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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
René Dorand’s G.20 was an experimental helicopter developed around coaxial rotors and two Renault engines. The prototype survived the interruption of the Second World War and reached ground testing, but did not fly. VSKYLABS’ Dorand D20 is a released freeware interpretation for X-Plane 12. It explores how the unusual design might have behaved, so the simulator’s flight characteristics are explicitly conceptual.
Aircraft background
VSKYLABS · Read more ↗A chance to explore an unflown design
The developer explains that the historical Dorand coaxial prototype underwent ground testing but never flew. Its X-Plane project therefore explores a possible flying interpretation rather than reproducing measured flight behaviour.
VSKYLABS Dorand D.20 / G.20 interpretation · X-Plane 12
VSKYLABS · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Fly X-Plane · 32 min ·
Perth WA | X-World Pro | VSkyLabs Dorand D20
A VSKYLABS Dorand simulator flight over Perth at dusk in X-Plane.
Simulator · VSKYLABS Dorand D.20 · X-Plane
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Dorand G.20
René Dorand’s G.20 was an experimental helicopter developed around coaxial rotors and two Renault engines. The prototype survived the interruption of the Second World War and reached ground testing, but did not fly.
VSKYLABS’ Dorand D20 is a released freeware interpretation for X-Plane 12. It explores how the unusual design might have behaved, so the simulator’s flight characteristics are explicitly conceptual.
Dorand G.20
Société Française du Gyroplane → · Explore the family →
Dorand G.20
VSKYLABS · VSKYLABS Aerospace Simulations Aircraft Center: VSKYLABS 'Test-Pilot': Dorand D.20 ↗Dorand D20 simulated interpretation
VSKYLABS · VSKYLABS Aerospace Simulations Aircraft Center: VSKYLABS 'Test-Pilot': Dorand D.20 ↗VSKYLABS · X-Plane 12 →Aircraft type designators
A model-specific ICAO or FAA designator has not been confirmed in the references reviewed for this aircraft.
History & design
A naval helicopter interrupted by war
René Dorand’s G.20 was a French Navy-commissioned helicopter project of the late 1930s. According to the developer’s historical account, construction continued across the disruption of the Second World War and the sole prototype was completed in 1947.
VSKYLABS · VSKYLABS Aerospace Simulations Aircraft Center: VSKYLABS 'Test-Pilot': Dorand D.20 ↗Dorand G.20 historical prototype; VSKYLABS D.20 interpretation
An aircraft without a flight-test record
The prototype reached ground testing but never flew. VSKYLABS’ D.20, introduced in 2026, is consequently a functional interpretation of the unusual design rather than a reproduction of measured flight handling.
VSKYLABS · VSKYLABS Aerospace Simulations Aircraft Center: VSKYLABS 'Test-Pilot': Dorand D.20 ↗Dorand G.20 historical prototype; VSKYLABS D.20 interpretation
Systems & details
Two rotors of different diameters
The small vertical separation of the coaxial rotors led to unequal rotor diameters. Their opposite rotation is a defining part of the design. Any handling explanation for the simulator must retain the distinction between that documented arrangement and the unknown behavior of the unflown prototype.
In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
X-Plane 12Dorand D20
VSKYLABS · Released
Dorand D20
VSKYLABS · Released
Manuals & resources
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Simulator documentation
A chance to explore an unflown designVSKYLABS Dorand D.20 / G.20 interpretation · X-Plane 12
The developer explains that the historical Dorand coaxial prototype underwent ground testing but never flew. Its X-Plane project therefore explores a possible flying interpretation rather than reproducing measured flight behaviour.
Project background and simulation scope
VSKYLABS · Read the source ↗Released product and variantsDorand D20 · VSKYLABS · X-Plane 12
This freeware release is a functional interpretation of the Dorand G.20, which never flew. The simulated flying qualities are conceptual and are not presented as measured performance from the real prototype.
Official developer / designated-store reference · checked 2026-09-14
VSKYLABS · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Developer documentation
VSKYLABS Aerospace Simulations Aircraft Center: VSKYLABS 'Test-Pilot': Dorand D.20VSKYLABS · Official developer / designated-store reference · checked 2026-09-14 VSKYLABS Dorand G.20 - Freeware Experimental Coaxial Helicopter for X-Plane Flight SimulatorVSKYLABS · Official developer / designated-store reference · checked 2026-09-14Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 1 profile choice
VSKYLABS Dorand D.20
VSKYLABS · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
VSKYLABS Dorand D.20: Nominal cyclic centering accompanies a simulator interpretation of an unflown prototype.
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