X-Plane 7.30

By John Dale (19 February 2004)

The current version of X-Plane is sold direct from Laminar Research at $49.50 US (February 2004) for the program and earth scenery disks. 3 day domestic shipping is $10.00, carrier and service not optional. Overseas shipping is $20.00 and again, carrier and service is not optional. If you also want scenery for Mars you'll have to tack on another $20.00 US bringing the total for the full package to $69.50 plus shipping US domestic. Prices seem to vacillate periodically but right now are reduced drastically from last year. Often after you get your disks you will already have to go online and update with a 140 Mbs download, so get a high-speed connection!

X-Plane is not fancy and you receive a basic package. Not many programs these days send manuals with the programs and X-Plane is in vogue. Too bad not everyone follows the example of IL-2 Sturmovik and Forgotten Battles. With the package, if you order the full package, you will get several disks with full world scenery and Mars package as well. Over 5 Gbs of data is included. Once installed, which is routine, one does need to go in and set as many parameters to the max to start getting the benefit of X-Planes' complexity. I ran it for some days below the capability of my computer (2.2 GHz Athlon with 128 NVidia card) and then upped the textures and autogen and it greatly improved the whole program.

Initially it is important to mention what you do not get in X-Plane. You will not get scenery approaching the level of FS2004 in detail, nor in accuracy. Forget VFR flying around your home area, if like me you are in the mountains. My home airport (CZNL) was unrecognizable in X-Plane. At least it was in there. Furthermore because of programming method you cannot load mesh scenery on top of X-Plane's basic scenery and so cannot add on to improve as much as FS2004.

X-Plane consists of multiple parts, which is where it begins to get interesting for homebuilders, aircraft designers, professional engineering companies and where it starts to shine over FS2004. The main program is the simulator and then there are four other parts:

• Plane-maker
• Airfoil-maker
• World-maker
• Briefer

There are close to 40 aircraft in the basic package and many more available online. X-Plane does not demand as much computer power as FS2004 but they all exceed the basic recommended by so much that I will not bore you with those requirements.

We will cover the modules first:

   

Plane-maker: Here is where X-plane is unique. The potential for modeling and playing around with designs is limited only by your own imagination. As can be seen from the above left image, you can take any panel and build it up from scratch or as in the included Cessna 172, modify whatever you want with a cut and paste simplicity. This is a great module for any homebuilder or EAA member. You can shape the fuselage or start with the whole plane and change anything you wish (above right). Austin Meyer has used a process called Blade Element Theory or BET to break up say a wing into discreet segments. Lift and drag can then be calculated for each section and integrated into the whole unit. You can then go to a subroutine which generates from input data your desired effect and shows the result back in the 3D model. So wings, control surfaces, props, landing gear can all be modified and generated back in 3D. You can animate and paint to your heart's desire. The parameters are complex and very complete. One cannot speak highly enough of this module from an aircraft designer's viewpoint.

Airfoil-maker: This module permits one to play with a variety of airfoils and either use the library model or vary it as seen in the example here (right). You do need technical knowledge to benefit from this module and then you can vary items and see the final product and load it back into your plane of choice and actually go fly it. The flight characteristics are so accurately done in X-Plane that I call it a pilot's flight simulator over FS2004 which has a more general appeal. After all I understand Austin designed the program so that he could build a Glasair, which I understand is still not finished.

   

World-maker: this module takes the bitmap file from any given area and can be accessed by airport name. In the enclosed illustration (above, left) we see Nelson Airport (CZNL) in British Columbia, Canada, and we can then modify the airport and surroundings somewhat to improve Nelson in X-Plane. The data is actually more updated than FS2004 which still has runways 03/21 from several years ago. X-plane has 04/22 but you can modify this and add towers or parking spots, or displaced thresholds. You can switch to terrain, obstacles, vectors, airports, or navaids and do a lot of work to improve an area. As yet we do not have the programs that I am aware of to add the kind of accuracy which various programs let you do in FS2004. Working in the terrain feature permits you to change point heights, change the nature of the terrain to suit your area better and a few other bells and whistles.

Briefer: Briefer allows you to set a flight route and get the weather. X-plane does get real weather, but I found this module to be quite primitive compared to any flight planning within FS2004. In this example (right) we planned from Seattle to Vancouver. You will then get some reasonable IFR ATC enroute, but the general background chatter is quite generic.

Flying X-Plane

   

Initially we are lined up ready to go, and then after applying full power we begin to roll. The lift-off came a little earlier than any 172 I have flown and as we started the climb I still indicated 50 knots.

   

After a short climb we start to turn (above right). The instruments give one a great feeling of reality as they are so precise and we can see why this program is starting to be used in so many professional settings. Switching to the supplied Lancair aircraft (right) we see the very modern HITS panel which is a first in flightsimming programs as far as I know. In the twin Baron, one can see and read all the engine instruments and watch accurate changes as you fly the plane.

I found radio panels and switching frequencies to be a pain and one needs a separate call up radio panel as in FS2004 to use these effectively. This is actually quite a shortcoming in the program. Having no pop-up windows for engine instruments, radios or GPS, etc, means everything has to be built into the one panel. X-plane does not have virtual windows and the outside view is as mentioned above rather primitive with a minimal move around function and close-up. The interior views are a rear view with key "Z" and basic. We have come to expect this eye candy from FS2004. The FMS is rather basic but there is a HUD display on most planes. What planes there are have great 2D panels however.

       

Crashes are interesting.

   

Varying results happen. The 172 crash here (above left) was just a heavy landing; it resulted in an engine fire it seems. After crashing the 172 and with white smoke streaming everywhere, I took off again successfully, this time I went straight in and that resulted in no structural damage but the engine quit and black smoke came out! No wait a minute the left tire blew. I wish (right)! The helicopter wiped out pretty good, bounced a few times but just gave out black smoke. FS2004 needed improving with SelectFX and that helped it improve, but neither comes close to the dramatic effects in Il-2 Sturmovik. Ground interaction of landing gear and struts is very realistic.

At this point we need to mention that the subsonic and space features are really an added bonus, which no other simulator has created in this way. This and the general accuracy of flight have resulted in several commercial contracts such as: New Piper aircraft, Carter Copter and also Burt Rutan's new White Knight.

   

The "Motus 6" is a full size simulator which has been created using X-Plane as a commercial, IFR and airline training simulator. Fidelity Flight Simulations Inc. have created this. Precision Flight Controls, Inc. (www.flypfc.com) will be using this for their "PCATD" devices with X-Plane certification. The space shuttle is a pretty realistic portrayal and one of the greatest challenges within X-Plane. When I first load the shuttle for re-entry I do not get the shuttle, which I used to have in my earlier version of X-Plane, but with the shuttle launch I get a more normal looking one. Most of my space ships were screwed up versions and an email to Austin Meyer about this was sent on February 10th 2004. I got a reply from Austin directly within 2 days and it had useful suggestions for solutions. Wow! Microsoft take notes!

In flight information has improved in version 7.30 and there is available a good local VFR map (left) with a fair amount of information. This needs to be a pop-up window and if X-plane could run in a window OK then I could move some of this off to a second monitor. Floatplane flying is quite hopeless and needs fixing. The program should not have seaplanes. I loaded the Canadair CL-215, took off on land and landed both wheels up and down in the ocean with equal results. There is really no slow down after touchdown and I took off again wheels down. Austin needs to get some beta testers and respond to comments on this kind of thing. The program has been around a long time. As much as one hates to criticize when the program is essentially a one-man show instead of a large Microsoft team, one is still paying good bucks for the program and we should expect better functionality than there is in several areas of X-Plane. For instance when you suddenly hit rudder in a Raptor F-22 in clouds or near clouds the actual clouds rotate by almost 20 degrees. They will oscillate in a very unreal fashion. Flying the Raptor in lousy weather with the HITS is a thrill, as you emerge in marginal VFR at 500' AGL feeling quite safe at 400 kts. You are able to fail instruments in a realistic manner and set up as instructor/student quite nicely. www.x-plane.org has many planes that one can download for free and some shareware planes are now on the market. You can go to www.x-plane.com and download a 6-minute running trial, which will give you an impression as to whether this most interesting flight simulator is for you. Overall it is impossible to rate it with any other current simulator. It has a different purpose and audience from FS2004. Personally I will continue to follow its evolution with interest as it is a user driven program, but I am not a homebuilder and fly a regular Cessna 210 and for my personal use and practice FS2004 still offers just a little more in realism and weather and model textures and especially scenery. However I suspect there are many purists who will argue with me that I am missing the technically superior aspects of X-Plane in this assessment. Download it and try it out for yourself!

Lastly to give one further example of the very personal contact and the way this program is developing and why it has such a dedicated following in spite of some negative points, the latest email which comes regularly from Austin Meyer directly indicates already great improvements in 7.40 (free upgrade). These emails come about one per week with all sorts of technical data on the latest development which make you feel part of a small family.

Final Conclusion: Price has come down recently making X-Plane excellent addition to flightsim library and for EAA members and homebuilders a best choice. If you want real IFR and pretty scenery, stick with FS2004.

John Dale
jrdale@netidea.com

Laminar Research

Dr John Dale has been flying in Canada for 32 years and currently flies a Cessna 210 and organizes tours to the Yukon and Alaska in the summer. Check http://www.flynorth.com for details.