Andrew Herd's recent detailed history of the development of the Douglas DC-3 could not have come at a more opportune time for me. It is only during the last couple of weeks that I learned how to cope with this aircraft's myriad of idiosyncrasies and begun to enjoy "life in the slow lane".

I had given up flying the biplanes or indeed any of the tailwheel aircraft in FS2002, because without the aid of "plug in" rudder pedals I found that I couldn't even taxi the "taildraggers" to the runway. Any attempt to taxi would result, at best, in me driving around in circles or worse, just running up the engines while the plane remained motionless as the airframe shook itself to pieces. I found this experience to be discouraging to say the least! But I was so intrigued by the DC-3 included in the FS2004 package that I just had to give it a try. After much experimentation and even more persistence, I hit upon a taxiing technique that works well for me. And now after just a few hours flying, I'm happy to admit that I am hooked!

The urge to give the DC-3 a try came to me while was compiling my monthly pilot report (PIREP) for the FS Flight Club International (www.toomuchfs.com). I had already completed the first two legs of the November "Flight of the Month" using Boeing 737 aircraft, but the third leg, from Samoa to Pago Pago was too short a distance (87 nm) to warrant the use of a jet aircraft. I knew that if I could just figure out how to taxi the DC-3, it would be the perfect vehicle for a low altitude VFR tour to Pago Pago. It was time for me to take a deep breath and give the thing a try.

In contrast to the efficient cockpit layout of the modern Boeing aircraft that I usually fly, the panel of the DC-3 really epitomises the word "contraption". Hard to believe that just 70 years ago this represented the "state of the art" in aeronautical technology. After pre-setting the nav radios for Pago Pago, (which was achieved by cranking a handle and seemed to take forever), the next thing that struck me about the DC-3 was the fabulous sound that the radial engines made when I started them up. It's worth sliding the sound settings up to full volume to really appreciate the experience!

As I powered up the engines and tried to steer the aircraft using differential braking I soon became confused by the movement of the compass, which kind of rotates in the opposite direction to the way that it should. To work around this, I switched to an outside view, directly behind and slightly above the top of the fuselage. This way, I found that I could easily see where I was going and I could watch the movement of the rudder as I steered by the alternate use of the "0" and "Enter" keys on my keypad. It took a little getting used to in fact, if I told you how long it took me just to get to runway 08, you'd just laugh!

Eventually, I managed to line the aircraft up on the runway which, by happy coincidence, was roughly aligned with the direction of my intended flight path towards Pago Pago (100 degrees). My first takeoff roll ended up on the grass, after I initially attempted to use differential braking to keep the plane centred on the runway. Then after steering back onto the runway, I decided this time to use only the rudder, which, perhaps unrealistically, is quite effective for steering even at very low speeds. Of course, the takeoff roll was effected with the instrument panel turned off, because until the tail wheel begins to lift off the runway, the pilot's outside view in a DC-3 is limited to the area of sky above the airfield, and not the runway itself.

After reaching a speed of about 80 knots, I eventually managed to get this old crate into the air (albeit rather inelegantly). As the plane climbed, I kept steering away from my intended track because of the counter-intuitive motion of the compass. But eventually, I figured it out and soon found myself bumping around all over the place during the climb up to 5500 feet. Happily, as I flew clear of the island, the air became more stable. Then, when I had the plane trimmed for straight and level flight, I discovered that I was desperate to pee, but I dared not use the autopilot 'cos I didn't yet understand how it operated. Instead, I had to stay at the controls and continually monitor pitch and bank angle for the duration of the cruise.

After a fairly short length of time I came into contact with Pago Pago tower, at which point I once again flew into turbulent air. Pago tower directed me to land on runway 05 so I steered southwest and descended to 2000 feet. I then turned back towards runway and was cleared to land. The sound of the flaps extending is quite alarming the first time you hear it, and the undercarriage makes a huge "clunking" sound as it locks down into position. Unfortunately, when on final approach I discovered that I was both too high and too fast with the result that I made a huge bounce past the touchdown zone. Fortunately the oversized balloon tires and sturdy undercarriage withstood the stresses and I was able to bring the DC-3 to a halt before I ran out of runway. Once again using the outside, rearward view I was able to taxi to the parking area. After shutting down and racing to the bathroom I realised that I was hooked.

After this shaky introduction to DC-3 flying, I was inspired by an advert for Australian DC-3 air tours to attempt a 'round Australia air tour of my own, using the default FS2004 DC-3 in FS Flight Club "retro" livery. It's slow going, but at least I've learned how to operate the autopilot now, so I'm free to visit the bathroom as necessary. And now that I've joined the ever-expanding band of DC-3 enthusiasts, I'm sorely tempted to buy the MAAM-Sim R4D-6/DC-3 that was so enthusiastically reviewed by Tony Radmilovich in PC Pilot Magazine. It's an add-on that would make a great Christmas present!

Cheers,

Bill Smith
Author "Get Real!", the world's first flight simulation
www.toomuchfs.com/getreal/get_real_SO.htm
leesmith@ca.com.au

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