Find aircraft background, systems descriptions and manuals for the aircraft you are researching. Each note keeps its source and version context close by.
Simulator manuals describe the developer’s implementation. Aircraft background is research-based; pilot accounts describe an individual’s experience. Coverage here is limited to the selected notes and linked resources, not the full contents of every manual.
De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
The Twin Otter was developed in the 1960s around short-field utility work. Two turboprops, a high wing and a substantial cabin support passenger and freight operations. Its fixed gear can be replaced or supplemented by specialist wheel, ski and float configurations.
Production resumed under Viking before the programme returned to the De Havilland Canada name. Different series and later developments have their own engines and avionics. The simulator packages retain their variant labels so that a classic panel is not silently equated with a newer glass-cockpit aircraft.
Aircraft / family
Q4XP · FlyJSim · X-Plane 11 · X-Plane 12
More than engines and a flight-management computer
FlyJSim lists geared control tabs, pitch and roll disconnects, a gust lock, hydraulic distribution and stall protection among the Q4XP's modelled systems. Its UNS-1Ew flight-management system and PW150A engine simulation sit within that wider aircraft model. The reviewed requirements specify X-Plane 12.09 or later, rather than every release of X-Plane 12.
Current product requirements retrieved 2026-09-10 · Flight Controls/Hydraulics; specifications
De Havilland Dash 8 Q400
The Dash 8 entered service in 1984, developing regional-airline work around two turboprops rather than the Dash 7's four. The programme expanded through several fuselage lengths and engine developments. Later Q-series aircraft incorporated active cabin noise and vibration reduction.
The Q400 is a substantially larger and faster member of that family. FlyJSim's Q4XP focuses on this version, including its flight-management system and detailed controls. Its manual is therefore a more appropriate systems reference than a generic page about an early Dash 8-100.
Aircraft / family
Diamond DA20 / DV20
The Katana began as an Austrian Diamond design and developed into the DV20 and DA20 families. The compact side-by-side cockpit, fixed landing gear and T-tail make a recognisable training-aircraft layout. Different developments use different engines and associated equipment.
The DA20 should therefore be distinguished from both the four-seat DA40 and earlier Katana variants. Its simple scale makes it an approachable aircraft to explore in simulation, while the exact model suffix remains useful when selecting engine information and manuals.
Aircraft / family
Diamond DA40
The DA40 took the DA20's general concept into a larger cabin. Its low wing, fixed tricycle undercarriage and extensive canopy glazing give it a distinctive appearance. Production has taken place in Austria and Canada, with several engine and equipment developments.
The petrol-engined and diesel-family DA40 variants are not merely different liveries. Engine management and cockpit equipment differ, and simulator packages may represent different points in that development. The individual model names below preserve those distinctions.
Aircraft / family
Diamond DA62
The DA62 expanded Diamond's touring-aircraft range with a larger twin-engine cabin. Its long wing, slim engine nacelles and retractable landing gear follow the company's composite-airframe design language. Cabin seating depends on configuration, with arrangements extending beyond a conventional four-seat light aircraft.
Engine management and integrated avionics are central to the type's identity. Those systems also make it important to identify the specific simulator version: the exterior model alone does not establish how a developer has implemented the engine controls or cockpit functions.
Aircraft / family
Do J Wal · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Two engines on one centreline
The Wal's cockpit guide identifies a trim lever alongside separate throttle and mixture controls for the two engines. The tractor-and-pusher installation is unusual, but the engines still have distinct controls in the simulator. The illustrated handbook provides the corresponding cockpit locations.
Archived simulator manual; installed package revision not observed · PDF p.9
Dornier Do J Wal
The Wal, German for whale, became an important Dornier flying-boat design. Its engines were arranged in a tractor-and-pusher pair, with one propeller facing forward and the other aft. The hull and stabilising side structures reflect its water-based transport role.
Civilian, military and long-distance expedition aircraft used the basic design. It offers an unusual comparison with later flying boats: two engines share the centreline rather than occupying separate wing nacelles, and the cockpit belongs to the early years of long-range aerial navigation.
Aircraft / family
Do X · Microsoft Flight Simulator · MSFS 2024
Managing twelve engines in the simulator
The Do X handbook identifies elevator and rudder trim wheels and a coupled throttle control across its twelve engines. That interface makes a very large multi-crew historical aircraft manageable within the simulator while preserving its unusual propulsion layout.
Archived simulator manual; installed package revision not observed · PDF p.14
Dornier Do X
Claude Dornier's Do X was conceived on a scale far beyond the light flying boats of its era. Completed in 1929, it combined a broad hull with a high wing and six tractor-and-pusher engine pairs. Its accommodation and public demonstrations reflected ambitions for large-scale air travel over water.
The aircraft's engineering is as interesting as its size. A separate flight engineer managed the engines, creating a very different division of work from a modern two-pilot cockpit. The simulator manual is the guide to how that complex machine has been made usable by one person.
Aircraft / family
Dornier Seastar
The Seastar uses two turboprops in a tandem tractor-and-pusher installation above the fuselage. Its boat hull and stabilising sponsons follow a recognisable Dornier flying-boat tradition, while retractable landing gear allows runway operations as well.
The programme has had a long development history since its first flight in the 1980s. Its layout is a useful contrast with aircraft that place one engine on each wing. The simulator's own model and manual identify the equipment represented rather than implying that all prototypes and later developments were identical.
Aircraft / family
Douglas C-47 Skytrain
The C-47 adapted the DC-3 airliner to military work, retaining the low wing, two radial engines and tailwheel configuration. Cargo handling and military equipment changed the aircraft's role. It became one of the major Allied transport types of the Second World War.
The Dakota name is familiar in British and Commonwealth service. A Waco cargo glider was often its partner, but remains a separate aircraft with its own controls. This catalogue keeps the tug and glider identities separate even where a simulator sells them in one package.
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