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A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
The CG-4A used a fabric-covered high-wing structure and a cargo cabin with a nose that swung upward for loading. Allied forces used the unpowered glider in Second World War airborne operations, commonly behind a C-47 tug.
Aircraft background
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read more ↗The journey home could be as memorable as the landing
MacRae recalled a Normandy flight in which the tow aircraft lost an engine and its pilot considered releasing the glider over the Channel. After a tense exchange, the tow continued until land was visible. MacRae landed well short of the intended area, and his troops went off to find a fighting unit. He eventually returned to England without learning what had happened to those men or the tow crew.
37th Troop Carrier Squadron veteran, recalling Normandy and the Netherlands. His memories are reported retrospectively by ASME.
American Society of Mechanical Engineers · Read more ↗The cargo glider has its own cockpit
The linked June 2024 guide documents the MSFS 2020 glider. It provides cockpit background; this older manual does not establish unchanged MSFS 2024 controls.
Waco CG-4A · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube National Museum of the U.S. Air Force · 1 min ·
Waco CG-4A Hadrian
The National Museum of the US Air Force introduces its CG-4A troop glider.
Real aircraft · Waco CG-4A Hadrian
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Waco CG-4A Hadrian
The CG-4A used a fabric-covered high-wing structure and a cargo cabin with a nose that swung upward for loading. Allied forces used the unpowered glider in Second World War airborne operations, commonly behind a C-47 tug.
The simulator models the glider's own trim, tow-release and landing-gear-cradle controls, including in the combined C-47 package.
Waco CG-4A Hadrian
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
Waco CG-4A Hadrian — unpowered glider; ICAO special designator
ICAO — special designators ↗Checked 2026-09-14History & design
The nose opened to make the glider a cargo carrier
The National Soaring Museum describes a fabric-covered steel-tube fuselage and wooden wings. Raising the hinged cockpit exposed a compartment for bulky loads such as a jeep or field gun. Benches could instead accommodate troops. Production drew on firms with woodworking experience, including furniture and piano manufacturers.
National Soaring Museum · Waco / CG-4A ↗Museum design history; no universal handling judgment adopted
Pilot accounts
The journey home could be as memorable as the landing
MacRae recalled a Normandy flight in which the tow aircraft lost an engine and its pilot considered releasing the glider over the Channel. After a tense exchange, the tow continued until land was visible. MacRae landed well short of the intended area, and his troops went off to find a fighting unit. He eventually returned to England without learning what had happened to those men or the tow crew.
A later return journey after the Netherlands operation depended on more ordinary transport. He found a battered bicycle, then traded it to another soldier for rations when food and strength ran low. With something to eat, he continued towards Brussels on foot.
37th Troop Carrier Squadron veteran, recalling Normandy and the Netherlands. His memories are reported retrospectively by ASME.
Read the full account · American Society of Mechanical Engineers ↗Supply flights change how the troops see their glider pilots
Lyons entered the service at nineteen and was flying operational CG-4As by twenty. Speaking years later, he remembered an early lack of recognition: other troops did not understand what the glider pilots contributed. Supply flights after D-Day began to change that relationship.
He described bringing a howitzer and jeep, with ammunition carried in another glider. Those arrivals gave lightly equipped airborne troops heavier weapons to use against armour and artillery. His fondness for the Waco was tied to that contribution. The men on the ground came to recognise the pilots through the equipment and supplies they delivered behind the lines.
Retrospective interview recorded by Budd Davisson. CG-4A supply work after D-Day; the same article contains Penner’s separate recollections.
Read the full account · Budd Davisson / EAA Sport Aviation ↗A difficult landing is only one part of the mission
Penner remembered a loaded flight carrying men and ammunition that barely got airborne. On the approach, tracer fire came towards the glider while its weight left little room for manoeuvring. He needed more speed than usual and warned the man beside him to raise his feet before using a fence to stop.
Getting down did not always mean returning to flying. After another mission, he and fellow glider pilots were waiting for transport when a colonel assigned them as infantry replacements.
Retrospective interview recorded by Budd Davisson. The loaded approach and the later infantry assignment are separate episodes.
Read the full account · Budd Davisson / EAA Sport Aviation ↗The hinged cockpit becomes part of an extraordinary landing
Merryman recalled releasing the tow over the landing area and descending through smoke and antiaircraft fire. Shortly after he deployed the tail parachute, a hit near the rear of the cargo compartment sent the loaded jeep forward. In his account, the movement broke its restraints and released the hinged nose, lifting the cockpit while the glider was still airborne.
He and Heffner remained strapped into their seats with their feet pointing upwards. Merryman described the jeep leaving the glider with its driver aboard and landing upright, followed by the pilots’ cockpit coming down nose first. His striking memory concerns this particular damaged aircraft and landing. Heffner shared the flight, but the article does not supply a separate recollection in his voice.
Written recollection reproduced by Kevin L. Cook. Operation Varsity, March 1945; CG-4A flown with copilot John W. Heffner, carrying a medic and medical supplies.
Read the full account · Invention & Technology ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 2024Waco CG-4A
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Waco CG-4A
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
MSFS 2020Waco CG-4A
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Waco CG-4A
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 cargo glider has its own cockpitWaco CG-4A · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
The linked June 2024 guide documents the MSFS 2020 glider. It provides cockpit background; this older manual does not establish unchanged MSFS 2024 controls.
Legacy guide; MSFS 2024 interface remains unverified
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Identify the two overhead release leversWaco CG-4A · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
The larger overhead lever releases the tow cable; the smaller one behind it releases the landing-gear cradle. Three nearby controls provide trim.
MSFS 2020 guide · PDF page 4, visually checked
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Speedbrakes have a lever on each sideWaco CG-4A · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
The guide identifies the tall vertical levers beside the seats as controls for the wing-mounted speedbrakes.
MSFS 2020 guide · PDF page 4, visually checked
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Open the cockpit nose after landingWaco CG-4A · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
After stopping, the floor lever between the seats opens the hinged cockpit. The exterior scene shows troops and a jeep disembarking.
MSFS 2020 guide · PDF pages 4 and 7
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Choose the C-47 as the tow aircraftWaco CG-4A · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
Install the companion C-47 package, then select its tow aircraft under the glider launch options. The illustrated setup belongs to the MSFS 2020 release.
June 2024 guide · PDF page 5, visually checked
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗The rudder gives the signal to begin towingWaco CG-4A · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2020
The manual uses a rudder waggle to signal readiness. The tow aircraft then increases power and begins the takeoff.
MSFS 2020 guide · PDF page 5, visually checked
Microsoft / aircraft developers · Read the source ↗Pilot account
The journey home could be as memorable as the landing37th Troop Carrier Squadron veteran, recalling Normandy and the Netherlands. His memories are reported retrospectively by ASME.
MacRae recalled a Normandy flight in which the tow aircraft lost an engine and its pilot considered releasing the glider over the Channel. After a tense exchange, the tow continued until land was visible. MacRae landed well short of the intended area, and his troops went off to find a fighting unit. He eventually returned to England without learning what had happened to those men or the tow crew. A later return journey after the Netherlands operation depended on more ordinary transport.
Donald MacRae
American Society of Mechanical Engineers · Read the source ↗Supply flights change how the troops see their glider pilotsRetrospective interview recorded by Budd Davisson. CG-4A supply work after D-Day; the same article contains Penner’s separate recollections.
Lyons entered the service at nineteen and was flying operational CG-4As by twenty. Speaking years later, he remembered an early lack of recognition: other troops did not understand what the glider pilots contributed. Supply flights after D-Day began to change that relationship. He described bringing a howitzer and jeep, with ammunition carried in another glider. Those arrivals gave lightly equipped airborne troops heavier weapons to use against armour and artillery.
Otto Lyons
Budd Davisson / EAA Sport Aviation · 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
Waco CG-4A ManualMicrosoft / aircraft developers · Aircraft background · PDF pp.1–2 Waco / CG-4ANational Soaring Museum · Museum’s design and development descriptionResource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftDeveloper documentation
Microsoft Flight Simulator Releases Famous Flyer 09: Douglas C-47D Skytrain & Waco CG-4AMicrosoft Flight Simulator Team · 2024-06-06 · release and package scopeType designator
ICAO — special designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Glider and motorglider categories; checked 2026-09-14Built-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
Waco CG-4A Hadrian
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2024 · MSFS 2020
Waco CG-4A Hadrian: The selected resistance supplies unpowered transport-glider loading.
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