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News! - Aircraft Release : Douglas DC-6 Cloudmaster by PMDG


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News! - Aircraft Release : Douglas DC-6 Cloudmaster by PMDG

PMDG have after two years of announcements and development released their four engined Douglas DC-6 Cloudmaster. Certainly the arrival of PMDG to the X-Plane simulator is a big event and of course we welcome such a lauded developer. Features include:

  • External Model - The external model has been accurately modelled using high resolution 3-view drawings of the actual airplane, and painted in exquisite detail with high resolution photo real textures.
  • Fully Interactive, Dynamic Virtual Cockpit - Designed and animated using the same proprietary techniques developed for previous PMDG award-winning product lines, you will truly enjoy the sensation of "being there" when flying this simulator from the fully interactive and animated 3D virtual cockpit. Stunning, high definition photo real textures in the VC truly brings this cockpit to life, and makes the DC-6 look 100% authentic compared to its real world counterpart.
  • Ramp Manager - External objects can be displayed/hidden using the Ramp Manager, adding to the realism and immersion – Tow Bar & Tractor, Wheel Chocks, Pitot Covers, Engine Oil Pans, Mechanic Stands. Here you will also be able to use the quick setup feature to set up the airplane for Cold & Dark, Ready for Start and Ready for Taxi without having to go through the extensive procedures. Great for when you have limited time.
  • Fuel and Loadout Manager – Using the Fuel and Loadout Manager, you will be able to realistically fuel the airplane’s 8 fuel tanks, load the desired number of passengers and amount of cargo for your next flight.
  • Artificial Flight Engineer (AFE) – The AFE can be used to assist you through various phases of flight: Before Start, After Start, Before Take-off, Take-off (Dry or Wet), Cruise, Descent, In Range, Before Landing, After Landing, Parking. During take-off, cruise and descent phases, the AFE will manage the airplane’s power and related settings for you.
  • Maintenance Manager – The Maintenance Manager will allow you to keep track of and manage your airplane’s engine health, propeller hours, engine oil quantities and related fluids such as water/alcohol, auxiliary oil and anti-ice fluids. You will also be able to see the total airframe hours accumulate.
  • Realism Options – You will be able to adjust the airplane’s realism settings to your preference, such as Engine Damage, Realistic Start, Carb Icing, and CB Failures.
  • Save and Load Scenarios – This feature provides you with the ability to save and load 3 different flight scenarios. You will be able to save the airplane in its current state anywhere in the simulator, and then load the scenario again later. Airplane position (lat/long), altitude, speed, switch positions, power setting etc. will be saved and loaded. This is extremely useful for those interrupted transcontinental flights. Just save now and load again later without ruining your progress.
  • Realistic Animations - The animated parts on the DC-6 were carefully researched and faithfully reproduced to match their operation with the actual aircraft. The DC-6 sports realistically animated gear, gear doors, flaps, cowl flaps, fuel dump chutes, passenger doors and cargo doors, as well as main and front cabin exit stairs. In the VC the CA and FO windows and the FE seat works exactly like their real counterparts. All switches, knobs and levers have been animated using actual video footage as reference.
  • Side Icon Bar – The side icons allows you to quickly access the various management screens (ramp manager, fuel & loadout, AFE etc.).
  • Custom Command System – You will be able to assign various switches, levers, knobs and activities to external hardware via the X-Plane command menu. Using this feature will greatly reduce mouse and keyboard usage.
  • Engine Model – The Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp CB-16 engine model has been accurately modelled, including realistic engine start, variable carb icing based on precipitation, dew point and OAT, realistic CHT behaviour, oil temperature heat-up and cool-down rates, realistic oil consumption, realistic oil pressure that varies based on oil temperature, water injection detonation suppressant for high-power take-offs, a realistic auto-mixture system correcting for air density and high/low supercharger modes with corresponding effects on critical manifold pressure, altitude and torque. A failure model (optional, can be disabled in Realism Options) is included. Engines are prone to abuse as well as wear and tear when the failure model is enabled.
  • Airplane Systems and Equipment - The DC-6’s systems were reproduced to match the operation of those in the real aircraft, and include: De-icing, Electrical, Engines, Fuel, Hydraulic, Oil, Pressurization, Propellers and Water Injection.
    • Sperry A-12 Automatic Pilot
    • Bendix King KX 155 NAV/COMM Transceiver
    • Bendix King KR 87 ADF Receiver
    • Bendix King KI-227 ADF Indicator
    • Garmin GI-106A GPS/VOR/LOC/Glideslope Indicator
    • Bendix MN- 61A Marker Beacon System
    • Bendix KT76A Transponder
    • Bendix KMA24 Audio Panel
    • Bendix KDI572 DME Receiver
  • Realistic Fuel System – The fuel system has been accurately modelled, and includes the 8-tank main and alternate fuel system with cross-feed, realistic fuel pressure system and the fuel dump system with accurate dump rates.
  • AC/DC Electrical Bus System – The electrical bus system includes realistic amp draw and voltage, as well as battery drain and charging.
  • Realistic, Immersive Sound Set - To increase the level of realism and immersion, individual switches, levers, knobs, aural warning sounds, and an array of systems sounds were recorded from an actual DC-6 expressly for the purpose of providing total flight deck realism and realistic audio-tactile feedback. The sound set covers every sound you would expect to hear inside the DC-6 cockpit, as well as from the exterior view. Highly realistic effects of the relationship between throttle positions, prop lever positions and engine RPM creates an authentic DC-6 in-cockpit sound experience.
  • Add-on Liveries - As is always the case at PMDG, numerous free add-on liveries are available for a variety of real-world DC-6 operators.
  • Flight Model – The DC-6 flight model has been tested and given the thumbs up by several type rated pilots who are current on type. If they say she flies like a DC-6, we’re not going to argue.

So what is the iconic DC-6 like.... Absolutely no idea?

X-PlaneReviews have tried for months to secure a review version to pass on the information, but contacting or getting any response from PMDG is harder than getting a letter from the Pope or Elvis (Elvis would be very interesting). We will keep trying but it seems to be an odd way to start selling aircraft on a totally new simulation platform.

Requirements:
Minimum
 
  • Simulator: X-Plane 10.45+
  • Hardware: Dual Core, 2.5 GHz or faster, 4 GB of RAM, A video card with at least 1 GB of VRAM.
  • Windows: Windows 7 32-bit (older OSes such as Windows XP may work, but we cannot guarantee compatibility or support)
Recommended
 
  • Simulator: X-Plane 10.45+
  • Hardware: A Quad Core, 3.0 GHz or faster processor, 16-20 GB of RAM, a high-performance, DirectX 11-capable video card with at least 4 GB of on-board, dedicated VRAM.
  • Windows: Windows 10 64-bit (older OSes such as Windows XP may work, but we cannot guarantee compatibility or support)

Only for Windows at this point with no note on if a MacOS or Linux version will happen (secret squirrel). 

Price is set at US$69.99

And can be purchased here: precisionmanuals

Stephen Dutton
 
9th June 2016
 
Copyright©2016: X-PlaneReviews

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