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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
The 787 grew from Boeing's 7E7 programme and first flew in 2009. Airline service began in 2011. The family uses a composite-intensive airframe, a swept flexible wing and two large turbofans, with -8, -9 and -10 versions serving different capacity and range needs. The 787-10 is the longest of those three variants. Its cabin size and mission figures should not be borrowed from the smaller -8.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗Letting the launch customer take the controls
Carriker describes the first 787 flight as the beginning of a deliberately gradual process. The team initially stayed within a small, well-understood part of the predicted operating envelope, then expanded the testing to different weights, speeds, altitudes and system failures.
Air & Space · November 2010 interview about the original 787 flight-test programme. Family background predating the 787-10.
Air & Space / Smithsonian · Read more ↗The Dreamliner's own cockpit preparation
The linked June 2023 guide predates MSFS 2024. It introduces the 787-10’s display layout and gate-to-gate preparation, but it does not document which workflows or systems changed in the later simulator.
787-10 Dreamliner · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube RobT Cockpit Videos · 11 min ·
✈️ Boeing 787 Dreamliner cockpit tour ✈️
A close tour of a Dreamliner flight deck; the title does not identify the fuselage variant.
Family reference · Boeing 787; exact fuselage variant not identified
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner
The 787 grew from Boeing's 7E7 programme and first flew in 2009. Airline service began in 2011. The family uses a composite-intensive airframe, a swept flexible wing and two large turbofans, with -8, -9 and -10 versions serving different capacity and range needs.
The 787-10 is the longest of those three variants. Its cabin size and mission figures differ from the smaller -8. Simulator avionics and automation depend on the product and update.
Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
The stretched -10 makes its first flight
The 787-10 first flew from Boeing South Carolina on 31 March 2017. Tim Berg and Mike Bryan flew the aircraft for four hours and fifty-eight minutes while evaluating controls, systems and handling. Boeing described the new version as an 18-foot stretch of the 787-9, making it the longest member of the family. The flight began the test programme for that version, several years after the original Dreamliner entered airline service.
Boeing · Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner Completes First Flight ↗Boeing manufacturer announcement · 31 March 2017
Development milestones
First flight: December 15, 2009 ( 2009-12-15 )
Wikipedia contributors · Boeing 787 Dreamliner ↗Boeing 787 Dreamliner · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1373985842
Pilot accounts
Letting the launch customer take the controls
Carriker describes the first 787 flight as the beginning of a deliberately gradual process. The team initially stayed within a small, well-understood part of the predicted operating envelope, then expanded the testing to different weights, speeds, altitudes and system failures. Some choices had been prepared in advance so the pilots and engineers could compare alternatives in flight rather than invent a solution after a problem appeared.
His favourite moment after the excitement of the first flight was taking ANA’s lead pilots aboard. He had spent years discussing the aircraft and their training programme with them; now they could sit in the seats and use the machine themselves. While they flew, he handled the radio and ordinary supporting duties without needing to take the controls. For him, that flight connected years of laboratory work and discussion with the airline crews who would use the finished aircraft.
Air & Space · November 2010 interview about the original 787 flight-test programme. Family background predating the 787-10.
Read the full account · Air & Space / Smithsonian ↗An airline captain inside the development team
Tsukamoto was an ANA 747-400 captain working in training when a 2007 assignment took him to Boeing in Seattle. He joined development discussions as a Boeing employee and contributed the perspective of someone who would eventually operate the aircraft. His recollection includes practical cockpit details, such as the seat-adjustment switch and oxygen-mask shape, alongside broader questions about flight operations and training.
Repeated testing and delays made the wait difficult. He felt responsible for helping deliver the aircraft while wondering when he would finally be able to fly it. Seeing the completed 787 brought a particular sense of achievement after so many discussions between manufacturer and airline viewpoints. He later commanded ANA’s anniversary flight on 31 October 2021 and looked back on a decade of learning alongside the aircraft, including the difficulties encountered after it entered service.
ANA tenth-anniversary interview · 14 January 2022. Original 787 development and subsequent family service; no 787-10-specific flight claimed.
Read the full account · ANA ↗Building an ordinary life around long-haul flying
Schofield describes moving from an A320 first-officer position to the 787 as a second officer and discovering the variety of long-haul destinations. One week could bring a stop in Houston, another in Shanghai. Reaching that cockpit had involved instructing, flying Cessnas and an Islander in Vanuatu, and operating Chieftains on mining-support work in Australia before joining the jet airlines.
The attraction came with a different rhythm at home. Trips lasting several days were followed by blocks of time off, and early-morning returns often made the first day a recovery day. Social plans moved to weekdays because many friends were also shift-working pilots. She was studying for a business degree as well, setting aside a study day when each roster arrived and reading in hotels. Her interview describes the everyday organisation behind the destinations visible on a long-haul flight plan.
KiwiFlyer issue 58 · 2018 #3, printed pp.52–55. Air New Zealand 787 second officer; family experience rather than a 787-10 evaluation.
Read the full account · KiwiFlyer ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 2024787-10 Dreamliner
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
787-10 Dreamliner
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
MSFS 2020787-10 Dreamliner
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
787-10 Dreamliner
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
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
The Dreamliner's own cockpit preparation787-10 Dreamliner · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The linked June 2023 guide predates MSFS 2024. It introduces the 787-10’s display layout and gate-to-gate preparation, but it does not document which workflows or systems changed in the later simulator.
787-10 tutorial V1 · June 2023 · historical guide; 2024 differences not established
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗The Dreamliner's own cockpit preparation787-10 Dreamliner · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
The June 2023 tutorial explains how the MFD controls assign systems, CDU, checklist and navigation views to individual display panes. Selecting the navigation display in both panes expands the map across the screen; EICAS can move between the upper displays but remains visible.
787-10 tutorial V1 · June 2023 · MSFS 2020 · PDF pp.8–9
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Assisted checklists locate the cockpit controls787-10 Dreamliner · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
The tutorial points to the simulator’s ASSISTED CHECKLIST option. Evaluation mode highlights the next control and adjusts the camera, while separate buttons complete an item or a whole page. Its abbreviated tutorial checklists are not identical to every checklist available in the simulator.
787-10 tutorial V1 · June 2023 · MSFS 2020 · PDF p.11
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗AAU2 changes specific to the Dreamliner787-10 Dreamliner · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
The June 2023 AAU2 release documents a revised 787-10 head-up display, including runway-edge and flight-path indications, plus a Boeing C*U fly-by-wire implementation and flap load-relief and auto-gap functions. These are Microsoft’s published software changes, scoped to that MSFS 2020 release.
MSFS 2020 · AAU2 version 1.33.8.0 · 22 June 2023
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Read the source ↗Pilot account
Letting the launch customer take the controlsAir & Space · November 2010 interview about the original 787 flight-test programme. Family background predating the 787-10.
Carriker describes the first 787 flight as the beginning of a deliberately gradual process. The team initially stayed within a small, well-understood part of the predicted operating envelope, then expanded the testing to different weights, speeds, altitudes and system failures. Some choices had been prepared in advance so the pilots and engineers could compare alternatives in flight rather than invent a solution after a problem appeared.
Mike Carriker
Air & Space / Smithsonian · Read the source ↗An airline captain inside the development teamANA tenth-anniversary interview · 14 January 2022. Original 787 development and subsequent family service; no 787-10-specific flight claimed.
Tsukamoto was an ANA 747-400 captain working in training when a 2007 assignment took him to Boeing in Seattle. He joined development discussions as a Boeing employee and contributed the perspective of someone who would eventually operate the aircraft. His recollection includes practical cockpit details, such as the seat-adjustment switch and oxygen-mask shape, alongside broader questions about flight operations and training. Repeated testing and delays made the wait difficult.
Masami Tsukamoto
ANA · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Boeing 787-10 ManualMicrosoft / aircraft developers Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
Boeing 787 DreamlinerWikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1373985842 · retrieved 2026-09-12Resource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoft MSFS 2020 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftAircraft history
Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner Completes First FlightBoeing · Manufacturer announcement · 31 March 2017Developer documentation
Aircraft & Avionics Update 02 release notesMicrosoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020 · version 1.33.8.0 · 22 June 2023Type 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 · 7 profile choices
Magknight Boeing 787-10
Magknight · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
Magknight Boeing 787-10: The selected electronic-control law supplies the configured centre.
Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner
Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Partial review
MSFS 2024 · MSFS 2020
Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner: The selected electronic-control law supplies the configured centre.
Horizon Simulations Boeing 787-9 GE / Rolls-Royce
Horizon Simulations · Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
A long-range twin whose programme emphasised composite construction and more electrically powered systems.
Magknight Boeing 787-8
Magknight · Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
A long-range twin whose programme emphasised composite construction and more electrically powered systems.
Magknight Boeing 787-9
Magknight · Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
A long-range twin whose programme emphasised composite construction and more electrically powered systems.
Boeing 787-8
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024 · X-Plane 12
A long-range twin whose programme emphasised composite construction and more electrically powered systems.
Boeing 787-9
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024 · X-Plane 12
A long-range twin whose programme emphasised composite construction and more electrically powered systems.
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