FS 2002 Douglas DC-8-61 Val-U-Prop Plane and Panel by James Underwood
From the original work of Dee Waldron and Tony Madge


NOTE: You will probably have to size the main panel of this package vertically to fit your screen. To do so, simply grab the bottom of the main panel with the mouse. The panel will "pop-up" an inch or so, then drag (contract) it up another inch and hit "alt" twice. You should have some sky showing at the top, so grab the top edge of the panel and drag (expand) it up to the top.
You will also have to size the outside view window, so that it goes all the way to the top of the screen, and the lowest "blackout" portion is dragged (expanded) down to the extreme lower left of the left side window. Once you get this right, save it as a flight and the panel will be correctly sized every time you open it.

NOTE2: You will have to re-set spot plane view. Go to views/view options/spot plane, and set distance to 300 ft.


KEYBOARD COMMANDS

shift+2 = gps
shift+3 = default radio stack (You will need this sometimes to set the ADF, which has a four digit setting, rather than the three digit setting we are used to and the radio gauge reflects.)

PAN

To see wing, side and cabin views, simply use (with numpad off) the shift+numpad9, etc. method. shift+numpad8 resets main cockpit.

Val-U-Prop

We are now a for-real online Virtual Airline, with daily (sometimes bizarre) flight plans; weather updates; a fleet of Douglas Aircraft dating back to the DC-3 and more FUN than can be imagined by mere mortals. Copy this to your address bar, come take a look and bookmark us! I gaurantee you will NOT find another Virtual Airline like Val-U-Prop.

http://home.bluemarble.net/~jcumus/index.html

WIN2000, WinXP and WinXP Pro users; I've included Dave Parson'e excellent .mdl repir utility with this package. If you receive a ".mdl error" or "cannot display visual model" message, use this kit to "repair" the files in the MODEL folder. I'd do this for you, but it only runs in anything but WIN 98, which I have. NOTE: If someone repairs these .mdls for 2000 or XP, I'd appreciate you sending them to me, and I'll upload them as a fix. Thanks!


INSTALLATION:
1) Unzip the zip file into a temporary directory.
2) Unzip the gauges directly into the MAIN FS2002 folder. It's OK to overwrite files as anything I've changed I've renamed. When prompted click "yes".
3) In the aircraft directory of FS2002 make a new folder (click "file" then "new" then "folder") and name it Douglas DC-8-61 Val-U-Prop (right mouse click on folder, then hit "rename" when the drop box comes down, then type Douglas DC-8-61 Val-U-Prop).
4) Move or copy aircraft.cfg (aircraft) and .air file (valu8.air) into this folder.
5) Unzip the files marked MODEL, PANEL, SOUND, TEXTURE into a temporary directory - NOT directly into the aircraft folder. These should form folders which you can then move or copy into the folder you've made called "Douglas DC-8-61 Val-U-Prop".

I've aliased the B-737 sounds to this aircraft, but only as a temporary measure. There are many fine sound files for the DC-8 at SurClaro and other sites and I suggest you find one you like and install it instead.

That's it!

FLIGHT TIPS: Take off with 25-30 degrees of flaps: And, as with DC-4 and DC-6, DUMP at least half the fuel unless flying a VERY long way. Aircraft will rotate at 130-145 Knots. Then THROTTLE BACK at least halfway before retracting gear and flaps. On final, when plane is dirty, keep the power up. This plane is NOT a glider. Also, when making final course adjustments, do NOT use rudder alone to jam the nose around. All turns must be co-ordinated.

Thanks: To Dee Waldron and Tony Madge for their excellent work, and to Leif Giesecke, Art Brett, Stefanie Pleshinger and Mike of AirNikon for their great photography. And to Technic Direct and Ernie Kennedy for their gauges.

LEGAL

This package has been tested in FS2002 in Windows 98 2nd Edition. It has caused no problems on my system and should not on yours. However, I accept no liability whatsoever in case you think it has. Not tested in WIN 2000 or WIN XP or WIN XP Pro (see above).
USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

James Underwood
Bloomington, IN
jcumus@bluemarble.net