Start here
A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
The Wright brothers’ early powered aircraft, with a forward elevator and a biplane wing. Microsoft lists Wright Flyer in the Standard tier. Aviator includes the lower edition tiers. The simulator edition is recorded separately from the real aircraft’s development or certification status.
Wright Flyer
Microsoft · Read more ↗Meet Wright Flyer
The Wright Flyer has a forward elevator and a biplane wing. Microsoft includes it in the MSFS 2024 Standard roster and higher edition tiers, including Aviator.
Wright Flyer
Aircraft type designators
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History & design
Four years of experiments
The Wright brothers reached powered flight through successive gliders and wind-tunnel experiments. Their successful 1902 glider established a controllable aircraft before they added an engine and propellers.
National Air and Space Museum · 1903 Wright Flyer ↗Original 1903 Flyer: Smithsonian object record
Four flights at Kitty Hawk
On 17 December 1903, Orville made the first powered flight: 120 feet in twelve seconds. The brothers alternated through four flights that morning, with Wilbur covering 852 feet in 59 seconds on the last.
National Air and Space Museum · 1903 Wright Flyer ↗Original 1903 Flyer: Smithsonian object record
Control came before the engine
The Wrights tested wing warping with an 1899 kite, then built full-size gliders in 1900 and 1901. The Smithsonian describes how disappointing lift compared with their calculations led them to build a wind tunnel and test wing shapes themselves. Kitty Hawk supplied wind and open sandy ground unavailable at their Dayton home. The powered Flyer therefore followed a sequence of control and aerodynamic experiments, rather than beginning with an engine attached to an otherwise finished aircraft.
National Air and Space Museum · 1903 Wright Flyer ↗Smithsonian Wright Flyer collection history
Systems & details
An aircraft built around its own propulsion system
Charles Taylor helped build the engine. The brothers treated propellers as rotating wings, driving the two pushers through chains and sprockets. The canard biplane landed on skids rather than wheels.
In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 2024Wright Flyer
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Wright Flyer
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
MSFS 2020Wright Flyer
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Wright Flyer
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
Manuals & resources
Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Resource
MSFS 2024 official aircraft rosterMicrosoft · Official catalogue reviewed 15 September 2026 MSFS 2020 official aircraft rosterMicrosoft · Official catalogue reviewed 15 September 2026Museum aircraft record
1903 Wright FlyerNational Air and Space Museum · Original 1903 Flyer: Smithsonian object recordBuilt-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
Wright Flyer
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2024 · MSFS 2020
Wright Flyer: The selected response accompanies the historical control arrangement.
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