DC6/DC7 flight-deck

[Boslandew]

Don't know if there are any Douglas pilots on-line who could offer some advice?

On the central console of the DC6/7, between what I assume are separate throttles for Captain and co-pilot, there are four small switches with four blue/green lights and four red lights in front of them.

Are those switches propeller controls? What are the lights for?

Behind those switches is a short horizontal bar mounted on a fitting on the right-hand side of the console. Whats it for?

In front of the Captains throttles? are four red-topped levers. What's their function? And in front of the co-pilots throttles, two more?

Be much obliged for any information anyone can offer.

[11Fan]

If you don't get any hits, pop over to this site and join:

Airline Pilot Central Forums (http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/index.php?)

There's a guy there with a screen name of FlyorDie who drives DC-6's. Takes some fantastic pictures of Alaska as well. Join there, post your question he can help ya if nobody here answers.

Tell him 11Fan sent you.

This is one of his pictures

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1327/4725670082_8c31c03244_b.jpg

[BSD]

11fan,

What an absolutely stunning, breathtakingly fabulous photo!

Boslandew,

The blue/green lights - prop pitch indicators? I'd have given my right arm to have flown a DC-6/7. From the big turboprops I flew though, I know that a prop has but one aim in life; to achieve fine pitch. The bigger it is, the harder it will try, hence I'd imagine the DC-7 has loads of prop safety devices, controls, synchro devices etc. I think the DC-6/7 had reversing on the props as well.

If you're lucky someone will know. There is a lovely DC-7 flight deck in the Smithsonian, probably a guide somewhere available with a key that explains all.

Now, I'm off to join 11fan's mates website.

Cheers,

BSD.

[Willit Run]

The lights are high and low pitch STOP indicators. The horizontal bar is the Reverse pitch "gate". That has to be pulled before the Throttles are pulled aft, and into reverse.
There is also a master prop lever, to the left that will control all four props thru a really cool prop sync box.
In front of the throttles, those levers are the fuel tank selectors. Some airplanes had either 8 tanks, or 10 tanks. the two levers in front of the co-pilots throtles are the aux.fuel tank selector levers. That was a 10 tank ship.

As a side note; I grew up in the Washington DC area, and knew the area well. When I started flying DC-6's into Dulles, I would take the crews to the Air and Space and we would walk through the DC-7 Cockpit. We would listen to the oh's and ah's, and then comment that we had to go fly the thing later that night.

[Boslandew]

Gentlemen, many thanks for your replies. Thats the great thing about Pprune, there is always someone who knows the answer or where to find it.

11Fan. That is an incredible photo and thanks also for the APCF web-site. Looks like another excellent way to pass a rainy day.

Willitrun. Just what I was looking for!! Like BSD my greatest aviation wish was to have flown one of the big piston-engined aircraft. I was rotary, Sikorsky S61 and the Civil Chinook.

Just one more question. Did the DC6/7's have variable oil cooler shutters? I can't see any evidence in the photo's on Airliners Net.

Again, my thanks

Boslandew

[Willit Run]

Yes, the oil coolers were fully controllable. There was a three position, spring loaded toggle switch, neutral, open and closed. They were located on the over head panel, above the engineers head.

[WHBM]

This is where we really miss 411A and his old-school comments.

[Boslandew]

Willit Run

Again, many thanks. If we keep this up, I should be ready for a DC6 conversion soon.

Boslandew

[paulg]

Slight thread drift but fascinating to see:

New Airliner, 1946/02/21 (1946)
New Airliner, 1946/02/21 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org/details/1946-02-21_New_Airliner)
Douglas DC-6 luxury airliner tested in Long Beach, interior views for 56 passengers, converted into sleeping compartments for 26 passengers, at 20,000 ft.

This movie is part of the collection: Universal Newsreels
Production Company: Universal Studios Audio/Visual: sound, b&w
Creative Commons license: Public Domain

[maxred]

Guys, this is fantastic and thanks for the link to the archives.

My father worked Super Connies for Aero Maritime, and Spantax DC-7's.

Brought up with them and had many cockpit rides. Brings back many memories.

So much so, am contemplating that DC-3 ME, conversion in the states.