see them on his HUD.

Note: The maps these helicopters are seen on may not include them ingame.
(Click To Enlarge)

Zhi-9WA - HF-25 57mm Rockets

This version of the Zhi-9WA is equipped with 36, 57mm HF-25 Rockets, loaded into two rocket pods. While the rockets are much smaller than the HF-7D 90mm rockets, the Z-9WA can carry more of them, meaning that this chopper can devastate a much wider area by spreading out its missiles more and having to worry a lot less about accuracy but at the same time, it takes longer to throw down all of its rockets. The co-pilot can also spot and lase targets with the nose camera in both day and inferred viewing modes and while the pilot can't lock his rockets onto the lases, he can see them on his HUD.

Note: The maps these helicopters are seen on may not include them ingame.
(Click To Enlarge)

Zhi-9WA - 23mm Guns

This version of the Zhi-9WA is equipped with two, 23-II, 23mm Guns with a total of 480 rounds between them. While this might not sound like a lot, these guns are not 50cals, they pack close to the same round the attack helicopter nose gun fires and at a much higher rate of fire since there are two of them so soft skinned vehicles and infantry should be wary of this. It is also especially devastating to any enemy helicopters it can get close enough to, to use its guns on. The co-pilot can also spot and lase targets with the nose camera in both day and inferred viewing modes and while the pilot can't lock his guns onto the lases, he can see them on his HUD. On top of this, this version can also carry two passengers in the back if it chooses to so it can be used to quickly get a recon team to the front line and then provide them with air support if need be.

Note: The maps these helicopters are seen on may not include them ingame.
(Click To Enlarge)

New Projectiles

As you have probably noticed above in some of the screenshots for the new Z-9WA weapons we also made some new projectiles for them. This includes the overly long awaited HJ-8 Anti-Tank missile (currently the HJ-8 Missile Launcher ingame fires a TOW missile) and the HF-7D and HF-25 Rockets which are pretty much the same rocket just in two different sizes. It should be noted that all weapons/vehicles that are meant to fire these projectiles now do ingame, so the WZ-10 now fires the HF-25 rockets instead of the Hydra 70, and the Deployable/Stationary HJ-8 Missile Launcher now fires the HJ-8 Missile rather than the TOW missile, etc so they are for more than just the Z-9WA.

HF-25 -------------------------------- HJ-8 -------------------------------- HF-7D
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Common Zhi-9WA Screenshots

Note: The maps these helicopters are seen on may not include them ingame.
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AS565 MB Panther - French Light Transport Helicopter

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Design and Development

The Eurocopter AS565 Panther is the military version of the Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin. The AS565 MB is the naval version of the Panther family of helicopters. This all-weather, multi-role light helicopter can be operated from ship decks or offshore to cover a vast array of naval and ground missions such as maritime surveillance, search and rescue (SAR), casualty evacuation, vertical replenishment, offshore patrolling and counter-terrorism. The AS565 MB is the ideal complementary asset for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-surface warfare (ASuW) tasks, such as submarine and surface target destruction: It can launch its own torpedoes and provide Over-the-Horizon Targeting (OTHT) to surface ships. Offered with various armaments, including cabin-mounted 20mm cannon, AS 15 TT anti-shipping missile, Mark 46 torpedo and Whitehead A.244/S torpedo.

In-Game

In-game this helicopter will server as the French Light Transport/Utility Helicopter much like the USMC UH-1N Huey and the AAC Lynx AH7, being able to carry a squad fast and swiftly into battle, with also being able to quickly maneuver and land into those tight and tricky landing zones the bigger helicopters can't easily fit into. The AS565 MB Panther also has a FLIR camera that can rotate a full 360 degs around and look 90degs down which can be used to spot and identify enemy targets in LZs before landing using both normal and inferred views.

Screenshots

Note: The maps these helicopters are seen on may not include them ingame.
(Click To Enlarge)

HM-1 Pantera - Brazilian Light Transport Helicopter

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Design and Development

HM-1 Pantera (Portuguese for Panther) is a version of the AS565 Panther based on the AS565 AA and is licence-built by Helibras for the Brazilian Army and serves as their main Light Transport/Utility Helicopter.

In-Game

In-game this helicopter will server as the Brazilian Light Transport/Utility Helicopter much like the USMC UH-1N Huey and the AAC Lynx AH7, being able to carry a squad fast and swiftly into battle, with also being able to quickly maneuver and land into those tight and tricky landing zones the bigger helicopters can't easily fit into.

While there is no guarantee the Brazilian Forces will ever be included in Project Reality BF2, this version was pretty quick and easy to make off of the Zhi-9/French Panther and just we wanted to show you the work we had done with it, for the small chance that one day you might just see them flying around in this ingame.

Screenshots

Note: The maps these helicopters are seen on may not include them ingame.
(Click To Enlarge)

Landing Gear Gauge

Stealing an idea from Clivewil from AIX, one gauge I did manage to add was a landing gear gauge to show you when your landing gear (wheels) are up or down. Since the landing gear in BF2 is automated, its sometimes hard to tell if your wheels are in or out, especially when in a helicopter and trying to land on a tall building as the code for making it go in and out can be a bit unreliable. As such all you need to do now is look down at this gauge and it will show you if your gear is in or out before you try to land.

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Credits

Models: [R-DEV]Rhino, Foul_Killer
UVs: [R-DEV]Rhino
Textures: SashaSK8, [R-DEV]Rhino
Export: [R-DEV]Rhino, [R-DEV]Hauteclocque
Coding: [R-DEV]Rhino, [R-DEV]Jafar Ironclad, [R-DEV]J.F.Leusch69
Sounds: [R-DEV]-=anders=-
HUDs: [R-CON]Moszeusz6Pl

[ma21212]

shieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[SANGUE-RUIM]

things are heating up

[psychickactivity]

Rhino attack !!!!

[BadMad]

Tremendous amount of work.
Well done!
Really waiting for these beasts to test on the battlefield on our servers..

[JackONeill]

Good work guys!

[Apache[UA]]

Amazing!!! I hope flight model not as in Tiger?

[K4on]

@ rhino: get to da choppaaah!

[AnimalMother.]

Looking fine, can't wait to crash these everywhere and blame lag.

Liking the different attack layouts. Will we ever see say one side 23mm and then rocket pods? like the kiowa with a mix of munitions?

[lucky.BOY]

Already loving these