First of all, a suberb rendition by Calclassic. And the L-049A just left me speechless. About the DC-6B.I applied the updated air file for greater compatibility for FS9 seeing that this is a FS2K2 AC. When set to level flight via the AP, the attitude of the AC is nose down, I am guessing about 1 to 3 degrees. I tried different settings for the wing incidence in the AC cfg file, both positive & negative from 0.0, with not much success in getting the AC to fly level at a sustained altitude.My question: Are there any other parameters that can be adjusted to make this AC fly either level or with a slightly nose up attitude?ThanksChris

Chris,Try setting cruise_lift_scalar to 0.9 or lower in the flight tuning section.John

Thanks John. Will do.

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall reading on the calclassic site that the nose down of the aircraft is normal when the wings approach a zero AOA. I think that this is addressed in the climb section of the tutes, and it is especially pronounced in the pattern, or during an instrument approach.In any event, the DC-6/7 series of acft from those guys is top notch. They are at the top of my list of favorites to pull out of the hangar.Tim13

Chris, did that work for you? I couldn't find the cruise_lift_scalar, argh. And what panel are you using with it? It really is a nice airplane....billg

Chris,As Tim13 said earlier, the CalClassic aircraft are top notch. The propliner experts on the CalClassic forum say that many of the prop aircraft flew with a nose down attitude during various phases of flight. I wouldn't change anything without first asking your question on the CalClassic forum. Tom Gibson will give you the correct answer.Regards,JerryH

Greetings Chris,Whilst the calclassic forum would indeed be a better place to ask for help with learning to simulate operation of a DC-6B this question has been asked and answered there many times before. I conclude that the issues involved are worth a wider airing.<< About the DC-6B. I applied the updated air file for greater compatibility for FS9 seeing that this is a FS2K2 AC. When set to level flight via the AP, the attitude of the AC is nose down...>><There is no need. All that even the most realistic flight dynamics can ever do is provide the user with the opportunity to experience the real life consequences of their handling errors and omissions. Many users of MSFS assume wrongly that either the yoke, or the pitch trim wheel, control aircraft pitch. These can only be used to perturb aircraft pitch. They cannot sustain a pitch attitude. Pitch attitude depends on the balance of thrust and drag. To sustain a target pitch, you must control thrust and drag correctly, whether by configuration changes, such as flap deployment, or by moderating thrust, by appropriate variation of manifold pressure and engine rpm. The explicit purpose of realistic flight dynamics is to ensure that when the person conducting the simulation makes inappropriate inputs, or fails to make necessary inputs, the output will be realistically and consequentially inappropriate. Using realistic flight dynamics code the aircraft will cruise at a realistic pitch attitude only if the person conducting the simulation has learned how to control aircraft pitch and makes the necessary inputs. In real life and therefore during a simulation of real life dynamics, whether or not an autopilot is employed to control the flight path vector and aircraft trim state, the pitch attitude of any propliner must be managed independently, in real time, using the throttles and the rpm levers, in the correct combinations. An autopilot can only control aircraft pitch if it has an autothrottle. Piston propliners do not have autothrottles because complex piston engines require correct manipulation of the engine rpm, (set with the rpm levers), versus the manifold pressure, (set with the throttles). This is beyond the capability of an autothrottle. It is not the job of the flight dynamics author to deliver

Hi,Thanks for the kind words about the planes - glad you're enjoying them.I think FSAviator (the FDE creator for the DC-6B, L-049, and many others on my page) has pretty much summed it up. Read his tutorial for the details of how to fly these propliners. An insight found inside - airspeed defines drag, not ground speed. It's almost always true that altitude defines ground speed. (!) Definitely worth a read.I'll respond to your specific question. If you are flying nose down, then you are either flying:Too fast or too low.The long range propliners like the DC-6B were designed to cruise level when maximum range was required - flying at high altitude at moderate power settings. If you are doing something else, then the plane will not cruise level.If you are flying below 18,000 ft on a flight over an hour or so (or below 22,000 ft on a long flight) and are cruising nose down - climb. If you are flying at Max Cruise and you are nose down - go to a lower power setting (these are described in the Reference File - press F10).If you want to fly less efficiently (for example fly fast at low altitude on a short flight), then you must accept the aerodynamic penalty of flying nose down - the real airlines did (but only if competitive pressures forced them to).Hope this helps,--Tom GibsonCal Classic Propliner Page: http://www.calclassic.comFreeflight Design Shop: http://www.freeflightdesign.comDrop by! ___x_x_(")_x_x___

Great posts guys! After having read these I'm smarter, and that's not an easy thing to accomplish. :-)billg

Tim:Never got a chance to look for that setting last night, but will try tonight. I use the updated DC-6B panel from Tom's site. Works great.Chris

Panda 234:My apologies for mis-connecting your thread. I replied to Tim 13's by mistake. Tim: Thanks for your input.Tom & FS Aviator:GREAT posts, full of informative info. The only parameter I altered was the wing incidence. I will restore the updated air cfg file to bring it back to spec. At least now I know that the nose down attitude is "user" controlled in correctly flying the AC. I indeed will read the tutorial and thank both of you for your candidness. We (non-pilots) all learn a little more about flying with the thoughful responses you both offered.Regards,Chris

Thanks Chris...Since I am not here as much as I used to be, I sometimes miss a great lead on a cool aircraft...The DC-6 has been out forever--how I missed it I do not know since I love the old classic airliners.I'm ecstatic to have this aircraft--I downloaded it last night and it's a keeper! Virtual Cockpit AND full dynamic wing views, but it's not burdened with a virtual cabin which always zaps fps on my low end system...A belated thanks to the CalClassics team for this beauty!-John

Hi John,Glad you're enjoying it! It has indeed been out a while, but I agree - it's an "oldie but a goodie".And all of you are certainly welcome for the info - I'm just happy to spread the word about the world of propliner flying. :)Thanks,--Tom GibsonCal Classic Propliner Page: http://www.calclassic.comFreeflight Design Shop: http://www.freeflightdesign.comDrop by! ___x_x_(")_x_x___