Microsoft Flight Simulator adds a new aircraft to the Local Legend Series

Microsoft Flight Simulator has released another aircraft as part of its Local Legends Series in conjunction with World Update XII: New Zealand, the DHC-4 Caribou.

Aerospace manufacturer de Havilland Canada’s DHC-4 Caribou is the eighth addition to the series, a twin-engine short takeoff and landing (STOL) cargo aircraft originally developed as a military cargo and troop carrier. The Caribou was conceptually based on the STOL performance of the smaller de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver and DHC-3 Otter, but with greater cargo capacity.

The Caribou first flew on July 30, 1958 and entered mainline service in 1961. De Havilland built a total of 307 Caribou aircraft, most of which went into military service and the rest on civilian missions. The militaries of 32 countries flew the Caribou, including that of the United States. First designated the CV-2 and then the C-7, the United States Army and United States Air Force operated a total of 159 of these aircraft. Europe, Kenya, India and Australia also used the airframe until 2009.

Crewed by two pilots, the DHC-4 can carry up to 32 soldiers and their equipment along with 8,000 pounds of cargo or a combination thereof. With a distinctive, purposeful look, the Caribou features a long, narrow hull with a rear loading ramp and raised transom, allowing for easy and efficient loading and unloading of equipment and personnel.

It can also perform in-flight drops of equipment and/or paratroopers on demand. The tailplane is a cruciform design with a large vertical stabilizer and rudder for low-speed yaw authority and retractable tricycle landing gear with long landing gear legs for use on remote, rustic airfields. The high aspect ratio main wing design is front mounted on the fuselage and has full span double slotted flaps.

The wing has a polyhedral inverted gull shape and carries its two radial engines in nacelles that also serve as main landing gear mounts. Finally, the aircraft is powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2000 Twin Wasp 14-cylinder radial piston engines, each delivering 1,450 hp and driving a 3-blade, constant-speed, reversible-pitch Hamilton Standard propeller.

The Caribou served in multiple combat zones and has been used on a variety of humanitarian assistance missions over the years, most notably in Vietnam, Vanuatu and on the Line of Control along the India-Pakistan border region. In these harsh operating arenas, the Caribou earned its legendary status, taking off and landing on short, rugged runways at only 1,000 feet of ground gradient.

The DHC-4 has a range of 1,300 miles, climbs at 1,355 feet per minute and has a service ceiling of 24,800 feet above sea level. It cruises at 182 mph, stalls at 68 mph and has a top speed of 215 mph.

de Havilland Canada’s DHC-4 Caribou is a beast of an airplane that is a true flying machine. It can fly in and out of almost any runway and responds confidently to every input from the pilot.

Available from today at Microsoft flight simulator Marketplace for $14.99, the DHC-4 Caribou comes with seven paint finishes:

• default
• Blue with red stripe
• Blue with white and red accents
• Blue with yellow stripe
• camouflage 1
• camouflage 2
• White

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