Fudge- I really thought this was an IRL picture
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Same. Only the pilot gives it away.
Having recently completed the sim flying clips for an upcoming Mentour Now episode, I had the opportunity to get to know the Pilot’s Boeing 314. It’s received a fair amount of criticism from the usual flight sim peanut gallery, but for replicating the flying boat experience, especially resplendent in an amazing freeware repaint, it most assuredly gets the job done.
Unfortunately, the shot list for this episode called for only about 10 seconds of 314. But the rest is taken by the outstanding Felis B747-200B, requiring a much deeper financial and intellectual investment. However, as much as I enjoyed exploring the latter, the 314 sent me merrily down a flying boat rabbit hole. The Long Way Home had been sitting unread on my Kindle for a couple of years, but now is being voraciously consumed. One of the great aviation stories that you might not have heard of, as told by a former Pan Am Clipper communications officer.
While I believe that the Boeing originally dropped as a FS 2020 title, both it and the repaint are FS 2024 compatible. Be warned though, that most of the seaplane bases on flightsim.to are for FS 2020.
The engineering behind the Boeing 314 flying boat is almost stupefying, when one ponders how it managed to carry the load that it did over vast distances for a late 30s design. China, silverware, white table linens, and enough gasoline to fuel four 1600 hp radial engines are heavy!
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Thanks for the reference to the book. Just bought it 
I was eyeing the Clipper too but then settled on the Latecoere. Beautiful and recently updated by Microsoft.
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Didn’t know there was an update to the flying boat! Any changelog for it you’re aware of?
Interestingly I can’t find any 
Will check in the sim later tonight.
If you are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, it is available for free. I know what I’m doing this weekend.
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To be fair, it was a bit of a hot mess when it came out. I had fully intended to fly it on the one Holiday Flight on which I had chosen to use celestial nav. But it was just too unstable.
In the end, I wound up going for the Latecoere, which was everything the 314 was not at the time.
Now the dev did eventually update the Boeing, but if you look at the MSFS forums, it was the better part of a year (or more) before many of the more substantial issues were addressed.
If this crate finally gets her due, that would be awesome. The external model is quite beautiful and clearly shows a lot of love.
And the 314 has been sadly underrepresented in the franchise IMO. It’d be nice to see her finally get the attention she deserves! 
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Good input Deacon. A frustrating thing for me is not being able to locate a manual. I hear reference to one, but I’ve been searching a couple of days for a document that has remained elusive. The developer does have a couple of videos on his web site covering the Gyropilot. Is that like BOB? 
Anyway, I find lumbering around to the sweet sound of radials, with the occasional dip, very relaxing.
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Is this useful?
Latécoère 631 changelog 2026
The Latécoère 631 received a major update in May/June 2026 as part of Microsoft Flight Simulator’s Aircraft & Avionics Update 04 (AAU04). Developed by Blue Mesh, this classic six-engine French flying boat was entirely overhauled to be fully compatible with MSFS 2024 mechanics.
The primary additions and architectural adjustments implemented for the aircraft include:
Key 2026 Additions & Changes
- MSFS 2024-Native Overhaul: Rebuilt explicitly to support MSFS 2024 engine architecture, introducing high-accuracy physics, micro-movements, and advanced hull-to-water interaction dynamics.
- Tugboat & Land Trolley Controls: Features dedicated mechanics for water maneuvering, including the ability to pull and steer the flying boat using controllable tugboats. For ground operations, a beaching trolley/trolley system can be engaged via the parking brake and slew controls.
- Interactive Clipboard Functionality: Added an interactive cockpit clipboard to manage aircraft states, including controls for opening/closing the working cabin doors, toggling engine covers, and hiding or unhiding anchor buoys and docking configurations.
- System & Shortcut Integration: Implemented rapid cockpit shortcuts for comprehensive electrical and engine system monitoring. The engineering station features fully interactive fuel master valves, APU generators, mixture settings, and magneto master switches.
- Visual Additions: Fully rendered retrofitted Garmin GNS 530 avionics sit alongside the historic original cockpit radios. The updated cabin layout maps out the intricate luxury lounges, kitchen, bunk beds, and a functional animated tracking map table.
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I was sure that I remembered a manual for the 314.
Have you tried this?
Edited Edit: I found the manuals in the main aircraft folder. I was going to upload them, but one is 40mb. They should be there though!
I can upload the change log at least…
PILOT’S_Boeing_B-314-The_Clipper_ChangeLog_v1.76.txt (5.3 KB)
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Something to be looking forward to MSFS-wise.
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Thanks! I had landed on the main page at some point, but missed the Downloads link at the top. Right on. Enjoyed the video there too.
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Thought this was… Interesting.
FSHud_Admin — 6/2/2026 3:39 PMTuesday, June 2, 2026 3:39 PM
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Navigraph / Flightradar24 Traffic Integration Update
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After reviewing the new Navigraph / Flightradar24 real-world traffic integration, we have decided not to integrate Navigraph / Flightradar24 traffic into FSHud - Air Traffic Control.
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Navigraph / Flightradar24 provides real-world live traffic based on aircraft that are currently active and transmitting tracking data. If an aircraft is powered off or not transmitting, it is not included in this live traffic data.
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This type of live traffic already exists in Microsoft Flight Simulator through the built-in MSFS Live Traffic option.
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FSHud - Air Traffic Control can already use this type of traffic through the existing MSFS-Controlled Traffic interception.
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To configure MSFS Live Traffic interception, follow the guide below:
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As live-traffic sources, both MSFS Live Traffic and Navigraph / Flightradar24 traffic are limited to aircraft that are currently active in the real world.
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They do not provide schedule-based airport activity, such as parked aircraft, planned departures, or continuity from arrival to the next scheduled departure.
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FSHud - Traffic works differently. It provides a more complete traffic solution using both live flights and scheduled flight data.
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This includes airborne traffic from live and scheduled flights, scheduled airport departures and arrivals, as well as parked aircraft with departure times and destinations based on airport schedules.
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Hourly traffic snapshots are also stored, allowing live and scheduled flights to be provided for the selected Simulator Time.
Happy flights!
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Such a beautiful airplane!
It’s difficult to be sure, but it definitely looks like they have been working on the textures since last I flew it.
I have pretty much forgotten everything I knew
about celestial navigation. But, if they’ve fixed the autopilot….
Yeah, I’m thinking that the first outbound leg of The Long Way Home, Treasure Island (KSFO) to San Pedro (KLAX), would be a good leg to learn the aircraft on.
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In the last half of the 90s Chicago was home. The update made for a worthwhile revisit.
We lived just off Wicker Park.
Close to the once locally famous Doubledoor. Some big acts played there: Smashing Pumpkins, Cheap Trick, Chance the Rapper, even the Stones(!) to name a few. This shot was the best I could do. It was actually under the “L” tracks iirc. Edit: wrong on two counts. It is still there. And it was never under the tracks.
A pretty decent John Cusack film called “High Fidelity” nicely captured the vibe of the neighborhood at around that time.
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“Mellon Collie…”—the 2-CD set—is somewhere in my garage. I’d completely forgotten how mind-blowing that album was. I need to figure out how to get a CD player in my new car!
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