The Mi-24P is an old thoroughbred, a full-blooded whirlybird.

If you must have her, and this's your first copter, you'll be advised to look somewhere else temporarily, perhaps the tame Ka-50, Huey, or the new Apache--wonderful choppers to be sure, and much easier to fly! But if you are into BDSM, and somewhat obsessive-compulsive, the Hind will give you equal parts pleasure and pain. At first, much more pain. But oddly the pain becomes pleasurable after you get that hover down, land it without it dropping like a pallet of bricks from a 4th-story building, tame the wild beast from rearing its nose directly to the heavens, learn to turn squishies and metal objects into black smudge spots with cannons, rockets, and missiles; and master the gore and guts of her, along with discovering the switch to turn on the indispensable fan.

Moreover, you'll have the strong, silent-type in the front gunner seat, Mr. PetrOvich. He now comes with a confident voice to communicate his unmediated intentions. So few words, but he does the job well enough--such a young, handsome fella with a strong, personal sense about himself. On top of that, you can rest at ease in the pilot seat, 'cause you can tell Mr. P to chill, and have full control of the trigger.

The Hind (or aka the Crocodile, Galya, or Galina) currently comes with one campaign (The Border Prequel) to thrash poor, pixelated souls on the ground, and there's always a miscellany of multiplayer servers, missions, and the muscle-bound mission editor to easily create carnage for personal tastes. On the DCS website search for skins to dress her up to your pleasure, or pain.

Without a doubt, the best rendition of the Mi-24P I've experienced in a sim. She's my favorite! Full price or on sale, a verifiable sense of accomplishment will eventually sooth those primary hours of pain.