A recursive von Kármán turbulence model is developed and integrated into the current distributed turbulence model for helicopter flight simulation and handling quality analysis in atmospheric turbulence. First, high-order filters are developed with rational expressions to approximate the von Kármán spectra. Recursive algorithms for modeling the von Kármán turbulence are derived by discretizing the filters with the Tustin transform. Then, the recursive von Kármán turbulence model is used to replace the Dryden model in the current distributed turbulence model for helicopter flight simulation in atmospheric turbulence. The results show that the spectra of the recursive von Kármán turbulence have an excellent agreement with the theoretical von Kármán spectra, and they are valid over a normalized frequency range up to 400 rad, which is suitable for helicopter handling quality analysis in atmospheric turbulence with low flight speed and large turbulence scale lengths. The present turbulence model significantly extends the capability of helicopter handling quality analysis to the higher-altitude and lower-velocity flight conditions compared with the current distributed turbulence model. Nomenclature H u;v;w s = shaping filters of turbulence velocity components to random inputs L u;v;w = scale lengths for turbulence spectra, m p; q; r = angular rates about body axes, deg ∕s t = time, s u, v, w = translational velocity components along body axes, m∕s V = aircraft flight speed, m∕s x, x i = random inputs of continuous and discrete shaping filters y, y i = turbulence outputs of continuous and discrete shaping filters γ u;v;w = V∕L u;v;w , 1∕s Δt = sampling period, s Δu, Δv, Δw = turbulence velocity components, m∕s σ u;v;w = standard deviations of turbulence velocity components, m∕s Φ, Θ, Ψ = aircraft Euler angles, rad Φ X ω, Φ DX ω = power spectral densities of continuous and discrete random inputs Φ Y ω, Φ DY ω = power spectral densities of continuous and discrete turbulence outputs Φ u;v;w ω = power spectral densities of turbulence velocity components ω; ω D = continuous and discrete angular frequencies, rad∕s ω D max = Nyquist frequency, rad∕s