List of X-plane releases
X-plane is a popular Flight simulator. these are the Version Releases.
Version 1.0
Released: 1993
X-Plane V1 was a beta for Macintosh-only originally designed to simulate the Piper Archer.
Version 2.0
Released: 1996
First Microsoft Windows version.
Version 3.0
Released: 1997
- Removed the 256-color mode requirement when working under Windows.
- Added World-Maker, Weather-Briefer.
Version 4.0
Released: 1998
Version 4 added:
- Textured graphics and hardware acceleration using the cross-platform OpenGL graphics library.
- In World-Maker, users can now:
- Make photo-real terrain textures.
- Create structures such as airport buildings, Empire State Building, Sears Tower, World Trade Center, Statue of Liberty.
Version 5.0
Released: 1999
Version 5 added:
- Version 5.32 adds Airbus aircraft to the X-Plane CD.
- Version 5.6 adds United Airlines Boeing 747-400.
Version 6.0
Released: 2001
- Aircraft bitmaps are replaced by paints.
- Version 6.10 fully supported:
- Mac OS 8.6 and prior was no longer supported.
Version 7.0
Released: 2003
Changed to a new game engine, .png texture format, and icon.
Version 8.0
Released: 2004
Features of version 8 of the X-Plane series include:
- First DVD version.
- Ability to read .dsf scenery format.
- Version 8.20 adds a new .obj format supporting animation.
- Version 8.40 fully supports Intel Macs. Aircraft have improved 3D cockpits.
- First Linux version.
Version 9.0
Initially released: 2007.
Latest Stable Release: June 2011.
- Memory management gains.
- Shader support: Users with high-end computers can see rippled shadows and reflections on water.
- A new installer automatically downloads and installs updated modules over the Internet.
Version 10.0
Initial release: December 2011.
Latest stable release: May 18, 2012.
Latest Beta: July 12, 2012
- Improved Flight Model including wingflex
- Better use of multi-core processing for Artificially Intelligent Aircraft
- Improved Air Traffic Control coordinated with AI Aircraft above
- Global weather engine with advanced 3d cloud rendering
- Global Scenery generated (in part) from OpenStreetMap data allowing accurate placement of roads, rivers and plausible auto-placement of buildings
- Better use of graphic processing units to replace all orthophoto textures representing 3d objects with full 3d objects such as buildings, freeways, streetlights and trees
- Global Illumination and shadowing[1][2]
Version 10.10 Beta
Released: July 12, 2012
- NEW VIEWS AND VIEW REFINEMENTS:
Q E R F < > arrow keys to move around: SHIFT to go FAST CONTROL to go SLOW this gives more control for movie-makers, as requested by various movie-makers. 20 new commands: 10 MEMORIZE view in 3-d cockpit 10 RECALL view in 3-d cockpit The 10 views, called "Quick-Look" views, are commands in the VIEW group in the keyboard assignment screen, but if you delete your preferences in the output/preferences folder, then they will default to the 10 numeric keypad numbers, and hit CONTROL plus that number to memorize a new view.
- COOL NEW STUFF:
New oil rig... see it in the oil rig approach... really amazing detail. New plane: Columbia-400! Piaggo Avanti updated to be really nice, and is our default airplane for now.
- IMPROVED FLIGHT MODEL:
controllable ram-air recovery for propeller engines assign the ram air recovery percentage for your recip or turboprop engine installation, and see what kind of power boost you can get at speed with a properly-designed inlet! this used to be hard-wired at 10% (pursuant to flight-test in my Cirrus) but is now controllable by you per-aircraft. electric motors are limited on torque and power, so if you exceed redline rpm, the torque will be gin to fall off to hold constant power! electric motors can have efficiency as well, indicating what percentage of the watt-hours coming out of the battery make it to the prop! electric motors can re-gen power as well, if you enter a re-gen efficiency in the engines screen of Plane-Maker (Spool-Up tab.. where the engine efficiency mentioned above is also set) the re-gen model causes the prop to go into re-gen mode if the throttle is at idle, running the braking torque (and thus battery charge) up linearly with rpm until braking torque equals max allowable drive torque at redline prop rpm. These things are designed to make electric motor simulation really run well in X-Plane... even well enough to plan how a real electric airplane will perform! manifold pressure tweaked still more! I am sorry to keep twiddling this one parameter, but i sure do want to get it right! we now DO use the max manifold pressure that you enter into Plane-Maker, so you should be able to control the results well. when you fail the left or right flaps, they simply stay in the position they were in the moment the failure occurred. this makes it possible to fail the flaps when extended, so only one side RETRACTS! rather interesting for go-arounds with failed flaps on one side when you start to clean up the plane! The weight and balance predictor in Plane-Maker (designed by me to test out real airplane designs!) now has a different weight and balance entry for each fuel tank, so you can see CG ranges at all possible fuel tank load-outs. Metal coefficient on concrete increased a bit... this will reduce skidding on helos a bit, and make dynamic roll-over more likely! More refinement of the transition from subsonic to supersonic flight model, with input from an F-18 pilot that spends time flying in both speed regimes. In reality, the air accelerates to (and beyond) the speed of sound as it moves around the body of the aircraft... even BEFORE the airplane makes it up to the speed of sound. We now start to emulate that effect a bit, starting to move to the supersonic flight modeling as the aircraft speed approaches Mach 1, with drag rising as shock waves form. You now enter the starter HORSEPOWER in the engines screen, and it's behavior should be more realistic in flight. As well, starter current draw should be a lot more realistic now, and the starter torque should fall off as the rpm comes up due to power limits of the starter and it's associated circuitry. New variable in Plane-Maker: Prop pitch time to enter beta. Enter a value here (in the Engines screen, Spoolup tab) to set how quickly the propeller can move. While you only enter the time to move from idle to beta, this prop speed is then used for ALL propeller operations.
- SMALL VISUAL REFINEMENTS:
landing lights light up the rain and snow now... kind of a nice detail heat blurr moved according to the exhaust location even with tilting engines for VTOL ops... nice if you want to try something like a JET V-22 type aircraft. less water spray effect form hovering helos over wet terrain, as per reality. no more brakes hanging on free-casting nosewheel craft. (oops!) the LOCATION of the jettisonable load on the aircraft is now considered on all aspects of the flight model in the weight and balance screen, add a nice big jettisonable water load and put it out on the wingtip! let the fun commence!
- GENERAL OPERATING REFINEMENTS:
situations can be saved even if you just loaded a situation to start up with! kind of convenient. situations within situations. mouse controls rudder again, as desired, when no joy controls found new file-open is nice... try it! should be much quicker to use. as well, new livery selection is nice... it is integrated with the aircraft-open, and always remembers what was the last livery used for each airplane, which is kind of convenient. more failures that do not apply to your airplane are culled from the failure UI list new command: "sim/flight_controls/brakes_toggle_auto" to toggle auto-brakes, as requested. the cloud layers can now be as close together as you like SLIGHT change in the icing model: you now only need ONE switch for bleed air or pneumatic on the panel now. it will active any bleed air and pneumatics on BOTH wings. New command: "sim/autopilot/knots_mach_toggle" This is a new command (assignable to a joystick button or keyboard, and one xxxxx should be used by custom-aircraft makers) that properly toggle between speed and mach number on the airspeed hold. New command: "sim/flight_controls/tail_wheel_lock" Toggles the tailwheel lock. New commands: ADF 1 and 2 cards, pilot and copilot, rotate up and down. Much less turbulence from RAIN... you have to select STORMS or the turbulence slider to get noticeable turbulence, or fly into CUMULUS clouds.
- BUG-FIXES:
shooting down other airplanes works. lift fans possible, as intended. these are insanely fun. equip your plane with 1 (or more!) jet engine but set up 2 (or more) props. be sure that the jet engine is set so it can be VECTORING! set the vector range in the helos and VTOL screen to at least 90 degrees, and check it as vectoring in the engines screen for the props, set them to type LIFT FAN and give them plenty of RPM and make them ducted and at a vertical cant of 90 degrees if you balance out the fan speed and radius number of blade and chord to absorb the right amount of power from the jet, then you should be able to get the thing balanced out to fly nicely like an F-35! carrier catshot mission won't launch prematurely off the deck just cause you have toe-brakes, and should have better physics in place holding you before the shot.