Hell Let Loose Vietnam How to Fly a Helicopter: Full Pilot Guide

TL;DR

• Helicopters are US-only. NVA players cannot fly or use them.
• Enter the helicopter, sit in the pilot seat on the right, hold E to start the engine.
• Ascend with Spacebar. Pitch forward and back with W and S. Yaw left and right with A and D.
• Two helicopter types: Supply Heli for logistics and Transport Heli for troop insertion.
• Only 3 helicopter units can be created per match — claim your slot fast.
• Turn the engine off when you land at a Helipad to restock and repair.
• The most dangerous moment is the approach to a landing zone. Never use the same route twice.
• Complete the in-game helicopter tutorial before taking one into a live match.

Hell Let Loose Vietnam how to fly a helicopter is one of the most searched topics since launch — and for good reason. The Huey isn’t a killstreak reward or a flying tank. It’s a fragile but incredibly powerful battlefield asset that rewards communication, patience, and good judgment. A skilled pilot does not just move soldiers from A to B. They open attack routes, accelerate logistics, and give the US team a mobility advantage that reshapes entire matches.

This guide covers everything: the controls, the two helicopter types, crew roles, supply drops, recon, landing zone tactics, how to repair, and how the NVA can shoot you down. For a look at how helicopters fit into the bigger US strategy, check our Hell Let Loose Vietnam US vs NVA guide which covers the full faction comparison. If you are new to the game entirely, start with our Hell Let Loose Vietnam beginners guide first.

Helicopters in Hell Let Loose Vietnam: The Basics

Helicopters are the defining feature of the US faction. The Pilot handles transport and aerial fire support, while the Logistics Officer manages supply drops and coordination. Mastering air mobility is essential for US forces — helicopters let you deploy troops to sectors unreachable on foot and gather reconnaissance from above.

Only 3 helicopter units can be created per match, so act quickly after you join the server. If all three slots are taken, you cannot fly until a unit is disbanded. This makes claiming your helicopter unit early a real priority on maps where air mobility matters most.

Before your first live match, use the in-game tutorial. The game includes a helicopter tutorial map — use it before hauling a real squad. A pilot who crashes on their first insertion wastes their team’s most powerful mobility asset and demoralises the squad inside.

The Two Types of Helicopter

There are two distinct helicopters in Hell Let Loose Vietnam. They serve different purposes and require slightly different approaches from the crew.

The Supply Helicopter

The Supply Heli is a two-seater focused on dropping resources for your team. The Pilot flies and the Logistics Officer handles the drop. In the Supply Heli, switch to the co-pilot seat on the left to drop Supply Boxes. These need to be released at low altitude, so the pilot has to bring the aircraft down close to the ground before the drop lands where your team can reach it. Those boxes let teammates build defensive structures and place other items in the field.

This helicopter keeps your Engineers building, your Squad Leaders placing Garrisons, and your forward teams supplied without anyone having to run logistics on the ground. It is the backbone of US resource management on large maps.

The Transport Helicopter

The Transport Helicopter is used to transport infantry and drop them off at strategic locations. It also has machine guns on each side to attack foes in its vicinity.

When sitting in the Co-pilot seat in this Heli, you can use the recon ability so it auto-hovers to let you investigate the surroundings. You can mark enemies by using flares, letting your team know where to strike next.

The Transport Heli is the faster-moving, more aggressive aircraft. Use it to insert squads behind enemy defensive lines, extract teams from dangerous positions, or provide fire support during an assault.

Helicopter Crew Roles

A helicopter is a small team, not a solo operation. The pilot concentrates on flying. A co-pilot or crew member can monitor the tactical map and watch for important battlefield information. Door gunners can provide suppressive fire during dangerous approaches and departures.

Pilot

The Pilot flies the helicopter and backs up teammates. This role can also work the door-mounted M60 machine gun to rain down suppressive fire, and works with the Logistics Officer to dodge anti-air threats and relay enemy positions.

Logistics Officer

The Logistics Officer drops off infantry and supplies where they’re needed, talks to Squad Leaders and the Commander to route reinforcements, and can fire a flare from the air to send critical information back to command.

The Logistics Officer is not just the supply runner. They are the crew member who coordinates with the ground, reads the Tactical Map during flight, and keeps the Pilot informed about what is happening below. Communication between these two roles is what separates effective helicopter units from wasted ones.

Gunner

The Gunner operates the M60D door guns. 400 rounds per gun plus one spare belt per side provides sustained suppressive capability during insertions and fire support runs. A good gunner keeps enemy heads down during the most dangerous part of every flight: the approach and landing.

How to Fly a Helicopter: Step by Step

Here is exactly how to get into the air and stay there.

Step 1: Create a Helicopter Unit

Create a Helicopter unit and select your role as either a Pilot or a Logistics Officer, as both roles can fly the helicopter. Remember, only 3 units are available per match. Do not wait.

Step 2: Enter the Helicopter and Take the Pilot Seat

Enter the helicopter and take the pilot seat on the right. You will see options to start the engine or switch seats when inside the cockpit.

Step 3: Start the Engine

Press E to turn the engine on. Hold the button until you hear and feel the engine spin up. You know it worked when the engine spins up and the aircraft responds to the ascend input by leaving the pad.

Step 4: Ascend

With the engine now roaring, you can take to the air and ascend by pressing Spacebar. Apply steady upward input and keep the aircraft level while you gain altitude. Do not pitch too aggressively during the initial climb.

Step 5: Control Pitch, Roll, and Yaw

You can pitch the helicopter forward and backward with W and S respectively. By pitching it forward, you force the chopper’s entire chassis to lean forward, pushing the helicopter in the direction you’re looking. While in the air, you can also sway the helicopter left and right by pressing A and D.

When you apply heavy collective, the helicopter body will naturally want to rotate in the opposite direction of the main rotor. You must compensate for this by applying opposite tail rotor (yaw) input to keep your flight path straight. This torque correction is the mechanic that trips up most new pilots. Get used to countering it instinctively.

Step 6: Fly at Safe Altitude Between Objectives

When away from combat, you can fly high enough without the risk of being shot down. Otherwise, learn to stay low and hover over canopies and jungle tops to avoid being spotted by foes from afar. The game imposes an altitude ceiling of roughly 900 meters, so climbing endlessly is not an option.

Step 7: Land Smoothly

Hover slightly above the ground by balancing your collective and pitch. Once stabilized, touch down gently. Inform your passengers when it is safe to disembark. Do not linger on the ground, as stationary helicopters are prime targets for rocket launchers and machine guns.

Start your flare before reaching the landing zone. As you approach, pull back on the cyclic and raise the nose. This converts the helicopter’s attitude into a powerful braking maneuver and rapidly reduces forward airspeed.

Step 8: Repair and Restock at a Helipad

If the helicopter falls below 5% health, head to the nearest friendly Helipad immediately so it does not blow up before you can repair. When you set down at a Helipad, hold the engine button to switch the engine off. Shutting down is what lets you repair the vehicle and reload on supplies before your next run, so make it a habit every time you touch down.

Recommended Keybinds for Helicopter Controls

Default controls work for beginners, but experienced pilots recommend remapping for better precision.

• Ascend (Collective Up): Spacebar (default) or remap to Left Shift for easier access
• Descend (Collective Down): Remap to Left Ctrl for precise altitude control
• Pitch Forward/Back: W and S
• Roll Left/Right: A and D
• Engine On/Off: E (hold)
• Switch to Co-Pilot Seat: Z
• Drop Supplies: Hold E (from co-pilot seat)
• Deploy Recon Flare: Spacebar (from co-pilot seat)

Beginners should start by mapping the collective pitch to Left Shift (ascend) and Left Ctrl (descend). Keep the standard mouse for cyclic pitch and roll. Mouse side buttons can be bound to yaw or countermeasure deployment for quick access.

How to Drop Supplies

Supply drops are the main job of the Supply Helicopter and one of the most team-impactful actions any US player can perform.

To supply troops, switch over to the co-pilot seat by pressing Z. You will then get a prompt to drop supplies by holding the E key.

The Pilot needs to get low enough for the drop to land in a usable location. Too high and supplies fall wide or inaccessibly. Coordinate with your Squad Leader to get an exact grid reference. Fly to the location, reduce your speed to a stable hover, and trigger the supply drop command. Ensure you confirm the drop over voice comms so infantry knows exactly where to look for the crates.

Supplies are not infinite. You frequently need to restock, and you can do so by landing on the Helipads across the map and then turning the engine off by pressing E. Helipads auto restock the supplies on your chopper, so make sure to catch a breather at regular intervals.

How to Use the Recon Flare

The recon flare is one of the most underused abilities in the game. When used correctly, it gives your entire team advance warning of enemy positions before an assault.

When sitting in the Co-pilot seat in the Transport Heli, you can use the recon ability so it auto-hovers to let you investigate the surroundings. You can mark enemies by using flares, letting your team know where to strike next.

To scout enemies, first fly the helicopter into the air. Once it is hovering, switch to the co-pilot seat. Then press Spacebar to deploy a Recon Flare.

Coordinate this with your Commander and ground Squad Leaders. A flare that marks an NVA tunnel exit or an ambush position in the jungle is worth more than a dozen gunship passes. For a Commander’s perspective on how to use this intel, our Hell Let Loose Vietnam commander guide covers the full top-level strategy.

Helicopter Tactics: How to Fly Smart

Technical skill gets you in the air. Tactical sense keeps you alive.

Plan Your Landing Zone Before You Move

Plan the landing zone. The most dangerous moment is the approach — low and slow over the LZ. Pick zones with cover and avoid the obvious, repeatable spots. Every approach you make is a window of vulnerability. Choose your LZ before you leave the Helipad, not while you are already descending into fire.

Suppress Before You Commit

Deploy flares early to illuminate the LZ before you commit to landing. Be ready to abort — if the LZ is too hot, do not risk the helicopter. Circle and find a safer spot. Keep moving — a hovering helicopter is a target.

Throw smoke grenades thirty to forty meters outward toward enemy treelines. Do not pop smoke directly on the helicopter skids. Smoke on the LZ itself blinds your own squad as they disembark.

Never Use the Same Route Twice

Vary your routes. Predictable flight paths get ambushed. A good NVA anti-air team will notice your approach corridor after one or two passes and position to intercept on the third. Change your altitude, your angle, and your timing every single run.

Stay High Between Objectives

Altitude is armour in Hell Let Loose Vietnam. RPGs are very difficult to land on a high-altitude target and anti-air guns have an easier time at the ranges a low-flying helicopter creates. Directly flying into an active war zone is a death trap. Make sure to fly around these battlefields and avoid entering the crossroads of a trigger-happy armored vehicle that could be waiting in ambush or worse, an RPG-wielding infantry unit.

Never Linger on the Ground

Do not linger on the ground, as stationary helicopters are prime targets for rocket launchers and machine guns. Drop your squad, move your Logistics Officer’s crates, and get back in the air. Every second you sit on the ground at an LZ is a second an NVA Grenadier is lining up a shot.

Coordinate with Infantry Before Every Run

A helicopter crew flying blind does half the value of one that is plugged into the chain of command. Talk to your Squad Leaders. Know which sectors need troops and which need supplies before you take off. A great helicopter pilot doesn’t simply move soldiers from Point A to Point B. They create opportunities. They open new attack routes, accelerate logistics, establish forward positions, and rescue squads from bad situations.

Spawn in the Air

One of the most useful mechanics for the helicopter unit is airborne spawning. Unlike most vehicles in Hell Let Loose, players can spawn directly into the Huey while it is airborne — the helicopter does not need to land with the engine off. This fundamentally changes how the Helicopter unit operates, enabling continuous air operations without landing to pick up crew.

This means your Gunner or Logistics Officer can respawn into the helicopter mid-flight after being killed, without requiring you to land and break your mission.

The 3D Tactical Map

Helicopter crews get a unique tool that ground players do not have. The Huey crew uses a 3D live tactical map rather than the flat overhead map from the original Hell Let Loose. For operations in elevated terrain like Đắk Tô Airfield, the 3D map gives pilots meaningful spatial awareness of the terrain they’re navigating — valleys, ridgelines, and altitude changes are all visible rather than flattened.

Use this map constantly. It tells you where your squad is, where the objective is, and — if your ground teams are communicating — where enemy positions have been spotted. For map-specific tactics, our Hell Let Loose Vietnam all maps guide covers every launch battlefield in detail.

How the NVA Counters Helicopters

Understanding how the NVA shoots you down makes you a better pilot. These are the threats you need to account for on every approach.

Anti-Aircraft Guns

The only role that can deploy an AA is Machine Gunner at Level 2. It will require 50 supply units to build it. Although Machine Gunner is the only role that can build an anti-air gun, once built, other roles can also use it to deter helicopters. Building an anti-air on top of hills or elevated spaces on the map will make it easier to spot and shoot at helicopters. It usually takes around 10 seconds of sustained shooting at a helicopter to make it lose all its health and crash.

Anti-aircraft guns placed on ridgelines and elevated positions are the biggest threat. They have sustained fire capability that outranges and outperforms RPGs at medium altitude. Watch for tracers and break off your approach immediately if you see them. For more on how to destroy your helicopter from the NVA side, our dedicated Hell Let Loose Vietnam destroy helicopters guide has the full breakdown.

RPGs

Helicopters can be targeted with RPGs, although they are a lot less predictable. They can quickly change their directions, making it much more difficult to hit accurate shots in the air if you are on the ground. The RPG is most dangerous on landing approach when you are low, slow, and committed to your descent. That is when you are most vulnerable to a ground-level shot.

Tunnel Ambushes at Landing Zones

Use tunnels to appear at landing zones before the helicopter arrives. Coordinate multiple players on the same target for the best chance of a kill. NVA Squad Leaders will study your LZ patterns. After your second or third insertion at the same location, expect a tunnel exit to appear nearby with infantry waiting. Change your LZ every run. For more on how the tunnel system works, our Hell Let Loose Vietnam tunnel guide explains the full NVA network.

Boat-Mounted Machine Guns

You can also use the machine gun provided on the boats to target helicopters. They also deal a significant amount of hull damage to choppers and force them to crash when enough damage is dealt. A patrol boat gunner with line of sight to a hovering helicopter is a serious threat. Our Hell Let Loose Vietnam patrol boats guide covers how NVA crews use boats both offensively and defensively.

Common Helicopter Mistakes to Avoid

• Taking the helicopter without completing the tutorial. A crash on insertion kills your squad and burns the cooldown on the helicopter unit. Practice first.
• Using the same landing zone twice in a row. The NVA will position at predictable LZs. Rotate every run.
• Hovering in place during a hot approach. A stationary or slow helicopter at low altitude is the easiest target in the game. Keep moving.
• Dropping supplies from too high. Supplies released above the correct altitude land out of reach or miss the intended position entirely. Get low before the drop.
• Flying solo without a Logistics Officer. A two-seat helicopter with only a Pilot does half its potential value. Coordinate your crew before you take off.
• Not repairing at Helipads regularly. A helicopter at 20% health is one RPG from a total loss. Land and repair before the situation forces you to.
• Flying directly over contested ground at low altitude. RPG players watch for this. Use altitude when transiting between objectives and only drop to low altitude when you are committed to a LZ you have already assessed.

Helicopter Tips for Specific Maps

Not all maps favour helicopter play equally. Here is a quick overview.

• Van Tuong: The most helicopter-friendly launch map. Open coastal terrain and multiple approach angles mirror the historical Operation Starlite assault. Use the helicopter aggressively here. See our Hell Let Loose Vietnam Van Tuong guide.
• Cam Ranh Port: Coastal and port terrain gives pilots clear LZ options near objectives. Our Hell Let Loose Vietnam Cam Ranh Port guide covers the map layout.
• Quảng Ngãi: Dense jungle and cliff terrain limits helicopter effectiveness. NVA tunnel and cave networks make landing zones dangerous. See our Hell Let Loose Vietnam Quảng Ngãi guide.
• Dak To Airfield: Elevated ridgelines and the airfield itself give helicopters access to elevated insertion points. The 3D tactical map is especially useful here. Our Hell Let Loose Vietnam Dak To Airfield guide has the terrain breakdown.
• Hue Outskirts: Urban terrain and tight corridors limit LZ options. Rooftop insertions are high-risk but high-reward. See our Hell Let Loose Vietnam Hue Outskirts guide.
• Thanh Hoa Bridge: The bridge and surrounding terrain create natural AA gun positions for the NVA. Approach from low altitude along the river rather than directly over the bridge. Our Hell Let Loose Vietnam Thanh Hoa Bridge guide covers this in detail.

How Helicopters Work With the Rest of Your Team

A helicopter crew that flies alone without communicating with the Commander and Squad Leaders wastes most of its value. Here is how to integrate properly.

• Talk to the Commander first. Before you take off, ask where supplies are needed and which sectors are being pushed. Our Hell Let Loose Vietnam commander guide explains how the Commander coordinates the whole team.
• Coordinate with Squad Leaders. Squad Leaders on the ground will tell you where a forward insertion would change the fight. Our Hell Let Loose Vietnam Squad Leader guide covers what they need from air support.
• Support Engineer builds. Supply drops near active build sites let Engineers work faster. Our Hell Let Loose Vietnam engineer guide explains how supply placement affects the whole build chain.
• Complement Snipers. Inserting a Recon pair by air into a deep position is one of the strongest opening moves in the game. See our Hell Let Loose Vietnam sniper guide for how Recon pairs operate.

For loadouts that suit the Pilot and Logistics Officer roles, our Hell Let Loose Vietnam best loadouts guide has the full breakdown. And if you are still figuring out which role fits you best, our Hell Let Loose Vietnam best class for beginners guide will help you decide.

Where to Get Hell Let Loose Vietnam

Hell Let Loose Vietnam is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. You can get it from the PlayStation Store, the Xbox Store, or visit the official Hell Let Loose Vietnam page for more details.

Final Tips for Flying a Helicopter in Hell Let Loose Vietnam

• Do the tutorial first. Every time. No exceptions.
• Claim your helicopter unit slot at match start — only three exist per team.
• Turn the engine off at Helipads every landing. That is how you repair and restock.
• Never hover stationary at low altitude over contested ground.
• Change your LZ and approach angle every run.
• Keep your Gunner suppressing on every hot approach.
• Use the 3D tactical map to read terrain before you descend into it.
• Communicate with the Commander and Squad Leaders before and after every flight.
• When the helicopter hits low health, fly to the Helipad immediately — do not push one more run.

The helicopter is the single biggest mobility advantage the US side has in Hell Let Loose Vietnam. Master it and your team can pressure any position on any map within seconds. Fly it badly and you hand the NVA an easy kill and a five-minute advantage. For the weapons and roles that pair best with helicopter operations, check our Hell Let Loose Vietnam US weapons guide and our full Hell Let Loose Vietnam all classes guide.