Developer Airfoillabs has announced its latest project, the Dakota C-47 and DC-3 for X-Plane 11.
The DC-3 was a groundbreaking propeller-driven airliner produced by California’s Douglas Aircraft Company from 1936 to 1942. The Douglas C-47 Dakota variant was developed from the DC-3, and was used by the Allies in World War 2. In total, Douglas Aircraft Company built and shipped 607 DC-3s, and 10,174 C-47s.
The announcement came via a post to Airfoillabs’ Facebook page, as well as a post to the x-plange.org forum, which included a lengthy description of the new project, as well as some preview images to hold us over for now.
According to the post, Airfoillabs is collaborating with The Association Merville Dakota, who have afforded them access to documentation and visual data for the development of the DC-3 and C-47. While the basic flight model is ready, along with much of the 3d modeling it would seem, time is still needed to develop the aircraft’s complex systems.
The post also outlines some of the products early features, which include PBR Textures, both civilian and military versions of the aircraft, as well as a built-in FMOD sound pack. According to Airfoillabs, those looking for a deep and immersive simulation will get just that, while those with less experience will still find the aircraft to be user friendly.
With this post, Airfoillabs has made it abundantly clear creating a highly realistic and study-level aircraft is the ultimate priority for this project. Therefore, the post mentions there is currently no set release date yet as development continues to progress.
This is Airfoillabs’ latest project since the release of their beloved King Air 350. That aircraft was recently updated to v1.4, which you can read about here.
