Warbird Information Exchange

As part of Butler Aircraft's enhanched recurrent training program,I went to Anchorage to spend about eight hours in a "State of the Art" circa 1953 DC-6 simulator.This is truly a marvel of engineering that still earns its keep in Northern Air Cargo's training program and is very much like flying the real airplane.It doesn't move (so they tell me),but I'm not completely convinced of that.I guess that the inner ear can really fool you,even if you aren't actually moving.

The Data Plate reads:

Curtiss Wright Dehmel Flight Simulator

Type: C-118A Aircraft

Spec. No. 28A-418 Order No. SOE-1717

MFR. Part No. 712851

Trainer Simulator C-118A Aircraft

MFR. S/N 53-101

Stock No. 6930-226-9316

Property of U.S. Government 664181

If nothing else,I learned the instrument procedures for a blind take-off from Runway 18 at Bethel,AK.,followed by tracking to ROLLR intersection (with an occasional hold),then the DME arc to intercept the ILS/DME RWY 18 approach to blind landing back at the departure airport.That was the easy part.Ben Jacobson,Northern Air Cargo's Training Coordinator supervised our training sessions that were modified a bit to more closely match our DC-7 configuration.Ben is an expert on introducing increasingly more complex failures.

The simulator is a masterpiece.All of this is accomplished with a hangar full of vacuum tubes,thousands of miles of wiring,who knows how many diodes and whatnot.They certainly don't need to run a heater in the building when the simulator is running.Northern Air Cargo just finished qualifying 4 new DC-6 flight engineers in this sim.It has authentic sound effects,including a sound that my co-pilot said sounded like a sea lion barking,which lets you know when you've touched down on the runway,or abused the nosewheel steering.We covered all of the failures that were simulated in the real DC-7 during my FAA checkride a couple of weeks ago,but it REALLY gets your attention when the fire warning lights and bell actually function.The BMEP gages also show realistic malfunctions and almost any malfunction can be convincingly simulated,including degraded performance.

It was definitely time well spent.I say that,even though I had to ride on airliners for the first time in 20 years.Other than a killer seat in an Alaska B-737-800 early this morning,even the airline experience was a non-event.I ended up on a Horizon Dash 8 (Q200) and an Alaska MD-80 on the trip from Redmond to Anchorage via Seattle and the 737 and another Q200 on the way back.What a deal......

Here are a couple of links to Northern Air Cargo's website,featuring their still active DC-6's:

http://www.nac.aero/about/fleet.php

http://www.nac.aero/about/history.php

Very cool man. I love the old fire bombers.

_________________
Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

Do they still have the 727-100 9390NE or it is 930NE? It is a heavy hauler 10,000 lbs greater than a standard 727-100 .. The airline I was a manger for sold it to them around 95?

I didn't get to Fairbanks,where Northern Air Cargo's aircraft are located.I did send a link to WIX to Ben Jacobson and he said that he'd check in on the site.He runs the DC-6 and the B-727 simulators at NAC,which are both located in Anchorage.Hopefully,he'll sign in and will be able to answer any technical questions.

Way to go, Larry!

Think running the old prop jobs re-defines the term "multi-tasking" when things get "interesting! No "PS3" there...either you know you stuff, or you don't..