NOTE: THIS IS A PLAIN TEXT VERSION OF THE FULLY ILLUSTRATED MANUAL AND IS PROVIDED FOR EASE OF PRINTING, IF YOU WISH. TO USE THE ACTUAL MANUAL GO INTO FS2000 / AIRCRAFT / DOUGLAS DC-3 DDA PH-DDZ FOLDER AND YOU WILL FIND A SUB-FOLDER CALLED " DDZManual ". OPEN THIS AND DOUBLE CLICK ON THE FIRST FILE, "_manual.htm". YOUR BROWSER WILL BE INVOKED AND THE ILLUSTRATED MANUAL WILL APPEAR.
DOUGLAS DC-3 DAKOTA PH-DDZ of the Dutch Dakota Association
by JAN VISSER, ROY CHAFFIN, BILL RAMBOW
manual written by Bill Rambow, illustrated by Bill Rambow and Jan Visser
DEDICATION
Dedicated to the 33 passengers and crewmembers who lost their lives aboard PH-DDA in the Waddenzee, September 25, 1996, and to the dedicated people of the Dutch Dakota Association who keep their memory alive and flying in her sister ships.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This add-on aircraft package for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 was conceived by Jan Visser, a natural outgrowth from the R4D Team's first work, the award-winning R4D-6 of the Mid Atlantic Air Museum, but by no means his first effort to portray the aircraft of the Dutch Dakota Association. Be sure to take a look at the home page of the DDA if you would like to read a history of this plane and the rest of the fleet. Oh, and if you have some extra pocket change, they have a very nice DC-4 for sale -- a real one, that is!
This time around, Jan Visser led the project and not only produced the aircraft, but the panel and cockpit views, as well. He asked Roy Chaffin and me (Bill Rambow) to produce the gauges by our usual division of labor - Roy did the programming while I produced the day and night graphics. PH-DDZ uses the flight model we jointly developed for the R4D and its sound package that Roy and Alan Landsburgh assembled from the original DDA recordings, with a new cruise sound by Jan. Finally, I was tapped to produce this manual and the checklists.
While it may be true that users of our R4D will have an advantage in familiarity with some of the systems and operating routines, there are many significant differences in the two planes, as can be readily seen from the panel shot above. So I have endeavored to provide a complete set of operating instructions in this document, and just as with the R4D, reading and understanding this manual is essential, if you are to avoid problems.
Following are a few important points about which I will go into detail later on. Each is linked to the appropriate section of the manual where you can get the nuts and bolts. I suggest you read through the whole manual, first. Then, by clicking on each of the 14 items below, you can use these links to navigate quickly through the manual to review the key points. We might call this:
HOW TO STAY OUT OF HOT WATER WHEN FLYING THE DAKOTA, IN 12 EASY STEPS
1. Microsoft FS2000 Patch 2b (also called Update 2b) MUST be installed on your system.
2. Start with a "Clean Boot-Up" of your computer.
3. Disable any virus scanners you are running while using FS2000.
4. Use the "Default Flight - Meigs Field" with the Cessna to start FS2000, then turn OFF the magnetos (ignition switch).
5. Next, use "DC-3 Start-Up DDA" or another properly modified flight to load the DC-3.
6. Set the Aircraft Realism menu.
7. Set your display resolution as high as practical.
8. Learn and use mouse points for the control quadrant.
9. Always use switches, not keyboard commands, for Overhead Electrical Panels, to avoid switch synch problems.
10. Follow the exact engine starting sequence or...
11. If you must use the "Lazy Man's Starting System", don't forget to turn on the generators, and remember to....
12. Turn on Nav Lights (and leave them on at all times in flight) to bring the pilots to the cockpit.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS and RESOURCES
To use this add-on plane, panel, and sounds you must have at least the following:
1. A PC capable of running FS2000 with acceptable frame rates. A lot has been said about the relative frame rate performance of FS2000. We do not intend to enter that debate here. Frame rate acceptability is in the eye of the beholder, after all.
2. FS2000 properly installed. (Duh!) Hey, sometimes you have to state the obvious. We were all newbies, once.
3. Update Two, Version 2.0b for FS2000 (includes Patch 1 and 2) from Microsoft must be installed. VERY IMPORTANT! This is not an update of our plane or panel. It is an update (a patch, really) from MS for FS2000. It corrects bugs and adds features, such as aircraft shadows, in the original FS2000 program. Without it, you may experience serious problems running this package!! There are separate patches for the Standard and Professional editions of FS2000 in various languages. To make it easy for you, here's a link to the patch for the English language FS2000 Professional Edition, and the one for FS2000 Standard Edition. Other versions may be dowloaded from the MS site.
4. It is IMPERATIVE that you start with a clean system, especially if yours is mid-range or lower computer. *
* We have found that the easiest, fastest way to accomplish a "clean slate" on start-up is to use the great Freeware utility by Neil J. Rubenking called, "End It All" (enditall.zip). It works like a charm in Win95, Win98 or Windows Me, closing all those extraneous programs running in the background (everything but Explorer and Systray). You may be amazed at how this will free up resources and minimize problems running FS2000.
(a.) For best performance, no other programs should be running in Windows. If you are mulit-tasking (as we developers often must) , be prepared for the occasional system crash and slow response.
(b.) Windows 98SE (Second Edition) seems more stable than the original and Windows Millennium Edition (Me) also seems to work well.
(c.) Sound Events seem to trigger crashes in some systems, so if you encounter unexplained crashes, (the sim, not the plane!;-) turn off things like ATIS, by changing the COM Frequency. Also turn off other unnecessary sounds. If you have an old, outdated sound card or old drivers, this may be causing the problem.
(d.) Don't be too eager to give a stream of commands to the simulator immediately when it comes up. Let it get its act together for a while.
5. VIRUS SCANNERS Another thing that can affect the performance of your system is whether or not your virus scan program is running. While running FS2000, disable your virus scanner, but don't forget to re-enable it when you go on-line again.
DISPLAY RESOLUTION
DDZ's panel, because of the great level of detail and realistic scale of the gauges, is best suited for higher resolutions. It was designed, nominally, for 1024x768, but if your monitor and video card will support it, 1280x1024 is even better. If you are experiencing trouble making out the small letters and numbers, give a higher resolution a try. Just go into Windows Control Panel/Display/Settings to select a higher resolution, then adjust the FS2000 menu settings for Options/Settings/Display. You may be surprised at how much that helps the old eyestrain.
INSTALLING PH-DDZ
1. Open "dc3_ddz.zip" to a temporary directory.
2. Read the "read_1st.txt" file.
3. Double-click on the self-extracting archive, "dc3_ddz.exe".
4. If you did not install FS2000 to its default directory, C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\FS2000, you must change the path to match your installation when prompted to do so.
That's it. Everything will be installed to the proper folders and you may then discard "dc3_ddz.zip" and the "dc3_ddz" folder.
THE MANUAL
The PH-DDZ Operating Manual (this document) will be installed in your FS2000 / Aircraft / Douglas DC-3 DDA PH-DDZ folder in a sub-folder called "ddz_docs". But then, if you are reading this, you have already found it, haven't you? :-) Congratulations! ...and thanks for reading this far. Please soldier on to the end and I'll endeavor to make it worth your time.
NOTE: Always run the "_manual.html" from within its original folder, otherwise it will not be able to locate the illustrations. You may move the "ddz_docs" folder elsewhere if yiu wish, but keep it intact.
As you have discovered, hopefully, "_manual.htm" is the first file in the folder (that's the reason for that _ ;-) Just click on it to invoke your browser to see and hear the fully illustrated manual.
The second file in the docs folder is "_manual.txt", a plain text version (no pretty pics) for printing. It is possible to print the illustrated html manual, complete with pictures, but we will accept no complaints (or bills!) concerning the vast quantities of ink and paper it consumes. ;-)
REALISM SETTINGS
This aircraft and panel have been designed and produced to be as realistic as possible. We have received many testimonials from real world DC-3 pilots that our flight model is very accurate. Please do it justice by flying it realistically. The following settings in the FS2000 Aircraft / Realism Settings Menu are highly recommended:
NOTE: The reason the Gyro Drift option is greyed out is that PH-DDZ does not have a directional gyro. The Wiskey Compass and the one incorporated in the RMI (explained later) are both Magnetic Compasses.
CONTROL SENSITIVITIES
Our DC-3 flight model was designed to fly and handle properly with default FS2000 Control Sensitivities. These are set using the FS2000 Options/Controls/Sensitivities menu. If you have changed theme since installing FS2000, you should use the "Reset defaults" button.
OK, now you have the plane, panel, and sounds successfully installed, have configured FS2000 realistically, and are faithfully reading this manual. What do you say we get you into the Dakota and airborne?
START-UP FLIGHT
This package contains a start-up flight that will enable the magnetos in the panel's realistic engine starting system to work as designed. It has been automatically installed to your FS2000 / Pilots folder, so you will find "DC-3 Start-Up DDA" in the Aircraft / Flights menu. This flight has the engines shut down so that you can go through the realistic engine starting routine and places PH-DDZ at her home base of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol -- in front of the DDA hangar at Schiphol East, to be exact.
NOTE: You should not use "DC-3 Start-Up DDA" as your default flight (the one which loads when you start FS2000). It's a good rule to always start FS2000 with the "Default Flight - Meigs Field" to avoid problems with this or any other third-party add-on aircraft and panel.
Since ours is an engines-off situation, turn off the Cessna's Magneto (ignition key) switch before loading the "DC-3 Start-Up DDA". This will place both the DC-3's magneto switches in the correct, OFF position and ensure that the starting sequence works correctly. If you do not do this, you will find that the engine starts when you turn the magneto switch.
NOTE: You may find that the Master ignition switch is already in the ON position when you load the DC-3. Just leave it there checking that it is in the up, ON position when you reach that portion of the engine-start sequence. (See the detailed Engine Start instructions later in this manual.)
Using the "DC-3 Start-Up DDA" flight is a convenient way to load the plane into the sim and will ensure that the panel systems function correctly. After the flight loads, you may move the plane to another airport, change the weather, time of day, or just about anything else you wish. Any subsequent flight you create and save after loading the "DC-3 Start-Up DDA" flight will automatically retain the correct magneto operation.
Or, if you wish to use another pre-existing flight while keeping a properly working starting system aboard, you can text edit it yourself quite easily:
1. Create and save your flight in the normal way.
2. Start Windows Notepad or other plain text editor and open your flight ( ***.flt) file from the FS2000 Pilots Folder.
3. Under the [Realism] section, edit the line "MagnetosEnabled=False" to read "MagnetosEnabled=True".
4. Save the file as plain text and close the editor.
Just remember to follow these four rules and you should have no problems:
1. Start FS2000 with the "Default Flight - Meigs Field.
2. Load PH- DDZ with any "magneto - modified" flight.
3. If the flight you wish to use is an "engines running" one, leave the Cessna's engine running in the previous flight.
4. If the new one will be an "engines off" flight, though, switch off the Cessna's engine.
PANEL CONTROLS
MAIN PANEL
The diagram below will give you the full cook's tour of the main panel.
WARNING LIGHTS
Several of the indicator / warning lights are also mouse control points:
The Landing Gear Indicator Lights and the area between them is a hot spot to operate the gear. You may still use the G key, of course.
Clicking the Doors Warning Light will close or open the animated passenger door and retract or extend the boarding ladder. A lit Doors light indicates an open door. You may also operate the door using the / (slash) key.
The Parking Brake Indicator Light is a hotspot to set or release the parking brake.
Clicking the green Cabin Call Indicator Light will turn it off after it has been activated by the Cabin Call button. (Just remember to retrim the elevators as the stewardess walks back and forth from the galley to bring your coffee. ;-)
NOTE: After the cabin call light was programmed Jan learned the following from one of the DDZ technicians, Jos Willebrand. It seems that the Cabin Call sign is NOT for ringing up the stew to bring coffee to the cockpit but rather the other way around. No not for the pilots to bring coffee to the stew! It's kind of a distress call. The stew has a button in the back of the cabin where the PA system is situated and she normally sits when the aircraft takes off. Whenever she spots something wrong, either with the passengers or the aircraft, she will push this button where upon the green light of the Cabin Call on the panel will come on. The pilots then know something is wrong and they'll use the button to switch off the alarm,notifying the stew that her message has come through. If you wish to call us male Chauvinist pigs for assuming what we did, fair enough. We'll leave it up to you how you wish to use (or not) the signal.
OVERHEAD ELECTRICAL PANEL
Refer to the Operation - Starting the Engines section of this manual to learn how to operate the authentic starting system. Remember -- you must be using a "magnetos-enabled" flight for it to function correctly. Also, remember to always turn on the Nav Light switch before taxiing to bring the pilots to the cockpit.
QUADRANT
The Dakota's quadrant is taken straight from our R4D and should hold no mysteries for its users.
Moving, Mouse-Adjustable Elevator Trim Wheel. Clicking the center mouse point will ensure a neutral pitch trim setting. Upper and lower mouse points can be clicked for fine adjustment, or held down for rapid, gross adjustment.
Propeller Propeller Pitch, Throttle, and Mixture levers can be mouse-controlled individually for each engine, or together, in the same way the pilot's hand grasps single levers or pairs together.
Carburetor Heat Control levers are at the right end of the quadrant and operate as a pair. To prevent interference with the Mixture levers, the mouse points are displaced to the left. Down is for Hot (On) and up is Cold (Off). If you have followed the start-up flight instructions, when you first enter the cockpit after loading the aircraft, the levers should be in the up and COLD poistion.
RADIO STACK
DDZ's Bendix King Radio Stack has been duplicated. Comm, Nav, and ADF receivers all feature standby frequency switching.
There is also a DME receiver available. Clicking on the hotspot located on the Oil Pressure Gauge's left light stalk will overlay the DME atop the transponder. You may also use Shift 3 to toggle the DME.
Switch between DME 1 and DME 2 by clicking on the R1 / R2 switch. A groundspeed reading will register whenever you are tracking to or from a VOR with DME facility.
RADIO MAGNETIC INDICATOR (RMI)
The RMI is an instrument which combines a magnetic compass, an ADF, and a OBI in one instrument.
The yellow ADF needle will always point to the Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) tuned on the ADF Receiver, when the station is in range, the aircraft's nose always being oriented at the top of the compass card.
The green OBI needle will point to the Variable Omni Range (VOR) station tuned on the Nav 2 Radio Receiver, when the station is in range.
When no VOR station is being received, or there is no electrical power to the instrument, a red flag will appear in the upper left quadrant of the compass rose. Also shown, the needles will point to the right whenever they are not indicating a station.
NOTE: The arrow buttons in the bottom corners of the instrument are non-functional (at least for now).
CLOCK
Like the R4D's clock, the one in PH-DDZ has seven mouse adjustment points. These allow you to change the simulation rate, hour, and minute, or "zero" the second hand. Of course, you still may use the FS2000 menus to make these adjustments, but you should find these much handier -- anytime you don't have to pause the sim by using the menus, you are ahead of the game, in my opinion.
REMOVEABLE YOKE
As shown in the Main Panel Diagram above, the photo-real yoke may be toggled on and off by use of a hotspot at the bottom of the panel, or by using the Shift 2 keys.
When the yoke is visible, a Control Surface Position Indicator will appear at the top of the panel as an aid to testing and centering your yoke or joystick and rudder pedals.
FEATURES
CHECKLISTS
A complete set of checklists is available through the FS2000 / Aircraft / Kneeboard / Checklists menu. It covers the following phases of flight operations: BEFORE STARTING ENGINES, STARTING, BEFORE TAXIING, ENGINE RUN-UP, BEFORE TAKEOFF, AFTER TAKEOFF, CRUISE, BEFORE LANDING, AFTER LANDING, and PARKING. The final page lists speed limits and parameters.
PHOTO-REAL COCKPIT VIEWS
Seven around-the-cockpit views produced from digital photos put you inside PH-DDZ. Views are activated by the Number Pad keys when the Number Lock is engaged on the keyboard. You may also set up a point-of-view on your yoke or flight stick to control these.
If you want a view to remain on without having to hold down a key, here's how....
For example, to lock on the Left-Front view:
1. Turn on your keyboard's number lock (light on).
2. Press and hold down the keypad #9.
3. Turn the number lock off.
4. Release the #9 key.
To return to the forward view just turn on the number lock again and hit the #8 key.
NIGHT LIGHTING
Tired of orange? DDZ's gauges follow the pattern set by the R4D with a much more soothing, subdued white.
The night lighting is not restricted to the panel, either. Transparent windows reveal a warmly lit, full cabin and flight deck interior.
MAXIMUM MOVING PARTS
Jan has incorporated a full range of moving control surfaces--ailerons, rudder, elevators, and flaps-- with realistic ranges and rates of travel.
UNSYNCHRONIZED LANDING GEAR RETRACTION
Jan built on the work of Eric Mitchell, programming the flight model to replicate the Dakota's unsynchronized hydraulic landing gear extension and retraction. If you have ever watched a real gooney bird raise or lower the undercart, you will probably have noticed that the gear retract and extend in an uncoordinated way, one leg after the other. Jan's model does just that, and the sequence is slo-o-o-w, also like the real thing. It takes a little time for the hydraulic pressure to build, so be patient.
ANIMATED PASSENGER DOOR, CONTROL LOCKS AND CHOCKS
New to this incarnation of Jan's DC-3 model is an animated passenger door. It is operated by the DOORS warning light hotspot on the main panel or the Slash (/) key. Also seen in this picture are the full set of control surface locks and steel wheel chocks that are installed when the left engine is shut down. Starting the engine removes them.
SOUND PACKAGE
PH-DDZ uses the same stereo sound package introduced with the R4D v4 but with two changes. The cruise sound has been tweaked and the gear call-out has been stretched to match the realistically s-l-o-w retraction sequence. Incidentally, that is Alan Landsburgh's voice. If you wonder why we don't just have the usual whirring, clunking, whining sounds FS'ers are accustomed to, it's simple -- the DC-3's retraction and extension sequences are completely silent from the cockpit in flight!
AIRCRAFT OPERATION
Experienced pilots of our R4D #819 will notice some significant differences in operating parameters and techniques when they first take the pilot's seat in PH-DDZ, flip through the checklists, and study the following flight instructions. Aside from the completely different panel, the main reason is the power plants. While the R4D #50819 was fitted with Prat & Whitney 1830-94's of 1350 HP each, PH-DDZ is equipped with 1200 HP 1830-92's. This means there are some new numbers for Propellers (RPM) and Power (MAP) to be learned and used in every phase of flight. You'll encounter these a bit later when we cover Takeoff in this manual and also in DDZ's checklists. But, you can't takeoff until you get those mills running...
STARTING THE ENGINES
Although at first glance the starting switches may look different then those in the R4D, in function they are very much the same. DDZ's MESH Switch takes the place of the R4D's VIBRATOR Switch in the start sequence.
This picture shows the mouse points to operate the PRIME, START, and MESH three-position switches. UP is the LEFT HAND (#1) Engine. The center position is OFF. DOWN is the RIGHT HAND (#2) engine.
Note: The following instructions are dependent upon using the provided "DC-3 Start-UP DDZ", or another start-up flight you have modified as per the previous instructions to read: "MagnetosEnabled=True". The magnetos will not work properly, otherwise, and the whole realistic starting sequence will be short-circuited. (see below) Using DC-3 Start-UP DDZ" will also place the props, power, and mixture levers in the correct positions for engine start ( steps 1, 2, and 3 below).
1. Prop Pitch - FULL Prop levers full forward to the stops.
2. Throttles - CRACKED Move throttles forward, very slightly.
3. Mixture - IDLE CUTOFF, CRACKED Mixture levers must be about in the middle of the Idle Cutoff scale, otherwise the engine will not run. (NOTE: the reference point for the mixture scale is the base of the levers where they enter the slot in the quadrant body.)
4. Battery Switch - ON Move the switch to the up position to engage the on board batteries.
5. Generators - ON If you do not have the generators on-line, the batteries will eventually run down and you will find yourself without electricity. If your radios and autopilot go dark, check the generator!
6. Ignition Master Switch - ON That's the large toggle between the magneto levers -- flip it up. (Note: If you find the switch is already in the On position after loading the start-up flight, just leave it on.)
7. Right Magneto Lever - BOTH If you are not using a properly modified start-up situation the engines will start when you move the lever--- very unrealistic! Shame!
8. Right Fuel Booster Pump - ON Flip the lower Pump toggle up. No, it's not a cow with a triple stomach ache! That's a real DC-3 fuel booster pump sound. (NOTE: The sound has been intentionally faded out after a few seconds, otherwise it might tax your computer's resources. You can't hear it over the sound of running engines anyway.)
9. Prime Switch - to RH Move the three-position switch down.
10. Start Switch - to RH Move the three-position switch down. You will hear the engine begin to turn over. Wait about four seconds, then......
11. Mesh Switch - to RH Move the three-position switch down. The starter will mesh and the engine should catch. If it does not, you have likely done something wrong, or in the wrong order. Check that the Battery, Generators, Master Ignition, Magneto, and Booster Pump switches are ALL ON. Also ensure that the Mixture is up high enough in the Idle range. Just like in the real aircraft, the engine starting sequence must be followed exactly for a successful start. This means you must work them in the exact order given. If you make a mistake, start over. Use the checklist -- that's what it's for.)
If you can't cope with all this realism, click here to cheat. But keep in mind our design philosophy was not to make an easy - to - operate FS airplane, it was to make a realistically operating DC-3 simulation.
12. Mesh Switch - OFF When the engine catches, move the three-position Mesh switch back to the center position.
13. Start Switch - OFF Move the three-position Start switch to the center position.
14. Right Mixture - Auto-Rich Immediately move the right mixture lever to Auto-Rich. (or if you just have to listen to that lovely P&W 1830 idle rumble, after you have heard enough, then move the lever forward. ;-)
15. Prime Switch - OFF Move the three-position Prime switch to the center position.
16. Right Fuel Booster Pump - OFF Move the RH Pump switch to the down position.
17. Navigation Lights- ON The Nav light switch will place the pilot figures in the cockpit -- and turn on the marker lights, of course.
18. Repeat procedure (steps 7 through 16) for the left, #1, engine.
THE_"LAZY_MAN'S_STARTING_SYSTEM" If you are too impatient to do things properly, we have had mercy on you, much as it grieves our realistic souls. (Although, if you are in such an all-fired hurry, what are you doing in an airplane which cruises at 140 knots? Perhaps you should stick to the 737 or the Lear ;-) For those with ants in their pants, there are two hidden hot buttons that will start the engines immediately. These are the large L and the R above the magneto levers. You still must pay attention to the generators, though, unless you are also too rushed to use radios and such! The batteries will die, otherwise.
NOTE: The reason you start #2 before #1 is that the pilot can only hear # 2, while he can hear and see #1 out his side window. You want to be able to hear what is happening with the right engine without interference from the noise of the left in your ear.
TAXIING THE DC-3
The DC-3, like most other tail-draggers in FS, has a shortcoming when taxiing, (as well as during takeoff and landing rollout--more on that later) one not encountered in tricycle geared planes--namely, a lack of runway visibility. You simply can not see the pavement ahead in normal cockpit view. Only sky fills the windscreen.
So how do you see to keep it going where you want it to go? There are a couple of techniques commonly used by experienced FS tail-dragger pilots. ( and probably a number of other methods used by less conventional sorts. ;-) I know one pilot who does all of his flying from a position behind the airplane in Spot View!)
Some pilots choose to open a second window, using the Virtual Cockpit or Spot Plane view while taxiing. This method carries one penalty, though: it cuts into the frame rate. Depending on your system and your display options setup, this may or may not be acceptable. Or it may be bearable while taxiing, but totally out of the question when taking off.
THE SECOND WINDOW METHOD
Personally, I prefer to "adjust my seat position" by hitting Shift + Enter to pan down the view -- or jack up the seat, if you will -- until the runway is in sight. Hitting Ctrl +Space Bar takes you back to a normal view angle. NOTE: You may want to set up a hat switch on your yoke or stick for this, if you have it to spare.
PAN VIEW DOWN or the "RAISE THE SEAT" METHOD
Thanks to the work done on the flight model by Erik Ellis, we have come a long way in ground turning ability since the first version of our DC-3. Still, you will probably find taxiing the DC-3 takes a fair amount of practice to do really well. The DC-3's tail wheel is not steerable and free-castoring. This means the plane is steered by using the engines in combination with the brakes. The rudder becomes effective only when there is sufficient airflow past it, either from prop wash, forward movement, or wind.
NOTE: You will find that rudder pedals make taxiing much easier, and flying much more realistic and pleasurable. If you don't have pedals, I highly recommend you get some, or at least a joystick that has rudder (twist) capability. Without them, you are missing a good portion of the FS experience.
To begin taxiing, put the prop levers all the way forward, then a small increase in power (throttles) should get you moving. You will need to pay close attention and not allow your speed to get much above 20 knots, though, or you will find steering progressively less effective. Keep your speed within limits by periodically applying the brakes, adjusting the throttle when necessary.
Sharp turns, especially from a stop, may be accomplished by use of differential power--that is, an advance of the throttle on the engine on the outside of the turn, alone.
Once the airplane is moving, you may also use differential braking, when needed. Unlike what is done with the engines, you apply the brake on the inside of the turn. Apply the right brake (F12) for a right turn, or the left brake (F11) for a left turn. Go easy, though. Too much brake pressure will stop the plane, and you must be moving to turn.
From the 1944 USAAF Pilot Training Manual comes the following: "Avoid pivot turns. If you keep your wheels rotating, you save rubber and reduce the chance of tire failure."
So, to summarize: Easy does it on those brakes -- keep the wheels turning by just tapping the brakes. Adjust the throttles as necessary. Use the seperately controllable throttle levers and the F11 and F12 keys to turn, assisted by the rudder. It may seem like a rub your tummy, pat your head type of exercise at first, but eventually, with PRACTICE, you will get the hang of it. After that, you will find there is a good deal of satisfaction in successfully wheeling the Dak around the tarmac with your head stuck out the open side window. ;-)
ENGINE RUN-UP
The following procedure for the pre-takeoff run-up are excerpted from the World War II USAAF C-47 Pilot's Training Manual. NOTE: This manual along with two other vintage DC-3 manuals are available along with a lot of other extras as part of our R4D Donationware CD. You may read all about it and order it from the MAAM On-Line Store.
"Normally you make your engine run-up in an area just clear of the runway. If traffic permits and you are cleared to takeoff position, you can make your run-up on the runway.
The less you idle your engines between run-up and takeoff, the better. If there is a slight delay between run-up and takeoff, keep your engines running at a minimum of 1000 rpm to prevent fouling. At the same time watch head temperatures to prevent overheating.
When you park for run-up, face into the wind as nearly as possible, but park at such an angle that you are able to maintain a clear view of incoming traffic. Keep as much of your airplane as possible on a hard, clean surface during run-up so that pebbles and rocks won't be thrown into propellers and against airplane surfaces.
Once in position, make your checks:
NOTE: The items actually operational in FS2000 and this panel and aircraft are italicized.
PARKING BRAKE ..... ON
TAILWHEEL ..... LOCKED
FUEL BOOSTER PUMPS ..... OFF
OIL COOLER SHUTTERS ..... AS DESIRED
MIXTURES ..... AUTO RICH Although this procedure is not in the USAAF manual, it is a procedure used on PH-DDZ as witnessed by Jan: Pull each mixture lever in turn briefly to IDLE CUTOFF position. The engine should begin to starve for fuel. You will see the RPM and MAP drop quickly. Immediately, before the propellers lose momentum, move the levers back to AUTO RICH and the engine should catch and smooth out. (NOTE: This procedure will not work if you have not used a properly magneto-enabled flight.)
COWL FLAPS ..... OPEN
FUEL SELECTORS ..... MAIN TANKS
PROPELLERS THROUGH FULL PITCH RANGE When propellers have returned to 1500 rpm check:
FEATHERING SWITCH Push switch on each engine and note tachometer for decrease in RPM. Pull switch out manually when there is a decrease of 200 rpm.
CARBURETOR HEAT Apply heat and note gauges for temperature rise. Return to COLD.
GENERATORS See that generators are charging by checking ammeter.
IGNITION Increase one throttle at a time until manifold pressure gauge indicates 30" Hg. Check magnetos by turning switch from BOTH to LEFT, back to BOTH, then to RIGHT and back to BOTH. Check magnetos on both engines in this manner.
HYDRAULIC PUMPS Lower flaps, change selector, raise flaps. Note pressure rise on the hydraulic gauges. Return selector to normal position.
ALL INSTRUMENTS AND GAUGES Check engine instruments on the same engine you are checking magnetos before you retard the throttle.
Now you are ready to request clearance to taxi out to takeoff position."
TAKEOFF AND INITIAL CLIMB
The DC-3 takes off with its tail wheel locked in a fore and aft position. Steering is accomplished by means of differential braking and, once it becomes effective, rudder. You will find, no matter how carefully you line up before applying power, that positive steering input is required to counteract the torque of the engines and the effect of any wind that is not blowing straight down the center line. If you have used the "pan view down" method described above, when you are underway and the tail lifts, just when you find yourself beginning to look down at the blurring pavement (see picture below), hit Ctrl +Spacebar to revert to a normal view angle.
Now that you know how to see where you are going, let's back up a bit and cover the steps in getting the DC-3 in the air.... "Douglas Delta Delta Zulu , cleared for takeoff, runway two-two."
After completing the Engine Run-Up and Before Takeoff Checklists...
1. Center the Elevator Trim (click the mouse point at the center of trim wheel)
2. Gradually advance the throttles until a Manifold Pressure of 48 inches is reached. Quoting the PTM: "Advance your throttles evenly and steadily until you reach takeoff power. This forward movement of the throttles should take a full five seconds.
3. Apply gentle, increasing right rudder to counteract torque and keep the plane tracking along the runway centerline.
4. As soon as the airspeed indicator becomes active, apply gentle forward yoke until the tail lifts.
5. When the plane's nose comes down through the horizon, ease the forward pressure off the yoke and hold the plane level.
6. Accelerate until reaching 85 KIAS (VR), then ease back on the yoke and allow the plane to fly itself off the runway.
7. Once airborne, ease the right rudder you have been holding, to avoid turning or skidding.
8. When you have achieved a positive rate of climb, as indicated on the Altimeter and Vertical Speed Indicator, raise the landing gear.
9. Keep the climb angle quite flat until 105 KIAS, which is VY -- Speed for Best Rate of Climb. Make the first power reduction to an RPM of 2550 and Manifold Pressure (MAP) of 40 inches, then adjust the angle of climb to maintain VY.
10. At 500 feet AGL, reduce to climb power-- throttles to 36" MAP, and Props to 2350 RPM.
That's it--ten easy steps to becoming safely airborne in the Dak In actual operation, you will find some of these nice neat steps running together and overlapping. It will take some practice to get used to the routine and develop your skills so that the whole evolution goes smoothly every time. You will find it easier to keep the plane from wandering back and forth across the centerline if you advance the throttles slowly, especially through the first part of the takeoff run. This will allow you to counteract the engine torque with the rudder pedals without the over-control that leads to a serpentine takeoff run. Easy does it on those pedals--keep it light as a feather.
CRUISE
Upon reaching cruising altitude, reduce power to cruise settings. As a general rule, normal cruise settings are 2050 RPM and 30 inches of mercury manifold pressure. For long range, economy cruise settings are 1750 RPM and 25 inches. But if you would like to hear the USAAF doctrine from the PTM for the C-47 with R1830-92 engines , this is it:
DESIRED CRUISING - HP: 55% of normal rated power, MAX RPM: 2000 to 2150, MAX MANIFOLD PRESSURE: 26" of Hg, ALTITUDE: 3500 feet or above, MIXTURE: auto-lean, MAX. CYL. HEAD TEMP: 232 degrees C
MAXIMUM CRUISING CONDITION - HP: 790, MAX RPM: 2250, MAX MANIFOLD PRESSURE: 34.5" of Hg, ALTITUDE: 3500 feet or below, MIXTURE: auto-lean, MAX. CYL. HEAD TEMP: 232 degrees C
MINIMUM CRUISING CONDITION - HP: 550, MAX RPM: 1700, MAX MANIFOLD PRESSURE: 32.5" of Hg, MIXTURE: auto-lean, MAX. CYL. HEAD TEMP: 232 degrees C
USING THE AUTOMATIC PILOT
The autopilot we have installed in PH-DDZ was developed for the R4D. Just as with the real R4D #50819, whose Sperry Pilot Mk III is inoperative, the real PH-DDZ has no autopilot. But we have opted to depart from realism here, because unlike the actual DDZ and #819, you will not have a flesh and blood co-pilot to assist you in flying this two-person plane. The autopilot will have to take his place. However, if you are a Spartan, a purist, hate autopilots, or already know the contraption well because of the R4D, feel free to skip this whole section. In fact, here's a link to do it for you: skip it! (I don't tell you that very often!)
The MODE BUTTONS are, from left to right, the AP MASTER SWITCH, the ALTITUDE HOLD, the NAVIGATION HOLD ( VOR-OBI 1), the APPROACH (ILS) HOLD, the LOCALIZER HOLD, and the HEADING HOLD. All mode buttons light when turned on. The test button will light all buttons at once. Below the mode buttons are read-outs for ALTITUDE, VERTICAL SPEED, and HEADING which are adjusted by the control wheels beneath them. Mouse points are at either end of the wheels.
The APPROACH and LOCALIZER mode buttons have an "ARM" feature. In the situation shown above, the ALTITUDE and HEADING modes are engaged and in control of the aircraft. If an ILS transmitter's signal is being received by the NAV 1 radio, the APPROACH and / or LOCALIZER modes can be armed by pushing their buttons, which will glow orange, as shown. Then, when the glide path needle nears the center of the scale on the VOR 1, the ALTITUDE mode will automatically disengage and the APPROACH mode will engage, indicated by the button going from orange to its normal on light. The AP will then try to capture and fly the beam. Likewise, when the localizer needle nears its center position, the HEADING mode will switch off and the LOCALIZER will go from armed to on.
A word of caution: If you intercept the ILS beams too near the threshold, or at a large intercept angle, the AP may not be able to stabilize in time, or perhaps not at all, to make the coupled approach. This is bad technique in approach planning anyway. Instead, try to intercept the ILS as far from the runway as possible--over ten miles DME is good. Also, plan your intercept for as shallow an angle as practical. In other words, if the runway heading is 270 degrees, don't come across the pattern at 350 degrees and expect the autopilot to make a smooth intercept . If the APPROACH / LOCALIZER mode is able to cope at all, you will find yourself swooping back and forth until it finally stabilizes--if it ever does. By then there will be a critical shortage of barf bags in the back! The further from the threshold you intercept the ILS, the more of an angle the AP will accommodate. One further warning about coupled approaches. This is not a "land me" feature! The Approach mode will fly you nicely down that wool-lined tunnel on a foggy night. But once you have the runway clearly in sight, be sure to disengage before the beam gets too narrow and the nose begins to hunt up and down. You can disengage the master switch in two ways: (1) Click the AUTO button; (2) just use the Z key. The method is up to you. Just don't leave it too late, or you will find yourself fighting full up or down trim. Rounding out several yards beneath the concrete is considered very bad form! ;-)
FINAL APPROACH AND LANDING
This is where you get paid back for the poor visibility you experienced on takeoff--at least until after touchdown when the tail begins to settle on rollout. ;-) That's because the DC-3 makes its final approach in a slight nose-down attitude. You will have a lovely unobstructed view of the runway all the way to the flare, as long as you maintain proper approach airspeed. VREF is 80 KIAS and a final approach speed of 85 knots is good in normal conditions of payload and fair weather.
Here are the steps to a perfect landing:
1. Make your first power reduction to begin descent. If you are not already at the cruise setting of 2000 RPM, you should pull the props back to that level now, and reduce the Manifold Pressure (Throttle) to 23 inches .
2. Set Mixture levers to Auto-Rich.
3. Extend flaps as desired. Note: Flaps should be used to increase the glide angle, not to decrease the glide speed. Flaps are not speed brakes!
4. When on downwind leg, maintain 125 KIAS. Opposite the runway, lower the landing gear. The main gear causes a lot of drag and you may need to add power, including increasing Prop RPM, depending on conditions. Conversely, the gear may be extended earlier in the approach, if necessary to reduce speed.
5. Reduce power (Manifold Pressure) to attain a descent rate of 300 to 400 feet per minute.
6. After turning base leg, make an additional power reduction to maintain 105 KIAS.
7. After you are established on final approach, make a third power reduction to hold a speed of about 85 KIAS. Note from the USAAF C-47 Pilot Training Manual: "As every pattern differs in altitude and distance from the field, and as wind conditions vary, use your own judgment in making power reductions."
8. The preferred method of landing the DC-3 is a "wheel landing", rather than a "3-point landing". To be specific, according to the PTM, the proper technique is a type of wheel landing called a "Tail-Low Landing". This is a landing in which the tail wheel is about one and a half feet above the ground when the main wheels touch. To perform it, reduce the manifold pressure during round-out, then cut the throttles when the mains make contact. Alternatively, you can cut power before the flare and glide to the landing.
ENGINE SHUT DOWN
Here is the proper order to shut down the engines and otherwise tidy things up before you walk over to Operations. It is straight from the checklists, in case you forget. (that's what checklists are for;-) Again, the items actually operational in FS2000 and this panel and aircraft are italicized.
1.Flaps - Up
2. Cowl Flaps - Open
3. Fuel Booster Pumps - Off
4. Elevator Trim - Neutral
5. Propellers - Full Forward, High RPM
6. Tail wheel - Unlocked
7. Parking Brake - On (after chocks are placed, Off)
8. Mixtures - Idle Cut-Off
9. Ignition - Off
10.Fuel Selectors - Off
11.Radios - Off
12. Battery Switch - Off
13. Generators - Off
14. Landing Gear - Pins In
15. Landing Gear Handle - Down
16. Flap Handle - Up
17.Flight Control Locks - On (this will be done automatically when you shut down the engines)
CREDITS
PACKAGE CONTRIBUTORS
The R4D Team of Jan Visser, Roy Chaffin, and Bill Rambow has been ably assisted by a number of very talented people without whom we would not have the complete product you will be flying:
Leo van Heijningen of the Dutch Dakota Association, shot the beautiful digital photos from which Jan produced the plane, panel and cockpit views, and that I used to produce the gauge graphics. If you would like to take a look at some of these, Leo has posted them on his web page at http://www.lvh.dts.nl/ddz.html .
Alan Landsburgh, who works for the British Ministry of Defense, is the team's sound engineer. Along with Roy, Alan put together the sound files, which were then configured into our first ever sound pack. They were working under great pressure and a very short deadline. Every time you hear the rumble and roar of those P&W's, give them both a mental tip of the old-fifty-mission-crushed pilot's hat.
Jeroen Plettenberg, also of the Dutch Dakota Association, and a host of other DDA staffers and volunteers pitched in to provide those authentic raw sound recordings for Alan and Roy to mix and assemble for the original R4D package. We offer our heartfelt thanks to this great organization and hope this aircraft package repays their kindness.
Eric Mitchell is a well-known Canadian aviation artist from beautiful British Columbia (http://www.notions.com/aviart/), and an equally renowned FS aircraft painter and designer. Eric created the stately and super realistic unsynchronized DC-3 landing gear retraction/extension code first featured in an upgrade to v2 of the R4D and highlighted here by Jan's beautifully detailed DC-3 undercart.
Gary Wachtel produced and provided the tune you are hearing. We think believe flying this plane will make you want to, "Sing, Sing, Sing", as the title goes. To hear other great midis by Gary and other composers and arrangers, please visit his website . (If you want to hear the song again, hit the refresh button of your browser. I could have looped it, but I didn't want to drive you crazy in case you are a slow.. errrrrr, I mean meticulous, reader ;-) (See, even some of my jokes are recycled from the R4D manual!)
Jan's beautiful screen captures have been shot using the NL2000 scenery by the NL2000 Team and FS2000 Cloud Pack by Chris Ellis. Jan warns that both of these while obviously visually stunning are heavy frame rate hitters, and for top-end machines only. He called the frame rate he got while shooting the coupled approach shot to Schiphol RW22 a "virtual slide show".
LEGAL NOTICE
COPYRIGHT AND DISTRIBUTION
This panel is released as Freeware. Copyright (C) Jan Visser, Roy Chaffin, and Bill Rambow. As freeware you are permitted to distribute this archive subject to the following conditions:
- The archive must be distributed without modification to the contents of the archive. Redistributing this archive with any files added, removed or modified is prohibited. No files may be removed, added, or modified, except for your own personal use. Distribution by any means of any modified or original files that are part of this package is strictly prohibited without the prior expressed permission of the authors.
- The inclusion of any individual file from this archive in another archive without the prior permission of the author is prohibited. This means, for example, that you may not upload an archive that uses this panel or any of its gauges or any parts of them. Nor may individual files from this archive be removed and distributed, modified or not.
- No charge may be made for this archive or any of its contents. It must remain Freeware. Inclusion of this package on any compilation CD for free distribution will be allowed only with the permission of the authors and subject to such conditions as they shall impose. The work of other authors and developers included in this archive is used with their permission, under the conditions they have set forth. Their original copyrights and conditions apply.
- The authors' rights and wishes concerning this archive must be respected. Legal and other action against violators of these provisions will be pursued vigorously.
A word to all you helpful souls: We are aware that some aspects of our package may not be to everybody's liking. However, we have assembled a team who has been working on this project for almost two years. In most cases, we have good reasons for doing what we have done in the way that we have done it. If you want to bring omissions and errors to our attention, that is fine, and such have led to improvements in upgrades and new versions. However, we do not appreciate receiving unsolicited modified and "improved" versions of our bitmaps, air files etc.! If you can do a better job, please do so, but start from scratch like we did and the Freeware FS world will be better for it. If you want to make changes to anything we have done for your own private use, be our guest. But do not even think about distributing them!
DISCLAIMER
Use of these files will do no harm to yourself, your computer, your dog, your house, or anything else! The development team takes no responsibility for any perceived damage that may have been caused by any direct, or indirect use. Be aware that we can also take no responsibility for your loved ones leaving you due to the fact that you are spending too much time flying this amazing aircraft !!! ;-)
CONTACT THE TEAM
If you enjoy and appreciate this product, upon which the team has spent thousands of development hours, please let us know. We read and respond to every single e-mail that we get and will do our best to assist you if you have a problem. (But only if you have read and followed the instructions in this manual, first!) Please be as specific and detailed as possible about your system and what steps you have taken. "It doesn't work" is not very useful.
