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Microsoft Flight Simulator Adds New Local Legend Aircraft, the Savoia - Marchetti S.55

Expected to arrive alongside the recent World Update IX, the fourth Local Legend aircraft has finally been added to Microsoft Flight Simulator just a few weeks later. This time around, players will be able to take the Savoia – Marchetti S.55 for a spin, but not before paying the usual fee.
Savoia-Marchetti S.55 6 photos
Photo: Asobo Studio
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As the name suggests, the Savoia – Marchetti S.55 is a twin-engine flying boat produced by Italian aviation manufacturer Savoia-Marchetti of Milan. It makes perfect sense since Local Legend IV should have been released with World Update IX: Italy and Malta.

That being said, here are some details about the plane in case you want to know more before adding it to your hangar. First off, the aircraft features a catamaran hull design, twin tail booms, triple vertical stabilizers, and a tractor-pusher engine-propulsion system mounted above its main wing.

As far as the construction goes, the plane is mainly made of wood, while the hydroplane’s cockpit is located in the forward mid-section of the main wing. More importantly, its hulls can be configured to carry a number of combinations of fuel, passengers, and cargo, which makes the plane extremely versatile.

The aircraft was first introduced during the inter-war period, specifically for military purposes. The Savoia-Marchetti S.55 was initially used as a torpedo bomber, with its payload slung under the centerline of the main wing between its two hulls.

Its first official flight was registered in August 1924, but it was only adopted by the Italian military two years later. The Savoia-Marchetti S.55 was briefly used in combat during the Spanish Civil War, but it’s mostly known for a number of long-range flights, notably trans-Atlantic journeys.

The Savoia-Marchetti S.55 features twin V-12 510-horsepower Isotta Fraschini water-cooled engines, each turning two-blade wooden propellers, providing a cruise speed of about 110 miles per hour (177 km/h). The S.55X model was introduced in 1933 and has been manufactured in only 25 units. It came with two 800-horsepower Isotta Fraschini Asso W-18 engines driving three-blade metal propellers and featured improved instrumentation.

The Savoia-Marchetti S.55 and S.55X are now available as a package in the Microsoft Flight Simulator in-sim marketplace for just $15.

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