IcelandTour (V1.0)

Flight created on 28.06.2026

Estimated flight duration:

2h 30min Difficulty: Easy – Hard

Task: Fly a tour in Iceland.

Prerequisite: The "Buffalo Airways DC3" is absolutely required for this flight.

Download this aircraft here: https://www.rikoooo.com/downloads/viewdownload/52/1002

(This aircraft also works in P3D V6, even though the website only states P3D V4/5 compatibility.)

If the download link does not work, please contact me: p3d@andi20.ch

Introduction:

Back in 1986, your boss founded his charter airline. Today, we are celebrating the company's 40th anniversary. To mark this special occasion, the boss has invited some of his most loyal customers to an anniversary flight in Iceland. You already know all the guests from previous flights: doctors Chey, Rey, and Dr. Miller, as well as the paramedic and car mechanic Lisa. The boss will keep the guests entertained while you fly the aircraft together with a co-pilot.

Flight:

1) You are at Akureyri Airport (BIAR).

For this flight leg, you can choose between a coastal route or a direct flight:

a) Coastal Route: At 2,000 feet, this route follows the Icelandic Ring Road heading north. Enjoy the deep view into the Eyjafjordur and the colorful fishing villages like Siglufjordur, while bypassing the rugged peninsula right next to the open Arctic Ocean.

b) Direct Flight (follow the GPS): You must climb quickly to 5,000 feet because the Trollaskagi mountain range flanking the Oxnadalur Valley is nearby. Afterwards, we will cross the Icelandic highlands before setting course for Blonduos.

2) The first stopover is Blonduos (BIBL).

3,182 feet, the runway is quite short, but long enough for the DC3.

3) Next, head to Saudarflugvollur (BISA).

The runway is very short, only 2,100 feet long. Caution, the ground surrounding the runway is very soft. If you veer off the runway, you will crash. The surface only allows for slow taxiing.

4) Next, you will fly to Stykkisholmur (BIST).

5) The final destination of the journey is the capital city, Reykjavik (BIRK).

Surprises may occur along the way, but I don't want to spoil too much here.

Just this piece of info regarding Saudarflugvollur Airport (BISA):

In P3dV5 and V6, the airport was placed in the correct location, but they forgot to adjust the surrounding terrain to the correct altitude. As a result, a kind of "aircraft carrier" has been created in the landscape.

In P3dV4, the airport does not exist, which is why I rebuilt it using colored areas.

These areas are not "solid"—you cannot land on them, you just fly through them unharmed. To still make a "sort of" landing possible under P3dV4, I drew a rectangular frame over the runway.

The "landing" is considered successful if:

- the white area is flown through in its full length,

- the landing gear and flaps are fully extended,

- and the airspeed is below 80 knots.

For a successful flight, please note the following:

The DC3 is a very old aircraft that must be flown gently and with care.

Exceeding the following values will result in engine damage after 60–90 seconds:

- Full power (or more than 45 InHg).

Full power is permitted on the runway, but the power must be reduced quickly after takeoff.

- Power above 43 InHg (up to 45 InHg is allowed if cowl flaps are open).

- Propeller RPM above 2,550 RPM (up to 2,600 RPM is allowed if cowl flaps are open).

Up to 6 engine problems can occur, ranging from a small oil leak, to single or multiple cylinder failures, up to a total failure of one engine.

Don't worry, in most cases you will still make it to the next airport, as the DC3 can easily continue flying with just one (100% intact) engine.

If the damage becomes too severe, an emergency landing in open terrain is required.

Iceland is perfect for this because there is little vegetation and you can land practically anywhere. Plus, we have Lisa on board. She will repair the aircraft in the field or at the next airport, and the flight can continue.

If you're looking for a challenge, deliberately overload the engines. This way you can salvage your damaged aircraft and reach the nearest airport, or practice emergency landings.

Should Air Traffic Control (ATC) vector you to Lake Reydarvatn:

- With assistance, you will be guided smoothly to your destination.

- Without assistance, you must find the lake on your own. Use the GPS to help you. Search for this shape:

P3dV5/6             P3dV4

Start:

First, choose the weather:

1 – Fair weather, 50sm visibility:

A gorgeous spring day awaits us over Iceland. On the ground, a light wind of 5 knots blows right down the nose of our runway and freshens up to a pleasant 12 knots during the climb. With a massive visibility of over 50 miles, we have an unobstructed view of the fjords. A few loose, prominent fair-weather cumulus clouds form over the mountain peaks at around 5,800 feet. By the way, today is also excellent soaring weather—the sun is strong enough to generate some proper updrafts. With mild air temperatures of 15°C and a stable standard barometric pressure of 29.92 inHg, nothing stands in the way of a relaxed scenic flight!

2 – Windy, 15sm visibility:

Iceland shows itself from its uncomfortable, windy side today. On the ground in Akureyri it is still calm at 5 knots, but from 1,500 feet upwards, the wind turns northeast (025) and picks up to 12 knots. At altitude, you can finally expect gusty winds of 14 to 19 knots. For the approach to Saudarflugvollur, this means a tricky crosswind of almost 20° from the front right—hold onto the yoke tightly when landing on the extremely short runway! Visibility drops to 15 miles, and you must expect local rain showers in the vicinity. At a chilly 9°C, the cloud base is at 3,000 feet. This will be a real workday in the cockpit!

3 – Stormy, 8sm visibility:

This is the infamous "Boss Weather"—only for absolute DC3 veterans! While it still feels peaceful in the protected fjord of Akureyri with light rain, the storm breaks loose in the highlands. At altitude, a fierce northeast wind blows against you at a constant 24 knots, with severe gale gusts of up to 34 knots. On the high plateau of Saudarflugvollur, this storm causes brutal wind shears and extreme turbulence. Visibility is reduced to a meager 8 miles due to rain and haze. The sky is completely overcast from 6,500 feet, and a first layer of clouds is already hanging at 2,500 feet. At a wet and cold 4°C, there is a significant risk of icing inside the clouds. Show the boss that you can handle the old lady even in the wildest Icelandic storm!

By the way, in windy and stormy weather, the aircraft is 500 or 1,000 pounds heavier, respectively, because the passengers have left their sunglasses and swimsuits behind. The heavy foul-weather luggage consists of thick windbreakers, thermal underwear, sturdy hiking boots, rubber boots, umbrellas, and a change of clothes. Due to the extra weight, the DC3 climbs more sluggishly than during the fair-weather flight.

Next, you can toggle assistance on/off:

1 – Yes, a little help won't hurt:

- The mission compass is active here. You can turn it on and off as you like.

- The co-pilot provides extensive assistance regarding landing gear, flaps, cowl flaps, power, propeller, and mixture settings, flight direction, and which runway is recommended for the current wind.

2 – No, I can do this on my own:

- You fly without assistance. The co-pilot gives very few tips.

- You have to find the direction to the next airport on your own; you can find the route in the built-in GPS.

- You have to choose the correct runway yourself according to the wind. You can see the current wind direction in the GPS.

Aircraft Information:

I assume you are familiar with the instruments, so I will only describe the relevant instruments and special features of the DC3 here.

Main Instruments:

1) Airspeed Indicator

Shown here: 114 knots

- Maintain at least 105 knots during climb

- Cruise: 140–160 knots

- 180 knots is maximum structural speed

If you are in a hurry, go ahead and fly that fast, but fuel consumption will increase drastically.

2) Altitude Indicator

Shown here: 1,310 feet

3) Attitude Indicator

Unfortunately, this instrument is incorrectly modeled in this DC3:
The white pointer at the top of the instrument should move during a turn, but stays frozen dead center at the top:

Incorrect:          Correct:

I have fixed the indicator.

If you are interested, you can install this fix into your DC3.
In the folder of this flight, you will find the corrected file named "DC3.CAB".
Now look into your P3D directory for your installed Buffalo DC3, and locate the "Panel" subfolder inside.
For me, the path looks like this (it might vary slightly on your system):
D:\Prepar3D\SimObjects\Airplanes\DC3 Buffalo Airways\Panel
Rename the existing "DC3.CAB" (I named mine "DC3.CABOriginal") and copy my corrected version into the directory.

Done! Now the white pointer moves correctly with your bank angle.

4) Turn Coordinator

If you choose not to fix the "broken" attitude indicator, you can use this instrument alone to check if you are flying a standard 20° rate turn. The two tick marks at the top left/right indicate 20°.

5) Vertical Speed

Shown here: 1,425 ft/min

On this flight, the DC3 is relatively light (low payload and few passengers), so you can climb at about 1,200 ft/min while maintaining 105–110 knots.
For descent, I recommend 700 ft/min.

6) Propeller Tachometer

Shown here: 2,509 RPM

The RPM shown here is the maximum for cruise (approx. 85% propeller lever position).
For a fuel-efficient cruise, reduce the RPM to 2,200 (65%).

7) Manifold Pressure

Shown here: 42 InHg

The power shown here is the maximum for cruise (approx. 85% throttle lever position).

For a fuel-efficient flight, reduce to 35 InHg (65%) or less.

8) Oil Pressure Gauge

Normal:             Imbalance:

If one of the two engines develops an oil leak, you can read it from the oil pressure. In this case, Engine 1 (the left one) is affected.

9) Fuel Gauge Selector Switch

This switch only toggles the "10" indicator display, not the tank from which fuel is being drawn.

10) Fuel Gauge

This gauge shows the fuel level of the tank selected with switch "9" (left/center/right).
If you see 20 gallons here, for example, you can assume that there is just as much left in the other two, totaling 60 gallons.

11) Propeller Levers

- Set to 100% for takeoff.

- Reduce to about 85% quickly after takeoff.

- Reduce further during cruise if necessary.

- Do not set back to 100% until your final approach, ensuring full power is immediately available in case of a go-around.

- Under no circumstances set the propellers to 100% during a descent at over 140 knots while the throttles are at 10–20%.

Even though 100% prop pitch creates more drag, which would help with slowing down, it is a bad idea: The airflow would force the propeller to spin way too fast (windmilling), dragging the engine along with it. Without protective oil pressure and the counter-pressure from internal combustion, this inevitably results in catastrophic engine failure.

12) Throttle Levers

- Set to 100% for takeoff.

- Reduce to about 85% quickly after takeoff.

- Reduce further during cruise if necessary.

- For descent and deceleration, set power to 10–20% (do not pull back to 0%) to keep the engine under slight tension ("on the pull").

13) Mixture Levers

I know that mixture control is handled differently in a real DC3, but in P3D, the DC3 is treated like a modern aircraft. Therefore, the mixture must be managed accordingly to avoid power loss.

- Set to 100% for takeoff at sea level.

- Set to 65% for takeoff at Saudarflugvollur (2,200 feet altitude).

- Lean out continuously during climb: approx. 60% at 3,000 feet, 53% at 5,000 feet.

The 4 actual mixture positions of the real DC-3:

1) Emergency Rich (All the way up/forward): Emergency use only. Provides an extremely rich fuel flow for cooling during engine fires or massive overheating. Locked out during normal operation.

2) Auto Rich (The standard position): Used for takeoff, climb, approach, and landing—completely independent of airport altitude. The system handles altitude compensation automatically in this setting.

3) Auto Lean (The economy position): Engaged only during cruise, once cruise power has been set, to save fuel.

4) Idle Cut-Off (All the way down/back): Shuts off the fuel valve completely. Used to shut down the engine.

14) Sperry Autopilot

The DC3 autopilot does not function like a modern autopilot.
It can only hold the selected heading (e.g., 060) and the pitch angle (climb / descend / level).

It is also not designed to fly a finely coordinated turn to 360° while maintaining a 20° bank angle. In P3D, however, you can fly such turns using the autopilot.
But since it works in the sim, you can of course use it. You just need to know that it is not possible in reality.

1) Turns "Heading Hold" on.

2) Select your desired heading here.

3) Turns "Pitch" (attitude angle) on.

3) Adjust your pitch angle here.

- For climb, choose something between +8 and +10 for 1,200 ft/min.

- Slowly back off the pitch about 200 feet before reaching your target altitude.

- For level flight, choose approx. +2 to -2 depending on your speed.
I recommend mapping Pitch +/- to buttons on your joystick so you don't have to fiddle with the mouse all the time.

If you have dedicated hardware (e.g., a Saitek Autopilot Panel), you can also control the DC3 like a modern aircraft.
Simply enter your desired altitude and climb rate, activate ALT / VS, and the DC3 will dutifully climb to and hold that altitude.
However, doing so ruins the authentic flight feel of the old Sperry AP.
Furthermore, I see advantages in using the Sperry:
For example, Pitch +9.2 yields a climb rate of 1,250 ft/min, which lets you maintain a steady 105 knots. With the Saitek AP Panel, you can only select a climb rate of 1,200 or 1,300 ft/min. One is too shallow, the other too steep.
With a little practice, you will surely get the hang of the Sperry AP in no time.

Propeller Feathering Button

There are 2 red buttons located centrally above the cockpit (on the overhead panel).

If you need to shut down an engine due to engine problems, you feather the propeller to reduce aerodynamic drag. In the DC-3, this is very simple: just press the corresponding button, and the propeller will automatically be feathered. Afterwards, you should also pull the corresponding propeller lever all the way back to the detent position (see below).

Function and sequence when pressing the button:

1. The red button engages: When you press the red feathering button on the overhead panel, it engages electromagnetically (held down by a holding coil).

2. The electric pump starts: This immediately activates a separate, extremely powerful auxiliary electric oil pump. It pumps engine oil directly into the propeller hub at high pressure (approx. 300–400 psi).

3. The lever is bypassed: This massive oil pressure forces the propeller governor and the blades strictly into the feathered position (approx. 88°–89° pitch angle), completely independent of the current position of the blue propeller lever. Note that the lever in the cockpit does not move on its own during this process.

4. Automatic shutdown: As soon as the blades reach the full feathered position and cannot rotate any further, the oil pressure in the lines spikes rapidly (above 400 psi). A pressure switch senses this, shuts off the electric pump, and the red button pops back out on its own with a loud click! The propeller is now feathered in the wind and stops rotating.

Why the lever is still pulled back in practice:
Even though the system does not strictly require it, pilots usually pull the blue propeller lever (and the mixture lever to Idle Cut-Off) all the way back during this maneuver anyway.

The reason is pure caution: Should the electric pump fail in flight or the red button pop out prematurely, the propeller governor would immediately try to adjust according to the lever's position. If the lever is still set to "Maximum", the airflow would immediately force the dying engine to spin brutally again (windmilling), completely destroying the engine.

GPS:

I recommend displaying the GPS and placing it in a suitable location, e.g., in the bottom left corner.

Activate buttons 1, 2, and 3:

1) Route

2) Terrain

3) Waypoint

4) Shows the base speed, which usually differs from the speed displayed by the airspeed indicator:

Here 114 knots, but the base speed is 107 knots.

5) Shows wind speed and direction with an arrow (relative to the aircraft).

This is very helpful for selecting the appropriate runway (with a headwind).

6) Shows the altitude above ground.

The altimeter/altitude indicator only shows the altitude above sea level:

Here 1310 feet, but the aircraft is only 1261 feet from the ground.

I hope you enjoyed this flight, if so please give feedback to p3d@andi20.ch . Also send error messages (spelling mistakes, wrong information, etc.) to p3d@andi20.ch, I appreciate any feedback.