Just noticed over on Helisimmer that Shrike, the ‘affordable’ arm of Blackbird, just released this bird. Looks pretty good, and at a reasonable price. Be good to hear some views/reviews soon.
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I am releasing a review/first impression video in a few hours. I will be in german language but you can see and hear the heli alright. I can say already - that in my opinion - this is really good for it´s price. Seems exactly as they advertized it - Not on par with milviz/blackbird addons - but above average quality for a very reasonable price.
The only minor issue I have - the outside sound is a little bit to quite for my taste and not as good as the in cockpit sound.
It has working Breakers, WWISE Sound, Decals, high quality Texture, guns you can fire (accustically), a searchlight, removable doors, working governor (keybind only). It handles great (as far as I can judge this as a casual flight simmer). And that is a lot for the 19.99 Dollars.
Kind Regards
JayDee
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Here my first impression Video (german language)
Kind Regards
JayDee
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Very nice, as always 
I guess this is nice if you’re a DCS fan. Not really sure we needed a 3rd 500 type. Would’ve been nice to see a 520NR/Notar instead.
The MD500 series is my absolute favorite machine, so I had to pick this one up too!
If any developer releases a decent version of the 520N, 600N or 902 I will jump on those as well…
Here’s my take on the Shrike MD530F
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And another great video from CG Aviator:
Annoyingly this seems a better proposition than the CowanSim. At least it is all complete. I mean I know it is artistic in realism but it looks like it fly’s better and has more features.
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Why is that annoying??
Because it means I need to buy my 3rd 500 
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my guess would be because he has already spent $33,- for the CowanSim 500E and now thinks about yours as well. That would annoy me as well.
Edit:
not fast enough 
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Exactly. It is not like Helicopters are realistic in MSFS YET!!! But every review I watch shows this flying like a dream. The cowan sims whilst great, have lots missing, cost more, and are a pain to fly.
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Forth for me, mini 500, mscenery, cowan and now this. Little bit sad no guns on xbox 
I have just purchased this, cant wait till tonight to try it, all installed.
I would never touch anything from MScenery, but the I own the Cowasim/Got Friends 500’s and now this one
The FMs for the 530F & 500E feel about the same to me. The 530F needs slightly more pedal travel, but other than that, my control inputs felt the same. I don’t know if I’ll get around to testing out the differences in performance at altitude. The turbine modeling for helicopters in MSFS would make me question any results now anyway.
As far as features & options, the 500E has more in the W&B section that you can turn on and off. You can remove the bear paws, skid mirror and add floats.
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Yes, I agree, but for the prices Cowan sim charge messing around with the weight and balance thing is a royal pain, it should be available via an EFB.
Not to hijack this (I’m thinking of buying the Shrike, so following thread) but would this help? (wip)
For me, from a price point of view, more functional options are more important than whether or not it’s operated by an iPad(EFB), click spot or W&B menu…
…but there isn’t really a standard for addons that all developers follow, and the prices are all over the place.
Looking at the (3) 500 series variants available for MSFS, I think that the Shrike and Cowansim products are priced right. The Mscenery variant is over priced for what you get.
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Dont forget the Mini 500 From Gotfriends