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The Fokker F.VII and the Fokker F.VIIb/3m Southern Cross Come to Life in Microsoft Flight Simulator
Today, we are excited to announce that the Fokker F. VII airplane, the second plane in our “Local Legends” series, is available now in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The series celebrates the history of aviation and releases always coincide with each World Updates. Local Legends are aircraft that are locally famous but may not be as well known to a worldwide audience.
The F.VII, manufactured by Fokker of the Netherlands, stands as one of the greats of aircraft history. It advanced the world of aviation during the Golden Age of Flight of the 1920s and 1930s due to its endurance, reliability, power, and load carrying ability. The F.VII, which first took flight on November 24,1924, and was introduced to the public in 1925, served in the early airline industry, moved cargo, carried air mail, and exploration.
Originally designed as a single-engine airplane, the high-wing F.VII was manufactured primarily as a tri-motor, powered by three 9-cylinder Wright J-6 Whirlwind radial engines that deliver 300 horsepower each. With a range of 750 miles, a cruise speed of 111 mph, and a takeoff and landing run of just under 750 feet, the F.VII proved to be ideal for numerous scenarios.
Able to carry up to 8 passengers, a total of nearly 5,000 pounds of cargo, or a combination of the two, the Fokker F.VII became famous for a number of airmail, passenger, and cargo lines. The F.VII was also the aircraft of choice of a number of explorers on expeditions across continents, oceans, and ventures into polar and other unexplored regions. The Fokker F.VII is a magnificent, emblematic icon of the early days of the world of aviation, one of the few that captured imaginations worldwide and enjoys an enduring legacy.
The Fokker F.VII bundle includes:
Southern Cross
The famous Southern Cross is the Fokker F.VIIb/3m aircraft that completed of one of aviation’s greatest firsts, the incredibly ambitious crossing of the Pacific Ocean—7,250 miles from Oakland, California, to Brisbane, Australia. Nine days after they began, while battling storms, exhaustion and equipment malfunctions, the four pilots reached Brisbane, in Australia’s Queensland.
To cross the Pacific, the aviators navigated Southern Cross on a course that first took them to Hawaii, then on an incredible 3,167-mile, 34-hour leg of the journey to Fiji — the first time an airplane landed on the island — and finally onto Brisbane. Historians recount that the success was owed as much to the Southern Cross as it was to the four flying it.
Friendship
The Friendship is the Fokker F.VIIb/3m that crossed the Atlantic Ocean in June of 1928 with soon-to-be famed aviator Amelia Earhart as a passenger. The trimotor aircraft took just over 20 hours for the crossing, starting at Trepassey Harbor, Newfoundland, and touching down at Burry Port, Wales. The flight of the high-wing monoplane helped indelibly stamp the Fokker F.VII line of aircraft into the annals of history as one of early aviation’s true greats.
Josephine Ford
The Josephine Ford is a Fokker F.VIIa/3m flown by Richard Evelyn Byrd on his daring expedition to the North Pole on May 9, 1926. At that point in history, the North Pole had never been reached by an aircraft. While questions remain about the success of the attempt, it remains one of the great adventures of the early days of aviation, and one which proved the trimotor Fokker F.VIIa/3m as one of the icons of the Golden Age of flight.
Fokker F.VIIa
The Fokker F.VIIa is a single-engine monoplane manufactured by Dutch aviation firm Fokker. The F.VIIa, one of the world’s first transport aircraft, was slightly larger than Fokker’s original F.VII and also sported a number of technical improvements, including a heated cabin. The aircraft, which could carry up to eight passengers or 1,750 pounds of cargo, took its maiden flight on March 12, 1925. A total of 36 of the F.VIIa were manufactured and formed an integral part of a number of airlines that flew routes throughout Europe and many other parts of the globe.
KLM Livery
The Fokker F.VII proved to be a historically critical aircraft for the Dutch airline KLM during its fledgling period. The first F.VII, painted in the distinctive blue KLM livery, was delivered to the airline in 1924 by Anthony Fokker. This aircraft was used on the first flight ever from the Netherlands to the Dutch East Indies. The F.VII allowed the airline to flourish and laid the groundwork for what would become one of the world’s premier air carriers.
The Fokker F.VII planes have been meticulously recreated for Microsoft Flight Simulator, with careful attention paid to the finest details of both exteriors and interiors. To celebrate and appreciate the accomplishments of the brave aviators of the 1920s, included in the bundle are also the historic missions of the Southern Cross, Josephine Ford and Friendship.
The Fokker F.VII bundle is available today on the Microsoft Flight Simulator in-sim marketplace for $14.99. Microsoft Flight Simulator is now available for Xbox Series X|S and PC with Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, Windows 10/11 and Steam. For the latest information on Microsoft Flight Simulator, stay tuned to @MSFSOfficial on Twitter.
Microsoft Flight Simulator: Standard Game of the Year Edition
Xbox Game Studios
$59.99
$47.99
This enhanced edition introduces simmers to five all-new aircraft, eight new handcrafted airports, six new Discovery Flights, new tutorials, and updates to the weather system
The five new handcrafted aircraft in Microsoft Flight Simulator include:
• Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet: Our first military jet and a highly requested feature from the community. The Top Gun: Maverick expansion will release with the movie next Spring, but we wanted simmers to have the opportunity to test their need for speed this holiday.
• VoloCity: We partnered with well-known German company Volocopter, which is working on an eVTOL called “VoloCity”, a vision for an urban air taxi. We worked closely with the Volocopter engineering team to develop an authentic version of the prototype aircraft for the simulator. This is our first aircraft that can perform pinpoint landings and is a teaser of what you can look forward to in 2022 when we intend to launch helicopters in the sim.
• Pilatus PC-6 Porter: This legendary short takeoff and landing (STOL) utility aircraft is a highly versatile plane from Switzerland and comes with several cockpits, cabins, and landing gear variations. It is the result of our close collaboration with the manufacturer and the development efforts by famed developers Hans Hartmann and Alexander Metzger resulted in a great and fun new aircraft with exception capabilities in the simulator.
• CubCrafters NX Cub: Yakima-based CubCrafters recently introduced a nosewheel option for their flagship CC-19 XCub Aircraft, popularly called the NX Cub, which we are pleased to introduce to the flight sim audience to further enhance our bush flying and off airport options.
• Aviat Pitts Special S1S: One of our most popular planes gets a single-seat option with the release of this aircraft.
New Airports – We are adding eight handcrafted airports in Central Europe and the United States:
• Germany
o Leipzig/Halle Airport (EDDP)
o Allgäu Airport Memmingen (EDJA)
o Kassel Airport (EDVK)
•Switzerland
o Lugano Airport (LSZA)
o Zurich Airport (LSZH)
o Luzern-Beromunster Airport (LSZO)
•United States
o Patrick Space Force Base (KCOF)
o Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (KNKX)
The Game of the Year release is adding information about 545 previously missing airports in the United States.
New Missions -Based on the popularity of the recently introduced Discovery Flights, we are adding an additional six locations (Helsinki, Freiburg im Breisgau, Mecca, Monument Valley, Singapore, and Mount Cook) to this popular series.
New Tutorials – To further expand the onboarding experience, we are adding 14 new tutorials, introducing simmers to Bush flying (in an Icon A5) and IFR (in a Cessna 172).
New Features – We are also pleased to introduce several highly requested features by the community: an updated weather system, early access to DX12, and a dev mode replay system.
New Photogrammetry Cities – As part of our ongoing collaboration with Bing Maps, we are pleased to add a number of new photogrammetry cities: Helsinki (Finland), Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany), Brighton, Derby, Eastbourne, Newcastle, and Nottingham (UK) and Utrecht (Netherlands).
Microsoft Flight Simulator Standard Game of the Year Edition will be available as a free update for owners on PC and Xbox Series X|S. For new users, the GOTY Standard Edition is the perfect entry point to flight simming as it offers an even richer experience, and it will be the item they purchase as we are retiring the original. Invite your friends to experience the wonders of flight. The sky is calling!