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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
Saab and Fairchild developed the 340 for short regional routes. Its low wing carries two turboprops, and its cabin seats passengers three abreast. Saab continued the programme after Fairchild withdrew.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗A smooth first landing followed by a difficult radio call
Watching flights from the jumpseat helped the new pilot prepare, but the first real sector still felt overwhelming. The training captain carried much of the preparation workload while the trainee tried to keep up. The Saab moved much faster than the small aircraft used in training, and the first arrival into Sydney came after dark. With coaching, the landing went surprisingly well.
Pseudonymous first-person account · June 2020. Rex Saab 340 line training from Wagga Wagga to Sydney; exact date and variant of the earlier flight are not given.
That 777 Pilot · Read more ↗Later updates addressed cockpit indications and lighting
Sim Update 4 lists corrections to the localizer/CDI display in approach mode, the HSI navigation-source indication, the cold-and-dark MFD state and the dome-light dimmer. The source records what Microsoft reported fixing in that release.
340B · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Microsoft Flight Simulator Team · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Stockholm Planespotting · 22 min ·
Cockpit Jumpseat on a Saab 340B | Bromma to Trollhättan with Västflyg
A sponsored cockpit ride on a Saab 340B between Bromma and Trollhättan.
Real aircraft · Saab 340B
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Saab 340B
Saab and Fairchild developed the 340 for short regional routes. Its low wing carries two turboprops, and its cabin seats passengers three abreast. Saab continued the programme after Fairchild withdrew.
The 340A and 340B are separate developments, with cockpit equipment also varying by operator. The simulator documentation describes the represented 340B.
Saab 340B
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
The first crew takes a new commuter aircraft into the air
Saab’s anniversary account names Per Pellebergs and Eric Sjöberg as the pilots of the first flight from Tannefors on 25 January 1983. The flight lasted one hour and twenty-one minutes, with planned system checks reported to have proceeded normally.
Saab · Forty years since the Saab 340 inaugural flight ↗Saab retrospective published forty years after the flight
Development milestones
First flight: 25 January 1983
Wikipedia contributors · Saab 340 ↗Saab 340 · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1370519868
Pilot accounts
A smooth first landing followed by a difficult radio call
Watching flights from the jumpseat helped the new pilot prepare, but the first real sector still felt overwhelming. The training captain carried much of the preparation workload while the trainee tried to keep up. The Saab moved much faster than the small aircraft used in training, and the first arrival into Sydney came after dark.
With coaching, the landing went surprisingly well. The next radio call was less successful: rapid taxi instructions overwhelmed the trainee, and the captain calmly corrected the readback. On the return to Wagga Wagga, the more experienced pilots could relax and joke while their new colleague was still struggling to process the day. The recollection captures how a successful landing can coexist with feeling very new to the rest of airline work.
Pseudonymous first-person account · June 2020. Rex Saab 340 line training from Wagga Wagga to Sydney; exact date and variant of the earlier flight are not given.
Read the full account · That 777 Pilot ↗A winter arrival challenges a new captain’s confidence
Reed had spent more than two years as a Saab copilot before moving into command. On a snowy night at International Falls, a full aircraft and a slippery runway produced a much longer landing roll than he expected. From the ramp, a local fuel-truck driver saw the aircraft rushing past in a cloud of snow and set off to help, believing it would not stop in time.
The aircraft stopped close to the runway’s end. Afterwards, Reed returned to his manuals to understand what he had missed and found a more restrictive winter-operations limit than the one he had used. His account ends with a pointed reflection on being a new captain. The experience is presented as a personal recollection of a mistake, with its historical operating details kept in the source.
Historic Airline Group · September 2016 retrospective. Northwest Airlink Saab 340 captain recalling International Falls; exact flight date and variant are not supplied.
Read the full account · Historic Airline Group ↗Retiring with the aircraft that shaped a career
Watt’s final airline landing coincided with Loganair retiring the Saab 340, bringing two farewells together. He flew the last scheduled service along the Kirkwall, Inverness and Glasgow route, with his wife Rosemary among the passengers. His sixty-fifth birthday followed the next day, giving the occasion another personal marker beyond the change in fleet.
He described retiring with the aircraft as fitting after decades of watching Scotland pass beneath its wings. The airline also remembered the cockpit commentaries for which he had become known to crews and customers. The departure closed a period in which the Saab had connected island communities with the mainland, carrying everyday passengers and supplies. Watt’s remarks connect that wider transport role with the view of someone who had spent much of his career doing the flying.
Shetland News · 25 January 2024. Loganair’s last scheduled Saab 340 service, Kirkwall–Inverness–Glasgow; the report includes Watt’s comments and his wife’s presence onboard.
Read the full account · Shetland News ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
MSFS 2024340B
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
340B
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 19.73 m (64 ft 9 in) |
| Wingspan | 21.44 m (70 ft 4 in) |
| Height | 6.97 m (22 ft 10 in) |
| Wing area | 41.81 m² (450.0 sq ft) |
| Empty weight | 8,618 kg (19,000 lb) average operational empty weight |
| Max takeoff weight | 13,154 kg (29,000 lb) , increased to 30,000 pounds for 340B models by SAAB Service Bulletin (SB) 340-51-033 with Modification Number 3655 |
| Powerplant | 2 × General Electric CT7 -9B turboprop engines, 1,390 kW (1,870 shp) each for take-off (ISA, APR) |
| Propellers | 4-bladed Hamilton Standard 14RF19 (or Dowty Rotol ), 3.35 m (11 ft 0 in) diameter four-blade constant speed, fully-feathering reversible propellers |
| Cruise speed | 524 km/h (326 mph, 283 kn) |
| Range | 1,350 km (840 mi, 730 nmi) long range cruise with 34 passengers and baggage |
| Service ceiling | 7,620 m (25,000 ft) |
| Rate of climb | 10.2 m/s (2,010 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
Later updates addressed cockpit indications and lighting340B · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Sim Update 4 lists corrections to the localizer/CDI display in approach mode, the HSI navigation-source indication, the cold-and-dark MFD state and the dome-light dimmer. The source records what Microsoft reported fixing in that release.
MSFS 2024 1.6.32.0 release notes · 8 December 2025; subsequent version behaviour is not established here
Microsoft Flight Simulator Team · Read the source ↗Startup and checklist behaviour changed after release340B · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Sim Update 2 lists Saab 1.0.9 fixes for runway-start readiness, cold-and-dark displays and checklist camera targets, documenting changes since release.
MSFS 2024 1.4.20.0 release notes · 15 May 2025; published fixes, not a current runtime test
Microsoft Flight Simulator Team · Read the source ↗Pilot account
A smooth first landing followed by a difficult radio callPseudonymous first-person account · June 2020. Rex Saab 340 line training from Wagga Wagga to Sydney; exact date and variant of the earlier flight are not given.
Watching flights from the jumpseat helped the new pilot prepare, but the first real sector still felt overwhelming. The training captain carried much of the preparation workload while the trainee tried to keep up. The Saab moved much faster than the small aircraft used in training, and the first arrival into Sydney came after dark. With coaching, the landing went surprisingly well.
That 777 Pilot
That 777 Pilot · Read the source ↗A winter arrival challenges a new captain’s confidenceHistoric Airline Group · September 2016 retrospective. Northwest Airlink Saab 340 captain recalling International Falls; exact flight date and variant are not supplied.
Reed had spent more than two years as a Saab copilot before moving into command. On a snowy night at International Falls, a full aircraft and a slippery runway produced a much longer landing roll than he expected. From the ramp, a local fuel-truck driver saw the aircraft rushing past in a cloud of snow and set off to help, believing it would not stop in time. The aircraft stopped close to the runway’s end.
David Reed
Historic Airline Group · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
Saab 340Wikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1370519868 · retrieved 2026-09-12 Forty years since the Saab 340 inaugural flightSaab · January 2023 · manufacturer retrospectiveResource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftDeveloper documentation
MSFS 2024 Sim Update 2 release notesMicrosoft Flight Simulator Team · 15 May 2025 · simulator 1.4.20.0, Saab package 1.0.9 MSFS 2024 Sim Update 4 release notesMicrosoft Flight Simulator Team · 8 December 2025 · simulator 1.6.32.0Type 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
Carenado Saab 340
Carenado · Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
X-Plane 11
Carenado Saab 340: The profile supplies selected regional-aircraft yoke resistance.
Saab 340B
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2024
Saab 340B: The profile supplies selected regional-aircraft yoke resistance.
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