That´s your opinion - it´s ok. On my list it´s number 5 of 6 Cowan helos, and in my world there´s generally nothing better in the R66 , than in any other Cowan helicopter. It´s different - just like their user.
I wonder if it’s realistic that I can hover the R66 at 30% torque on top of Mount Fuji (13,000 feet!). Out of ground effect too.
Anyone notice the R66 seems overpowered ? From Youtube videos, it seems to hover IGE around 80%+ torque at max gross weight. Cowan’s R66 shows around 65% torque.
Do you have the exact same weight & balance loading as the helicopter in the video? That all depends on load. It may take 80% torque if you have 5 people on board and a full load of fuel than, say, 1/2 fuel and only 2 people.
edit: The environment matters too…
Was it a hot, humid day? was the field elevation the same?
I’m not blindly trying to defend the CS R66, just want to get all of the comparison factors in line…
I have to agree that it seems new customers are being put before existing (loyal) ones. I can’t put any more money into CowanSim products the way things are at present. Just wondering how many others have issues like I have…
The main one (and the one that makes the 206 and 500E unusable) is extra unrelated engine sounds played at high volume over the top of the normal sounds. They are a bit intermittent but very common and totally destroy a flight as you have to end the flight or turn sounds off altogether.
A similar issue happend a long time ago, was acknowledged and was fixed in a patch, but has been back for months. I have seen this mentioned before in forums but want to know if anyone still has it as I haven’t had any response raising it with the deveoper yet.
Other issues are the reflectivity of the new GTN screens that prevents seeing them properly in most lighting conditions… The gauges in the JetRanger having water inside them whenever the windscreen has water on it. And many other little things I have given up on and await MSFS2024 and hope for changes, such as TOT gauge, correct split needle RPM gauge functionality, dash judder passing ETL etc…etc…
Be really interesting to hear other people’s views.
There is a fix for this assuming you have access to config files (i.e. you didn’t buy from the in-game store?).
I’ll ping @RedheronDET here (sure he won’t mind!) because I’m not sure how to do it exactly but he’ll be able to point you in the right direction.
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I just popped over to their “support” forums and it’s just loaded with unanswered posts from users with issues, some posts going back to the beginning of the year with no response. That’s some real trash customer service.
Yeah… Fly Inside and Taog’s is all the “helicopter” I need.
I do tend to find myself gravitating back to FI a lot, but periodically I go back to the Cowan stuff and for the most part they’re ok but now with the SimFocus mod for the 407 it’s becoming clear that their shortcomings are born out of lack of motivation more than anything.
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I’ve never experienced the bugs you are referring to. Do they happen with the R66? Or just the other helis you mentioned?
My biggest complaint with the R66, is the gov switch on the end of the collective rotating with the throttle…
In the real one, the end of the collective doesn’t rotate.
I would like to see better responses from a customer service standpoint. Since the Helisimmer forum is listed as the official forum, it is disappointing that it seems to be a ghost town.
The 66 is one of my favorites to fly though. The handling and pedal response are spot on!
The screens in lighting conditions seems to be a compromise between sim usability, and interpretation of realism. I don’t remember them being that hard to read, but most of the time I spent in the real one was on a fairly cloudy day. Not a lot of direct, beaming sunlight. I don’t have an issue reading them with my installation, or in VR with my Varjo Aero.
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Hiya! 
If we are talking about what i think we are talking about, the annoying jetwhine which affects most of the cowan sim helis, is not configured correctly to “fade out” or “be directional”. I was not able to figure it out, so i just removed it.
In the \sound\sound.xml and \soundai\soundai.xml files is a section for the sound Jetwhine:
<Sound WwiseEvent="jetwhine" WwiseData="true" EngineIndex="1" StateOff="true" StateStart="true" StateOn="true" FadeOutType="2" FadeOutTime="6" >
<WwiseRTPC SimVar="TURB ENG N1" Units="PERCENT" Index="1" RTPCName="SIMVAR_TURB_ENG_N1" />
</Sound>
If thats removed, you no longer get the annoying ‘Vacuum Cleaner’ sound… 
Hope that helps!
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Thanks for all the input folks… I knew I could rely on you
@belatu42 I haven’t bought the R66 yet despite watching yours and other’s vids saying how it seems to be the best of CowanSim so far. The other issues I have tend to put me off wanting to invest is CS any further for the time being.
Thanks for the jetwhine mod @RedheronDET & @Baracus250 that sounds exactly what I need. I will try later as luckily, I have an editable config file. It is so frustrating as I mentioned, this was fixed ages ago but reappeared which is a bit unforgivable really. I will have to revisit the 407 and try the SimFocus mod too by the sounds of it…
I still intend to try out the FI 206 as most people seem to agree it is a bit more realistic, just need to wait for a discount sale and to hope hell doesn’t freeze over first!
There are so many variables in hardware (and expectations) that make finding the ‘perfect’ heli a never-ending quest but with my controls, I have managed to get the CowanSim 500E and JetRanger to be very enjoyable and consistent for me. All of your input over the months on here has been and continues to be, very interesting.
With any luck, I will be able to get rid of the madness-inducing whine at least… even if I do still have to take a rag to wipe the inside of the cockpit gauges when it rains…
Thanks again
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The Sim Focus mod for the 407 is really good. Being free, the price is right 
For a 206 in MSFS, I find the CS flight model to feel more realistic than the FI 206. That’s an unpopular opinion, but the CS products fly and feel more like a real helicopter based on my own real world experience.
If you have DCS, the free OH-6A mod from Tobsen and Eightball is really, really good.
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Your real world experience is always a very valid and interesting addition to the discussion. I too have always enjoyed the CS 206 and 500E. I tried the suggested sound mod but my problems persisted so I will reluctantly give up on CS at least till 2024 comes out. That might sort out whatever issue my system seems to have.
I tried the 407 mod last night and was going to ask what you thought of it… but you beat me to it! Obviously, without the CS sound issue, it was a breath of fresh air so it was off to a great start.
My humble opinion… it felt like a ‘real’, solid helicopter. The gauges respond with realism (does the turn/slip ball work properly or was I just dreaming?). Seeing the TOT respond was amazing. Seeing the RPM needles split was long overdue and the engine limits and VRS imposed, now make it feel like you need to treat it with respect. Brilliant.
They describe the mod as stable but sensitive… couldn’t agree more. Initially, it was a bit jittery as I lifted but once I relaxed and let the over-compensating pilot induced oscillations calm down, I seemed to be at one with it in a matter of moments.
I was really impressed. I hovered for ages… so enjoyable.
Little details like pulsing landing lights may not be a big deal in the bigger picture but those sort of details all add to the immersion and realism and can only be a good thing. Virtually every button is functional now.
I can see myself donating to Sim Focus and spending a lot of time in the 407 in the weeks ahead.
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Exactly this
The manual says how to bind the helicopter throttle twist grip to an axis. I have a collective without a twist grip. I want to assign the throttle to buttons. In cockpit, I can move the mouse over the twist grip and left/right click to increase/decrease the throttle. I want to do the same thing with buttons. So, I assigned the buttons to “increase helicopter throttle” and “decrease helicopter throttle”, but that doesn’t work. Does anybody know the correct bindings?
Had an update last night, and now the pilot is outside the chopper! No wonder the passenger looks a bit miffed!
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what update? The R66?
Sorry didn’t post it in all the CS threads
Yep - confused me, as I wasn’t expecting anything to update on a Monday evening.