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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
The Polish PZL-104 Wilga was designed as a short-field utility aircraft, with a high wing, extensively glazed cabin and distinctive landing gear. It has served aeroclubs and utility operators in roles including towing and observation. Mike Patey's DRACO was an extensively modified turbine-powered Wilga. DRACO X in Microsoft Flight Simulator is a separate Got Friends interpretation with its own equipment and features.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗Taking responsibility after losing the original DRACO
Hours after the original DRACO was destroyed during departure from Reno/Stead, Patey spoke openly about the choices he regretted. He told AOPA that his wife and their fellow passenger were physically well, and described crawling out beneath the broken left wing. The aircraft that had brought him a large following was gone, but the people aboard had survived.
AOPA interview · September 2019. Original turbine-converted Wilga DRACO, the predecessor to the simulator’s DRACO X. Patey’s recollection, not an accident-investigation finding.
AOPA · Read more ↗DRACO X's simulator-specific equipment
The manual identifies three-axis trim, separate pilot and copilot autopilot disconnects, G3X displays and custom landing-gear squat behaviour. These belong to the simulation.
Draco X · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Vintage Simulations · 21 min ·
Draco X - Low Level Fun Around Monument Valley - Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
A low-level sightseeing flight in the MSFS 2024 Draco X.
Simulator · Draco X · MSFS 2024
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Draco X
The Polish PZL-104 Wilga was designed as a short-field utility aircraft, with a high wing, extensively glazed cabin and distinctive landing gear. It has served aeroclubs and utility operators in roles including towing and observation.
Mike Patey's DRACO was an extensively modified turbine-powered Wilga. DRACO X in Microsoft Flight Simulator is a separate Got Friends interpretation with its own equipment and features. The developer manual describes DRACO X's simulated equipment and features.
Draco X
Aircraft type designators
A model-specific ICAO or FAA designator has not been confirmed in the references reviewed for this aircraft.
History & design
An AirVenture debut in 2018
EAA reported that Patey finished the original DRACO eight days before AirVenture 2018 and flew it to Oshkosh. The extensively modified Wilga then appeared in the convention’s short-field competition.
Experimental Aircraft Association · DRACO: a beast of a bushplane ↗EAA’s March 2019 report; performance superlatives and unqualified demonstration distances not adopted
A planned successor takes shape in the simulator
Got Friends’ manual describes DRACO X as a design still being developed with Mike Patey. Its simulator equipment reflects that proposed successor, rather than an unchanged copy of the original DRACO.
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Draco X ↗November 2024 manual · PDF pp.3–4; dated project description, not confirmation of present build status
Development milestones
First flight: 24 April 1962
Wikipedia contributors · PZL-104 Wilga ↗PZL-104 Wilga · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1366088443
Pilot accounts
Taking responsibility after losing the original DRACO
Hours after the original DRACO was destroyed during departure from Reno/Stead, Patey spoke openly about the choices he regretted. He told AOPA that his wife and their fellow passenger were physically well, and described crawling out beneath the broken left wing. The aircraft that had brought him a large following was gone, but the people aboard had survived.
Patey said he could have waited for the gusty wind to ease or chosen another runway. He took responsibility for continuing with the departure and wanted other pilots to learn from his experience. His public response gives a personal ending to the original DRACO’s short flying career, before the later DRACO X project.
AOPA interview · September 2019. Original turbine-converted Wilga DRACO, the predecessor to the simulator’s DRACO X. Patey’s recollection, not an accident-investigation finding.
Read the full account · AOPA ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
MSFS 2024Draco X
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Draco X
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 8.10 m (26 ft 6 in) |
| Wingspan | 11.12 m (36 ft 5 in) |
| Height | 2.96 m (9 ft 6 in) |
| Wing area | 15.50 m² (166.85 sq ft) |
| Empty weight | 900 kg (1,984 lb) |
| Gross weight | 1,300 kg (2,868 lb) |
| Powerplant | 1 × Ivchenko AI-14 RA air-cooled 9-cylinder radial piston engine , 194 kW (260 hp) |
| Maximum speed | 195 km/h (121 mph, 105 kn) |
| Range | 670 km (416 mi, 361 nmi) |
| Service ceiling | 4,040 m (13,250 ft) |
| Rate of climb | 5.5 m/s (1,082 ft/min) |
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.
Simulator documentation
DRACO X's simulator-specific equipmentDraco X · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The manual identifies three-axis trim, separate pilot and copilot autopilot disconnects, G3X displays and custom landing-gear squat behaviour. These belong to the simulation.
Got Friends DRACO X manual · PDF pp.5,7
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Door removal and opening use different controlsDraco X · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Door handles open or close each door; separate removal levers provide the open-cockpit option.
DRACO X manual · PDF p.8
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗The low-fuel indicators also open fuel configurationDraco X · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The cockpit legend identifies a fuel-configuration click action on the wing-tank low-fuel indicators.
DRACO X manual · PDF p.7
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Some labelled switches are inoperativeDraco X · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The cockpit legend marks the 747 pod light and tail-camera functions as inoperative.
DRACO X manual · PDF p.7; documented limitations, installed revision not observed
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Headphone simulation has its own toggleDraco X · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The interior includes a headphone-simulation switch, separate from the aircraft’s radio controls.
DRACO X manual · PDF p.8
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Enter through the left door or its stepDraco X · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
In MSFS 2024, the left door triggers entry and exit. With that door removed, the left doorstep becomes the trigger.
DRACO X manual · PDF p.8; explicitly MSFS 2024
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Pilot account
Taking responsibility after losing the original DRACOAOPA interview · September 2019. Original turbine-converted Wilga DRACO, the predecessor to the simulator’s DRACO X. Patey’s recollection, not an accident-investigation finding.
Hours after the original DRACO was destroyed during departure from Reno/Stead, Patey spoke openly about the choices he regretted. He told AOPA that his wife and their fellow passenger were physically well, and described crawling out beneath the broken left wing. The aircraft that had brought him a large following was gone, but the people aboard had survived. Patey said he could have waited for the gusty wind to ease or chosen another runway.
Mike Patey
AOPA · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Draco XMicrosoft / aircraft developers Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
PZL-104 WilgaWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1366088443 · retrieved 2026-09-12 DRACO: a beast of a bushplaneExperimental Aircraft Association · 5 March 2019 · original DRACO, before its lossResource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftBuilt-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 · 1 profile choice
Draco X
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2024
Draco X: The selected resistance accompanies the modified-aircraft rendition.
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