I tried recently to go low and slow, no more modern jets, but real workload in the cockpit.What I really want to know is how to land a DC3. Not the landing itself but what comes shortly after that, HOW to keep tracking the centerline on the rollout?Any good tips on this?JohanA LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION, AND A LITTLE MORE ACTION PLEASE!HELP:http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=238882

It helps to use rudder and then toe brakes when going slow enough (40-50kts).If you don't have rudder pedals it could be quite hard.BTW, have you tried the MAAM Dc-3? It's a fantastic add on with a slew of variants and livery's and all the money goes to the museum.

and try to pick some reference point that will stick out above the nose to keep track of where you're going.

It's much easier in the MAAM-SIM version too. She is a joy to fly. The main thing you have to watch is the danger of 'nose over' on any version of DC3. Tracking the cetre-line is easy really, just keep the tail-wheel locked and brake pressure even on both pedals you shouldn't go far wrong. And as was said, find a reference that sticks out you can track.

Its an ongoing learning, but quiete fun with the DC3.The plane does slow down very badly, so its needed to plan well ahead to loose the speed it seems.JohanA LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION, AND A LITTLE MORE ACTION PLEASE!HELP:http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=238882

Johan: It's kind of tricky but you need to actually use the left edgeof the Rwy to gauge you're position. When ground operations areattempted, S turns can be used to advantage. Trev Morrison used to have a whole Tutorial up but I can't recallthe addy. In case you missed it when his old forum shut down TomGibson's new Propliner Forum is at www.calclassic.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi If you ask over there Mark Beaumont or Trev will probably give youall the info you can handel:-lol Denny

Hi Johan,First thing you want to do is fix the brakes in the default fs9 DC-3. MS didn't get it right.1) Close Flight Simulator2) Go to the Douglas_DC3 folder in the Aircraft section of Flight Simulator 93) Backup the aircraft.cfg file4) Using NOTEPAD, open Aircraft.cfg file.5) Scroll down to "brakes" (It's enclosed in brackets)6) Note the entry titledtoe_brakes_scale7) Change that line to identically read all of this:toe_brakes_scale = 0.7 // was 0.3 Changed to improve brakes8) Save the aircraft.cfg file.9) Enjoy proper brakes.Charles Wood

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>>Any good tips on this?>Hi Johan,I have no idea if this tip has any relevance to DC3's in FS2004.I remember an episode of the Flightline (or Plane Crazy) on the Discovery Science channel some time ago. There was this guy learning how to fly his DC3 aircraft. When landing the instructor urged the student several times to "get the tail wheel down". Getting the tail wheel down will make it easier to keep a straight course on the rollout.Ulf B :-)

Thanks for your time gentlemen, gonna try now the increased toe brake and the faster tail down approach to it.Main difficulty is to keep it on the runway just after landing, but I guess indeed with seperate rudders it would be much easier..Ill be back..JohanA LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION, AND A LITTLE MORE ACTION PLEASE!HELP:http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=238882

If you get the MAAM version, the view from the VC is perfect for landings, as you can see over the nose just fine. I read in a DC3 manual that you approach the landing slightly nose down, but over the threshold you bring the nose up slightly and gently settle the plane onto the runway with a slight nose up attitude. I've tried it with the MAAM package and it really works.Lee

Hi JohanGood to hear you are spending some time in the world's finest aircraft!There's good advice above (Lee is spot on about the slight nose down approach) but no one has mentioned simply shifting the view angle to suit. In both 2D and 3D mode, a quick SHIFT/ENTER will move the eyeline up, as you know, and give you better viz. By default, the FS environment does not lend itself very well to 'seeing things properly' from the cockpit of taildraggers, owing to the lack of spatial awareness; in reality, one can always see out of a DC-3 cockpit when taxiing (or other situations where the tailwheel is in contact with the ground) without having to rack up the seat. Unless you're only three foot tall, perhaps.I compensate for this with a quick SHIFT/ENTER before taxiing (maybe two if I am in an intensive multiplayer environment with twenty other DC-3s on the aprons and taxiways). Then once the aircraft is rolling on the runway and the tail comes up, I simply tap the SPACEBAR to restore default view. Again, on landing, as the tail comes down (or the pilot brings it gently down), a quick SHIFT/ENTER improves the view for the rollout and taxi. As I say, this is not unrealistic as in real life you can always see over the nose of a DC-3.The best setup I know of to date is the MAAM-SIM VC. That is almost fully usable without any of the above, giving a reasonable view by default in all conditions. It is also one of the loveliest VCs out there if you have not tried it.Things to remember:1. The default DC-3 braking is, indeed, too weak. Increase as recommended above. The MAAM-SIM braking is much more accurate.2. Rudder input is ineffective until you reach an airspeed of 40-50 knots. Until that time (or, on deceleration, after that time) steer using differential engine inputs primarily, backed up by differential braking. Do not steer the aircraft using differential braking alone, that's a no-no.3. Always lock the tailwheel on takeoff and landing, and on straight taxiways. When taking the active with the tailwheel disengaged, make sure that you roll at least ten feet forward before locking it to ensure that it is straight. Note that by default, on both the default aircraft and the MAAM-SIM lady, you cannot steer using the tailwheel (or rudder at slow speeds), as it is free-castoring. This is correct, although some like to 'fix' the AIRCRAFT.CFG file so that you can steer the plane like a nosewheel aircraft. Spoils the fun for most, however!Good luck. You'll find tons more about flying the DC-3 over at the Internet's finest VA, www.dc3airways.com , and Trev Morson's site at www.douglasdc3.com is a must-visit site also, of course. MarkMark "Dark Moment" BeaumontVP Fleet, DC-3 AirwaysTeam Member, MAAM-SIM[a href=http://www.swiremariners.com/cathayhk.html" target="_blank]http://www.paxship.com/maamlogo2.jpg[/a]

Hi,It takes practise, and what is better than to try the melbourne race? a lot of landings and takeoff's. I started this great journey with the DC3.Now, eyepoint isnt the trouble, keeping on the rollout on the runway is not easy, but it gets better each time. Not crashed a DC3 yet on this route..Check my progress here:http://82.176.145.29/forum_topic.asp?TOPIC...m_Title=HobbiesJohanA LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION, AND A LITTLE MORE ACTION PLEASE

What I look for in any plane is a top notch, fully clickable VC, as I fly with TrackIR.I was looking over the review of the MAAM-sim DC-3 on AVSIM, and though the virtues of the appearance of the VC were extolled, it seemed that you have to use pulldown 2D panels to actually do something in the VC.Is this correct, or is it pretty much fully clickable.* Orest

The original release did not offer full functionality, no, Orest. However, since that release, MAAM-SIM has continued to offer continual enhancements to the aircraft(s) as freeware to anyone who buys the base package; more, I might guess, than any other developer. The very latest of these will be released this week, on June 2. It includes many enhancements to the VC to improve clickability. The one thing that remains a 2D task is radios; adding yet another 'ghost' panel to the VC overhead to enable these would have pushed the polygon count over the top, as it is already a very complex aircraft. That said, I fly a lot in VC in heavy multiplayer environments with this 'plane and find it so much easier to adjust radios and critical settings in 2D mode anyway. I have yet to find a VC in any aircraft that can be easily handled in this manner (particularly when using TrackIR) when the aircaft is being flown manually i.e. I'm not talking about flying computers here.So hang on in there ... it may be about time to shell out your dollars in support of the Museum! The R4D-6/DC-3A package remains our best seller, although the B-25 is a must-have also, of course, knocking all similar competition for six.MarkMark "Dark Moment" BeaumontVP Fleet, DC-3 AirwaysTeam Member, MAAM-SIM[a href=http://www.swiremariners.com/cathayhk.html" target="_blank]http://www.paxship.com/maamlogo2.jpg[/a]