This
page is not going to be the usual sea of blue underlined links so common to
the Internet. A link appears here only if I deem it valuable.
Please e-mail me if you are aware of a particularly useful link. Please
notify me, too, if you find that one of the links below is broken.
In my opinion, if you are not using FSNavigator you have only half a
flight-simulator. Authored by Helge Schroeder, FSNavigator is a valuable
mapping utility that shows the location of airports, navaids and your
aircraft. One can zoom out to show the entire world or all the way in, so
that a single airport occupies the full screen. Best of all, you can plot
your planned flight path by clicking on the navaids, airports, or waypoints
along the route of flight. It does a lot more, too. You'll wonder how you
ever did without it.
The current version, 4.7, of this classic program is fully compatible with
FS-98, FS-2000, FS-2002., and FS-2004. The version which includes FSX will
be available "early in 2007." Unfortunately, this gem will set you back
$45.00.
Unfortunately the FSX version was never produced and this most useful
program is no longer available.
For
those seeking an alternate to the MSFS DC-3, one can find none better than
the MAAM-SIM DC-3.
Currently it is available for FS2002 and FS2004, but development work is
underway to accommodate FSX. This DC-3 has been very well accepted by the
flight-sim community, and with good reason. The MAAM-SIM team has produced a
superb product. Note, however, that this is a payware aircraft. The funds,
though, go to a good cause, to the support of the
Mid Atlantic Air
Museum (MAAM) in Reading, Pennsylvania. For those not familiar with
MAAM, they sponsor the outstanding
World War II Weekend event
every June. If you get the opportunity you should plan to attend that event
at least once. You may well return every year.
Want
to see some great DC-3
repaints? No doubt about it, Mark Beaumont is the most prolific
repainter that I can recall. As of this writing Mark has created Sixty-plus
high-quality variations of the DC-3 or C-47. His website also features the
best add-ons available for your DC-3.
Trev
Morson's DC-3 Hangar website is the
largest, most complete single source of DC-3 information on the Internet.
The site is chock full of facts, procedures, photos, stories, drawings, news
and links. Trev constantly adds new material to his site and I return to it
frequently.
A strong base of DC-3 enthusiasts contribute material to The DC-3 Hangar,
keeping it fresh. You should check back to Morson's site often to see what's
new.
We
encourage DC-3 Airways VA Pilots to use the services of VATSIM, which has
replaced SATCO, since they closed in early August of 2001. VATSIM provides
real-time air traffic control as SATCO did in the past. DC-3 Airways is a
VATSIM affiliate. Our pilots will fly under the call sign "Airways" and the
VATSIM airline ID of "DCA." To participate in VATSIM, registered pilots must
first download
SquawkBox, a free software program. VATSIM Controllers communicate with
pilots via text on the computer screen.
Those new to Online ATC should go to VATSIM's technical articles,
VATSIM Instructions and then click on the
"Get Started" menu item along the top of the screen.
Roy
Chaffin's R.C.S. Panels
website carries so much news of interest that DC-3 Airways pilots should
visit it often. Roy keeps very current on computer add-ons pertinent to
Flight Simming and thoroughly evaluates those of interest. His
recommendations of which peripherals are best can be trusted. His website
offers a fine variety of freeware products, too.
The MSFS Gateway Page is a recently discovered website that has been a God-send for me. It lists, describes and categorizes over 200 popular MS Flight-Simulator links, including most of my favorites. Gone are the frustrations of searching my out-of-control bookmarks to find the URL of a frequently-visited flight-sim website. But beyond that, I learned of other valuable websites worth a visit. Webmaster Tony Smith has personally visited every site, and they appear on his website only if he deems them valuable or interesting.
Brian Tooby's
Pilot's Assistant, an Excel Toolset, is a valuable companion for flight-simming.
It's a freeware utility that deserves a look by all flight simmers. But,
Brian also has an excellent resource on his website which links to
hard-to-find sources of useful information. For example, here's the first
item in his index of resources:
"Charts, Aeronautical Information, Weather, Flight Planning"
That sounds pretty pertinent. So, if you're looking for that elusive source
of information for your flight-simming needs, give Brian's website a try.
The DC-3 Aviation Museum is
another great web site that concentrates on the real DC-3, but it also has a
flight-simulation section. They have a comprehensive collection of data,
pictures, manuals, parts sources, stories, history, hangar flying, and
reference sources. One favorite of mine is the listing of films that feature
the DC-3. You'll also find a huge set of links there to sites with DC-3
offerings that might otherwise be hard to locate. This site's definitely
worth frequent visits.
If you are interested in the "real" DC-3, then you should join their
dc3notap e-mail forum.
Click here
to go to their subscribe page. The NOTAP Mailing List was created to spread
information about the DC-3 / C-47 / R4D / Li-2 / Dakota, etc. Best of all,
you don't have to log on to the forum every day for the latest information.
Relevant DC-3 messages appear directly in your e-mail inbox. Some of the
information in this VA website has come from DC-3 captains in that forum.
Tom Gibson's California Classic Airliner Page is just that, a Classic. I visit Tom's website often, simply to find out what's happening in the world of prop-airliners, whether it be aircraft, panels, sounds, scenery, flight tips, or news. Not only is Tom's website jam-packed with valuable files and information pertaining to prop-liners, it's just plain interesting.
The Government prints a seven-volume Airport/Facility directory listing
all public airports in the continental US, with descriptions, plus navaids.
The same sort of thing, but more inclusive, is available on-line, at
AirNav.com. It is an independent, free
resource, with the same currency dates as the US Government publications.
The on-line data is broken into three categories, Airport Information,
Navaid Information, and Fix Information.
This is a great resource and I go to it almost every day for some sort of
information. Once you've used it, you'll rely on it, too.
The
Aviation Safety Network website has an extensive database of accident
reports involving all types of airliners. Only those accidents are listed in
which the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. For the listing of DC-3
accident reports from 1945 on, go to
Aviation Safety Net,
DC-3.
There are Good Links and there are Bad Links!
Revolier Leg Iron image courtesy Yossie Silverman,
Yossie's Handcuff Collection.