Helicopter fans are in for a treat as well known X-Plane helicopter maker CowanSim is making the jump and offering some of their X-Plane line-up in Microsoft Flight Simulator as well.
Bell 206B3 on the way
CowanSim have been making helicopters for years on X-Plane and now that expertise is coming over to Microsoft Flight Simulator as well. This has no doubt been helped along by the release of Sim Update 11 and official support for helicopters within the MSFS flight model.
The helicopter being shown off in yesterday’s update is a Bell Helicopter 206B3. The Bell 206 line includes the Jet Ranger, the Long Ranger, and for military aviation enthusiasts, the OH-58 Kiowa and Kiowa Warrior.
The latest screenshots show off the helicopter in action within the sim. Clearly progress is being made adapting to the new platform!
No release date is given but it sounds like CowanSim is making good progress and is working on bringing over potentially their entire X-Plane line-up to MSFS. This is great news for helicopter fans!
X-Plane fans shouldn’t feel too left out as CowanSim have provided a few updates on their X-Plane 12 upgrade plans with all helicopters seemingly planned for updating. Some updates have indicated the challenges of releasing these aircraft while X-Plane 12 is in beta (and now release candidate) but things will hopefully settle down soon as X-Plane 12 comes into full release. A statement about that process is located here.
Stormbirds 
Really happy to see him diversifying. His work in XP is well regarded even by the HeliSimmer dudes 🙂
Asobo did a really good job with the Cabri & CFD-Lite and it, like their 172 G1000 w/CFD-Lite, is a genuine pleasure to fly.
The Nemeth Bell 407 is sadly disappointing – they dropped the ball on several important aspects of the FM. Hopefully that will get patched up, or perhaps the community mod will fix it.
In short, I’m hoping Cowan is able to translate his good work in XP to give us an equally nice experience in MSFS. And I’m GLAD he’s starting with the 206 (it helps fuel my Student Naval Flight Officer fantasies!) 🙂
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