How would you rate the flight model compared to XPlane or DCS helos, which are known to be the best in the sim world?
Donāt fly in DCS but have literally all helos for 2020/24, even some of the old free ones and the 500c is very nice to fly, relatively forgiving and handles like a 3rd hand.
Taogās heloās all have realistic feeling, different flight model for each bird, great graphics and sound and a āwhole experienceā that is IMHO best in MSFS helicopters behind awesome Hype Performance (H145/160) and among the best developers overall. Heās done a great job given the MS/Asobo simulator constraints vs what DCS can offer.
Is it on par with UH-1? I havenāt purchased the H500
Its much better then uh1 since it does not have the hard yaw when using cyclic like all previous taogs choppers have.
But what it does not have is the ārealnessā of the others, they have amazing in cockpit sounds and feels that is best in the game too make you feel like you are flying in an old mechanical rotating machine, its a bit more game then sim that way.
But instead it flies really nice and controllable and feels like this COULD be a realistic FM.
It is a MUST buy for the sim! This and cowan R22!
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I donāt have DCS, but spent many years on helos in X-Plane, specifically helicopter types that were considering highly realistic in X-Plane. My reference point flying real helis is just stick and cockpit time, not rated on them. Also important to note I only use 2024 these days.
With that as a foundation I rate the Taogās 500C better than the Huey (which is brilliant), and absolutely amongst the best I have enjoyed in X-Plane. It has a few unrealistic quirks - settle and the nose will yaw, canāt say I love some of the sounds - but overall this is a must have in my opinion.
Tried the (updated) 530F again this morning and, well, back on the 500C. 
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Agree pretty much the same. Also tried the updated 530F from Shrike (Blackbird) and though not great it was nice to see the update, and itās always good to have a different helicopter and flight model to fly.
And Blackbird puts out some pretty good stuff, though the Shrike line was intended from the start to be Blackbirdās āBā line of products - ie good products but less development and polish time. For the price, Iāll take it.
The Shrike 530F is good for the price. Itās nice thatās itās been updated. It flies pretty well in 2024 now. You still have to use a 3rd party app like AAO or Spad to assign the idle cut off ring, but everything else works pretty well.
what do you mean settle? Could you describe this further?
Settle: touch down, then slowly lower collective and the nose yaws as you lose lift. I understand this to be a limitation of the MSFS flight model.
I understand now.
That is correct behavior because of the torque of the main rotor. With helicopters, you are still flying until the rotors have stopped 
There is a point where the torque overcomes the friction of the skids and the nose will start to yaw. It happens well before you are light on the skids. Or the opposite as you set down.
In analog helicopters without any stability augmentation, you move your feet with the collective. Always. Once you set down, lower the collective and input right pedal at the same time.
I do agree with you, but I believe the change to be a lot more subtle (as you s-l-o-w-l-y lower the collective). Itās like a fixed-wing critter: you have to fly āem to standstill.
This may be one of those instances that comes down to preference. The amount of yaw felt natural to me. Iām hoping to get my instructor on my sim setup soon. Heās flying 500s trimming trees. D models though, so not an exact match but close enough. You can never have too many opinions, right?
Has there been any word yet on when this chopper will become usable in career mode?
Thatās awesome news! Canāt wait, even ordered my Moza AB9. Are there any profiles for the MOZA force feedback I can use to properly simulate the 500ās control forces?