X-Plane is the world's most comprehensive and powerful flight simulator for personal computers. It offers the most realistic flight model available for home use.
Welcome to the world of props, jets, single- and multi-engine airplanes, as well as gliders, helicopters and VTOLs such as the V-22 Osprey and AV-8B Harrier.
X-Plane contains subsonic and supersonic flight dynamics, allowing users to predict the flight characteristics of the slowest aircraft to the fastest. X-Plane includes thirty-five aircraft on its master disk, spanning the aviation industry (and its history), sporting aircraft from the Bell 206 JetRanger and Cessna 172 to the supersonic SR-71 and the Space Shuttle. Additionally, more than 1,400 additional aircraft models (such as those at X-Plane.org) can be downloaded from the Internet , nearly all of which are free. If those aren't enough, users can design their own airplanes and test fly them!
X-Plane's flight model can even handle flying wings and fly-by-wire systems, as needed for a B-2 simulation.
The X-Plane scenery package covers the Earth in stunning resolution from 74 degrees north to 60 degrees south latitude. Scenery is also available for Mars thanks to the Mars Orbiting Laser Altimeter, which mapped that planet's elevation. On Earth, users can land at any of over 33,000 airports or test their mettle on aircraft carriers, oil rigs, frigates (which pitch and roll with the waves), or helipads atop buildings. They can also realistically model the flight of remote controlled model aircraft, air-launch in an X-15 or Space Ship One from the mother ship, fly re-entries into Earth's atmosphere in the Space Shuttle, fly with friends over the Internet or a LAN, drop water on forest fires, or shoot approaches to aircraft carriers at night in stormy weather and rough water conditions in a damaged F-4. The situations that can be simulated are incredible!
Weather is variable in X-Plane from clear skies and high visibility to thunderstorms with controllable wind, wind shear, turbulence, and micro bursts. Rain, snow, and clouds are available for an instrument flying challenge, and thermals are available for the gliders. Actual weather conditions can be downloaded from the Internet, allowing users to fly in the weather that currently exists at the location of the flight!
X-Plane also has detailed failure modeling, with multitudes of systems that can either be failed manually at an instructor's command, or randomly when users least expect it! Users can fail instruments, engines, flight controls, control cables, antennae, landing gear, or any of dozens of other systems at any moment.
While on its own X-Plane represents the world's most comprehensive flight simulator, the installation DVD's also comes with Plane-Maker (allowing users to create custom aircraft or modify existing designs), Airfoil-Maker (allowing users to create airfoil performance profiles), and Weather-Briefer (to give users a weather briefing before the flight when using real weather conditions downloaded from the Internet).
X-Plane is extremely customizable, allowing users to easily create textures, sounds, and instrument panels for their own airplane designs or for the planes included with the sim.
X-Plane's accuracy (in flight model), scope (in aircraft and terrain coverage), versatility (in aircraft type and weather conditions), add-on programs (in aircraft and scenery editors), customizability, downloadable aircraft, and downloadable scenery make it the ultimate flight simulation experience for Macintosh, Windows, and Linux platforms.
The following aircraft are included on the X-Plane installation discs:
Cirrus Vision SF50 Cessna 172SP Beechcraft King Air B200 Piaggo P-180 Avanti Piper PA-46-310P Malibu Van's RV-3/4/6/7/8/9/10 Stinson L-5 Sentinel F-4 Phantom II F-22 Raptor Viggen JA37 ASK-21 glider Boeing B-52G Stratofortress Boeing B747-400 Boeing B777-200 KC-10 Extender Bell 47 Bell 206 JetRanger Robinson R22 Beta Sikorsky S-61 Northrop B-2 Spirit Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Rockwell B-1B Lancer Bombardier Canadair CL-415 AV-8B Harrier II Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey X-15 and X-30 X-Planes Space Shuttle Orbiter Mars Jet, Mars Rocket Great Planes PT-60 RC plane Thunder Tiger Raptor 30 v2 RC helicopter
How XPlane Flightmodeling Works:
X-Plane works by reading in the geometric shape of any aircraft and then figuring out how that aircraft will fly. It does this by an engineering process called "blade element theory", which involves breaking the aircraft down into many small elements and then finding the forces on each little element many times per second. These forces are then converted into accelerations, which are then integrated to velocities and positions... Of course, all of this technical theory is completely transparent to the end user... you just fly! It's fun!
X-Plane goes through the following steps to propagate the flight:
1: Element Break-Down Done only once during initialization, X-Plane breaks the wing(s), horizontal stabilizer, vertical stabilizer(s), and propeller(s) (if equipped) down into a finite number of elements. The number of elements is decided by the user in Plane-Maker. Ten elements per side per wing or stabilizer is the maximum, and studies have shown that this provides roll rates and accelerations that are very close to the values that would be found with a much larger number of elements.
2: Velocity Determination This is done twice per cycle. The aircraft linear and angular velocities, along with the longitudinal, lateral, and vertical arms of each element are considered to find the velocity vector of each element. Downwash, propwash, and induced angle of attack from lift-augmentation devices are all considered when finding the velocity vector of each element.
Propwash is found by looking at the area of each propeller disk, and the thrust of each propeller. Using local air density, X-Plane determines the propwash required for momentum to be conserved.
Downwash is found by looking at the aspect ratio, taper ratio, and sweep of the wing, and the horizontal and vertical distance of the "washed surface" (normally the horizontal stabilizer) from the "washing surface" (normally the wing), and then going to an empirical look-up table to get the degrees of downwash generated per coefficient of lift.
3: Coefficient Determination The airfoil data entered in Part-Maker is 2-dimensional, so X-Plane applies finite wing lift-slope reduction, finite-wing CLmax reduction, finite-wing induced drag, and finite-wing moment reduction appropriate to the aspect ratio, taper ratio, and sweep of the wing, horizontal stabilizer, vertical stabilizer, or propeller blade in question. Compressible flow effects are considered using Prandtl-Glauert, but transonic effects are not simulated other than an empirical mach-divergent drag increase. In supersonic flight, the airfoil is considered to be a diamond shape with the appropriate thickness ratio; pressures behind the shock waves are found on each of the plates in the diamond-shaped airfoil and summed to give the total pressures on the foil element.
4: Force Build-Up Using the coefficients just determined in step 3, areas determined during step 1, and dynamic pressures (determined separately for each element based on aircraft speed, altitude, temperature, propwash and wing sweep), the forces are found and summed for the entire aircraft. Forces are then divided by the aircraft mass for linear accelerations, and moments of inertia for angular accelerations.
5: Get Back to Work The process is repeated from step 2, and the whole thing is run over again at least 15 times per second. Aren't computers great?
You can fly almost anything, including re-entry in the space shuttle.
The part I really like is the Aircraft Builder. Some companies & people have actually designed and flight tested new aircraft here, then built them in the real world.
Plane-Maker is an integral part of X-Plane that lets users design their own aircraft—nearly any imaginable aircraft can be built! Once all the physical specifications of the airplane have been entered (weight, wing span, control deflections, engine power, airfoil sections, etc.), the X-Plane simulator will predict how that plane will fly. Airplanes are saved in Plane-Maker just as one would save a word processing file. These files are then opened in X-Plane and flown. Users can create a .zip file of all the components of the airplane and distribute that ZIP on the Internet for others to fly. Planes created by others can also be downloaded and used in the simulator. X-Plane.org’s "Download Manager" page is currently a good place to upload and download these planes. Also available is the complete 200-page book needed to explain every detail of entering a user’s own design in Plane-Maker.
All buildings and objects can also be modeled and placed worldwide. In the past I have even built useable cars & boats. But this guy took it to the max.
It's hard to explane just how amazing that is. The best way to explane it is, the program thinks that's a plane. The program thinks the moving doors, trunk, etc. are landing gear doors, bomb bay doors, etc. And it has to be powered, weighted, & suspended just right for the "model" to act like a ground vehicle.
You can truely burn hundreds of hours perfecting a model, what ever model it is that you choose to imagine.
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08:40 PM
PFF
System Bot
Scottzilla79 Member
Posts: 2573 From: Chicago, IL Registered: Oct 2009
That looks really cool, i'm tempted to get it but I'd just crash the space shuttle into the sears tower all the time like I did in MS flight simulator lol
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08:45 PM
IMSA GT Member
Posts: 10268 From: California Registered: Aug 2007
Originally posted by Cheever3000: ^ I did that at the simulator in Houston (the tourist ones, of course, not the real ones), and nailed it my 2nd try.
With all the "S" turns to bleed off speed & altitude? I can do it about 1 out of 5 times. My spacual awareness sucks. Without visuals, and all those "s" turns, I never quite know where I am at.
Being a lead glider, you only get on shot on final.........unless you design & install rockets..........like I did. Back to space I go!
[This message has been edited by Boondawg (edited 01-14-2011).]
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09:20 PM
Boondawg Member
Posts: 38235 From: Displaced Alaskan Registered: Jun 2003
1. Ok.. got it.. butt load of disc space but for what? I'm guessing just flight model specs n stuff.
The graphics don't look like anything special
2. What's the CPU and GPU requirements?
3. Can it use twin SLI cards on a tri/quad core board and deliver dolby 7.1 sound?
1. 60 GB of senery. The X-Plane scenery package covers the Earth in stunning resolution from 74 degrees north to 60 degrees south latitude. Scenery is also available for Mars thanks to the Mars Orbiting Laser Altimeter, which mapped that planet's elevation
2. X-Plane version 9 requires a computer with at least the following specifications:
■A 2 GHz processor ■1.0 GB RAM (physical memory) ■64 MB VRAM (video memory on your video card) ■10 GB of hard drive space
The simulator will run on Mac OS X version 10.4 or later, Windows XP, Vista, or 7 (32- and 64-bit), and Linux. Note that when using Windows Vista and Windows 7, it is recommended that at least 2 GB of RAM be used.
3. Of course, a computer with 4 GB of RAM, a quad-core processor, and 2 GB of VRAM can be used and X-Plane will take full advantage of it. CPUs with multiple cores are useful because X-Plane will use that second core to load scenery while flying. This eliminates the tenth of a second stutter usually associated with transitioning from one scenery file to another (which is still experienced when using a single-core processor).
Why not download the free demo? Full game with limited scenery, and the joystick disables after 10 minutes.
Am I seeing correctly? It is only $30 for the game? This knocks flight simulator off the map.
Yes, $30.00. When it first came out, version 3.0 was $200.00 bucks with lifelong updates back some years back. It was started by 1 guy with a big brain named Austen, if I remember right. Years later he sold it for tons of cash. Bye bye went my lifetime updates.
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09:41 PM
PFF
System Bot
Boondawg Member
Posts: 38235 From: Displaced Alaskan Registered: Jun 2003
I really like the design aspect. Hours of crunching & recrunching numbers to get things to look & work right.
I tought myself by taking a standard Cessna into Planemaker and disecting it to see what numbers did what. Stretch the wing numbers, make it thicker, move it bac, bend it, etc. The power choices & numbers alone take a lot of time alone.
It's just very interesting to build something cool from all your expirimentations.
[This message has been edited by Boondawg (edited 01-14-2011).]
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09:47 PM
Blacktree Member
Posts: 20770 From: Central Florida Registered: Dec 2001
I have a joystick sitting in the closet (for probably 10+ yrs) I would always literally break them though just from playing with it to hard I guess. (yah go ahead and say it).
Anyways this one that is sitting in the closet is a cheapy, couldnt cost more then $20, but I loved it and only broke one after a real long time. Maybe it's been sitting there all this time just waiting to play this game.
What's strange is I can't remember what I used to play (that needed a joystick) other then Cyberia.
I never played any of those flying simulator types.
[This message has been edited by Gecko (edited 01-14-2011).]
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10:40 PM
Boondawg Member
Posts: 38235 From: Displaced Alaskan Registered: Jun 2003
I would always literally break them though just from playing with it to hard I guess. (yah go ahead and say it).
I stopped doing that when I started paying $150.00 for the force feedbacks when they first came out. Now I swear by the $40.00 Logitech Extreme™ 3D Pro. Throttle, twist rudder, plenty of assignable buttons, nice and strong.
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10:49 PM
Jan 15th, 2011
kwagner Member
Posts: 4257 From: Pittsburgh, PA Registered: Apr 2005
I really like the design aspect. Hours of crunching & recrunching numbers to get things to look & work right.
I tought myself by taking a standard Cessna into Planemaker and disecting it to see what numbers did what. Stretch the wing numbers, make it thicker, move it bac, bend it, etc. The power choices & numbers alone take a lot of time alone.
It's just very interesting to build something cool from all your expirimentations.
As do I. Someday soon I will be getting the full version, it's just so much fun.
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12:21 AM
fierobear Member
Posts: 27079 From: Safe in the Carolinas Registered: Aug 2000
Whoa.. I think I just found a purpose for my wishlisted system on Newegg..
ASUS E-ATX MOBO 2 XFX HD-597X-ENFN Radeon HD 5970 in x16 crossfire AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition Deneb 3.5GHz 16GB G.Skill Ripjaw DDR3 1600 (PC3-12800) RAM Crucial 256GB MLC SSD SATA-6GB/s
I got a Crucial SSD in my Asus Netbook, its a freakin awesome SSD, my little netbook went from slow to wow this thing hauls. Thats quite a wish list too, that game shouldn't skip a beat on that setup. LOL!
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03:09 AM
PFF
System Bot
Rallaster Member
Posts: 9105 From: Indy southside, IN Registered: Jul 2009
I got a Crucial SSD in my Asus Netbook, its a freakin awesome SSD, my little netbook went from slow to wow this thing hauls. Thats quite a wish list too, that game shouldn't skip a beat on that setup. LOL!
That game would rock out on that system. Those Gfx cards also support ATI's EyeFinity, which supports up to 6 monitors(Max resolution per monitor: 2560x1600. Max total resolution: 7680x3200), interpolated into one massive display. EyeFinity is also program dependent in whether the game can display properly at the end resolutions.
The only real downside, aside from price($1,100 per Gfx card. Total system cost: around $7k), is that in order to actually run 2 of those Gfx Cards at full power I would need 2 1200w PSU's. Those things are power hungry. 2 GPU's and 4 gig's of DDR5 RAM sitting on twin 256-bit buses on each card.
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03:23 AM
faaaaq Member
Posts: 3856 From: Madison WI, USA Registered: Sep 2009
I really like the design aspect. Hours of crunching & recrunching numbers to get things to look & work right.
I tought myself by taking a standard Cessna into Planemaker and disecting it to see what numbers did what. Stretch the wing numbers, make it thicker, move it bac, bend it, etc. The power choices & numbers alone take a lot of time alone.
It's just very interesting to build something cool from all your expirimentations.
I think you missed your caling, my friend. I'd love to see some of your "BoonPlanes"
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12:02 PM
jelly2m8 Member
Posts: 6106 From: Nova Scotia, Canada Registered: Jul 2001
Am I seeing correctly? It is only $30 for the game? This knocks flight simulator off the map.
Actually it doesn't. Your looking at X-Plane with 3rd party add-on scenery ( It does look pretty darn nice BTW), Have you seen any of the add on scenery for FSX? my add-on for the Pacific Northwest alone is 37 Gig.
Plus X-Plane's plane's look a bit unfinished, like freeware for FS 2004 era.
X-Plane stuff is cheaper than what you can get for FSX though.
[This message has been edited by jelly2m8 (edited 01-15-2011).]
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12:12 PM
fierobear Member
Posts: 27079 From: Safe in the Carolinas Registered: Aug 2000
Jesus, man, how much for that? And can Windows address the 16GB?
Total system cost is around $7k, and IIRC, Windows 7 Ultimate x64 can address up to 192GB total (system mem + Vmem), I believe. The board I want only supports 16GB, or else I'd have way more..
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12:34 PM
jelly2m8 Member
Posts: 6106 From: Nova Scotia, Canada Registered: Jul 2001
I think you missed your caling, my friend. I'd love to see some of your "BoonPlanes"
Actually, last night I did a C-130'ish aircraft.............from memory. Then lost it when I kicked my powerstrip while chasing the dog. I forgot to save every 5 minutes, just like a word document.......
I have designed lots of different stuff over the years.
In the past I have taken the Shuttle and figured out fueltanks & engines so I could fly it to space.
I think the proudest thing I did was from scratch I designed a VERY nice looking STOL bushplane that could have easily been built for real. I had many many hours into it.
All buildings and objects can also be modeled and placed worldwide. In the past I have even built useable cars & boats. But this guy took it to the max.
Heh... the music for that YouTube video is the Love Theme by Barry White.
That song just never gets old.
When I first started dating the girl that is now my wife... I once brought her back to my apartment and put the Love Theme LP on the turn table and put on some candles. She just laughed at me... but I knew she was totally mesmerized by it. But I guess I shouldn't blame her since that was only like 9 years ago that I did that...
Maybe that would have been cool had it been 1977...
