500E v1.20 – 1/28/2022

If something you requested or reported was not fixed or added then don’t worry. This is an ongoing project and will be updated further. Development takes a LOT of time, but we will get there.

***INSTALLATION***

Never overwrite the old version when updating. It will leave behind old textures, code, objects and other things that will ruin the new version. The new folder has a new name, so simply extract it as is and you will be okay. Thanks

SOUNDS

The fmod sounds got a huge makeover. One of the issues with the CowanSim 500E was muffled sounds. There was a high pass hiding in one of the main sound banks, essentially chopping off half of the highs. (same with the old 222 sounds) The entire fmod project was scrapped and brought back to life with several new approaches and sounds added. I would like to thank Matthias Postema for providing a few sounds, two of which I decided to mix in.

Throttle, Idle Release & Governor

All brand new coding and works like the real machine. We are still using “wing sweep” for mapping hardware to “throttle”. The throttle will stay at or above idle until you click the idle stop ring. The RPM inc/dec switch works smoothly now. This is a big step up from what we are used. Hope you all like it.

Hardware Throttle Calibration

You can find a utility inside of the configuration manger that’s for calibrating different kinds of hardware throttles. Some hardware throttles have idle stops that work just like the real machine. They have a mechanical ring to release the throttle. Some have a switch that can be mapped to the idle stop command and some do not. Every piece of hardware out there has a different value between 0 and 1 where the stop locks into place. The virtual throttle’s idle used to always be set at .28 but now you can change that value with this feature and select whether or not to automatically release it. Instructions are in the config menu.

Rotor System

The main rotor system is fully modeled and animated. The stationary swash plate and mixing unit were all missing in previous versions. That is all there now and the trigonometry for the system is finished.

NOTE: Since the rotor textures are new then all liveries must be updated if the rotor texture was edited. This will happen from time to time if you are editing things outside of the paint kit.

Skids

One thing a lot of people noticed right away was that the skids were too vertical. They are now angled out and look much better.

Sling Load Capability

You can turn on this feature by going into weight and balance then selecting sling object. Inside the “SLING OBJECTS” folder you can select the item you wish to be on the end of the cable. A huge thank you to Joe Hudson for providing his modeling & textures of the kit, the hook and mechanical release on the cyclic. Also, thank you for testing v1.20!

Wire Cutters

Added some more modeling, the center window column rail and moved the bottom one to the correct position.

Doors

Added the ability to remove doors individually on the 2nd page of the configuration menu.

Instrument glass

The mapping of the glass was not in the correct position and produced an odd result. Fixed.

Torque, TOT & N1

All three of the gauges were calibrated at max weight and are now more accurate.

Textures

Updated and added several textures & PBR inside and out.

Inlet Barrier Filter

Added the missing inlet barrier filter up on top behind the main rotor system.

HSI

There were some issues with the HSI so it was transferred over from the 206B3 and should work as intended now.

Options Added

• Spray kit
• Cineflex camera
• Bench and worker
• Spot light
• Ground power cart

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500E v1.10 – 4/10/2021

Added tons of liveries

There were quite a few liveries added to the package. We decided to stop at 50 for overkill reasons. If for some reason you don’t want tons of cool liveries then you can open up the “liveries” folder and delete them. Simple.

New paint kit

The paint kit was upgraded and a paint kit for the cargo pod was added to the package. Thank you Pasiel J for your help. The new kit is amazing.

Some more additions

• Added the missing keys. The starter will not work unless on.
• Added click spots to remove EITHER fire extinguisher.
• Added a hot start notification pop up and reset click spot. Let the engine wind back down before clicking reset.
• Added several FMOD sounds and remixed/replaced a lot. Still a work in progress. We could spend months on sounds alone. Listen for the hot engine cooling after shutdown. Joe Kipfer… 😉
• Added/changed/updated textures and normals.

Added more Options:

• Pilots and passengers
• Cargo pod
• Skid mirror
• Remove duel controls
• Standard Panel
• Wire cutters
• Utility floats

All options are added to the persistence script so they will be saved between your sim time.

Fixed Cyclic in VR

The manipulator settings inside of the “500E_vrconfig” file in the main directory needed a change to work properly. This only affected users who were not use a physical joystick or cyclic, but using only the VR controller to grab the virtual cyclic to fly.

Specifically this:

BEGIN_MANIP drag_xy sim/cockpit2/controls/yoke_roll_ratio sim/cockpit2/controls/yoke_pitch_ratio
YOKE_MANIP_ROTATE -0.208478 -1.458990 0.519861 1 0 0 -3 3 -0.208478 -1.458990 0.519861 0.000000 -0.000000 1.000000 3 -3
END_MANIP

Fixed ADF receiver

The ADF power was configured improperly and would not come on with the battery toggle.

Fixed throttle animation

This was just a visual flaw. If you were using a physical hardware device to control the twist throttle then when moving through max rotation the animation would flicker.

Fixed Strobe Light

Initially this was thought to be a draw order issue but it turns out the strobe was not connected to the beacon light toggle.

Fixed Anti Collision and Position lights that were backwards.

Fixed COMM & NAV 1 frequencies.

Fixed fuel flow issue on start up.

Adjusted fuel consumption.

Fixed several instrument/device lighting issues.

Fixed the save button in the VR config menu.

Corrected typos in textures.

Switched fuel cut off valve to be closed (IN) by default.

Adjusted fuel cut off on throttle.

Adjusted rotor brake strength.

Adjusted horsepower.

Adjusted skid flex animations.

Coded custom ammeter behavior.

Adjusted oil pressure.

Oil temperature coded to be at ambient temperature until above.

TOT temperature coded to be at ambient temperature until above.

Added code for smooth gauge needle animations when battery switch cut off.

Re-ignition light works when testing now.

Center window framing, windows, trim all narrowed. It was too wide.

Made grab handles thicker.

Several flight model changes. The Floats have drag when active and 0 drag when not active.

Hope you all enjoy the first update!

Josh

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500E v1.10 – Update Coming Soon!

Hi everyone. I just wanted to touch base on change-log and updates info for the 500E.

There are some minor bugs that affect a small percentage of users right now. The fixes will be in the very first update.

1. Cyclic in VR. The manipulator settings inside of the “500E_vrconfig” file in the main directory needs a change to work properly. This only affects users who do not use a physical joystick or cyclic, but use only the VR controller to grab the virtual cyclic to fly. If you want to fix this issue before the update comes out then you can use what is below. Simply open the “500E_vrconfig” and replace the similar section under “YOKE”.

BEGIN_MANIP drag_xy sim/cockpit2/controls/yoke_roll_ratio sim/cockpit2/controls/yoke_pitch_ratio
YOKE_MANIP_ROTATE -0.208478 -1.458990 0.519861 1 0 0 -3 3 -0.208478 -1.458990 0.519861 0.000000 -0.000000 1.000000 3 -3
END_MANIP

2. The ADF receiver. For some reason the ADF power is randomly shutting off. Maybe corroded wires? This is being investigated and will be fixed in the first update.
   
   
3. The throttle. This is just a visual flaw. If you’re using physical hardware to control the twist throttle then when at max rotation the animation will flicker. The link below can be downloaded and extracted into your main 500E directory to fix this issue. Simply extract and overwrite. Make sure you do it to both if you’re using 4K and 2K.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1op-WIqSJB2MZoNmdnRqpq8v4d8HAVzkr/view?usp=sharing

4. Strobe. The draw order got messed up when last edits were happening so the strobe light on the tail is hidden. Sorry, this will also be in the very first update.
   
   
5. If you’re having issues with the throttle mapping then make sure you follow the manual. There have been lots of users confused with this part. Mapping a hardware device to the throttle requires mapping that device to “wing sweep” NOT “throttle”. Simple fix.
   
   
6. If you pull on the collective and the helicopter jumps off of the ground uncontrollably then you have not set up your collective correctly. It’s backwards. To correct this set your collective axis up by clicking the reverse check box. I know, it sounds backwards, but this axis should be reversed for most users.
   
   
7. In rare cases the helicopter may “bounce” around on the ground while sitting with the engine off. If this “jittering” is happening on your machine then you need to increase the model frames as the manual states. Go to “settings”, the “general” tab, down to “flight model” then change the “flight models per frame” up a notch. If it’s still happening then up another notch until it’s not happening. This is rare for this bird but a couple people have mentioned it.
   

We want updates to have some weight to them so it will be a bit before these items are fixed and much more is added. No date but I will say soon. I hope you enjoy the helicopter as much as I do. She has a bright future. Stay tuned.

Thank you!

Josh

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500E v1.00 – Initial Release 3/15/2021

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