Cowansim MD500 to come to MSFS

[NZ255 309]

You need to scale the sensitivity unless you have a long joystick to get the same throw amounts.

[Mace 1,910]

1 hour ago, NZ255 said:

You need to scale the sensitivity unless you have a long joystick to get the same throw amounts.

I ordered a Virpil with a long extension.  I'm sure I'll have a big learning curve to get the sensitivity right.

[Stoopy 1,571]

Shameless self-promotion here since I replaced the video posted on the previous page with better version  😁

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by Stoopy

[NZ255 309]

I haven't read it anywhere, but you can control the visible objects via the fuel and payload toolbar. E.g. turn off the mirror by setting its weight to 0.

[NZ255 309]

Just waiting for the paint dry on a local helicopter.

Edited February 6, 2023 by NZ255

[NZ255 309]

CowanSim MD500E ZK-ILO » Microsoft Flight Simulator

[mac44 15]

12 hours ago, Stoopy said:

Pretty cheesy and dialed back, I'm afraid... here's for my stick/cyclic (-39%) and rudder pedals (-50%):

just got this and as a GA pilot : ) just wondering what functions exactly I need to map on my controllers to get his flying smoothly (note I read the cyclic/throttle? - can't be mapped to a normal throttle due to a MSFS limitation so I would need to use a mouse/VR controller to operate?) - hope someone can explain how it all needs to be setup.....

[lupedelupe 315]

45 minutes ago, mac44 said:

just got this and as a GA pilot : ) just wondering what functions exactly I need to map on my controllers to get his flying smoothly (note I read the cyclic/throttle? - can't be mapped to a normal throttle due to a MSFS limitation so I would need to use a mouse/VR controller to operate?) - hope someone can explain how it all needs to be setup.....

Same as an aircraft: controller throttle to Throttle, prop pitch to Propellor (not that this matters in this heli, but it acts as heli throttle in the Cabri for me) and mixture axis to Mixture. If you have any additional axis available you can assign Helicopter Throttle (or something to this effect) to another axis to control your initial throttle increase (which results in no movement of virtual collective throttle for me until almost 100% then the virtual throttle jumps to full power; also throttling back to idle is ignored – probably best to do this via mouse in the VC). 

The axis you have assigned to Throttle becomes, in effect, your Collective. 

[mac44 15]

2 hours ago, lupedelupe said:

Same as an aircraft: controller throttle to Throttle, prop pitch to Propellor (not that this matters in this heli, but it acts as heli throttle in the Cabri for me) and mixture axis to Mixture. If you have any additional axis available you can assign Helicopter Throttle (or something to this effect) to another axis to control your initial throttle increase (which results in no movement of virtual collective throttle for me until almost 100% then the virtual throttle jumps to full power; also throttling back to idle is ignored – probably best to do this via mouse in the VC). 

The axis you have assigned to Throttle becomes, in effect, your Collective. 

thanks for the reply! however please can you clarify what is happening with the throttle/collective mapping as I think I am also getting this sudden on/off behaviour in terms of the 500's behaviour - as I GA pilot all I know is their is a collective lever in a helicopter with a twist throttle on the end - are you suggesting mapping the bravo's lever to the collective and the only way to get the twist throttle to work is hover over it with the mouse cursor? (or have I misunderstood)

[Mace 1,910]

8 hours ago, NZ255 said:

CowanSim MD500E ZK-ILO » Microsoft Flight Simulator

That's great!  Is the paint kit easy to use?  

[lupedelupe 315]

3 hours ago, mac44 said:

thanks for the reply! however please can you clarify what is happening with the throttle/collective mapping as I think I am also getting this sudden on/off behaviour in terms of the 500's behaviour - as I GA pilot all I know is their is a collective lever in a helicopter with a twist throttle on the end - are you suggesting mapping the bravo's lever to the collective and the only way to get the twist throttle to work is hover over it with the mouse cursor? (or have I misunderstood)

I am suggesting leaving whatever you have mapped for GA as is. Use your throttle axis (on controller) to control main rotor pitch (i.e. collective), and after start use the mouse to set power to 100% before take-off (then forget about it until you want to shut down). That's it.

In real life you'd advance the throttle very slowly to keep gauges in check, but in the sim you can go from idle to full power (on throttle) as fast as you can scroll or drag and the engine will not blow itself to pieces. 

[NZ255 309]

1 hour ago, Mace said:

That's great!  Is the paint kit easy to use?  

Thanks! Yeah pretty easy for this paint. Only a couple of places to pixel push to line them up across seams. 

[Stoopy 1,571]

Well after the v1.01 update and 17 more liveries including a sexy Cal Fire variant that I think I'll never stop flying, this thing is so much fun and good it's ridiculous.  I'm practicing autorotations in it now , which I've never taken the time to get proficient with yet, and having an absolute blast!

[mac44 15]

On 2/6/2023 at 6:55 PM, lupedelupe said:

I am suggesting leaving whatever you have mapped for GA as is. Use your throttle axis (on controller) to control main rotor pitch (i.e. collective), and after start use the mouse to set power to 100% before take-off (then forget about it until you want to shut down). That's it.

In real life you'd advance the throttle very slowly to keep gauges in check, but in the sim you can go from idle to full power (on throttle) as fast as you can scroll or drag and the engine will not blow itself to pieces. 

thanks will give it a try!

1) note also when i hover the mouse cursor over the twist throttle I am really only getting 2 "positions" - one titled governor (assume this is the 100% setting used to fly) and another one that says idle? (nothing in-between!).

2) in terms of trim - should my old GA trim settings already assigned work in the similar way on the 500? (i.e. rudder/aileron and elevator)

3)notice in the external view there is an integrated instrument with MIL (bottom) and Thrust (top)- what do this indicate?

[The Moose 1,177]

What a journey this bird has been!   I went from absolutely despising it, through a lot of hours of practice and tweaking my joystick profile (ended up at -55% sensitivity on the cyclic)  to falling in love with it. 

This clearly wasn't set up by default for desktop joysticks.  I've never had to dial out so much sensitivity in my stick for any other plane or heli in the sim, in fact I use a default, linear profile at 100& sensitivity for everything in all other aircraft, so this thing caught me out completely, initially it was the most ridiculously sensitive and uncontrollable heli I've ever flown.  Once the control setting were dialled in though... wow, what a difference and what a heli!   Great job by CowenSim.    I still vastly prefer the FI 206 over the Cowen one, but this little pocket rocket fly's like a dream.   Great product.