X-Pilot

Carenado has announced an upgrade extension package made available to convert the base pack Cessna 208 into a Super Cargomaster variant. The upgrade is sold for a very reasonable $7.95 and may be obtained at Carenado's web store.

SUPPORT FOR FOREFLIGHT! Go to the SETTINGS menu in X-Plane, INTERNET OPTIONS window, IPHONE/IPOD tab, and turn on the ForeFlight option. Then, get ForeFlight from the App Store if you are the last one to have not already done so and run it! This is a map system that myself, and most other people, use in the cockpit, which is about ten million times better than using paper charts! Go to the (MORE...) menu at the bottom of ForeFlight and the to DEVICES item on the left. Touch it, and see the X-Plane window that appears... touch that, too, and a window will come up that lets you ENABLE it. Now, simply fly X-Plane with ForeFlight running on the same wireless network and you can use ForeFlight just like you would in the cockpit! Cool! Supersonic engine thrust model improved to go from total pressure recovery to normal-shock recovery as you move towards the max inlet efficiency, and pass air subsonically to the compressor behind the inlet. This is still not a perfect inlet model since different inlets work in totally different ways, but this is the best superonic inlet model we have ever had, and the supersonic drag is now the best we have ever had as well. The supersonic drag model looks at each polygon of the acf model, finds its' normal vector and area, and treats it as a plate with a compression or expansion fan, and should now do a perfect job of tracking every single poly in the airplane.The new supersonic model, like ALL of the dynamics in X-Plane, considers all of the various bodies that you have created for the airplane. That is: ALL of the fuselage, misc bodies, nacelles, etc, are considered to be exposed to the airflow. This means that if you have multiple bodies one inside the other, the aero effects will be DOUBLED compared to reality! Also, if you have one body hiding right behind another, or behind the fuselage, then the drag effects will be DOUBLED compared to reality! This is why with the latest beta, some planes are not going supersonic that should: We are now computing the drag more accurately on each body, and having multiple bodies one behind the other simply add up the drag based on the frontal area of EACH BODY! A very simple case of this is an F-104 Starfighter model that uses a fuselage for the FRONT of the plane, and a misc body for the BACK! In this case, the front of the misc body is acting like a big flat-plate exposed to the air.. surely enough to keep the plane subsonic! So, to design a plane properly, do NOT use misc bodies and fuselage and nacelles stacked inside each other, or behind each other in a row. This will simply erroneously add up drag! When designing a plan e for X-Plane, the rule is really very very simple: Each fuselage, misc body, and nacelle has the local air aciting on it. That's it! So it is actually really simple. Now, there is ONE exception: Engine nacelles for jets. Engine nacelles for jets are assumed to NOT produce any drag. This is because the thrust for the engine that you enter in Plane-Maker is considered to already be based on installed thrust losses. So, if you want your ACF model to be accurate, then do not have hidden-away misc bodies with frontal area inside another body, and certainly do not have 2 bodies one behind the other to make a long body... the frontal area of the aft body will still be exposed to the air in X-Plane! If you want really detailed geometry (read: more than you can get out of a body in X-Plane, so you want to hook multiple bodies together) then it is time to build an OBJ for your airplane! ForeFlight support! Grab ForeFlight version 4.7 and you can now use X-Plane as a "GPS" to practice your flying. New commands: Spot lite on, off, and toggle... kind of sorely missing before! Helo rotor rpm trim runs 0 to 1, so it is an interpolation between the lo and hi rotor rpm trim. This way, motion of the trim always DOES something, even if only a high OR lo rotor rpm trim is entered in Plane-Maker! Automatic crash reporter no longer catches crashes that occur because of plugins. This is important so that plugin authors can get crash data from their users without us stealing it from them. UI Buttons in all products have been improved to be...well...like every other button you've ever used outside of X-Plane. Actions happen on the up-click, not the down-click giving you a chance to change your mind while also giving you visual feedback of the press itself. Aircraft Fixed Vacuum pressure and Oil Pressure gauges in the default C-172 Fixed SR-71 flight model Shadows This build should fix the bug where the shadows would jitter and shake wildly with HDR enabled; the shadows should now be about the same with HDR on or off. (Global melt your GPU looks better with HDR on.) Some airplanes that previously did not shadow properly are now fixed. I am still working on shadow tuning. Bug Fixes Joystick Dialog now consolidates axis display so more device axis are visible. Important for people with many devices. Joystick calibration ranges from 10.05R1 are now blown away to prevent corrupt axis on an update. NOTE: This will require EVERYONE to recalibrate their devices on updating. Fixed broken "alt" button on Windows Fixed buttons on some home-cockpit devices such as the MJoy16-C1 You can now save a situation and then load it again without exiting X-Plane to re-scan the file list. Landing lights and all other lights should go across to the external visuals now. Much less turbulence in light to moderate precip... but same trubulence in major (red) precip QuickFlight startup does put you on the ramp now, if set up as such in Operations and Warnings window. Weather goes to ALL the external visuals now, not just a random ONE of them! ;-P Right Click/Zoom no longer control the sim from IOS station. Fixed bug in planemaker causing resource copying to create invalid files on Windows. Fixed dlerror __stack_chk_fail_local on Linux machines. Ideally, plugin authors should be compiling with -fno-stack-protector but in the meantime, this will let them run again. Roads shouldn't cut into buildings at low view angles. Fixed crash when starting up with IOS enabled and quick flight showing on startup. Fixed cursor being hidden in joystick calibration wizard. Fixed cut-off object names in Plane-Maker main screen. Fixed prioritization up/down buttons in plane-maker misc objects screen. Added error checking for airplanes whose use of panel texture is inconsistent. You can't mix and match ATTR_cockpit and ATTR_cockpit_region!!!! Plugins are now exempt from breakpad; if a plugin crashes, the normal OS crashes happen so that the user can send a report to the plugin author, rather than the crash going into our database. Fixed camera instrument to not turn green during the day with panel regions.

DMO Flight Design has released their entry product into the payware market: the Sikorsky S-92. The aircraft includes five variants, a detailed 3D interior and exterior, as well as many liveries and mimicked systems. You can find more about this product, including screenshots at the X-Plane.org store.

Carenado has announced their next upcoming product will be the B58 Baron. Without anything more than "Coming Soon" and a few screenshots, this is all they had to say for the time being. Screenshots are available in their facebook gallery.

Leading Edge Simulations, creators of the award winning Douglas DC-3 for X-Plane 9 and 10, has posted new shots of their upcoming Saab 340A product. It has been some time since updates were provided for the Saab 340A product, and this update is a welcome addition with many enhancements compared to when we last saw images of this aircraft! To read the news and view images, check out this post in the forums.

X-Pilot is pleased to announce the opening of our Download File Library! After many requests from our community members over time we have implemented a free download section to this website for everyone to upload and share their creations, and for our users to download and enjoy them! More information on this announcement can be found here.

Laminar Research has released Beta 8 of X-Plane 10.10. This release includes the following bug fixes: Quick-Look now supports our new 2D panel scrolling Quick-Flight is now under the file menu Major revisions to the Baron and Kingair Global scenery terrain regions tuned. Added "TEXTURE_CONTROL_NOWRAP" to correspond to TEXTURE_CONTROL. This is needed to make orthophoto pol files with decals. Aircraft: 10.10 beta 6 attempted to mark older cockpit objects as 'glass'. This seemed like a clever way to make HDR work but actually breaks more aircraft than it helps. This change has been removed for beta 7. As a result, the CRJ and other aircraft that use the panel texture as a window will not show clouds correctly in HDR mode. These aircraft will need an update to work with HDR enabled, but will work correctly with HDR disabled. X-Plane cannot guess-and-auto-update these aircraft for HDR. The cockpit now contains most of the same options in Plane-Maker as the attached objects. Invalid use of ATTR_cockpit is now detected and logged. Bug Fixes: Fixed crash on Windows with facades with empty meshes. This fixes the crash using the "Classic 3" airport facade. Added support for some out-of-spec PFC Yokes Fixes to solve some strange button behavior on various joysticks (ie. Cyborg Evo) Fixed bus_load_amps dataref to read proper value Landing lights accurately reflect their load on electrical busses now. G430,G1000 and Avidyne instruments now work with panel regions. Fixed some cases where water fog looks funny - there are still some bugs with water and fog. Fixed black line when shadows on "Melt your GPU" with NV cards. Fixed missing cockpit objects in Chinook and other older-style planes. Fixed missing transponder on P32R and other panels that mix translucency and panels. Fixed intermittent drawing of airports in sectional map. Fixed plugin glue code: XPLMNavAid can find stand-alone DMEs. Fixed incorrect culling of trees when forest exclusion zones go outside a DSF boundary. Moved power tower wires to a later drawing group to avoid artifacts. Fixed world being very dark for the first few frames in HDR mode. Other tweaks: If you ask to start on the ramp under operations and warnings, then the quick-flight screen honors that Real-weather should grab dew-point to display in ATIS reports, which is kind of nice. Supersonic model for bodies over-hauled a bit... should be more realistic now (the supersonic model for the wings should remain un-changed)

Virtavia, mostly know for their work in the Microsoft Flight Sim world, has released their C-17 Globemaster for X-Plane! The aircraft comes with versions suited for X-Plane 9 and 10, and will mark Virtavia's first product for X-Plane. The aircraft features include: High resolution glass EFIS panels, with double FSX resolution, 6 screens to choose from. High quality animated, folding HUD with 3 de-clutter modes. Unique custom animated 3D menu for easy access to door animations, Fuel load, Payload Functional FMS computer - Plugin enhanced systems for greater system functionality. Mission computers More information and features may be found at the X-Plane.org Store.

X-Aviation and Drawbridge Designs are pleased to announce the release of Wilmington International Airport! Utilizing all-new shader technology, combined with accurately placed orthophotos, trees, light poles, powerlines, and ultra realistic looking 3D airport buildings, Wilmington International Airport is the start of a new wave of products that will blow you away! The attention to detail is incredible, and the experience within X-Plane has never been better. No matter if your X-Plane adventures have you be a general aviation flyer, a regional jet pilot, or a heavy airliner captain, Wilmington International Airport is for you! And, if you like to simulate realism you can take that awesome CRJ-200, ERJ series aircraft, Dash 8, Airbus A320, Douglas DC-9, or your MD-80 series aircraft to or from places where Wilmington has commercial air service, like Delta Air Lines and Delta Connection to New York and Atlanta, US Airways Express to Philadelphia and Washington D.C., American Eagle to Chicago O'Hare, US Airways and US Airways Express to Charlotte, and Allegiant Air to Orlando/Sanford International Airports. More information as well as a detailed set of screenshots are provided on the product page at X-Aviation.com.

Ramzzess Aviation Design, the developer responsible for add-ons like the SSJ-100 and other Russian aircraft, has announced a joint project with Philipp Avionics. Philipp Avionics is run by Philipp Muenzel, the creator of the systems for the Take Command! CRJ-200. The Boeing 777-200LR will be a "Licensed by Boeing" product, featuring custom systems and avionics, including a custom FMC. More information about this upcoming product may be found in the official forum announcement thread located at X-Plane.org.

Laminar Research has released Beta 2 of X-Plane 10.10. This release includes the following bug fixes: Fixed crash on startup on Windows caused by some Joysticks Joysticks no longer have a negative impact on frame rate. Roads no longer shoot up into the sky at DSF tile ends. Fixed crash with v9 DSFs with powerlines. Hedges and bushes in autogen no longer stick into the street. 4x SSAA HDR mode fixed to not draw into 1/4 of the screen. Fixed blue and red artifacts in HDR mode on Windows machines. Fixed white box around bomb craters in HDR mode. Fixed blue flicker when QuickFlight carousel spins. Fixed night water reflections in non-HDR mode. Fixed brightness of lights reflected in water. Improved UI tile scrolling in quick-flight dialog. You may access this update by running the updater downloadable from X-Plane.com.

X-Aviation is pleased to announce a price reduction in X-Plane 10. Instead of $79.99, X-Plane 10 is now priced at $69.99. Coupled together with X-Aviation's worldwide $5 flat rate shipping, this makes it the most economical solution for anyone interested in purchasing X-Plane 10! More information and features for this great new version of X-Plane, as well as the price reduction may be seen on the X-Plane 10 product page.

Carenado has released their long awaiting Cessna 208B. Highlighted features for this aircraft include: Interactive virtual cockpit Original KFC150 autopilot installed Original HQ digital stereo sounds (44.1 KHz) recorded from the original PT6 engine GNS430 installed ...and much more! See details or purchase this aircraft for 29.95 at the Carenado C208B product page.

ALSG have previewed more of their Los Angeles International Airport scenery for X-Plane! This scenery is said to be freeware when released, and the guys have been great about keeping the community here updated on their progress. To see screenshots of the latest Terminal 4 preview, check out the forum topic in the Scenery Development forum here at X-Pilot!

Leading Edge Simulations, the creators of the best Douglas DC-3 for X-Plane, have just announced their newest upcoming product will be the Cessna Citation II! More information and screenshots may be viewed in the Leading Edge Simulations forum.

Peters Aircraft has released their long awaited Airbus 321-232. The product page for this aircraft states: "This model is a very complex simulation of the real aircraft, not a toy! If you are a real Airbus pilot, or you are familiar with my A380 or with the QPAC A320, it should be easy for you to handle this A321. Otherwise this simulation of an Airbus will be demanding. Complexity of this model makes it not the first choice for a beginner in X-Plane or flight simulation. It takes a lot of patience, learning about all the systems and get accustomed to the various procedures. If the aircraft is loaded Cold & Dark, it is really disconnected from power and all systems are shut down. You need to go through the procedures of re-animation, including a full ADIRS alignment, which takes between 5 and 17 minutes, depending on geographic latitude, typically 8-10 min. This time should be used for flight preparation and MCDU data entry. Loading the aircraft with engines running makes it ready for immediate use. A third option, taking over the "warm" aircraft from another crew, will be available soon." The aircraft may be purchased at Peters Aircraft for a cost of €39.90 (~$50 USD).

EADT has released a new updated (4.6) for their x737 project. Features for this new update include: Completely new interior and exterior sounds Improved flight performance Significantly improved realistic autopilot Perfect trim control now Grab your copy on the EADT website today!

Carenado has announced their next upcoming product will be the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. This will mark the first aircraft from their HD series of products. Screenshots are available in their facebook gallery.

X-Aviation has sent out a news release to those subscribed to their newsletter about a sale for the Take Command! CRJ-200! You may view an online edition of the news release by clicking here. The sale will last through the week at a cost of $29.95 for the celebration of one year of sales with X-Plane's most realistic airliner simulation! You can order your copy today on the product page at X-Aviation.com

JCS Aircraft has released their rendition of the Northrop T-38 Talon. This aircraft is only compatible with X-Plane 10, and features five paint schemes along with a detailed 3D interior and exterior. More info for this aircraft can be found on the product page at the X-Plane.org store.

In the event you missed some recent news, the Carenado team has released the PA34 200T SENECA II! This aircraft features: New Throttle, RPM and mixture control system Prop disc effect Cameras and viewpoints change system Surround and integrated sound system You can pick this plane up at the Carenado store for $27.95.

X-Aviation and Leading Edge Simulations are proud to announce the release of the iconic Douglas DC-3! This aircraft features both an X-Plane 9 and 10 version of the aircraft, a land and float version in one package, custom sounds created from real DC-3 recording sessions, a fully custom 3D cockpit and cabin, a custom programmed Sperry Autopilot, and much more! See more screenshots and features for this amazing and already highly praised aircraft on the product page at X-Aviation!