I just did the Shooting Range mission. Damn aircraft won't even lift UP into the sky properly, it'll either pitch back or slide sideways. And whoever says this thing should do a rolling takeoff is forgetting something very important about helicopters -- they are H E L I C O P T E R S... they should be able to take off and land V E R T I C A L L Y.
They're not forgetting anything, it's you who doesn't know something.

Rolling T/O's are done for procedure and safety, same with landings. You can't easily auto-rotate to safety without speed.
Why? ... turn it off. This helo is flown with FD off.
You're slipping and sliding. Stupid helo.
Shoddy piloting skills

(the guidance system alone proves that some drunk Russian engineers thought this up after a party)
Actually they were pretty smart. This made the missiles cheaper, and single-axis control is even used today on the SeaRAM ... which is a pretty modern missile used to shoot down aircraft and anti-ship missiles.
I died because the damn thing went crazy at 40 meters AGL and decided to land.
You died because of shoddy piloting skills

But granted, there are interactions between your controls and the game that aren't (and can't be made) relistic, which in your case here is
probably the following:
You hit the rudder, then you trimmed while holding the rudder down, thus freezing the rudder in that position.
Since there's no force-feedback rudders, you have to mind your trim unfortunately, which is extra work that you won't experience in the real deal.