[11MAR17] PMDG DC-6 Cloudmaster for FSX and Prepar3D now in Beta!

[Brian_A_Neuman 198]

13 minutes ago, Alan_A said:

Yes, there's something generic about the new generation, isn't there?  Love the 757 for its looks (and used to love flying on it as a passenger - those rocket takeoffs) but there's not much if anything after that that seems to have any character.

That is a true story my friend. When I was young and I used to love going to the airport here in Tucson (Pre-jetway era here) and we would have 707's, Convairs, 737-200's, 707's, 727's, DC-9's in bright colors such as Hughes Airwest, Republic, Continental, Frontier, TWA, American, United, Eastern, Northwest, USAir and others. Nothing has the same elegance anymore. And going to big airports and seeing the DC-10's, L1011's, 747 (100, 200 and SP) always made my day. It really makes me pine for at least the 70's and early 80's.

[RichieFly 728]

Great news!

I'm ready to go.

[Chock 17,769]

12 hours ago, rsrandazzo said:

Every time I start talking about a 707, Paul Gollnick wanders by my office and sternly barks:  "NO."

 

Nothing wrong with the good old 'Lead Sled', keep talking about it, and especially about the 720

Or, if you wanna go really mental, the Convair 880, if it was good enough for Elvis...

Meanwhile, how is work coming along on the PMDG Focke-Wulf 200 Condor? lmao - well, it does have four engines...

[Alan_A 1,650]

1 hour ago, Brian_A_Neuman said:

...we would have 707's, Convairs, 737-200's, 707's, 727's, DC-9's in bright colors such as Hughes Airwest, Republic, Continental, Frontier, TWA, American, United, Eastern, Northwest, USAir and others...

We're of the same vintage.  My aviation thing started with childhood summers in the 60s not far from JFK.  I get nostalgic for Northeast "yellowbirds" and Trans Caribbean DC-8-61.  And the summer the 747s came in - that was truly amazing.

Odd thing is I've never succeeded in getting into airliner simulation - it's been hard to block the time.  But since airliners are my first love, I've decided to just force the issue.

The DC-6 will clearly help.

@Chock - the PMDG FW Condor will be nice to have in the hangar, too... 

[MarkW 1,491]

Not sure why but this aircraft appeals to me more than the A2A Connie....must be the shape of it I think. Anyway, looking forward to a good compaison review to see which one is better....and no I am not planning to get both....not even sure I will get one of them as I am afraid I will fly only a few times and then hanger.

[BlueStar 323]

14 hours ago, rsrandazzo said:

Alan,

Every time I start talking about a 707, Paul Gollnick wanders by my office and sternly barks:  "NO."

(He worked on them... he isn't a fan...)

 

Not a big fan of the DC-3, too many bad habits. The "300Cs" are much better. 

One of my buddies instructed in the DC-6 down in Bolivia.  I told him about your DC-6, he sounded really interested. 

blaustern  

[pilottj 198]

Yeehaa!  Bring on the 6!  I wasn't expecting it to go into beta so soon after the Queen.  This is perfect, the Connie, the 377(which is planned to see some COTS updating), The DC-6, then along with MJ's C-47, that's a very nice lineup for any Vintage VA fleet.  The 377 is your long range luxury liner.  The Connie is your medium range speed liner.  The DC-6 is your economical pax and freight workhorse.  The C-47 is your short range workhorse....now we just need a Beech 18! 

The Connie is like the Spitfire, and the DC-6 is like the Hurricane.  The Connie gets the glory because it was a revolutionary design and thus flies an airline's prestigious routes, while the DC-6 is the workhorse doing the less glamours but highly profitable routes.

 

Cheers

TJ

[Meekg 86]

747-200... that would beat them all...

[NJ_Flyer 3]

On 3/11/2017 at 4:47 PM, rsrandazzo said:

No romance at all, I'm telling you.  WAY too practical.  He has clearly spent too much time in maintenance! 

Some of us, errr.. I mean them, see the light and become pilots!

[mtrainer 136]

I look forward to this plane and putting lots of miles on it.  I've started using individual Excel spreadsheets (1 for each aircraft) with separate tabs for each flight, chock full of info and even snapshots using the Microsoft snipping tool from various approach / departure charts, skyvector, and a few shots of the airplane itself on that particular flight.  The format of each sheet is similar, with a very unique look and feel (I'm pretty handy in Excel, we use it a lot at work).  Keeping these logs (complete with VOR values, airways, etc.) has added a new dimension to my flying and I'm quite proud of one 737 Caribbean Air aircraft I flew from KPAE (Paine, Washington where Boeing Builds) to Boeing Field (where they paint), to Chicago, then Miami, then Nassau, then Montego Bay, Santiago, St. Maarten, and now sits at St. Lucia.  Thinking of heading right down into South America from there. 

My 2nd iteration format of the spreadsheet for the 747 is even more refined and what I plan to use going forward; if anyone is interested in seeing how these are laid out PM me on the side and I'll email them to you.  Getting the basics put together before each flight and then referencing it is like having assembled ahead of time everything in one nice spot.  It makes, overall, for a smoother and trouble free flight.  It's also a great historical tool being able to go back and appreciate some of those longer flights- otherwise one doesn't really have much to show for the time spent other than the experienced gained.  Lastly, if I ever need to repeat one of the same flights, I have all the info there, already collected into one spot.

Sorry for the detour there- at any rate, looking forward to creating a new spreadsheet for the DC-6 and see how far I can travel in it over time.

Mark Trainer

 

[bob34 124]

DC-6 is good news. It's the only reason I still have XP-10 installed.

Also good news that you are working on the C-17 Globemaster. You said that ... right?

[downscc 1,327]

I just finished a hand-flown trip in our new beta DC-6A from PAFA Fairbanks, home of Everts Air Cargo, to PANC Anchorage. I have both PAFA and PANC by Aerosoft, Orbx So Alaska and Pilots Ultimate NG mesh and it was a beautiful trip at 10500 ft.  I have commended the developers for creating a wonderful experience.  Her controls are balanced perfectly, she is no spring chicken but handles with grace and elegance, a pure delight to fly.  If you are a pilot, you are really going to enjoy flying this airplane simply for the "ah yes this is familiar" feeling you will get when you forget about FMS FD and AP and just fly for the enjoyment.  I was pretty proud of myself, this being my first trip in a long time not using LNAV/VNAV, because I planned my descent for 300 fpm to keep power on and the engines warm and enjoyed a smooth descent into the terminal area and a hand flow visual approach to 15 using the ILS as backup. Power on all way, because when you pull the power on this girl she becomes a rock haha. What fun.  Oh..yeah..., back to work.

[Avwriter 85]

On 3/11/2017 at 2:33 PM, Chock said:

Nothing wrong with the good old 'Lead Sled', keep talking about it, and especially about the 720

Or, if you wanna go really mental, the Convair 880, if it was good enough for Elvis...

Meanwhile, how is work coming along on the PMDG Focke-Wulf 200 Condor? lmao - well, it does have four engines...

As long as we are bringing Elvis into this, then how about a Lockheed Jetstar?  Didn't he own one of those?  It has four engines too, so RSR should be happy :-)

[DEHowie 269]

For the guys who dont use xplane the PMDG DC-6 is a superb aircraft and you will love every second you spend with her.

Easily my favorite Xplane aircraft and a joy to fly at every level.

It really is a lesson in flight management that will improve your flying of other aircraft.

The Virtual engineer is fantastic making life very easy for DC-6 newbies. In fact it is quite a bit easier to manage at a basic level than the A2A Connie 

I was lucky enough to spend a few days at everts Air Cargo in Anchorage and Fairbanks last year and the year previous photographing there Dc-6's and C-47's parked in among a fleet of 747-8's and 400's.

The DC-6's get "every" pilots eyes attention and on take off there ears as well.

Was interested to see many of the 6 drivers are ex airline guys who have chosen to go back to real flying after years of the mundane life spent in long haul(been there done that) and the hussle and grind of short haul(still there still doing it).

So if you have any interest is an aircraft that 70 years later is still out earning a living many places around the world going into airports no jet would dare to go in conditions that try every man and woman the DC-6 is one awesome piece of aircraft.

Here are a few images to see these awesome machines at work and an just how great this addon is. 

DC-6 Flightdeck the large tube is a heater to keep the -25 to -30 degrees at bay from damaging radios etc.

 

The universal take off technique is airborne gear up immediately your airborne then an almost immediate commencement of flap retraction with power reduction to climb power just after flaspa are fully retracted.

Makes for awesome photos!

 

Likw i said the gear comes up early!

 

The heavy maintenance facility in Fairbanks. The guys working on the R2800's are simply incredible.

 

In her element leaving the 747-8's in her wake some 60+ years after her first flight i very much doubt the 747's in her wake will still be around in another 70 years and still the best way to move 25000Ib's of cargo into an unmade strip in the snow, ice and rain.

[warbirds 555]

Cool photos, thanks! The heat waves coming off those engines in the last photo really are amazing.