Would you prefer to have:
-- attack helicopter feeling like, well, flying tank - because that is actually what it is (7t vehicle without weapons and crew)?
-- little bird being nimbler because (without people and weapons in it) it is 0.7t?
or very distant model where it is more like RC helicopters?
I always felt that little grain of realism (albeit not realistic at all) and accompanied difficulty made battlefields shine.
I for one in BF2042 took little bird and did stationary loops without loosing height. That was the moment I realized a play a bit different game than expected. Little bird is fantastic, especially in strafing while circling targets (BF4). So nimble. It was the intertia that sold the feel of being in an actual vehicle.