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X-Plane (simulator)

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This article is about a flight simulator. For similarly named items, see Xplane.
X-Plane
Developer(s)Laminar Research
Stable release
9.00/9.01 / April 18th 2008
Preview release
9.30 Beta 2 / Feb 9th 2009
Operating systemWindows, Mac OS X, Linux, iPhone
TypeFlight Simulator
LicenseProprietary
WebsiteX-Plane.com

X-Plane is a flight simulator for personal computers produced by Laminar Research. It runs on iPhone, Linux, Mac or Windows-based PCs. X-Plane is packaged with other software to build and customize aircraft and scenery, offering a complete flight simulation environment. X-Plane also has a plugin architecture that allows users to create their own modules, extending the functionality of the software.

Flight model

X-Plane distinguishes itself by implementing a concept known as blade element theory[1]. Traditionally, flight simulators try to emulate the real-world performance of an aircraft by using lookup tables to determine things such as lift or drag. These simulators do a good job of simulating the flight characteristics of the aircraft they were designed to simulate, but are not useful in design work, and do not predict the performance of aircraft when the actual figures are not available.

File:X-Plane Evenblade.jpg
A Tebor Aerospace Evenblade, a fictional aircraft created in X-Plane

Blade-element theory attempts to improve on this by individually evaluating the parts that constitute an aircraft. A wing, for example, may be made up of many sections (1 to 4 is typical), and each section is further divided into as many as 10 separate sections, then the lift and drag of each section is calculated, and the resulting effect is applied to the whole aircraft. When this process is applied to each component, the simulated aircraft will fly virtually like its real counterpart does. This approach allows users to design aircraft on their computer quickly and easily, as the simulator engine will show immediately how an aircraft with a particular design might perform in the real world.

X-Plane is capable of modeling fairly complex aircraft designs, including helicopters, rockets, rotor craft and tilt-rotor craft. Famous real world aircraft modeled in X-Plane include the V-22 Osprey, the Harrier Jump Jet, the NASA Space Shuttle, and Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne.

Blade element theory does have its shortcomings, as it can sometimes be difficult to design an aircraft that performs precisely like the real-world aircraft. However, as the flight model is refined, the simulator can better resemble real-world performance (as well as the aircraft's quirks and design flaws.)

A300-600ST Beluga

Extensibility

Users are encouraged to design their own aircraft, and design software is included with the program. This has created an active community of users who use the simulator for a variety of purposes. Since designing an aircraft is relatively simple and the flight model can help predict performance of real-world aircraft, several aircraft companies use X-Plane in their design process[2]. The CarterCopter uses X-Plane for flight training and research. X-Plane also contributed to the design of the Atlantica blended wing body aircraft.

Through the plugin interface, users can create external modules that extend the X-Plane interface, flight model, or create new features. One such feature is the Xsquawkbox plugin, which allows X-Plane users to fly on a worldwide shared simulation network. Other work has been done in the area of improving X-Plane's flight model and even replacing entire facets of X-Plane's operation. Scaled Composites, for example, used the X-Plane rendering engine on top of their own simulator while designing and testing SpaceShipOne.[citation needed]

X-Plane is also capable of communicating with other applications via UDP. Through a relatively simple interface, third party developers can control the simulator and extract data regarding the simulation state. Companies like Scaled Composites have used this tool in order to use X-Plane as a rendering engine for their in-house simulators.

The maps and scenery are also fully editable. While no tool is provided to edit the 3D mesh objects, there are tutorials for using the third party 3D modeler AC3D.[3] Once built, editing landscape elevation and 3D object placement is easily accomplished with the scenery editor. In fact, much of the world's detail, including detail in airports, such as ramps, buildings, and taxiways, is provided by the end-users. Users can also subscribe to a mailing list, receiving regular updates of the airport and navaid database.

Map imagery and aircraft paint can be created and modified with any paint program capable of manipulating PNG images. Additionally, Laminar Research has released a 7 DVD "Global Scenery Package" containing imagery of a much higher quality than the default information. This package covers close to 85% of the Earth's surface. The release of X-Plane 9 (Jan 2008) has introduced much improved areas of high ground relief (in particular, mountains) and a plethora of other improvements.

FAA certification

X-Plane is also used in non-motion and full-motion flight simulators for flight training. Some of these implementations have been certified by the FAA for authorized flight instruction such as Flight Level Aviation and Simtrain.

Version 9

Version nine of the X-Plane series is a major update from the previous versions. It includes:

  • Better Memory management.
  • Shader support: Users with high-end computers can see rippled shadows and reflections on water.
  • Installer: the installer automatically downloads and installs updated modules over the Internet.

Compatibility

X-Plane is available for Windows, Linux, and the Macintosh. The Macintosh version is a Universal Binary, running on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. There is also a cut-down version for the iPhone.

System requirements

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: X-Plane Flight Simulator

References

  1. ^ http://www.x-plane.com/about.html
  2. ^ "Apple - Games - Articles - X-Plane". Retrieved 2008-04-29.
  3. ^ "X-Plane 8 Scenery Tutorials". Retrieved 2007-11-22.
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