X-Plane (simulator)
Screenshot of X-Plane 10.2: King Air at Idaho County Airport
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| Developer(s) | Laminar Research |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 10.51 (October 26, 2016) |
| Preview release | 11.00b13 (February 28, 2017) |
| Operating system |
Android iOS Linux macOS WebOS Windows |
| Type | Flight simulator |
| License | Commercial |
| Website | www |
X-Plane is a flight simulator produced by Laminar Research. A desktop version is available for macOS, Windows, and Linux, while a mobile version is available for Android, iOS, and webOS. X-Plane is packaged with several commercial, military, and other aircraft, as well as basic global scenery which covers most of the Earth. X-Plane also ships with other software to build and customize aircraft and scenery. X-Plane also has a plugin architecture that allows users to create their own modules, extending the functionality of the software by letting users create their own worlds or replicas of places on Earth.
As of October 2016[update], the most recent version is X-Plane 10.51. X-Plane 10 comes in a cardstock or tin case on eight dual-layer DVDs, most of which comprise the global scenery, which is 86 GB compressed. The scenery spans from 70 degrees south to 74 degrees north. Switching the planetary model to Mars is an option that comes with X-Plane 9 only, and although the atmosphere is thin, flight is possible.
On November 25, 2016 Laminar Research released the first public beta of X-Plane 11 to the general public. A second public beta was released on December 6, 2016 which fixed some major bugs. The official full release of X-Plane 11 is expected to be around March 30, 2017.
X-Plane differentiates itself from other simulators by implementing an aerodynamic model called blade element theory. Traditionally, flight simulators emulate the real-world performance of an aircraft by using empirical data in predefined lookup tables to determine aerodynamic forces such as lift or drag, which vary with differing flight conditions. These simulators sufficiently simulate the flight characteristics of the aircraft, specifically those with known aerodynamic data, but are not useful in design work, and do not predict the performance of aircraft when the actual figures are not available.
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