The B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine WWII heavy bomber, large tailwheel aircraft with handling that pilots of the era described as 'docile' but that modern sim pilots find anything but. Engine management and rudder discipline dominate the landing technique.
Landing technique
- Approach at 105 kt, slowing to 95 over the threshold (heavy weights; lighter loads use less).
- Three-point landing is traditional; wheel landings work if the runway is long.
- Symmetric throttle reduction in the flare, asymmetric thrust on a four-engine aircraft creates immediate yaw.
- Lots of rudder during rollout, the long tailwheel ground geometry magnifies any directional drift.
- Brake gently, the original B-17 had modest brakes and modern sim variants reflect this.
Common mistakes
- Asymmetric thrust reduction causing yaw at touchdown.
- Loss of directional control after touchdown.
- Over-aggressive brakes from a tricycle-gear pilot's habit, the B-17 tail will lift if you brake hard.
Aircraft data
- Manufacturer
- Boeing
- Model
- B-17
- Variant
- Flying Fortress
- FAA approach category
- B
- MTOW
- 29257 kg (64501 lbs)
- Vref reference
- 96 kt at 22,680 kg
- Vref in flight
- Adjusted to the weight you land at
- Tail-strike limit
- 9°
- Ideal touchdown zone
- 120–400 m
- G-force curve
- The category's
- MSFS source
- Payware (MicroProse), Freeware (folcorrr)
- FLARE matches
- Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress · B-17 Flying Fortress · B-17Flying Fortress · B-17G
Related reading
- → How FLARE grades a landing · the composite formula behind every score
- → What "stabilized approach" actually means · the gates, the criteria, the technique
- → Heavy Warbird / Multi-Engine Vintage scoring thresholds · the category curves applied to this airframe
- → Full scoring methodology reference · the complete breakdown in the help docs