Dodosim have just this afternoon released the Bell 206 for FSX, if you love helicopters you will absolutely love this, its built from the ground up for FSX so the frame rates are excellent and it has custom built flight dynamics engine built especially for it that uses simconnect. Finally helicopter flight in FSX becomes a reality rather than a bit of a joke.More details at the site below. http://www.dodosim.com/fsx206models.html

Wow, what a news !A long awaited addon for (realistic) helos lovers.Thank for pointing up Andy.

Looks great but 55 bucks for default gauges?

I knew someone would come here complaining about the price, I you think its too expensive then you aren't big enough of a helo fan then and you probably shouldn't bother as you wont appreciate this amazing work. You are paying for the unrivalled flight dynamics and systems simulation, stuff you haven't seen in a FSX helo's before. I'd rather have excellent frames rates than RealAir masterpiece type 3d gauges in a helo, it makes the flying so much more realistic if the frame rates are high, which they definitely are in the Dodo 206. There are consequences too if you fly the 206 like a hooligan and abuse the systems, you can if you wish have persistent wear & damage enabled that is remembered between flights. If you dont look after and service the aircraft eventually you could end up with a failure.

I had this helicopter for FS2004 and bought the FSX version yesterday. The many (not all) default gauges and hence the VC finition (decent but not ground breaking) is IMHO the only weak point of this addon. Considering that there had been two versions of the Dodosim for FS2004 that is 'RealStart' and 'Advanced', regretably the developers made the choice not to make some customs gauges, unlike the coming soon Huey http://www.dodosim.com/UH-1H.html that will feature fully 3d gauges. Then if you seat in the VC you could think you are in the default MS Bell Ranger.BUT:As I said that is the only weak point IMHO because the value of this addon lies in the extremely realistic systems (eg. start-up and shut down procedure --> Beware of hotstart engine meltdown) and the flight model (Torque-Induced Yaw, Rotor Droop, Vortex Ring State etc.). To my knowledge it is the only addon that recreates so many aerodynamic effects specific to helicopters. And that is praised by helos simmers http://www.hovercontrol.com among which many current or former real-life Bell Ranger pilots.As to the 3D model, it is fairly good and you get 2 liveries (Paint kit to come), float/high-low skid, door/no door, regular/utility options.There are also bonuses: failure management, persistent data (wear, damage --> aircraft maintenance and servicing)...It is sure that the Dodosim for FSX is not targeted to beginners although you can choose between five levels of difficulty. You had better try the MS Bell Ranger first to determine if you like helos or alternatively has a natural and initial strong motivation to fly a hard-core helicopter.As often the price is questionable. Comparatively the price of the Dodosim is one step above the one of a high quality light aircraft addon which can be explained by the amount of R&D spent and by the fact that there is very few (if not) real serious competitor capable of producing such a high fidelity 'sim within the sim'.

That's fair, but I can't stand it when devs use default gauges. Build your own.Or you could have high framerates AND "masterpiece" 3D gauges!

Hi allThanks for the kind words, I will be as breif as I can so as not to turn this into an advert. will be offering a proper release announcement for Avsim's consideration shortlyExpensive - yes and no, the package contains a large lump of our commercial level training software (REALLY expensive), it isn't a normal aircraft add-on, It is aimed at real pilots and student pilots.you are paying for extreme accuracy in dynamics and systems that are external to fsX. If you want eye candy and fun flying don't buy our 206, you culd get 2 of somebody elses for the same money.Default gauges - we did build our own. Only the nav gauges are default, the others look similar in screen shots but not up close, basically we were looking at the same gauges MS were so they are bound to look similar at distance they respond very differently and don't contain the errors (default mph scale is wrong, fuel gauge only goes up to 75 etc)Framrates v gauges/detail - There is a lot of extra programming for the physics and systems expansion that was required, military customers and others will want to put large numbers of aircraft into the air over networks so the model and gauges are designed to run better detail than the default aircraft wth higher frame rates and still leave room for that extra programming to run If you fly for fun you will be much better off buying something elseIf Turbine hot-starts give you the heebie jeebies and you want to know your inflow roll from your flapback come and see us at dodosim.comthere is a free manual hereMark AdamsDodosimEdited for typo

Thanks for clearing that up Mr Adams. I must admit reading the press release on avsim was a bit confusing. For example:"Dodosim has replaced the default FSX hover and flight behaviour with their own dynamics, engine and systems management, complete with optional damage, repair and maintenance features."Reading that I got the impression that all you had done was update the default FSX rather than create a whole new model.Personally though, I'll wait for an avsim review before dropping that much cash on a new aircraft.

I took the plunge and I am far from disappointed. I set the difficulty to 1 so I would not get a "hot start" but set it to five before takeoff. Initially I was all over the place but after a few minutes I was surprised how easy it seemed. I was trained in helis initially by the excellent Fly! 2 docs and it was a big help to have a heli responding the way I *expected* it to. I only crashed once in the first forty five minutes... got cocky and tried to come to transition to hover from 60 knots into a descending 180 degree rudder turn then got into Vortex ring state for the first time.I then tried shutting down and restarting... the VC start button is almost impossible to use because you must hover the mouse over the switch... I much prefer a setup where once you push the button the starter remains engaged as long as the mouse button is held like A2A does. But it is a small glitch and I have now mapped the start switch to my joystick.Overall a tremendously enjoyable worth it product for me, but not for everyone...Robert Alley

Did you read the manual yet? as mapping the start button to a keyboard key or joystick button in the recommended option. The manual for the 206 is very good too, lots of helpful information in it. Starting the 206 even at difficulty level 5 is a doddle once you have done it a few times.

Waiting for reviews is a wise decision for anybody that doesn't know our work, it needs a quaified helicopter to do a worthwile review so it might be a little while before one gets done on Avsim.Report from Hovercontrol staff member here . I fully understand that you would want to hear it from someone you know and trust oon Avsim, I would too. I recommend using keyboard or hardware controls for the starter and throttle and collective because:First of all note that there are 2 different start systems modelled Bendix and CECO according to the aicraft you select and second this isn't the normal "push buttons in the right order and it will start" process. Your start technique must take altitude density, residual eng temp. wind speed and direction and battery condition into account.Starting a 206 is a tricky business and requires both hands, left hand on throttle, left thumb on the detent release, right hand reaching across your body, right thumb on starter. If the engine has been run recently the starter is gunned to bring the engine temp to within limits, at the correct N1 you must operate starter and throttle together. If anything goes wrong the starter remains pressed to bring down egine temperature, press detent and close throttle and keep gunning the starterbut you are operating 3 things at once which can't be done with a mouse. You also need faster and more accurate response than the mouse permits in fsX. It is possible to accidently release the starter using the mouse, that would be catastrophic. While gunning the starter can get you out of a bad situation, keep an eye on battery temps, you can damage or even blow up the battery, preferable to blowing an engine but best avoided all the same.

Hello,I'm just a sim pilot but I own a lot of addons (too many). Most of my purchases have been for "procedural intensive" sims like the Majestic Dash 8. For a long time, I felt that the Realair gauges and the A2A sims like the Stratocruiser were for me. I owned the FS9 DODOSIM helo and had a blast with it - flying helos is a real challenge.I just bought the FSX DODOSIM and have been at it for about one day now. In this case, IMHO, the money is the least reason to consider this sim. This is by far, the most intense simulation I have ever tried to learn to fly. The flight characteristics, wind, wear on parts, battery voltage, and many other variables have been modeled. This beast takes all of your senses to fly, stick, pedals and collective management are required 100% of the time. There is no autopilot and their Realism setup has one setting for beginers (helps start up the engine) and then 4 more to add modeling affects to your experience. By the time I tried the level 5 I realized that I am a real NEWBIE with helos. Just starting the engine is procedural and restarts after a landing "and passenger pickup" is also tough.This might not be for everyone, but if you like the helos and want to attempt to fly one that is modeled to the extent that FSX permits, give this one a try. You may loose a lot of sleep (like me) trying to learn to land one of these but when I do get one down without a crash - it is a real accomplishment. I just got back from Darlington (NASCAR race) and almost all of the drivers have helo service into the track (no airport). Watching them takeoff and land really impressed me. Cheers,Ron SagelNEAR KCHS

I have a simple question to ask, if the throttle is rolled off to 0% do you have to depress the starter and then wait until 12-15% N1 to roll the throttle on to introduce fuel to start the turbine? thats the only realistic thing other than a real start checklist that I ask for in an add on.Thanks!

Yes the startup procedure is exactly like that.