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FS5/FSFS DOUGLAS DC-7C Seven Seas
Improved version 3/97
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For FS98/FS2000 versions of this and other propliners, head over to
the Classic Airliner Page: http://members.aol.com/TGFltsim/
THIS PLANE REQUIRES BAO'S FLIGHT SHOP, WHICH IS A COMMERCIAL PROGRAM YOU HAVE TO BUY.
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[Files]
dc7cxxx.air : Flight model file. Copy to your PILOTS directory under the
FLTSIM5 directory
dc7cxxx.*af : Texture files. Copy to your TEXTURE directory under the
FLTSIM5 directory
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All-new plane and paint by Tom Gibson (e-mail:
tgibson@sunstroke.sdsu.edu)
Flight Model by Mike Vidal, modified by Tom Gibson
I would like to thank Shoichiro Homma, Rich Boehringer, and
Mike Vidal for their contributions to this project.
After Lockheed introduced the L1049G "Super G" Constellation
for TWA, Pan American needed an aircraft that was able to fly
non-stop transatlantic services, even westbound with average
winds (their current DC-7B service often required a stop).
Douglas responded by stretching the fuselage by 42 inches and,
more importantly, lengthening the wings by inserting a 5 foot
extension at each wing root. This gave the new DC-7C Seven
Seas (in a clever pun on "7C") not only more room for fuel, but
placed the engines further out on the wing, lessening the noise
and vibration of the rather noisy Wright R-3350 radials. More
powerful engines of 3400 hp each were fitted to the DC-7C, and
all these improvments stretched the range to 5635 miles,
allowing non-stop routes never before possible with Douglas
aircraft.
The first Seven Seas service was introduced by Pan American on
June 1, 1956, and a total of 121 DC-7C's were eventually
delivered to the airlines. The DC-7C went on to fly new
non-stop routes across the US, as well as in transatlantic,
transpacific, and even Great Circle routes over the North Pole.
Lockheed was forced to play catch up to the DC-7C, and finally
developed the L1649A Starliner, which was originally supposed
to be a turboprop, but ended up with R-3350's and was slightly
slower than the Seven Seas, although it had a slightly greater
range. It was introduced too late for substantial orders,
however, and Lockheed lost a lot of money on the project. In
service, the DC-7C was not as reliable as the DC-6 series, and
was the last piston-engined Douglas airliner model produced. In
fact, when the last KLM DC-7C was delivered in December 1958,
the Boeing 707 was already in service, marking the end of an
era. As soon as the jets were in place the airlines either
converted the DC-7C's to freighters, or sold them to second
tier operators. Most DC-7C's did not have long lives, and
virtually all have been scrapped.
NOTE: This plane and many other classic airliners can be
downloaded free from Tom Gibson's Classic Airliner WEB site at -
http://members.aol.com/TGFltsim/
FLYING THE DC-7C
This plane has somewhat altered flight dynamics, to make the
climb and cruise performance more accurate (in FS5). Below
10,000 ft, you can fly without particular worry (monitor
airspeed on climbs, though). Any higher, and you will have to
start using the prop controls (blue squares) to maximize
performance (above 8-10,000 ft. I find 1844 rpm works well,
about halfway down the quadrant). You will not be able to
reach cruise speeds of 300-310 knots TAS at higher altitudes
without adjusting the prop controls.
Also, adjusting the mixture such that the EGT (exhaust gas
temp.) is 50 degrees below maximum EGT will also improve
performance (you will need to turn on Mixture Control in
Sim/Realism and Reliability; 50 degrees is about two movements
of the needle). I usually end up with a setting about halfway
down the quadrant at 20,000 feet, with the needle hovering
about half way up the scale.
Even when you have adjusted the controls properly, when you
attempt to climb above 8-10,000 ft on the autopilot (fixed at
750 ft./min.), you will notice your speed begin to drop.
Monitor KIAS (Indicated Airspeed, set this in
Options/Preferences/Instruments/Display Indicated Airspeed),
and if it drops much below 190 knots, level out, allow speed to
increase, and then begin climbing again. This is quite
accurate; prop airliners (and many jets above 25,000 ft) had to
climb in steps to eventually reach cruising altitude, often
waiting to become lighter as fuel burned off. Typical cruising
altitudes for long distance DC-7C flights were at 19-24,000 ft.
At a true airspeed of 304 knots TAS (normal cruise speed), your
indicated airspeed will be around 240 knots KIAS.
As an example, Dave McQueen sent me a record of a PAA
Stratocruiser flight from Honolulu to Travis AFB (near San
Francisco), and the climb steps/time were:
Alt. Time
9,000 1126
11,000 1300
13,000 1430
13,000 1600
15,000 1720
15,000 1830
17,000 1930
Thus he started his final climb from 9,000 ft at 11:30 am,
stopped climbing at 11,000 (short time),
stopped climbing at 13,000 (1hr. 30 min.),
stopped climbing at 15,000 ft (1 hr),
and didn't get up to 17,000 ft until 7:30 pm!
DC-7C's had considerably better performance than that; you
should be able get up to cruising altitude in about a half
hour, if you adjust your controls every 5 minutes or so for
maximum performance. Above 8-10,000 feet you'll need to stop
climbing when the speed gets below 190 KIAS or so, usually
every 2-4,000 ft. (odd thousands for heading 0-179 degrees
(9,000, 11,000, 13,000, etc.), even thousands for heading
180-359 degrees) (now you know why they carried a flight
engineer!). I hope you enjoy the new accuracy, if not you may
change the Induced Drag Scalar in Options/Design
Aircraft/Performance to 0.065 instead.
The range of around 5,000 miles should be quite doable with
the plane's current fuel consumption (around 3-600 gallons/hr if prop
and mixture are set correctly, 4-700 gal/hr without mixture
control (this will still give proper ranges)).
For other details on how to fly the DC-7C, see the file on the
Classic Airliner Page about How to Fly the DC-6. The planes
are very similar, and with minor changes to speeds and weights
will provide an accurate description. Enjoy!
Mike Vidal's Flight Report:
Takeoff: With 10 degrees flaps, she likes to rotate at about
125 knots, and just gently pull the nose up to 10 degrees and
she will lift off by herself. You can pull the flaps up when
she gets to 145.
Landing: Best conducted with full flaps, approach speed at 135
to 140 knots. I almost have the nose angle flat, but I cannot
make it negative. When you reach the threshold, cut the power
and pull up a tad on the stick and let her settle in.
Please note that to achieve a realistic flight regimen, you
must set Flight Control Realism to 8, from the Sim, Realism and
Reliability FS5 Menus.
Specifications: (FS5.1 airspeed indicator is calibrated in KNOTS!)
Cruising Speed: 349 mph (303 knots) TAS
Maximum Speed (Vne): 406 mph (353 knots) TAS
Service Ceiling: 22,300 ft. at max weight (higher at lower
weights).
Rate of Climb (Initial): 1400 ft./min.
Rate of climb at 20,000 ft.: 240 ft./min. (max. weight)
Power Plants: Four Wright R-3350-18EA1 Turbo Compound
eighteen-cylinder radial air-cooled engines, 3,400 hp. at
Takeoff, maximum except takeoff (METO) 2,850 hp. at sea level
(low blower), max cruise 1,900 hp. at 14,800 ft. (low blower),
max cruise 1,800 hp. at 24,400 ft. (high blower). Each engine
drives a four-blade Hamilton Standard Hydromatic 34E60-345
propeller 14 ft. in diameter.
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Now the legal stuff:
ENJOY, AND FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME WITH SUGGESTIONS FOR
IMPROVEMENTS. I INTEND ON OFFERING MANY LIVERIES OF THIS
AIRCRAFT. AFX/PCX FILES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE AUTHOR.
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RE-SOLD OR PACKAGED WITH ANY PRODUCT FOR SALE, WITHOUT THE
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