Hi
All
So I spent a day
with three of the pilots at the SAAF Museum, talking about the DC-3 the whole
day long. This is our (actually their) conclusion :
2 of the 3 are avid
MSFS pilots in conjunction with their daily jobs of flying DC-3's and
DC-4's. According to them, that massive DC-3 package for MSFS accurately
(80%) of the aircraft's flying qualities. To minimize confusion, I'll
email the .air file to everyone who's interested. They say that any more
things to be added to that, is the fancy quirks of the Dak, eg
:
- On startup, one does not just engage the starter. It has an inertia starter, which means the starter has to be "wound up", before it is engaged.
- Because it is a radial, it's very temperamental about taxiing the aircraft. The groundcrew has an endless battle with the pilots about taxiing procedures. One does not taxi the aircraft with rich texture, as at these low power settings a too-rich mixture actually clogs up the spark plugs, causing the engines to cough up smoke, flames out the engines and then the engine will stall after a few seconds.
- Landing gear retraction is quite complicated, and I'm still a little unsure about the whole process. When the landing gear is retracted, you first pull a lever to pull out a locking pin, and then the handle to raise the gear. Failure to do so will cause the gear to get stuck in the middle, and it won't budge, neither up nor down.
I'm so glad I could
make someone's day. They spent a good few minutes laughing at me when I
asked for info on the lift coefficients etc. They said it's easier to get
the pope pregnant. I'll be supplied with the performance graphs and other
info only after the 13th of April unfortunately, as they are being used for the
annual maintenance check on the aircraft. They have to get it done before
the 13th, as it's a museum airshow then. I will be able to get the basic
info for you on Saturday, things like basic operating
speeds.
Just so you know, we
have a Douglas DC-3A-1dk. It operates with the Pratt & Whitney R-1830
motors, but this one is specially modified to have the two-stage
supercharger. Oh, they also asked that you incorporate accurate
superchargers into the model as well
I hope this helps a
bit, and the pilots volunteered to do flighttesting for us, so, once you're
finished and would like to have it tested, send it to me and I'll have it done
for you.
Regards
Danie Heath
Web Integrator
RisC Com cc
+27 12 654-5100
083 412 6904
