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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
The Condor began as an all-metal transport aircraft. Its long, slim fuselage and four wing-mounted engines expressed the ambitions of late-1930s airline travel. A Berlin-to-New York demonstration flight in 1938 helped draw attention to its long-distance capability. Military Fw 200 developments later served very different roles and carried different equipment.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗An old adversary finally becomes an aircraft to fly
Brown first admired the Condor at Tempelhof in 1937. Wartime encounters from a Martlet fighter then gave him a very different relationship with it. After the war, he finally entered its cockpit as a pilot. The orderly, almost civilian arrangement appealed to him, although the windscreen framework restricted the view to either side. Takeoff proved the most demanding part of its handling, with a strong tendency to swing left.
Postwar flight report in a special armed VIP transport, identified in Brown’s narrative as Fw 200 C-4/U1 Werk-Nr. 137. His military aircraft differs from the civil Condor. Photographic captions also discuss the U2.
Air International / Captain Eric Brown · Read more ↗Period trim and course instruments
The earlier MSFS 2020 guide labels trim and course instruments; it does not establish unchanged MSFS 2024 operation.
FW 200 Condor · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Microsoft Flight Simulator · 2 min ·
Microsoft Flight Simulator | Local Legend 19: Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor
Microsoft's introduction to its Fw 200 Condor simulator release.
Simulator · Microsoft Fw 200 · MSFS
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor
The Condor began as an all-metal transport aircraft. Its long, slim fuselage and four wing-mounted engines expressed the ambitions of late-1930s airline travel. A Berlin-to-New York demonstration flight in 1938 helped draw attention to its long-distance capability.
Military Fw 200 developments later served very different roles and carried different equipment. The photographs identify civil airliners and armed wartime variants, whose cabins and cockpits differed.
Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor
Aircraft type designators
A model-specific ICAO or FAA designator has not been confirmed in the references reviewed for this aircraft.
History & design
The pilot meets his recovered aircraft sixty years later
At the restoration team’s 2003 reception, Thieme stood quietly before the remains of 0063, visibly moved. The team presented him with a framed piece of its metal. As the formalities ended, he began speaking enthusiastically about flying the Condor and its qualities. The wreck had become a connection between a wartime crew’s survival and the people preserving its aircraft.
Condor Team Bremen · Thieme und sein Flugzeug ↗Restoration team’s own record of the reunion
A former pilot remembers the comfort of the Condor
The restoration team records Franz Dehner comparing Condor flying with travelling in a luxury car. It also recalls Dehner and Thieme’s enthusiasm for its performance.
Condor Team Bremen · Fw 200 Condor im Flug ↗Brief reported recollection; exact aircraft variant not identified
Development milestones
First flight: 27 July 1937
Wikipedia contributors · Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor ↗Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1363681586
Pilot accounts
An old adversary finally becomes an aircraft to fly
Brown first admired the Condor at Tempelhof in 1937. Wartime encounters from a Martlet fighter then gave him a very different relationship with it. After the war, he finally entered its cockpit as a pilot. The orderly, almost civilian arrangement appealed to him, although the windscreen framework restricted the view to either side.
Takeoff proved the most demanding part of its handling, with a strong tendency to swing left. Once airborne, Brown found a stable aircraft that needed prompt trimming after changes of speed or power. He also recalled reliable equipment during several flights in unpleasant weather. His affection for its appearance survived, tempered by practical experience of its limitations and the effort required to fly this particular Condor.
Postwar flight report in a special armed VIP transport, identified in Brown’s narrative as Fw 200 C-4/U1 Werk-Nr. 137. His military aircraft differs from the civil Condor. Photographic captions also discuss the U2.
Read the full account · Air International / Captain Eric Brown ↗A long patrol ends with the crew escaping into a dinghy
Thieme was approaching Vaernes after a long Atlantic sortie when the landing became an emergency. The restoration team’s account says that only the left flaps extended, pulling the aircraft strongly to that side. He struggled to stabilise it, then had to bring it down on the Trondheimfjord instead of reaching the runway.
The water landing gave the crew a chance to escape. Everyone left the aircraft and climbed into the dinghy before the Condor sank, nose first. Thieme later described the event as a controlled crash. The explanation of the flap problem comes from the restoration team’s historical account.
Reported experience in Fw 200 C-3 0063, F8+BR. The restoration team links a 2002 interview, but this summary uses its written account; the recording has not been reviewed.
Read the full account · Condor Team Bremen ↗After crossing the Atlantic, the crew cannot open the door
Henke’s crew had brought the Brandenburg across the Atlantic from Berlin, but reaching New York did not immediately let them leave their seats behind. At Floyd Bennett Field, a ladder arrived beside the aircraft and the cabin door handle moved. Nobody emerged: the door remained shut.
Police tried pulling from outside while a spectator joked that the crew might have to return to Germany for the key. Eventually the door opened and Henke stepped out. His first concern was ordinary after such a long journey: having spent more than a day sitting down, the crew wanted to rest by standing.
Contemporary TIME report of the Brandenburg’s New York arrival in August 1938. Reported remarks, not a later first-person memoir. The brief source supports this arrival episode.
Read the full account · TIME ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 2024FW 200 Condor
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
FW 200 Condor
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
MSFS 2020Fw 200 Condor
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Fw 200 Condor
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 23.45 m (76 ft 11 in) |
| Wingspan | 32.85 m (107 ft 9 in) |
| Height | 6.3 m (20 ft 8 in) |
| Wing area | 119.85 m² (1,290.1 sq ft) |
| Empty weight | 17,005 kg (37,490 lb) |
| Max takeoff weight | 22,714 kg (50,076 lb) |
| Powerplant | 4 × Bramo 323R-2 nine-cylinder single-row air-cooled radial piston engine , 809 kW (1,085 hp) each |
| Propellers | 3-bladed variable-pitch propellers |
| Maximum speed | 380 km/h (240 mph, 210 kn) at 4,800 m (15,700 ft) |
| Cruise speed | 335 km/h (208 mph, 181 kn) at 4,000 m (13,000 ft) (Max cruise) |
| Range | 3,560 km (2,210 mi, 1,920 nmi) |
| Service ceiling | 6,000 m (20,000 ft) |
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
Period trim and course instrumentsFW 200 Condor · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The earlier MSFS 2020 guide labels trim and course instruments; it does not establish unchanged MSFS 2024 operation.
August 2024 guide · PDF pages 10,19; later simulator implementation not tested
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Locate the fuel-system controlsFw 200 Condor · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
The main fuel panel sits behind the copilot on the right; pump controls also occupy the copilot’s left console.
MSFS 2020 guide · PDF pages 5–9
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Set the autopilot’s target altitudeFw 200 Condor · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
Separate knobs capture the current altitude or adjust the target manually.
MSFS 2020 guide · PDF page 12
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Find the autopilot modesFw 200 Condor · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
The panel labels GPS, heading, altitude and vertical-speed hold, with manual heading and vertical-speed adjustments.
MSFS 2020 guide · PDF page 11
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Use the radio operator’s stationFw 200 Condor · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
The rear console includes COM, NAV, ADF and transponder controls.
MSFS 2020 guide · PDF pages 24–26
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Clear the yokes from viewFw 200 Condor · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
Pilot and copilot yokes have separate visibility controls.
MSFS 2020 guide · PDF page 23
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Pilot account
An old adversary finally becomes an aircraft to flyPostwar flight report in a special armed VIP transport, identified in Brown’s narrative as Fw 200 C-4/U1 Werk-Nr. 137. His military aircraft differs from the civil Condor. Photographic captions also discuss the U2.
Brown first admired the Condor at Tempelhof in 1937. Wartime encounters from a Martlet fighter then gave him a very different relationship with it. After the war, he finally entered its cockpit as a pilot. The orderly, almost civilian arrangement appealed to him, although the windscreen framework restricted the view to either side. Takeoff proved the most demanding part of its handling, with a strong tendency to swing left.
Eric Brown
Air International / Captain Eric Brown · Read the source ↗A long patrol ends with the crew escaping into a dinghyReported experience in Fw 200 C-3 0063, F8+BR. The restoration team links a 2002 interview, but this summary uses its written account; the recording has not been reviewed.
Thieme was approaching Vaernes after a long Atlantic sortie when the landing became an emergency. The restoration team’s account says that only the left flaps extended, pulling the aircraft strongly to that side. He struggled to stabilise it, then had to bring it down on the Trondheimfjord instead of reaching the runway. The water landing gave the crew a chance to escape. Everyone left the aircraft and climbed into the dinghy before the Condor sank, nose first.
Werner Thieme
Condor Team Bremen · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor ManualMicrosoft / aircraft developers Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
Focke-Wulf Fw 200 CondorWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1363681586 · retrieved 2026-09-12 Thieme und sein FlugzeugCondor Team Bremen · The team’s record of its 2 September 2003 reunion with Thieme Fw 200 Condor im FlugCondor Team Bremen · Brief reported recollections; insufficient material for another substantial pilot accountResource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftDeveloper documentation
Microsoft Flight Simulator Releases Local Legend 19: The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 CondorMicrosoft Flight Simulator Team · 2024-08-22 · release and package scopeBuilt-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
Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor
Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Partial review
MSFS 2024 · MSFS 2020
Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor: The profile supplies its chosen large-transport resistance.
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