There could be a new DC-3 in our sim . . . soon

[Roy Warren 426]

Got to have it. I am 85 years old and my very first flight was when I was about 9 or 10 in a DC-3 from Charlotte, NC to Chester, SC.

Can't wait to make this flight again.

Roy

[raymar 969]

1 minute ago, Roy Warren said:

Got to have it. I am 85 years old and my very first flight was when I was about 9 or 10 in a DC-3 from Charlotte, NC to Chester, SC.

Can't wait to make this flight again.

Roy

They ought to give you one, maybe the very first one available.

Ray

[The Flight Level 2,113]

Wow! Like Christmas every day here! So much fun! I don’t fly much of the big stuff, but you guys are reminding me of my time flying the MAAM C-47 in FSX. @Chock thanks for that 247D by Wing42. That one really pulls me in! They have only produced the Bleriot so far. Not meaning to side track the DC3, but just wondering about the quality from Wing42? 

[regis9 4,014]

Nice to see you back @Chock!  That might have been your shortest post in avsim history though 😉

[JonP01 104]

1 hour ago, Roy Warren said:

Got to have it. I am 85 years old and my very first flight was when I was about 9 or 10 in a DC-3 from Charlotte, NC to Chester, SC.

Can't wait to make this flight again.

Roy

I was very lucky to get a ride on one all around the Greater Sydney Australia area back in 1977. We took off and landed at YSBK.

[Simple B 141]

3 hours ago, Chock said:

Not really, one can never have too many DC-3s. 🙂

Of course, for those who like the DC-3, we do also have this thing very near completion, which was the catalyst for the DC-3's creation in the first place.

Chock ... is Back! 🙂

[Treetops45 1,082]

I have been very surprised no-one has put a DC-3 into the market to date.

A decently executed one should sell boat loads.

T45

[Chock 17,769]

3 minutes ago, Treetops45 said:

I have been very surprised no-one has put a DC-3 into the market to date.

A decently executed one should sell boat loads.

T45

That's the problem though; we need a decently executed one, and that takes time, especially since there are several main variants with different engines, different cockpit controls, different door and window fittings etc, unless a developer compromises on these details or just goes for doing one version, which would be understandable given the amount of variations there are, although on the plus side of this, it does offer the possibility for additional 'expansion' add-ons for a developer wanting to make more cash from their efforts.

As much as I'm really looking forward to it, I can already see that there are some compromises on that Wing 42 Boeing 247, for example the real N3377C, which is apparently one of the paint jobs included, was one of the early ones with the raked-forward window, but they've modeled the later streamlined window version. Given the fact that I've long-wanted a decent flight sim B247, this is a small price to pay to see one come to fruition, although I definitely would also pay for an expansion which gave it the original art-deco period windscreen configuration:

[bobcat999 8,477]

Doh - that's a pity!  I would really love the version with that raked-forward windscreen.

[KSATRoadWarrior 91]

4 hours ago, Roy Warren said:

Got to have it. I am 85 years old and my very first flight was when I was about 9 or 10 in a DC-3 from Charlotte, NC to Chester, SC.

Can't wait to make this flight again.

Roy

Roy, I am a youngster at 77 but VERY glad to see you are still active with the simulator. My first aircraft flight was in a Texan T-6 in Hawaii......got hooked on aviation and can't stay away from it. Bob

[Joe Alferio 36]

4 hours ago, Roy Warren said:

Got to have it. I am 85 years old and my very first flight was when I was about 9 or 10 in a DC-3 from Charlotte, NC to Chester, SC.

Can't wait to make this flight again.

Roy

My first flight was in a Ford Tri-Motor to the Lake Erie Islands.  I'm 66.

Joe Alferio

[Javiz 104]

10 hours ago, raymar said:

Not announced yet, yes, a different dev.

"we want a study level Dakota that we dream about, which is the priority." says Airfoillabs....

Ok, back in 2021 and in fact their playground is XPlane but i've seen 'MSFS' slightly mentioned in info about their company as well. Probabely not out yet for XP, not sure, MSFS only myself, in any case textures are in PBR fashion and screenshots look fairly promising. Who knows, they might got wise and changed their policy to produce for XP only..

Only a wild gues, I might be completely wrong, really no clue, just throwing a fresh log onto the fire... 😁

I mean, if Ray won't tell us anything more, chances are that DC-3 fanatics go out and investigate on their own, isn't it. I mean, i can't sit here and read Ray's post and then just lean back and do nothing. I mean, who can ?!.... 

Quote

The family is the DC-1, DC-2 and DC-3.  C-46 and C-47, Skytrain, Gooney Bird, Grand Ole Lady, Dakota, R4D,

Btw, Ray, Mr. Douglas would turn over in his grave if he saw you adding a Curtiss aircraft to his venerable DC-3 listing....  You probabely ment C-49 when you wrote C-46....? Also your family list is only the beginning, f.i. C-49 (including A to K variants) will have to be followed by C-50 (including A to D variants), C-51, C-52, C-53 (Skytrooper), C-68, C-84, C-117A (Super DC-3), -B, -C, -D, R4D1 to -8, AC-47 (Gunship), Russian Li-1, 2, 3, XC-47C Float Plane, and that's only from the top of my head....:-)

And then, God forbid, on top of that, there's also something like... Basler BT-67.... Personally i never cared for the Super DC-3 (ugly gear doors, barn door as vertical stab and more uglyness) but if you ask me this Basler monstrosity is nothing but a profanity. That's just a BT (Bridge Too) far. Can't help it but in an anthology regarding the DC-3 it just got to be mentioned however godless it is.. 

But thanks a lot nontheless, Ray ! Not everyday we read news like this ! 😎

Speculation goes on.....  Investigation as well....

Edited January 27, 2022 by Javiz

[raymar 969]

3 hours ago, Javiz said:

"we want a study level Dakota that we dream about, which is the priority." says Airfoillabs.

Btw, Ray, Mr. Douglas would turn over in his grave if he saw you adding a Curtiss aircraft to his venerable DC-3 listing....  You probabely ment C-49 when you wrote C-46....? Also your family list is only the beginning, f.i. C-49 (including A to K variants) will have to be followed by C-50 (including A to D variants), C-51, C-52, C-53 (Skytrooper), C-68, C-84, C-117A (Super DC-3), -B, -C, -D, R4D1 to -8, AC-47 (Gunship), Russian Li-1, 2, 3, XC-47C Float Plane, and that's only from the top of my head....:-)

Obviously, I.misspoke with the C46, sorry.  I suspect we will only see the DC-3 with some possible military repaints along with the classic airliner paints. The community will probably be adding more repaints until our Community folder runnith over.

I’m not sure I actually know what a “study level” aircraft in MSFS looks like.  It would probably be developed by PMDG or A2A so this is not that one. However, I also will be dreaming about it and expecting it to fly like I know a true DC-3 sounds and performs with  the satisfying systems depth. My first type rating was a DC-3 and my memory is still good, except for that Curtiss boo boo. 🤨

Regards,

Ray

[raymar 969]

Douglas Aircraft Co. entered the nascent aviation industry in rooms behind a barber shop on Pico Boulevard in 1920s Los Angeles at a time when Hollywood’s tinsel had yet to sparkle, and the promise of the Transportation Age still percolated in the minds of a few critical geniuses, among them Donald Douglas. As a young aeronautical engineering student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Douglas envisioned the triumvirate of economic efficiency, safety and passenger comfort that would make air transportation encircling the globe possible — and its fullest expression came a decade later when the first Douglas Sleeper Transport (DST) went on order from American Airlines’ C.R. Smith. That “airplane that looks like a real airplane” morphed into the Douglas Commercial “3” model — or DC-3. Seven DSTs preceded that original DC-3, which became far more popular in its daytime version than the DST.

Two Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radial engines power most DC-3s and their military variants, but early versions (including the DST) originally featured the Curtiss-Wright R-1820 Cyclones. Today, modern conversions ply the skies using Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67Rs in the Basler Turbo model BT-67. While the engines put forth a mighty roar, they provided plenty of power to fit an even greater mission than the airlines had in mind.

More than 10,000 were built in total, the majority of those military versions of the DC-3 manufactured between 1941 and 1944 in Douglas plants across the country ramping up for World War II. Most of those C-47s took on their 50,000-plus rivets at the production site at Long Beach Airport in California. Many were stitched together by the women who kept the production lines moving throughout the war. They not only built airframes but also all the parts to keep them going — and those piles of primer-green parts stockpiled during the war ensured the fleet could fly on long after the war ended.

Eighty years after its first flight in December 1935, the DC-3 remains relevant and revered because it fulfilled so many roles, carrying millions of passengers aloft for the first time, and playing a key factor in turning the tide of World War II for the Allied forces. Each mission required a tweak to the airplane’s basic capabilities: a sturdy airframe, built to withstand both the rigors of commercial transport and the abuse in far-flung climes, and a forgiving aerodynamic nature, temperate enough to suffer the ham-fisted efforts of greenhorn pilots and reward the fine-tuned handling from experts willing to coax more from its burly engines and, at times, recalcitrant systems.

A pilot new to airline flying would first attend ground school for five or six weeks to refine his general aviation knowledge in meteorology, flight planning, aerodynamics, systems and instrument flight. Douglas introduced real-world, usable performance charts with the DC-3, an innovation that not only added to safety but also allowed pilots to most efficiently operate the airplane. Rather than having to guess the best altitude for a given flight, pilots could calculate that altitude based on actual conditions — a revelation for aviators accustomed to learning by trial and error. Douglas knew that providing these details would help the airlines make more money with the DC series — and, therefore, buy more airplanes. The business model proved highly successful up through the company’s DC-9 series.

After ground school, the fresh pilot got a few bounces in the real airplane, and then he paired up with a senior captain for his first months of flying. If he was lucky, that captain would even let him touch the controls from time to time. Eventually, he’d move over to the left seat, and then the real flying began. Pilots assigned to the airplane in wartime typically had even less training in it before taking it out on a mission. More trial and error — far from the safest or most efficient way to learn, but they had no time for anything more.

Following World War II, the major U.S. airlines moved on to bigger, faster DC models, the DC-4 and DC-6, almost immediately. Regional airlines snapped up those DC-3s that the majors sold, and cargo airlines reconditioned the surplus C-47s to create an armada of supply ships for 24/7 freight operations. The airplane’s ability to carry most anything you could fit through the broad aft door became legendary, and that capability was tested to the limit.

Douglas dressed up a handful of DC-3s into executive transportation, the airplane’s polished exterior often lending a sense of occasion to business trips throughout the 1960s and 1970s. As numbers dwindled into the 1980s and 1990s, fewer DC-3s could be restored to flyable condition. Today, experts estimate roughly 100 or, at most, 200 of the grand old ladies still fly.
Credit: written by Julie Boatman in a Flying magazine article - An icon turns 80 - a few years ago.

[Lord Farringdon 492]

14 hours ago, raymar said:

A new DC-3 could make a great bush plane.  I'm thinking of all those strips in Papua New Guinea and Alaska.

Ray

Of course the PNG Defence Force were gifted 6 (I think) C-47's from Australia, later improved to DC-3's for PNGDF operations. I flew on one from Port Moresby to Lae. They were not well looked after and some the troops were just sitting on crates!! All we needed were a few free range chickens strutting up and down the cabin and it would have passed as a set off one of the Indiana Jones movies! So yes I agree, a great bush plane alright!

Cheers

Terry