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Douglas DC-3C Freighter BFU for FS2K and Fs2002
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Bush Flying Unlimited is a virtual airline operating in the bush of Alaska, British Columbia, The Yukon Territory and the American Nortwest. The BFU DC3 included in this package is a repaint of the TAF DC-3 which is a repaint of Jan Visser's excellent TDM Freighter model he released in March of 2001 for FS2K, itself based on the ealier release of the NATS R4D-6 by Jan, Bill Rambow and Roy Chaffin. All of the orginal readme files and Jan's original read-me file are included in this archive. All files in this archive are protected under the copyright laws of the United States, the United Kingdom and The Netherlands.
Nightwolf Air Service paint scheme copyright of Fred Choate.
As Chip Jones so well put in his remarks at the bottom of this file, I thank those who have painted ahead of me and whose wonderful vision of what flight sims can be...
it is through their eyes, the rest of us can be assured the legacy of the DC3 and other fine aircraft are preserved for all to enjoy.
Jack Osbon
Bush Flying Unlimited
josbon@mastersweb.org
March 19, 2002
The rest of this text is copied directly from the TAF "readme" a copy of which is also included as "TAF Readme Next.txt"
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FIRST AND FOREMOST : (From Jan Visser)
The OPENING and CLOSING of the pax/cargo doors on all of Jan's FS2000 DC-3 models is triggered by activating/ deactivating the NAVIGATION LIGHTS i.e : nav lights OFF = DOORS OPEN,nav lights ON = DOORS CLOSED.
It seems that there are still quite a few simmers out there who don't bother to read a readme file and don't bother to switch their nav lights on. So,hopefully,by putting this subject at the top of this document,the message will come through at last. You can read a detailed description about the display conditions a bit further down.
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INSTALL OF TAF DC3:
As for the particulars, unzip this archive into the Aircraft Folder of FS2000. Make sure that Winzip has the "use folder names" option checked and it should put everything in the right place. A folder and all of the subfolders will be created containing the TAF DC3.
You should find Taffy listed alongside of your other NAS aircraft in your aircraft folder rather than with your other Douglas DC3 aircraft that are listed. I have done this to group "Taffy" with the NAS fleet aircraft in your "hanger".
In the interests of saving considerable download bandwidth, I have not included a DC3 panel or sound file. As a default the panel cfg. and sound cfg. point to the default 2-engined recip panel and Cessna 182 sounds. Fully equipped with Jan Visser's excellent PH-DDZ panel or the magnificent MAAM NATS R4D-6 donationware panel of Bill Rambow and Roy Chaffin, plus the excellent sounds from either PH-DDZ or the MAAM goon, this aircraft package weighs almost 15MB!!!
MA/NAS pilots: After you have unzipped this archive into your FS2000 root folder open your FS2000/Aircraft folder and look for a folder named 'Douglas DC-3 TAF'. Open this folder and you'll see an additional folder called 'NAS DC3 PanelSound'. Open it and cut (or copy) and paste the panel.cfg file which you'll find in there into the Douglas DC-3 TAF/ Panel folder (overwrite when prompted) and the sound.cfg file into the Douglas DC-3 TAF/Sound folder (again overwrite when prompted). This should point your sound and panel to the NAS DC3. MA/NAS uses Jan Visser's PH-DDZ panel for commonality between all of the fleet Dc3's.
Other Pilots: You can also, of course, use any other of Jan's DC-3 series to accomplish this in a similar manner. Simply copy and paste the panel folder and sound folders from one of the original DC3's in order to make your experience as good as it can be.
If you really want the works, donate some money to MAAM and get Bill Rambow, Roy Chaffin and Jan's incredible R4D-6 and then you can use their panel without feeling guilty, hehehe. That's as real as it gets in FS2K. Purchase the Donation-ware CD from the Mid Atlantic Air Museum. It contains all of the latest files for the R4D packages for FS2000, as well as FS98, CFS, and CFS2. All are self-installing. Also included are three genuine WW-II era manuals for the C-47 (DC-3), hundreds of photos, a film clip of the R4D in flight and much more. It is $25 and all proceeds go to the MAAM engine replacement fund to help get the R4D #819 back in the air. It will be shipped anywhere in the world for a $4.95 fee. You can read more about it and order it on-line here: http://www.avialantic.com/shop/entrypage.html Donate a little to the Mid Atlantic Aviation Museum and bring the real airplane back to the skies. Plus, you get the original C47/Dakota POH's, three of them, and a bunch of other goodies.
If you DO NOT have the FS2000 Douglas MAAM R4D-6 NATS package installed you DO NOT know what you're missing !!
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SOME NOTES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THE TAF MODEL: (from Jan Visser's original TDM readme)
As with other FS2K DC-3's released by Jan Visser, you'll find many details featured in this DC-3 TAF model. To name but a few : wheel blocks, Remove Before Flight flags, control surfaces locks,open pax entrance- and cargo door,typical light aluminium boarding ladder, and some cargo on the ramp which still needs to be loaded (crew has probably gone down to the cantina to grab a soda,it's very hot today..;-), all displayed when the aircraft is in complete shut-down configuration.
While the blocks, locks, and RBF flags are activated by shutting down engine #1, the open doors,ladder and cargo on the ramp are displayed when you switch off your nav lights. In addition to this, the pilots will have joined the loading crew in the cantina.
SO, VERY IMPORTANT : NEVER fly without your navigation lights ON or switch them off during flight !! Looks pretty silly flying about with part of the cargo still hanging outside the aircraft.....Also, when using the R4D panel or the PH-DDZ, NEVER switch the navigation lights on/off via the 'L' key ! Always use the panel's NAV LIGHT SWITCHES otherwise it will mess up their sequence and you'll end up with an awkward looking 'nightlighted' panel during daylight.
Just use the EXACT SAME WAY of operating this DC-3 model as you have grown accustomed to flying Jan's other DC3's and you'll be all right !
IT IS ALWAYS BEST to first select the FS2K default Start-up Situation (Flights/Select Flights/Default Flight-Meigs Field ), turn off the Magneto switch (ignition key) of the Cessna to ensure that the R4D or PH-DDZ panel's magneto levers are properly positioned for start-up, and then choose your DC-3 TAF model.
An easy way to create your own proper Start-Up situation flight using this DC-3 TAF model is explained in the 'v40upgrade.txt' which you'll find inside your FS2000/Aircraft/Douglas R4D-6 NATS v4.0 folder once you have downloaded and installed the R4D Visual Model Upgrade (r4dv40up.zip), or explained in the PH-DDZ manual by Bill Rambow which was released with the PH-DDZ DC3 by Jan Visser.
KNOWN ISSUES:
The nightlit tail textures are not yet finished, or better said, perfected. The spotlights do not shine exactly like I want them to shine, and any sharp eyed pilot out there may notice this. In the interests of making Taffy available as soon as possible to the NAS and MA pilot rosters, I have decided to release her as is. I am working on a perfected nightlit tail and will release the corrected texture file soon.
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TAF DC-3 notes:
N62MA is a Douglas DC-3C equipped with 1200hp P&W 1830-92 engines. We call her "Taffy", and along with her sisterships "Beowulf" (The other Nightwolf Air Service DC3) and "The Old Mule" (The Montana Air DC3), we manage to haul air freight and the occasional pax all across Alaska, British Columbia, The Yukon Territory, Montana and Idaho. For a complete picture of how to fly the TAF DC3, visit us at the Tongass Air Freight website, http://taf.netfirms.com/ , where you will find complete checklists, power schedules, fuel to cargo ratioes, and eventually a POH.
Also, if you really want to learn how to fly DC3's in FS2K, check out Charlie Wood's DC3 Airways VA at http://www.dc3airways.com/ . Charlie taught me how to fly these wonderful airplanes and has collected the motliest crew of Goon-heads in all of FS-dom there, including Jan Visser, Bill Rambow, Trev Morson and other deities in the FSim DC3 community. DC3 Airways is one of the best managed, best supported VA's in the business, all DC3's, all the time! Definitely worth your time if you are into simming the DC3 "by the numbers".
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CREDITS:
I can take absolutley no credit for anything in this archive except taking the time to apply a simple paintjob to the artwork of a master. It's kind of like fingerpainting on a Rembrandt, and yes I do feel guilty.
I am particularly grateful to my friend Jan Visser, who not only has created some of the finest aircraft ever to be produced for Flight Simulator, he also had the grace to permit me to repaint one of his works of art into Tongass Air Freight colours. Thank's Jan! Here's to many more DC-2's and Dc-3's rolling out of your hanger!
I am also deeply obliged to my friend and mentor Fred Choate, CEO of Montana Air, and creator of the best VA concept in the business. Fred patiently offered a hand or an ear whenever I needed him (I bugged the daylights out of him, hehehe). In many ways Fred lent his own formidable talents to the development of this aircraft, such as helping me with the nightlighting and editing the model file so I'd have a unique series of files rather than plagarize ALL of Jan's work :-). Thanks Fred!
Also to my good friend John "Nightwolf", CEO of Nightwolf Air Service, TAF's parent company. A Montana Air Company, Nightwolf Air Service takes the MA concept north to Alaska, British Columbia and the Yukon. NAS has Stations in Ketchikan, Anchorage/Lake Hood and Whitehorse BC. Thank's John, for creating and nurturing the best kept secret in the whole of the North Country. Keep on howlin', buddy.
