CowanSim’s H125/AS350 has been out for over a year now and in that time the helicopter has seen some major updates and is now up at version 2.1 as of the time of this writing. Long past due for a review! Let’s have a look at this helicopter and see if it might be for you!

The real one

The history of the H125/AS350 is a bit of an interesting one. I’ll launch into the abridged history here but the lengthier description is fascinating. The initial design comes from Aérospatiale who set out some requirements for a replacement in their fleet for the Alouette II. Their Gazelle helicopter (whom many of you may be familiar with from the DCS: SA342 Gazelle) did well in military service but was not picking up the civil-oriented customers that they were hoping for.

The first flight happened in June of 1974 and received certifications from various countries and regions through 1977. The helicopter has gone through numerous changes, primarily to its avionics, and has become incredibly popular with both civil and military operators. The entire family of helicopters that are derived from it have reached 7,000 and production has ramped up over time with assembly lines in Marignane, France, Columbus, Mississippi, and Itajubá, Brazil.

The original AS350 designation has since given way to Airbus Helicopters (the now current owner of the design) which has redesignated it H125. I’ll be using the H125 designation throughout the rest of the review but if you’re an old school AS350 fan, it’s that too!

Visuals and sounds

With 4K PBR textures and good to excellent modeling all around, Cowan Sim have developed a very strong visual appeal and the H125 does not disappoint. On the exterior, you can see that the rotors are extremely detailed, as is the fuselage, the skids and everything else you can see around the aircraft.

I want to mention the liveries because CowanSim has packed in 100 of them. These aren’t just subtly different colour shades in the same pattern either! These are real world helicopters from all across the world with all kinds of different schemes and patterns. You’ve got tourism groups, sightseeing operations, medivac, police, TV stations, and more all packaged in.

Going to the interior the cockpit and you’ll see that the quality is generally good here too. The front panel does look a little bland (though I think that’s just how it is in the H125) and textures in a few places are perhaps overly glossy. The whole of the experience is quite good where you can see lots of great details. Nearly all of the buttons and instrumentation is very sharp and readable and everything comes together nicely.

There’s a toggle switch in the cockpit that turns on and off downwash effects which I’ve found to have no fps hit on my system so they stay permanently on. It’s very good and helps with immersion and makes me miss it on the helicopters that don’t have it. Note to Microsoft for 2024!

The sounds are really strong too! Engines sound appropriately helicoptery (that’s a technical term, surely!) and engine RPM and rotor slap noises are well dialed in with what’s going on in the sim. Doors on and off or open and closed have appreciable changes in volume and pitch of the exterior engine noises too.

Flying the H125

I’ve flown a bunch of helicopters in MSFS by now and I was struggling to like many of them. This one, however, has really captured me.

The H152 flies great in MSFS with a good deal of subtly and poise that you expect from a helicopter like this. It still lacks a bit of the weight that you feel with even the lightest of helicopters in DCS World or X-Plane but this is still pretty good.

The H125 doesn’t have any real bad habits that I’ve noticed either. If you do get out of sorts it can be corrected most of the time and it’s generally fast and maneuverable in most situations without being overly twitchy. Rotor becomes less effective in swinging the nose around at speed as you’d expect and it’s stable and generally easy to manage in the hover. Trim works simply and easily and you can easily get it set up to fly with minimal adjustments over long distances.

CowanSim marking materials report that the type has been tested by real world pilots and meets their approval which is always encouraging to hear as well. I’ve never flown a helicopter in real life, much less a helicopter like the H125, but generally speaking it seems to feel right after hundreds of hours in simulated helicopters. This is one of the most satisfying helicopters I’ve flown in MSFS to date.

Systems and options

CowanSim have become known for cramming tons of options into their helicopters and the H125 is no different. The feature list goes on for quite a while and you can see why with some of the capabilities and missionization that has been packaged in as options.

We start with the conventional passenger version with seating for three in the back and an additional person up front. You can swap that configuration out for other options.

There’s a medical variant which adds medical equipment, medics and a patient on a stretcher in the helicopter.

A “round the world edition” which puts a bunch of stuff in the back for making long distance trips is available.

There’s also an optional search light, camera and inflatable float version which inflates when armed and touching the water. These features really work and the search light can be directed as needed as can the camera – though it doesn’t have any other actions. Still it feels appropriately interactive given limitations of the sim.

You can choose between a conventional steam gauge configuration or a glass cockpit configuration. I prefer the glass cockpit setup for its more sophisticated navigation but its analog variant is just as good.

Nearly all of these features are enabled through the fuel and weight screen. The switch for glass to analogue cockpit is done via a toggle switch in the cockpit. CowanSim doesn’t have a EFB/tablet interface for options on any of their helicopters so this is a clever fallback is to add weight for each of the features to turn them on and off. The description tells you how much you need to add to turn the feature on. It works and works well, however, if I were to complain about anything it’s the need for a tablet to do quicker and easier one click changes.

Final thoughts

This is my current favourite helicopter in MSFS. I’ve flown it on sightseeing and on cross country operations and on scenic hops around different locations. The flight model is well dialed in, the sounds are great, the visuals are outstanding and there are 100 liveries to go with this helicopter. Add all that together with some great extra features like the medical version and a search light and you have the potential for a ton of fun.

The CowanSim H125/AS350B3e does command a bit of a price premium versus some of the cheaper options out there but the long list of features included in the helicopter justify the pricing. Some may fret that the H125 is also coming as a default helicopter to MSFS2024, however, I think there’s enough added features here that if you really love the H125 that you’ll probably find the extras here worthwhile.

The H125 can be purchased through the MSFS Marketplace or through their website at CowanSim.com for $32.99 USD.

Screenshots