Attention all DC-3 fans !

[robcap]

But, now we can't call the hostess anymore.....
Other than that minor glitch, it looks fab!
Looking forward to the 3D padding.

R.

[iwik]

Jan,
You don't luck, you are just gifted. To go to the extent of padding accurately is just awesome..
This DC3 with its new VC is simply out of this world. Thank You.
Les

[manfredc3]

Jan, are you playing tricks with us?

What got in to you by posting pictures of a real world overhead panel.

Oh..., you mean it's not the real deal?

Wow, you could have fooled me, lol

It is obvious that luck is the last thing you should be worried about. It's "time" what you need, and regretfully we can only offer you 24 hours each day.

Have fun sorting through fabrics.

I can't wait to make my first flight in this vintage, out of EHLE.

[roger-wilco-66]

[...]



I feel it's about time now to make an appointment with the upholsterer. In my DC-3 book the lovely padding all around the cockpit is a very important part of the ambiance of a DC-3 cockpit and from experience i know a lot of time will have to be spend on it if one wants to make a good job of it. This time i'd like to take the chance to not just map padding textures on the existing inner cockpit walls but actually create 3D segments to rap around all the bends, corners and obstacles, just like the real thing so to speak. The first thing though will be to establish a good looking padding texture. The next update therefore will probabely take a wee bit longer. Wish me luck... ;-)

Cheers,
Jan

Awesome stuff. Now, if you could make that compass wobble on it's rubber strings... (I always thought that when I used to fly the MAAM version :-) )

Cheers,
Mark

[Javis]

But, now we can't call the hostess anymore.....

Sure we can, Rob... Notice the little pushbutton above the magneto switches...

[Javis]

Awesome stuff. Now, if you could make that compass wobble on it's rubber strings... (I always thought that when I used to fly the MAAM version :-) )

Way ahead of you, sir...

In fact i'd love to make more stuff vibrate at start-up, not only the compass. ( big fan of the A2A B-17, very inspiring, as is all their work ) We ( Hansi and me) did some testing before, we got the whole engine of the N3N shake about on its rubber shock absorbers at start-up. The tricky part is to know, apart from the compass, what exactly will vibrate in the DC-3 cockpit at start-up, idle power and/or taxi. ' Shake Rattle & Roll' you bet !

[Paul J]

Hey Jan! I worked on these suckers in South America back in the '60's, and they wuz dirty, dusty, grungy, scratched, twisted, worn, split, bent and otherwise not quite in the "pristine" (what a word) condition as is presented in your pics. What will be the appearance of the finished flight deck?

All the best,

pj

[cavaricooper]

Jan-

In re. flight deck condition- I'd vote for tidy and neat. I realize there are lots of old worn out girls, but if I flew a Dak, she'd be the tenderly cared for jewel your panels depice in their current state
IMHO the worn/dirty look has been overdone lately.

Carl

[boxcar]

In re. flight deck condition- I'd vote for tidy and neat.

Likewise. The love you are infusing for us all with this new equipment worthy of a fine air museum is perfect so far, in my opinion. Whatever you share will be honored. Besides, we'll scuff it up ourselves over the years with our own use.

:-)

.

[big-mike]

I vote for both variants.Perhaps you could finish first a factory fresh variant and then we will see.
Mike

[Alky]

Some of the pics I've seen so far already have examples of minor wear. Just carry on Jan, your work so far is incredible!

[robcap]

Sure we can, Rob... Notice the little pushbutton above the magneto switches...

Ah, right. I missed the decal.
You could also add the 'take the controls' feature from our DC2, and implement it. Give your rooky co-pilot a few hours flying the old kite, and poor the cofee yourself, or take a leak if needed.

[Javis]

Hey Jan! I worked on these suckers in South America back in the '60's, and they wuz dirty, dusty, grungy, scratched, twisted, worn, split, bent and otherwise not quite in the "pristine" (what a word) condition as is presented in your pics. What will be the appearance of the finished flight deck?

What i'm looking for in the first place is a cockpit of a DC-3 as it was flown by major airlines in the 50's/60's. Certainly not 'factory fresh' but not like you describe the South America suckers neither... Notice ' in the first place' though... We have to have a base first and it's relatively easier to add dirt, dust, grunge, scratches, twists, worn and bents than it is to get rid of these. There will be a paintkit available for the DC-3 VVC once it is released so everybody who feels like it can have a go at messing around with the textures.

'Pristine' is what you get when modeling stuff, textures will have to make for the dirtying up. So far only the main and electrical panels have been textured and with a more close-up look the're not really that pristine ( prop feather is *not* textured yet.. ) :



I just don't want to overdo it already. I suppose the switches will never look worn because they have no paint on them and i believe we can assume that no pilot in his right state of mind will go bashing away at the switches with a hammer like Jeremy Clarkson ( if he would've been a pilot, god forbit... :-)

A worked in but well kept DC-3 cockpit that wouldn't have to be ashamed of its airline colors outside, that's about my motto. As with the real thing, the scruffing up will come later, naturally.... Here's one of the photo's i use for reference ( Aerolíneas Argentinas ) :



Hope this'll tidy things up a bit.. ;-)

Cheers,
Jan

[Paul J]

Very nice, Jan: No of course I wouldn't expect "bush quality", nor was I asking for it! I just pointed to my experience as they were in tropical bush, between '65 and '67, and asked what was your intended finish! The DC-3 was a method of transport - a truck - a workhorse, moving mining equipment, animal carcases, people, lumber, fuel, balata, food, and so on. A paint kit will easily alter the ambience to any degree needed.

Off the topic slightly - I don't think I've ever looked forward to any FSX aircraft as much as this one, and think that we must be the luckiest bunch of flight-simmers on the planet, having the combined benefit and talent - and mutual cooperation of your little group. The one most recognizable aircraft of the first half of the twentieth century - world-wide - is the Douglas DC-3/C-47. It epitomizes "Classic" aviation, and it's going to be one of the "must haves" for anyone in the flight sim community who wants complete fidelity with an original aircraft.

All the Best,

pj

[TeiscoDelRay]

I did several weathered cockpits for the A2A B-17, might take a crack at this one when it's done. Link to several from worn to really worn that I did awhile back, http://a2asimulations.com/forum/view...p?f=29&t=26975

[Paul J]

, might take a crack at this one when it's done.

"Might take a crack" That is beautiful work, Ray! Especially the water ingress. Very nice work, so - I hereby commission you to produce a worn DC-3 one for me! Now... about the money....

pj

[robcap]

We could do with that Argentinian cigarette lighter (on the right)

R.

[Bill Kestell]

Looking at everything so far ... I can't wait to put this panel in and return to flying the Hump. I especially noted the 2, single radios rather than the double unit version. I don't have access to my hanger now, but there is at least one radio like those shown that does NOT drop out freqs between 410.0 and 490.0 KHz. If you're flying the Hump and need an ADF bearing to "Oscar Hotel" (Sookerating) ... you'll need to be able to dial in 480.0 KHz! Just thought I'd mention that so I don't have to do another "fix".

[Javis]

From the upholsterer, padding report #1 :





With the seat shoved back a bit so you can get a view from underneath the windscreen and roof :



All very much WIP. F.i. lots of stuff that sticks their heads out of the padding all around, like the comm control box that has been fitted here.

Next is a story i need to tell.

Cheers,
Jan

[Javis]

I got extremely exited today, even to such extent that i need to tell you about it. You don't have to read it, it's enough for me to write it down. ;-)

For many, many years i have been anxiously looking for a DVD set that represents a British TV drama series called 'AIRLINE' that was broadcasted here in Holland in the early 1980's. Roy Marsden (aka Inspector Dalgliesh) plays Jack Ruskin who is demobbed just after WWII as an RAF flight sergeant flying Dakota's. He tries to join BOAC but fails. He then grabs all of his courage and faith together and with help of a loan shark buys a surplus C-47 to start his own airline. He recruits some of his former flying buddies, gets the C-47 airworthy again and off they go on their first job.

Of course i recorded the whole series on one of the first home video recorders. Philips, a huge machine of which the tape spools lie on top of eachother instead of side by side. The quality was outstanding, much better than the later VHS system. Later on this particular system, together with V2000 (also Philips) and Betamax was of course phased out in favor of VHS. The tapes were of no use anymore because the machine had broken down beyond repair.

Every now and then, for many years, i kept on searching for this Airline series to appear on DVD. Alas without any luck. I would pay a small fortune to be able to view the series again. One day i stumbled over some posts about it in a TV series forum. Apparently it seemed to be the family of the director that refused a rerun of the series and/or put it on tape or DVD. ( i remember the series ended just like that, all of a sudden out of the blue, without a satisfactory ending of the story ) I lost all hope i would ever see the Dakota flying adventures of Jack 'The Mad Boilerman' Ruskin and his flying comrades again, let alone have it here in my own video library.

Couple years ago a few episodes of the series appeared on Youtube. Wow!! Hurraay!! Atleast that's something! But guess what happend to me today when i bought a couple of DVD's at Amazon.com. Didn't try for a long time but just for the heck of it i typed 'Airline, Roy Marsden' in the search window and LOW AND BEHOLD!!! THERE IT WAS!!! Talk about out of the blue !!!

Yessir, the whole series on 3 DVD's in a box ! Holey Moley!! Quickly, before this dream would come to an end, i bought the box. Proved it was no dream, it's really true !! " Ruskin Air Services" on DVD !! Finally then!! What unbelievable luck !!!

Goes without saying that this Airline series is a must for any DC-3 lover. It's quite old of course but the story is great and realistic ( not all whine and roses, far from it ! ) and the acting is perfect and lots, lots and lots of great footage of DC-3's ( and other aircraft ) both inside and out, of course. The Dak's were provided and flown by Air Atlantique.

Also quite a long time ago when i was still collecting aviation magazines, i believe it was in 'Aeroplane Monthly' that a photo of Roy Marsden as Jack Ruskin appeared. However he was not standing in front of a DC-3 but a Connie ! The brief text said that plans had been made to arrange a follow up of the Airline series in which 'Ruskin Air Services', despite all the troubles, had grown pretty big. The Connie however proved too expensive to restore into flying condition and so the whole plan was abandonned. This particular Connie now sits up at the Science Museum, Wroughton,UK, in early TWA colors.

The 'Flagship' :



The Load :



The Crew :



The Box :



Here's a clip from Episode 2 where they try to fix the shortcomings of Able Victor and perform the first testflight. All carefully scrutinized by Mr.Reardon with bowler hat, Air Registration Board.



Makes my year, i can tell you that ! ;-)))

cheers,
jan

[Alky]

I got extremely exited today, even to such extent that i need to tell you about it. You don't have to read it, it's enough for me to write it down. ;-)

Makes my year, i can tell you that ! ;-)))

cheers,
jan

Congratulations on your find. Excellent story and media!
Awesome incredible work on the VCC as well!

[Bruce Thompson]

Thank you for the info on Airline DVD I ordered mine this morning, I too remember watching it on TV.
Your work on the VVC is something to behold and I really am looking forward to flying in it, the way this is going I think there maybe just one aircraft on my flightsim. This story is also on the internet
"The History of BKS" http://website.lineone.net/~biggles200/History.htm a company started in the 1950's. I flew from Yeadon Aerodrome to Jersey in one of their DC3's in 1960 for a Summer Holiday.

I wonder if anyone could do a paint job of a BKS DC3/C47? I will try and find some photo's. Just found these. http://website.lineone.net/~biggles200/G_AIWD.htm


Thank you again Jan for all you are doing for us
Regards
Bruce.

[cavaricooper]

Jan-

A wonderful story and simply incredible work! As a huge Dak fan, I will be ordering the series this morning.

In re. the cockpit- the quilting, the thickness of the padding sections, the unevenness of the stretch- brilliant mate! I am, and have been salivating, at the thought of spending time in this beauty.

As well reviewed as the new V2 is, I have held off flying her, so that once your VC is released I shall be able to fully immerse myself in the 1940s. I was interested to read about the other reader recreating "Flying the Hump" as that is one if the many things I'd like to do in the old girl .

Many thanks Jan!

Carl

[adi518]

The lining looks amazing.. this is what it should have looked like in the virtavia b-29.

[Lenop]

Amazing looks of the padding, thnaks so much for your efforts, Jan!
And congrats on finding your favo TV show on DVD.


OT:anyone remebers the name of a 1980's TV series about an American fighter jock in the 60ies?