New helicopter incoming! Cowan Simulation announces the Bell 206B3 for MSFS

As expected, the news about new helicopters in development for Microsoft Flight Simulator are getting more frequent! Last month, the launch of the 40th Anniversary Edition of MSFS opened the way for developers to bring their creations to the simulator and we’re now getting concrete evidence of the imminent release of new helicopters. The Bell 206B3, from Cowan Simulation, is one of them, and should be out very soon!

Cowan Simulation is a known name for helicopter pilots flying in X-Plane, where the developer offers a good selection of high-quality helicopters for simmers to enjoy. One of these models is the popular Bell 206B3, which is now making its way to MSFS!

Joshua Cowan, the lead developer behind this project, shared the first preview images of the 206B3 on social media, showcasing a seriously impressive modeling and texturing work on the aircraft, which seems to live up to the expectation for a visual model in Microsoft Flight Simulator!

Cowan Bell 206 B3 MSFS previews 8

Cowan Bell 206 B3 MSFS previews 7

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Cowan Bell 206 B3 MSFS previews 2

Cowan Bell 206 B3 MSFS previews 1

Joshua also provided a few cool bits of information besides the images above. For starters, the goal is to release the 206B3 this month, which is excellent news for those who’ve been waiting for a new helicopter to fly in MSFS. Secondly, it’s coming to Xbox too, although it’s unclear if that will happen immediately upon launch or shortly after.

What should come shortly after is a second new helicopter from Cowan Simulation! The Hughes 500e also seems to be pretty much done and should be out at around the same time as the 206, possibly a little later. No images for that one as of now. Finally, Cowan hopes to also bring the H125 to MSFS in the first quarter of 2023, but with no promises there.

And with this, we start to see a flock of new helicopters flying towards Microsoft Flight Simulator, which will hopefully fulfill all the needs of rotorcraft pilots in the coming months and years. Jinx DCS recently unveiled his MD 902, but there’s quite a bit more coming from a good selection of developers, so stay tuned for further news very soon! We’ll also update our list of in-development aircraft for MSFS very shortly so you can easily keep track of all the helis in the works.