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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
Boeing developed the B-17 during the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps. It became closely associated with the European air war, but the aircraft also served in transport, maritime patrol and rescue work. The simulator product represents the B-17G production version.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗A retirement dream becomes a copilot checkout
Bjorkman used money she had intended for retirement to buy a B-17 copilot checkout at an EAA auction. She already had considerable tailwheel experience, but the largest aircraft she had flown was a Piper Aztec. Additional light-twin practice helped her prepare, while the sight of the Fortress in its hangar made the scale of the next step unmistakable.
Air & Space · July 2015. A second-in-command checkout in EAA’s Aluminum Overcast with Bob Davis.
Air & Space / Smithsonian · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Nick Murray · 18 min ·
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress flight with cockpit view and ATC
Engine start through landing in a preserved B-17G, with cockpit views and radio traffic.
Real aircraft · Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Watch on YouTube ↗
YouTube ZenosWarbirds · 28 min ·
How to Fly the Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" - Flight Operations (Restored 1943)
A restored wartime training film offers a period view of B-17 operation.
Real aircraft · Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Boeing developed the B-17 during the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps. It became closely associated with the European air war, but the aircraft also served in transport, maritime patrol and rescue work. The simulator product represents the B-17G production version.
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Boeing → · Explore the family →
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Wikipedia contributors · Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress ↗Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
From Model 299 to wartime formations
The Fortress began as Boeing’s Model 299, first flown in 1935, and developed through successive wartime versions to the B-17G. It became closely associated with the Eighth Air Force’s bombing campaign over Germany and occupied Europe. Boeing, Douglas and Vega built the aircraft; crews continued using some survivors for civil work after the war.
The Museum of Flight · Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress ↗Museum of Flight · family history
One survivor’s changing jobs
The museum’s B-17F, 42-29782, was built in Seattle in 1943 and served principally in training. Its later life included a park war memorial, aerial spraying, firefighting and appearances in Tora! Tora! Tora! and Memphis Belle. Restoration returned it to military appearance as Boeing Bee. Its screen roles and restored equipment are part of that individual aircraft’s later history.
The Museum of Flight · Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress ↗Museum of Flight · 42-29782 / Boeing Bee
Development milestones
First flight: 28 July 1935
Wikipedia contributors · Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress ↗Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1373944925
Pilot accounts
A retirement dream becomes a copilot checkout
Bjorkman used money she had intended for retirement to buy a B-17 copilot checkout at an EAA auction. She already had considerable tailwheel experience, but the largest aircraft she had flown was a Piper Aztec. Additional light-twin practice helped her prepare, while the sight of the Fortress in its hangar made the scale of the next step unmistakable. Starting it also introduced her to the coordinated work of the instructor and ground crew.
Once airborne, she found the controls unexpectedly light and the aircraft comfortable to manoeuvre. The weather made landing a different experience: Davis coached her through a demanding crosswind and helped with asymmetric power. She finished that first landing tired, then returned the next day for more practice. The achievement was specific and personal: a second-in-command endorsement in an aircraft she had long wanted to fly.
Air & Space · July 2015. A second-in-command checkout in EAA’s Aluminum Overcast with Bob Davis.
Read the full account · Air & Space / Smithsonian ↗Fear, crew humour and the loss of a friend
Nelms remembered the shock of an encounter with antiaircraft fire. A burst beneath the aircraft made him frightened, followed by embarrassment at his own reaction. He describes gathering himself and checking on the crew. Their responses, including a radio operator joking that nobody had asked about him yet, gave that frightening moment an unexpectedly ordinary human exchange.
Another memory was much harder to carry. He had eaten breakfast with a friend before a mission, then watched that friend’s aircraft suffer a hit and descend out of control. In the museum interview, the contrast between their familiar morning conversation and the loss later that day remains vivid. His recollections give the Fortress a crew’s perspective: fear, concern for the people aboard and the sudden absence of someone who had been part of everyday life.
The Museum of Flight · June 2019. Interview recollections of wartime B-17 missions; his aircraft variant is not established in this interview.
Read the full account · The Museum of Flight ↗Learning the bomber, and meeting Marie
Clark arrived at Las Vegas Army Airfield in 1944 after training in a small twin. The B-17 cockpit seemed enormous and crowded with unfamiliar instruments, and he learned its work through gunnery-training flights before joining a crew bound for England. That same posting introduced him to Marie Mountain, a WASP pilot. An invitation to listen to Debussy at the library began the relationship that led to their marriage.
With the 100th Bomb Group, he discovered how much formation flying demanded physically. Departure and assembly could take place in poor weather, followed by long periods wearing an oxygen mask and cold-weather equipment. An electrically heated suit solved one problem and created another: perspiration fogged his goggles. These practical discomforts sit beside the larger events in his account, showing how much effort simply occupying the copilot’s seat could require.
100th Air Refueling Wing interview · May 2022. B-17 copilot training and wartime service beginning in 1944.
Read the full account · U.S. Department of Defense / 100th Air Refueling Wing ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
MSFS 2024B-17G Flying Fortress
MicroProse · Released
B-17G Flying Fortress
MicroProse · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 103 ft 9 in (31.62 m) |
| Height | 19 ft 1 in (5.82 m) |
| Wing area | 1,420 sq ft (131.92 m² ) |
| Empty weight | 36,135 lb (16,391 kg) |
| Gross weight | 54,000 lb (24,500 kg) |
| Max takeoff weight | 65,500 lb (29,700 kg) |
| Powerplant | 4 × Wright R-1820 -97 "Cyclone" turbosupercharged radial engines , 1,200 hp (895 kW) each |
| Propellers | 3-bladed Hamilton-Standard constant-speed propeller |
| Maximum speed | 295 mph (472 km/h, 256.34 kn) (At 25,000 Feet) |
| Cruise speed | 182 mph (293 km/h, 158 kn) |
| Range | 2,000 mi (3,219 km, 1,738 nmi) with 6,000 lb ( 2,700 kg ) bombload |
| Service ceiling | 35,600 ft (10,850 m) |
| Rate of climb | 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Pilot account
A retirement dream becomes a copilot checkoutAir & Space · July 2015. A second-in-command checkout in EAA’s Aluminum Overcast with Bob Davis.
Bjorkman used money she had intended for retirement to buy a B-17 copilot checkout at an EAA auction. She already had considerable tailwheel experience, but the largest aircraft she had flown was a Piper Aztec. Additional light-twin practice helped her prepare, while the sight of the Fortress in its hangar made the scale of the next step unmistakable. Starting it also introduced her to the coordinated work of the instructor and ground crew.
Eileen Bjorkman
Air & Space / Smithsonian · Read the source ↗Fear, crew humour and the loss of a friendThe Museum of Flight · June 2019. Interview recollections of wartime B-17 missions; his aircraft variant is not established in this interview.
Nelms remembered the shock of an encounter with antiaircraft fire. A burst beneath the aircraft made him frightened, followed by embarrassment at his own reaction. He describes gathering himself and checking on the crew. Their responses, including a radio operator joking that nobody had asked about him yet, gave that frightening moment an unexpectedly ordinary human exchange. Another memory was much harder to carry.
Dick Nelms
The Museum of Flight · Read the source ↗Developer documentation
B-17G Flying Fortress — product listingB-17G Flying Fortress · MSFS 2024
Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogue
Contrail · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Aircraft background
Boeing B-17 Flying FortressWikipedia contributors · Research background · retrieved 2026-09-12 Boeing B-17F Flying FortressThe Museum of Flight · Family history and the museum’s 42-29782Product
B-17G Flying FortressKhamsin · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12 B-17G Flying Fortress MSFS24 by MicroProse | Contrail ShopContrail · Product listing captured 2026-09-30; edition scope from the reviewed catalogueType designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 2 profile choices
MicroProse B-17G Flying Fortress
MicroProse · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2024
MicroProse B-17G Flying Fortress: The selected mechanical-control loading belongs to the named B-17G reference; four engine cues do not establish a multiple of yoke hand force.
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
Aircraft reference · Manual starting point
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress: The selected mechanical-control loading belongs to the named B-17G reference; four engine cues do not establish a multiple of yoke hand force.
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