Plane 10 Manual

ii
About This Manual
This is version 10.11 of the manual to the home and professional versions of X-Plane (X-Plane
10 Global and X-Plane 10 for Professional Use, respectively), last updated January 23, 2012. The
latest version of the manual will always be available for download from the X-Plane.com web site.
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About This Manual
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iv ABOUT THIS MANUAL
Contents
About This Manual iii
1 About X-Plane 1
1.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 What X-Plane Includes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 About the Two Versions of the X-Plane Simulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3.1 X-Plane 10 Global . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3.2 X-Plane 10 Professional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4.1 Austin’s Bio, As of Mid-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.5 X-Plane Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Quick Start Guide 9

2.1 Installing X-Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2 Launching X-Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.3 Configuring Essential Yoke/Joystick Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.4 Selecting an Aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.5 Selecting a Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.6 Getting Off the Ground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.7 Updating X-Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.8 Further Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3 Preparation and Installation 19

3.1 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.1.1 Display Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.1.2 Graphics Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.1.2.1 Updating Graphics Drivers in Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.2 Selecting Flight Control Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.2.1 Joysticks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.2.2 Yokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.2.3 Rudder Pedals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.2.4 Other Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.3 Installing X-Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.3.1 Installation on a Windows PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.3.1.1 Special Considerations for Windows XP Users . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.3.1.2 Special Considerations for Windows Vista and 7 Users . . . . . . . . 25
3.3.2 Installation on a Mac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
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3.3.2.1 Special Considerations for Mac Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

3.3.3 Installation on a Linux PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.4 Launching X-Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4 Configuring and Tuning Your X-Plane Installation 29

4.1 General Use of the X-Plane Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.2 Setting the Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.3 Updating X-Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.4 Using the X-Plane Betas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.5 Uninstalling X-Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.6 Configuring Flight Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.6.1 Setting Up the Control Axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.6.2 Centering the Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.6.3 Calibrating the Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.6.4 Assigning Functions to Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.6.5 Controlling Joystick Sensitivity and Aircraft Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.6.6 Setting Null Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.6.7 Adding Special Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.7 Configuring Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.8 Configuring the Rendering Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.8.1 Setting the Basic Rendering Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.8.1.1 Texture Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.8.1.2 Gamma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.8.1.3 Anisotropic Filtering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.8.1.4 Full-Screen Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.8.1.5 Frame Rate Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.8.1.6 Anti-Aliasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.8.1.7 Field of View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.8.2 Setting Up the X-Plane World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.8.2.1 Miscellaneous Drawing Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.8.2.2 Objects on the Ground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.8.2.3 World Detail Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.8.2.4 Expert Rendering Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
4.8.2.5 Special Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
4.8.2.6 Cloud Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
4.8.3 Setting the Rendering Options for Best Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.8.3.1 Increasing the Frame Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.9 Configuring the Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4.10 Allowing X-Plane through Your Firewall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4.11 Expanding X-Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.11.1 Adding Aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.11.2 Adding Scenery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
4.11.3 Installing Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
CONTENTS vii
5 Flight in X-Plane 47
5.1 Opening an Aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
5.1.1 Choosing a Livery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
5.2 Choosing an Airport or Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
5.2.1 Other Ways to Choose a Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5.3 Changing the Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5.3.1 Setting the Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5.3.1.1 Setting Uniform, Static Weather for the Whole World . . . . . . . . 51
5.3.1.2 Setting Randomly-Generated, Realistic Weather . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5.3.1.3 Drawing or Adding to Weather Patterns by Hand . . . . . . . . . . 53
5.3.1.4 Downloading Current Real-World Weather from the Internet . . . . 54
5.3.2 Setting the Date and Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
5.4 How to Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
5.5 Using the Instruments and Avionics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.5.1 A Note on Radio Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.6 Using the Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
5.7 Letting X-Plane Fly Your Aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
5.8 Getting Quick Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5.9 Saving and Sharing Your Flight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
5.9.1 Creating a Reusable Situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.9.2 Creating an Replay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.9.3 Creating a Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.9.4 Capturing a Screenshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
5.10 Visualizing and Replaying Your Flight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
5.10.1 Viewing the Path Taken by Your Aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
5.10.2 Using the Built-In Replay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.10.3 Replaying a Flight from a Flight Data Recorder (FDR) . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
5.11 Viewing the Behind-the-Scenes Flight Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
6 Advanced Simulation in X-Plane 65

6.1 Keeping a Logbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6.2 Working with the Air Traffic Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6.3 Changing How and Where the Aircraft Starts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
6.4 Using a Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
6.5 Changing How Damage Affects the Aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
6.6 Setting the Weight, Balance, and Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
6.7 Simulating Equipment Failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
6.8 Enabling a Smoke Trail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
7 Navigation, Autopilots, and Flying on Instruments 71

7.1 Navigating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
7.1.1 Air Navigation History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
7.1.2 Modern Means of Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
7.1.2.1 NDB Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
7.1.2.2 VOR Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
7.1.2.3 ILS Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
7.1.2.4 GPS Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
7.2 Using X-Plane’s Navigation Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
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7.2.1 Additional Features of the Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

7.3 Using the Autopilot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
7.3.1 Turning It On and Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
7.3.2 Using the Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
7.3.2.1 Wing Leveler and Pitch Sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
7.3.2.2 Heading, Altitude, Vertical Speed, Speed Hold, Flight Level Change,
and Auto-Throttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
7.3.2.3 Pitch Sync with the Pitch Sync Joystick Button . . . . . . . . . . . 80
7.3.2.4 Localizer and Glideslope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
7.3.3 Flying an ILS Using LOC and G/S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
7.3.4 Flying an FMS Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
7.4 Flying on Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
7.4.1 Keeping a Sense of Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
7.4.2 Gyroscopes and Their Application in Flight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
7.4.3 The Primary Flight Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
8 Special Situations in X-Plane 87

8.1 Using an Instructor Operator Station (IOS) for Flight Training . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
8.2 Flying Gliders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
8.3 Flying Helicopters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
8.4 Flying the Space Shuttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
8.4.1 Walkthrough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
8.5 Flying the X-15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
8.6 Simulating Combat in X-Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
8.6.1 Configuring Your Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
8.6.2 Adding Enemy Aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
8.6.3 Equipping Your Aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
8.6.4 Arming Weapons and Fighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
8.6.4.1 Targeting Enemy Aircraft and Using Missiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
8.6.5 Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
8.7 Performing Carrier Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
8.8 Flying a Boeing 747 with the Piggybacking Space Shuttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
8.9 Fighting Forest Fires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
8.10 Flying in Non-Standard Gravity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
8.11 Flying Other Special Situations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
9 Expert Essays 105

9.1 Tuning the Handling of Aircraft X-Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
9.2 Setting Up a Copilot’s Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
9.3 Configuring a Multi-Monitor Simulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
9.3.1 Driving Multiple Displays from One Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
9.3.2 Networking Multiple Computers for Multiple Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
9.3.2.1 Lining Up the Horizon (Without Vertical Offsets) . . . . . . . . . . 109
9.3.2.2 Correcting for Monitor Bezels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
9.3.2.3 Using Other Special Viewing Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
CONTENTS ix
A Airfoil Maker Supplement 111

A.1 Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
A.1.1 About . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
A.1.2 File Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
A.2 Designing an Airfoil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
A.2.1 The Coefficient Graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
A.2.2 Reynolds Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
A.2.3 Coefficients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
A.2.3.1 Coefficient of Lift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
A.2.3.2 Coefficient of Drag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
A.2.3.3 Coefficient of Moment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
A.2.4 General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
A.2.4.1 Finding Coefficients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
A.2.4.2 Recommended Background Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
A.2.4.3 Types of Airfoils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
A.2.5 Generating Airfoils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
A.2.5.1 Coefficient of Lift Intercept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
A.2.5.2 Coefficient of Lift Slope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
A.2.5.3 Coefficient of Lift Curvature Near the Stall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
A.2.5.4 Coefficient of Lift Maximum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
A.2.5.5 Coefficient of Lift Immediate Drop at Stall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
A.2.5.6 Coefficient of Lift Curvature After the Stall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
A.2.5.7 Coefficient of Lift Drop from Stall to 20 Degrees . . . . . . . . . . . 118
A.2.5.8 Coefficient of Drag Minimum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
A.2.5.9 Coefficient of Lift at Which Minimum Drag Occurs . . . . . . . . . 118
A.2.5.10 Coefficient of Drag at Angle of Attack of 10 Degrees . . . . . . . . . 119
A.2.5.11 Coefficient of Drag Curvature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
A.2.5.12 Laminar Drag Bucket Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
A.2.5.13 Laminar Drag Bucket Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
A.2.5.14 Laminar Drag Bucket Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
A.2.5.15 Laminar Drag Bucket Curvature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
A.2.5.16 Coefficient of Moment Low-Alpha Change Point . . . . . . . . . . . 119
A.2.5.17 Coefficient of Moment High-Alpha Change Point . . . . . . . . . . . 120
A.2.5.18 Coefficient of Moment at 20 Degrees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
A.2.5.19 Coefficient of Moment at Low-Alpha Change Point . . . . . . . . . . 120
A.2.5.20 Coefficient of Moment at High-Alpha Change Point . . . . . . . . . 120
A.2.5.21 Coefficient of Moment at 20 Degrees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
A.2.6 Finishing Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
A.3 Other Airfoil Maker Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
A.3.1 -180 to +180 Coefficients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
A.3.2 Finite L/D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
A.3.3 Camber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
B Troubleshooting X-Plane 125

B.1 The X-Plane Installer Fails to Extract a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
B.2 X-Plane Gives Errors about Missing DLLs, or There Are Strange Graphical Anomolies125
B.3 X-Plane Crashed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
B.4 My Joystick or Yoke Isn’t Working . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
x CONTENTS
B.5 My Frame Rate is Low . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

B.6 My PC Freezes after Running X-Plane Awhile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
B.7 Airplanes Flutter and Crash in the Simulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
B.8 Getting Help with Other Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
C Tech Support 131
D How to File a Bug Report 133
E Commissioning Custom Aircraft Files 137
F Water World 139
G Data Output from X-Plane 141
Index of Menu Items 163
Glossary 167
G.1 Working with the Program Itself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
G.2 Controls in an Aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
G.3 Movement of an Aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
G.4 Other Aviation Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Chapter 1
About X-Plane
1.1 Overview
X-Plane is the world’s most comprehensive and powerful flight simulator for personal computers,
and it offers the most realistic flight model available.
X-Plane is not a game, but an engineering tool that can be used to predict the flying qualities
of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft with incredible accuracy.
Because X-Plane predicts the performance and handling of almost any aircraft, it is a great
tool for pilots to keep up their currency in a simulator that flies like the real plane, for engineers
to predict how a new airplane will fly, and for aviation enthusiasts to explore the world of aircraft
flight dynamics.
Welcome to the world of props, jets, single- and multi-engine airplanes, as well as gliders,
helicopters and VTOLs. X-Plane contains subsonic and supersonic flight dynamics, allowing users
to predict the flight characteristics of the slowest aircraft or the fastest. X-Plane also includes more
than 30 aircraft in the default installation, spanning the aviation industry and its history. Aircraft
included range from the Bell 206 JetRanger and Cessna 172 to the Space Shuttle and the B-2
Bomber. Additionally, some 2,000 additional aircraft models can be downloaded from the Internet
(X-Plane.org, the X-Plane.com Links page, and Google are good places to start looking), many of
which are completely free. If those aren’t enough, users can design their own airplanes and test-fly
them!
The full X-Plane scenery package covers the Earth in stunning resolution from 74◦ north to
◦
60 south latitude. Users can land at any of over 33,000 airports or test their mettle on aircraft
carriers, oil rigs, frigates (which pitch and roll with the waves), or helipads atop buildings. They can
also realistically model the flight of remote-controlled model aircraft, perform an air-launch in an
X-15 or Space Ship One from the mother ship, fly re-entries into Earth’s atmosphere in the Space
Shuttle, fly with friends over the Internet or a LAN, drop water on forest fires, or shoot approaches
to aircraft carriers at night in stormy weather and rough water conditions in a damaged F-4. The
situations that can be simulated are unbelievably diverse!
Weather in X-Plane is variable from clear skies and high visibility to thunderstorms with con-
trollable wind, wind shear, turbulence, and micro bursts. Rain, snow, and clouds are available for
an instrument flying challenge, and thermals are available for the gliders. Actual weather conditions
can be downloaded from the Internet, allowing users to fly in the weather that really exists at their
current location!
X-Plane has detailed failure modeling, with multitudes of systems that can either be failed
manually at an instructor’s command, or randomly when users least expect it! Users can fail
1
2 CHAPTER 1. ABOUT X-PLANE
instruments, engines, flight controls, control cables, antennae, landing gear, or any of dozens of
other systems at any moment. They can also have a friend or flight instructor (locally or via the
Internet, working from an Instructor’s Operating Station) fail components on the aircraft without
the pilot’s knowledge. The instructor can alter the time of day, weather conditions, and failure
status of hundreds of aircraft systems and components. Additionally, the instructor can relocate
the aircraft to a location of his or her choice at any time.
Aircraft models are also extremely flexible, allowing users to easily create paint jobs, sounds,
and instrument panels to modify any airplane you choose. Custom airplane or helicopter designs
can even be created and flown using X-Plane and the included Plane Maker software.
X-Plane is used by world-leading defense contractors, air forces, aircraft manufacturers, and even
space agencies for applications ranging from flight training to concept design and flight testing.
For example, X-Plane has been used in crash investigations to depict the view pilots experienced
moments before a mid-air collision, or to graphically present to juries and judges the forces that
impact an aircraft in flight. Scaled Composites used X-Plane to visualize Space Ship One’s flights
to the edge of the atmosphere in their pilot training simulator. Kalitta has used X-Plane to train
their pilots to fly freight 747s in the middle of the night. Northwest and Japan Airlines use X-
Plane for flight review and training. Cessna uses X-Plane to train new customers in the intricacies
of the Garmin G1000. Dave Rose has used X-Plane to optimize airplanes for his many wins at
Reno. NASA has used X-Plane to test the re-entry of gliders into the Martian atmosphere, and the
list goes on. These customers serve as perhaps the most significant endorsement of the incredible
capabilities of this simulator.
Furthermore, X-Plane has received certification from the FAA for use in logging hours towards
flight experience and ratings. This experience can provide credit towards a private pilot’s license, re-
currence training, hours towards instrument training, and even hours towards an Airline Transport
Certificate—it’s that good.
1.2 What X-Plane Includes
Windows, Mac, and Linux installers are included on the discs purchased from X-Plane.com. There
are over 70 GB-worth of scenery (covering essentially the entire world) and over thirty aircraft,
with thousands of planes available on the web. The DVDs contain everything needed to run X-
Plane—there is nothing more that you need to buy. You’ll receive free updates to X-Plane 10 until
Version 11 is released, as well some of the best customer service and tech support available.
While on its own X-Plane represents the world’s most comprehensive flight simulator, the in-
stallation DVD also comes with Plane Maker, allowing users to create custom aircraft or modify
existing designs, and Airfoil Maker, allowing users to create airfoil performance profiles.
The stock installation includes the following aircraft:

1.3. ABOUT THE TWO VERSIONS OF THE X-PLANE SIMULATOR 3
Cirrus Vision SF50 X-15 and X-30 X-Planes

Beechcraft Baron 58 Lancair Evolution
Cessna 172SP McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender
Piaggo P.180 Avanti Boeing 747-400 and 747-100
Stinson L-5 Sentinel Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey
ASK-21 glider Boeing B-52G Stratofortress
Bell 47 helicopter Van’s RV-3/4/6/7/8/9/10
Beechcraft King Air C90B Rockwell B-1B Lancer
F-22 Raptor Viggen JA37
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird F-4 Phantom II
Bombardier Canadair CL-415 Mars Jet, Mars Rocket
Boeing 777-200 Bell 206 helicopter
Piper PA-46 Malibu Boeing AV-8B Harrier II
Northrop B-2 Spirit Sikorsky S-61 helicopter
Robinson R22 Beta helicopter Space Shuttle Orbiter
Great Planes PT-60 RC plane Thunder Tiger Raptor 30 v2 RC helicopter
Of course, the thousands of aircraft available on the Internet provide even greater variety. The
following is a (small) sample of what’s out there:
Beechcraft Bonanza Boeing 727/737/747/787

Mooney M20J 201 Piper PA-16 Clipper
de Havilland DH-106 Comet Pitts “Mountain Dew” S2C
Sikorsky S76 StratoCloud Ram-Air
P-51D Mustang Piper Twin Comanche PA30
Beechcraft King Air 350 Cessna 195
Cessna C150 Bell 222
Douglas A-4B Skyhawk Ilyushin IL-76
Fiat CR.42 Falco Paris Jet III
Bell 407 Peregrine F222 Firenze
Beechcraft Staggerwing Curtis P-6 Hawk
Ford Tri-motor Cessna 120
Hawker Sea Harrier FRS1 Airbus A320/A340/A380
1.3 About the Two Versions of the X-Plane Simulator

X-Plane can be used in a wide array of situations, ranging from home use to commercial flight
training. The standard installation of X-Plane is X-Plane 10 Global, and it is perfect for almost
all home users. Situations that go beyond the standard home use (including use in commercial
simulators) require the purchase of a USB “key” (a simple flash drive) that is used to unlock the
features of X-Plane Professional.
Note that FAA certification of a simulator requires not only that the user has X-Plane 10
Professional but also the appropriate hardware (cockpit and flight controls) available through com-
panies like Precision Flight Controls and Fidelity. This is because flight-training systems can only
be certified as a complete package (a software and hardware combination). The commercial, FAA-
certifiable software is available for $750 to $1,000 per copy and the hardware runs from $5,000 to
$500,000. The retail version of X-Plane purchased at X-Plane.com is not certified for flight training
right out of the box, since certification requires a software and hardware combination. However, the
software available for about $80 at X-Plane.com is almost identical what is found in the $500,000
full-motion, FAA-certified platforms. The biggest difference is that the FAA-certified versions have
custom aircraft files with larger instrument panels, which are set up to work with hardware radios
like those found in the physical cockpits. The FAA-certifiable version also has some of the purely fun
stuff (like space flight) removed even though those situations are simulated accurately in X-Plane,
just like the FAA-certified subsonic terrestrial flight.
1.3.1 X-Plane 10 Global

The standard X-Plane simulator is the retail copy of X-Plane. It requires one X-Plane 10 Disc 1
DVD for each copy of X-Plane on the network.
This simulator is what users get when they purchase X-Plane from the X-Plane.com site and
use it for whatever they desire. It requires no USB key to be plugged in. Many copies of X-Plane on
many computers can be networked to act as external visuals, external cockpits, instructor stations,
and the like. One X-Plane Disc 1 DVD is required for each computer networked together running
the simulator. This system cannot be certified by the FAA or any other authority for logging flight
training, due to the fact that it does not self-test for the presence of flight controls or a usable
frame rate. However, since only one X-Plane Disc 1 DVD is needed for each computer, this setup
is amazingly affordable and easy to assemble at almost no cost, even though a user could never
certify the system.
1.3.2 X-Plane 10 Professional

This version of X-Plane is for commercial use, FAA-approved simulators, and the EFIS App. It
requires one X-Plane Professional USB key for each copy of X-Plane or EFIS App on the network.
This is similar to the X-Plane 10 Global simulator, but it adds EFIS App, a standalone program
that runs on its own computer that gives a very realistic Avidyne primary flight display (PFD) and
modular flight deck (MFD). All that is required to run this is a copy of X-Plane or EFIS App from
X-Plane.com and a Professional key for each computer that will be networked into the simulator.
Of course, two monitors can be hooked up to one computer running EFIS App so that one only
has to buy one computer to run both the Avidyne PFD and MFD, which will save some money.
Furthermore, this key enables X-Plane to drive real Garmin G430 and G1000 GPS units. Note
that in order to interface with a real G430 or G1000, users must get a Simulator G430 or G1000
from Garmin, then make the wiring harnesses to plug them in to the serial or Ethernet cables to
the computer. Users unsure on how to do this are better off buying a simulator boxed and ready to
go from Precision Flight Controls. PFC does provide ready-made units with real G430s and G1000s
installed and running.
Additionally, this is the key that needs to be used for commercial purposes and FAA-approved
simulators for flight training. It gives a Commercial Use message as X-Plane starts up, causing
X-Plane to check for flight controls and self-test the frame rate, as required for FAA certification.
Finally, this key enables cylindrical and spherical projections.
This is the option designed to replace Microsoft ESP.
Note that the Professional key, along with the simulator itself, can be purchased from X-
Plane.com’s Ordering page. EFIS App can be downloaded from the X-Plane.com site. USB key
drivers for both Mac OS and Windows can be downloaded from the X-Plane.com site. Run those
installers to make X-Plane recognize the USB keys.
1.4. HISTORY 5
1.4 History
Many people ask us about the history of X-Plane, how we got started and where we’re going. Here’s
some background information about Austin Meyer (the author) and the history of X-Plane.
As you may know, the most popular flight simulator on the market historically is Microsoft
Flight Simulator. This may be predominately due to their early start with their flight simulator,
which dates back to about 1982 or so. Over the years, there have been many other upstart companies
that have attempted to compete against Microsoft (Flight-Unlimited, Fly and Fly-2k are a few
examples). All but X-Plane have failed. From the very beginning, the greatest advantage of using
X-Plane was in the way the flight model is generated and the high frame-rate at which X-Plane can
run. This has long given us an advantage in being able to accurately calculate and depict the flight
response and feel of an aircraft in flight. In the past, Microsoft had scenery that was superior to
X-Plane’s, as well as many more add-ons. Microsoft’s advantage here mostly died about mid-way
through the X-Plane 8 run. X-Plane 10 marks another leap forward in our simulator, what we
unhesitatingly believe to be the greatest flight simulator available.
Over the years, we’ve consistently seen increasing sales, with a total of about 750,000 copies
of X-Plane shipped through either Internet orders or retailers as of April 2009 (not counting the
500,000 copies of the new iPhone apps!). Furthermore, X-Plane is the only single commercial flight
simulator available for the Macintosh, Windows, and Linux platforms. The set of discs sold at X-
Plane.com includes copies for all three, so there is no possibility that a user will pick up the wrong
version for his or her computer. (Note that some retailers have been known to stock Windows-only
or Macintosh-only copies of X-Plane or sell X-Plane without global scenery to keep costs down.
Read the box carefully if buying from a store shelf.)
Aside from the improved accuracy and fluidity found in X-Plane, another big difference between
Microsoft’s simulator and our own is that, whereas Microsoft releases updates about every three
years or so, we release updates for X-Plane about every ten weeks! Thus, instead of buying a disc
and having the software remain stagnant for the next thirty-six months, X-Plane encourages users
to go to our website every three months or so and download cool new (and free) updates to their
software!
In short, we are a few very driven and talented people that have made the improvement and
accuracy of X-Plane pretty much our life’s mission.
1.4.1 Austin’s Bio, As of Mid-2006

Hi! I am a private pilot with about 1,500 hours in a handful of light and medium-size Cessna and
Piper singles (the airplanes I grew up flying) and a Cirrus SR-22 Centennial Edition 8141Q, which
I purchased in 2003. In a month or so, I will be switching to a Lancair Columbia 400 for maximum
speed to hop around the country serving customers. (My customer support guy, Randy Witt, flies a
Beech Baron. I’m telling you this to make the point that the guys that write and support X-Plane
are pilots, aircraft owners, and engineers. Aviation is a huge part of our lives, and we love what
we’re doing.)
Anyway, back in 1988 or so, after I had gotten my instrument rating in the calm and friendly
skies of Columbia, South Carolina, I found myself in San Diego, California, working for DuPont
Aerospace, a small aerospace tech firm working, on some excellent but unusual designs that I cannot
discuss in detail.
I must digress here for a moment because this is interesting and also applicable to one of the
aircraft in X-Plane. One of the projects that DuPont was working on back then was the well-known
NASP, or National Aerospace Plane, a single-stage-to-orbit aircraft that can, in theory, take off
from a runway and fly clear to orbit. Tony DuPont, the president of the company, was the founder
of this ingenious NASP concept. While the Space Shuttle and other conventional rockets use rocket
engines to blast up to their orbital speed (18,000 mph), the NASP breathes air to run its engines,
so it must do most of its acceleration in the atmosphere. This use of the oxygen in the atmosphere,
rather than carrying liquid oxygen on board, makes the vehicle much more light and efficient, but
it also means that the aircraft must fly at many, many thousands of miles per hour in the air, which
creates tremendous heat and drag. Circulating cool fuel through the skin of an aircraft is not a new
idea... in fact the bell-shaped nozzles on most rocket engines employ this technology to keep them
from melting! For the NASP, this is one of the few options that will keep the skin temperatures
down and allow hypersonic flight (that is, flight at five times the speed of sound or greater). You
might think that using an insulated tile system like the one the Space Shuttle has would be a
good option, but maintaining and replacing thousands of small tiles would be problematic, bulky,
and expensive. Of course, circulating fuel to keep the skin cool has its drawbacks too! The SR-71
Blackbird uses its cool fuel to keep its surface temperatures down, and in fact is limited to much
lower speeds than Mach 3 when low on fuel because there is nothing left to absorb the heat! Open
the SR-71 in X-Plane and rather than seeing a red line on the airspeed indicator (like just about
every other aircraft) to indicate maximum allowable speed, there is a whole red arc! That big red
region is the speed range that you can only operate in if you have enough fuel in the tanks to soak
up the heat from atmospheric friction! How far into the red zone you are allowed to fly depends on
your remaining fuel load—Now you know.
Anyway, enough about the fascinating NASP concept. That summer in 1988, while living in San
Diego, I took an instrument currency flight to keep my IFR skills sharp, and had a very difficult
time getting up to speed in the crowded, fast-paced, hectic ATC system of San Diego after the
relative slow and laid-back ATC operations back home in South Carolina. After finally getting my
IFR skills up to a comfortable level (requiring about three or four flights), I decided that I wanted
an instrument trainer to keep my IFR skills up to snuff. Microsoft Flight Simulator was pretty
much the only game in town back then, and I was pretty disappointed in what I found. Microsoft
was running on the little baby Macintoshes back then, which was great, but there were a few other
little things I wanted done differently as well, and I knew Microsoft would not change their sim
just to suit me. Thus, X-Plane was born, at the time called “Archer-II IFR.” I used this program
for several years to keep up my instrument currency.
A bachelors degree in Aerospace Engineering at Iowa State University soon followed, and during
my engineering studies there I expanded “Archer-II IFR” to be able to simulate almost any airplane
imaginable by simply plugging in the blueprints for that airplane, and letting the sim then figure
out how the plane should fly based on those blueprints. This is completely opposite how most
any other simulator works and is by far the largest and most important differentiator between
X-Plane and its competitors. I started to use the simulator to test out various aircraft designs I had
conceived, and quickly learned that Cessna, Piper, Lancair, and Mooney build the way they do for
a very good reason—my designs were efficient, but too difficult to fly safely. Later, I renamed the
program “X-Plane” in honor of the series of aircraft tested at Edwards Air Force Base in the ’60s
and continuing through today.
More about Austin can be read on the Austin’s Adventures blog.
1.5 X-Plane Today

Today, X-Plane is still written and developed on the Macintosh (as it has been since day one)
and ported to Windows and Linux machines to allow cross-platform sales and distribution. Thus,
1.5. X-PLANE TODAY 7
the single set of discs available from X-Plane.com’s Ordering page will run on nearly any personal
computer available in the world.
Engineers at Velocity, NASA, Scaled Composites, and Carter Aviation have all used X-Plane to
do design, evaluation, and simulated flight testing. The National Test pilot school uses X-Plane to
train pilots in non-conventional aircraft and flight-control systems. I know an eight-year-old Italian
girl who likes to taxi the planes around to see the Corvettes parked around the airport fence. Other
kids try their own designs in X-Plane, and countless youngsters gleefully crash their simulated F-22s
into the ground at Mach 2 as well.
Most X-Plane customers are pilots, or people who want a simulator that has a level of realism
appropriate for pilots. Many airline pilots take X-Plane with them on their (real) overseas flights on
their laptop computers and simulate the next day’s flight and possible approaches while on layover.
Many airline and freight pilots keep their currency up on X-Plane to breeze through their bi-annual
reviews and flight currency checks. Countless private pilots use X-Plane to help maintain currency
when time and money constraints keep them from making it out to the airport as often as they
would like. While we have received a handful of orders from the DOD, the CIA, and Microsoft, the
majority of X-Plane customers are simply people who want to experience the joy of flight. A copy
of X-Plane provides a fun, easy (and safe!) way to do just that.
Many pilots have regular access to old Cessnas, but what would it be like to get dropped from
the wing of a B-52 in an X-15 and head to the fringes of space at 4,000 mph? Or to fly a full re-entry
in the Space Shuttle? Or take the SR-71 to 70,000 feet at Mach 3? Or fly a rocket plane on Mars?
X-Plane will show you, but even better, it will let you experience it for yourself.
Chapter 2
Quick Start Guide
This chapter is designed to allow a first-time X-Plane user to get the simulator up and running in as
short a time as possible. The goal is to be in the air and flying within ten minutes of completing the
installation while still learning the essentials of the simulator. This chapter will gloss over a great
deal of background information, and configuration of many non-essential options will be skipped
entirely. It assumes that the computer X-Plane is being installed on is capable of running the
simulator with its default rendering options. Note that the minimum system requirements to run
X-Plane are a 2 GHz processor, 2 GB of RAM, and a DirectX 9-capable video card with 128 MB of
on-board, dedicated video RAM (VRAM). However, the recommended specifications are a 3 GHz
multi-core processor, 4 GB of RAM, and a DirectX 10-capable (DirectX 11 preferred) video card
with 1 GB of on-board, dedicated VRAM. X-Plane will take advantage of as many cores or distinct
processors as you can afford. Having 16 cores split among 4 CPUs is not required by any means,
but Version 10 would be able to use every one. No more than 4 GB of RAM is necessary, but the
more VRAM you have, the better–X-Plane 10 can easily use 1.5 GB of VRAM at the maximum
settings.
Where the process differs between installing on Windows and Mac OS X, the differences have
been noted.
After getting off the ground initially, you may want to continue reading the full manual, or
simply keep it for reference. If you have any issues while following this guide, check the rest of
the manual—the problem is very likely addressed there, and you’ll save time for both yourself and
customer support.
Detailed information on installing and configuring X-Plane can be found in Chapters 3 and 4.
Detailed information on joystick configuration can be found in Chapter 4, and Chapter 5 contains
more information on setting up and flying the aircraft.
2.1 Installing X-Plane

Before installing, we recommend uninstalling any old or demo versions of X-Plane. You can do this
by simply dragging the old X-Plane folders to your Recycle Bin (called Trash in Mac OS X).
1. Insert the first X-Plane DVD into your DVD-ROM drive and wait for it to spin up.
If you are using the earliest set of X-Plane 10 discs (printed around November 2011), download
the updated X-Plane installer from our web site. Launch that installer rather than the one
on your installation DVDs, then skip to step 3.
9
10 CHAPTER 2. QUICK START GUIDE
2. In Windows, if the operating system does not launch the X-Plane installer automatically,
click the Start menu, then My Computer. Double click on the XPLANE10 DVD, then In-
staller Windows.exe.
Mac users will need to double click on the X-Plane DVD icon on the desktop, then double
click the Installer Mac.app to launch the installer.
3. When the installer window appears, click Continue to begin the installation process.
4. By default X-Plane will install to the Desktop. Though it can be installed elsewhere, it is
strongly recommended that it be placed on the Desktop so that it can be found in the future.
For the purposes of this guide, we will assume it is installed there. Click Continue.
5. Accept the user agreement and click Continue once again.
6. Select the scenery you would like to install. Depending on the installer on your disc, either all
of the world or none of it will be selected by default. An unselected tile will appear bleached
in color, while a selected tile will have its full color (as all tiles do in Figure 2.1).
Figure 2.1: All scenery selected for installation after clicking “Select All” [Full size →]
If you are unsure what areas are currently selected, just click Select None to turn everything
off (as seen in Figure 2.2). From there, select the individual tiles you would like to install by
clicking on them. Additionally, you can click and drag to select large areas quickly.
Note that for regions where no scenery is installed, only oceans and airports will be visible.
When you’re finished selecting scenery, click Continue to begin installing.
For the purposes of the Selecting a Location section later in this guide, be sure to select
the two tiles that make up America’s West Coast, as we will be traveling to Los Angeles
International Airport (KLAX).
7. The installer will begin displaying its progress. When the installer prompts you to do so,
remove the current disc and insert the next. Note that installation may take anywhere from
2.2. LAUNCHING X-PLANE 11
Figure 2.2: No scenery selected for installation after clicking “Select None” [Full size →]
thirty to sixty minutes per disc, and that only one X-Plane disc can be in the system at once
(the installer wont recognize a disc placed in a second DVD-ROM).
Installing the complete scenery package will consume about 75 GB of hard drive space and will
take between five and six and a half hours to install.
Scenery can be added or removed at any point in the future by inserting Disc 1 and re-running
the installer. When the X-System installer comes up saying “You already have X-Plane 10 installed
on this computer,” click the Add or Remove Scenery button and proceed just like in step 4
above.
Note: Having finished the installation, Mac users will probably want to exclude their X-Plane
installation directory from their Time Machine backups (as described in Chapter 3, in the section
“Special Considerations for Mac Users.”
2.2 Launching X-Plane

1. Make sure your USB joystick is plugged in. If this isn’t plugged in prior to launching X-
Plane, the simulator will not be able to interface with it. To avoid any possible problems, it
is recommended that the flight controls be plugged directly into the machine rather than into
a hub.
2. Put Disc 1 into your DVD-ROM drive. Starting X-Plane without this will force X-Plane to
run in demo mode only.
3. Open the X-Plane 10 folder (located by default on the Desktop) and double click on “X-
Plane.exe” in Windows, or “X-Plane.app” on a Mac.
Figure 2.3: Selecting Joystick & Equipment from the Settings menu [Full size →]
Figure 2.4: The relevant portion of the Joystick & Equipment dialog’s Axis tab [Full size →]
2.3 Configuring Essential Yoke/Joystick Functions

Note that a mouse may be used to fly if neither a yoke or a joystick is available, though it will
(of course) be unrealistic and cumbersome. If the mouse will be used, however, skip to the section
“Selecting an Aircraft” below.
1. Once the program loads, move your mouse to the top of the screen, causing the menu to
appear.
2. Click on Settings (per Figure 2.3), then Joystick & Equipment. The relevant portion of the
dialog box that appears is shown in Figure 2.4.
3. Move your joystick or yoke forward and back. A green or red bar should move as you do so.
Click the drop-down menu next to it and set it to pitch. Do not check the reverse box next
to this control unless, when flying, the aircrafts pitch control is working backward.
4. Move your joystick/yoke left and right. The green or red bar that moves should be set to roll.
Do not check the reverse box next to this control unless, when flying, the aircrafts roll control
is working backward.
2.4. SELECTING AN AIRCRAFT 13
5. Twist your joystick (if applicable). The bar that moves should be set to yaw. If you do not
assign a yaw axis, X-Plane will attempt to stabilize it for you. Once again, do not check the
reverse box unless, when flying, the aircrafts yaw control is working backward.
If you are using rudder pedals instead of a twisting joystick, slide them forward and backward
and set the green/red bar that moves then to yaw.
Additionally, only when using rudder pedals, press the left pedal down with your toes. The
green or red bar that moves should be set to left toe brake. Do the same for the right pedal,
and set that green bar to right toe brake. If this is done, you may also skip steps 8 through
10 below.
6. Move your throttle forward and back (on a yoke, this is typically the leftmost lever). Set this
bar to throttle. Check the reverse box only if, when flying, the aircrafts throttle control works
backward.
7. Move all the joystick’s control axes (that is, pitch, yaw, roll, and throttle) through their full
range of motion to calibrate the controls.
8. Once again, skip this step and steps 9-10 if the rudder pedals are set up as toe brakes. Click
the Buttons: Basic tab at the top of the screen.
9. Press the button on your joystick that you would like to assign to brakes, then release it.
10. Using the mouse, click the round button to the left of Toggle brakes regular effort (found
near the bottom of the second column and already selected in Figure 2.5).
11. Close the Joystick & Equipment menu with either of the X buttons at the top of the screen,
or by pressing the Enter key on your keyboard.
2.4 Selecting an Aircraft

Move your mouse to the top of the screen again to make the menu bar appear.
1. Click Aircraft, then Open Aircraft (as in Figure 2.6).
2. At the top of the window now open is a drop-down menu. It is currently displaying the name
of the folder that the current aircraft is located in. Then, click the up/down symbol on the
right side of the folder name.
3. Now a list of the folder hierarchy (the organization of the folders) opens from the drop-down
menu. It starts with the main X-Plane folder and goes down to the folder that the current
aircraft is in. For example, if the F-22 Raptor is open at the moment, the hierarchy shows:
• X-System folder
• Aircraft
• Fighters
• FA 22 Raptor
Click on the line that says Aircraft, as seen in Figure 2.7.

4. The Aircraft folder opens. The folders here divide X-Planes aircraft into classes—for example,
there are fighters, general aviation craft, gliders, helicopters, seaplanes, etc. Double click on
General Aviation.
5. Now the navigation box in the lower left of the window shows the different aircraft classified
as general aviation planes. Double click on the Cessna 172SP folder.
6. X-Plane aircraft files, which are what we need to click on to open an airplane, are denoted
by an “.acf” extension. Double click on the Cessna 172.acf file (as seen in Figure 2.8) to load
the aircraft.
In a few moments the screen will go black. Shortly thereafter the cockpit of a new Cessna
172 Skyhawk will appear.
2.5 Selecting a Location

1. Make the menu appear again by moving your mouse to the top of the screen.
2. Click Location, then Select Global Airport (per Figure 2.9).
3. If you have an airport in mind, type either its name or its airport ID to search for it. Otherwise,
type KLAX to find Los Angeles International. Click on the airport you chose, then click the
Go To This Airport button, as seen in Figure 2.10.
If you’re having trouble finding an airport using X-Plane’s built-in search feature, Airnav has
a complete database that might assist in finding the ID or official name of an airport you’re
looking for. Note that you’ll need its three- or four-character identifier when programming
GPS waypoints, and that airport IDs in the US (and only the US) have a K appended to the
front of them if and only if they are composed of all letters (and no numbers). More informa-
tion on airport IDs can be found on Wikipedia’s International Civil Aviation Organization
page, specifically in the Codes registered with ICAO section.
2.6 Getting Off the Ground

Once again, these instructions are written for the Cessna 172—flying an
airliner or another heavy aircraft will require flaps/slats, a great deal
more speed, and a very different technique, all of which is beyond the
scope of this chapter.
1. The airplane’s engine is already running. Press the button that was
assigned to brakes when the joystick/yoke was configured. If no
button was configured (e.g., if you are flying with the mouse), press
the ‘b’ key on the keyboard.
2. Move the throttle all the way up. Figure 2.11: The
3. If applicable, use the joystick’s twist or the rudder pedals to con- airspeed indicator in the
Cessna 172 [Full size →]
trol the plane’s left and right motion to track the centerline of the
runway (don’t worry if you go off it—you’ll still get up to speed
for take off). If no yaw axis was configured above (or if using the
mouse), the simulator will attempt to control the yaw for you.
2.7. UPDATING X-PLANE 15
4. Watch your airspeed indicator (seen in Figure 2.11), and when it

hits 60 knots, pull back slightly to get the plane off the ground.
If using a mouse, you will have to click the white + sign (found
near the center of the screen) with the mouse in order to grab the
controls with the mouse. From there, move the mouse within the
white box that appears in order to control the aircraft’s flight—
moving it up within the box will pitch the nose down, and moving
the mouse down will pitch the nose up. Moving it left within the
box will cause the craft to roll left, and moving it right will cause
the craft to roll right. Click the mouse again to release the controls,
freeing you to open a menu, adjust controls on the aircraft panel,
etc.
5. Gently level the plane off in order to build a little airspeed, then,
when the plane hits, say, 80 knots, pull back again to begin climbing.
Building airspeed this way will help to keep the plane from stalling.
6. Fly away!
2.7 Updating X-Plane

Updating X-Plane will ensure that the copy of X-Plane you are using is the most stable, most
feature-rich version available. Updates within a given version of X-Plane (e.g., from Version 10.0
to 10.1 to 10.2) are free, and recommended for virtually all users.
1. In X-Plane, move your mouse to the top of the screen (causing the menu to appear) and click
About.
2. In the About menu, click About X-Plane.
3. In the window that appears, there will be an Update X-Plane button if an update is
available. Clicking this will cause X-Plane to download the latest update and run the updater
for you.
4. The installation files will be downloaded and installed, after which you will be ready to fly.
2.8 Further Considerations

Among the more important options skipped in the guide above was the configuration of flap and
trim switches. If your joystick or yoke has switches or buttons you would like to use for this
purpose, you can configure them similarly to the brakes that we assigned in part 3 of this guide.
The difference is that when using a switch, pressing it “up” assign it one function and pressing
it “down” will assign it another. Remember to click the button on your joystick before trying to
assign it a function. Further information on this can be found in the section “Configuring Flight
Controls” of Chapter 4.
Figure 2.5: The Buttons: Basic tab of the Joystick & Equipment menu, with a button set to Toggle
brakes regular effort [Full size →]
Figure 2.6: Selecting the Open Aircraft dialog from the Aircraft menu [Full size →]
2.8. FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS 17
Figure 2.7: Working with the directory hierarchy in the Open Aircraft dialog [Full size →]
Figure 2.8: Selecting the Cessna 172.acf file [Full size →]

Figure 2.9: Opening the Select Global Airport dialog from the Location tab [Full size →]
Figure 2.10: Going to KLAX (Los Angeles International Airport) using the Select Airport dialog
[Full size →]
Chapter 3
Preparation and Installation
3.1 System Requirements

Given X-Plane’s incredible capabilities and accuracy, it is not possible to run a current release of
X-Plane on an exceptionally old computer. A good rule of thumb is that any machine built in the
last 18 to 24 months will probably be able to run the simulator acceptably. Computers up to about
36 months old may be fine if they were top-of-the-line machines when manufactured. Even if they
weren’t, X-Plane may still be able to run, albeit with its rendering options turned down.
X-Plane 10 requires a computer with at least the following specifications:
• A 2 GHz, dual-core processor,

• 2 GB of RAM (physical memory),
• a DirectX 9-capable video card with 128 MB of on-board, dedicated video RAM (VRAM),
• 10 GB of hard drive space, and
• a DVD-ROM drive.
However, for the best experience, we recommend the following:
• a 3 GHz, multi-core CPU (or, even better, multiple processors),

• 4 GB of system RAM (physical memory), and
• a DirectX 10-capable (DirectX 11 preferred) video card with 1 GB of on-board, dedicated
VRAM, and
• 10 GB of hard drive space, and
• a DVD-ROM drive.
To find your computer’s CPU speed and amount of RAM, Mac users can simply open the Apple
Menu and click “About This Mac.”
For Windows Vista and Windows 7 users, you can open the Start menu and type System to
search for the Control Panel’s “System” item. Opening this will display the processor, its speed,
and the amount of RAM installed. Windows XP users can get the same information by:
1. Opening the Start menu,

2. Selecting the Control Panel,
3. Clicking Performance and Maintenance, and
4. Clicking System.
19
20 CHAPTER 3. PREPARATION AND INSTALLATION
Additionally, X-Plane 10 has been optimized for dual- and quad-core processors, as well as
multiprocessor systems—some CPU cores can be used for the flight models of the simulated aircraft,
others for loading scenery, taking input, etc.
3.1.1 Display Hardware

X-Plane can display on any screen, with resolutions ranging from 1,024 x 768 pixels to 9,999 x 9,999
pixels. It makes no difference to X-Plane what aspect ratio your screen has; if your aspect ratio
doesn’t match that of the instrument panel you are using, X-Plane will simply zoom or stretch the
panel as appropriate to fill your screen.
X-Plane allows the use of any number of screens to depict anything you like. Multiple computers
can be used to drive multiple monitors, thereby networking up to about 20 screens to show any
combination of views imaginable. If your computer’s graphics card is especially powerful, technology
like AMD’s Eyefinity (built in to high-end Radeon cards since 2009) or a video splitter (like the
Matrox TripleHead2Go) can be used to drive three forward visuals with one machine. In that case,
a second machine could be used to drive the cockpit display and/or IOS, as described in the section
“Configuring a Multi-Monitor Simulator” of Chapter 9. Of course, X-Plane only requires a single
monitor to function.
3.1.2 Graphics Drivers

X-Plane, of course, needs a decent graphics card in the computer you wish to run it on. Essentially
any modern, discrete (i.e., non-integrated) video card will do just fine, though a more powerful, more
expensive graphics card will allow for higher detail in the simulator’s graphics. Just as important
as the graphics card itself, though, are the computer’s graphics drivers (essentially, the instructions
that let X-Plane know how to use your graphics card).
On many systems the required graphics drivers will already be installed. However, it may be
necessary to periodically update the computer’s video drivers, either to fix a problem or to get
the very best performance the system can deliver. Users of ATI/AMD video cards can download
drivers from the AMD web site, and NVIDIA users can download drivers from NVIDIA’s web site.
Before updating the graphics driver, we recommend installing and launching X-Plane (per the
section “Installing X-Plane” of this chapter) and seeing how it runs. If any of the following problems
are experienced, the system’s graphics drivers probably need to be updated:
• a screen consisting only of splashes of color
• a screen with horizontal or vertical bars running through it
• random images of various pieces of the airplane or instrument panel
Additionally, if an error appears referring to a corrupt or missing “.dll” file, the drivers most
likely need to be replaced.
3.1.2.1 Updating Graphics Drivers in Windows

A high percentage of Windows-based computers are operating with drivers that are out of date or
that do not currently support OpenGL (caused by using the default Windows drivers rather than
those of the manufacturer). If you conclude that your graphics drivers need to be updated, the
following (general) steps should guide you through the process.
1. Go to your video card manufacturers driver download page (ATI’s site or NVIDIA’s) and
download the latest drivers, being sure to save it to a place that you’ll be able to find it (for
example, the Desktop).
3.2. SELECTING FLIGHT CONTROL HARDWARE 21
2. Uninstall your old graphics drivers.

(a) Click on the Start menu and open the Control Panel.
(b) Click either Add or Remove Programs (in Windows XP) or Uninstall a program
(in Windows Vista and 7).
(c) Scroll down to either the Catalyst Display Driver (for AMD/ATI video cards) or the
NVIDIA Drivers (for NVIDIA cards).
(d) Click the Change/Remove button. (This may be replaced by a Remove button only;
it does not affect the process.)
(e) Follow the instructions provided by the uninstaller and reboot if necessary.
3. After rebooting, find the driver file that was downloaded in Step 1 and double click on it.
The steps vary from here depending on the type of graphics card, but we will continue with
a general outline for all companies.
4. Choose a destination folder to extract the files to. Again, make it something easy to find like
C:\video drivers\ and continue clicking Next, Install, etc.
5. If the installer (which you just extracted in Step 4) does not run automatically, navigate to
C:\video drivers and double click on setup.exe or a similar launch file.
6. Agree to the license agreement, choose the “express” installation, and click Next (or its
equivalent) until the installation finishes.
7. Reboot your PC and you’re ready to fly!
3.2 Selecting Flight Control Hardware

While it is physically possible to fly X-Plane with only the mouse and keyboard, this can be
cumbersome and unrealistic (for obvious reasons). While instructions for flying this way are included
in the section “How to Fly” of Chapter 5, it is strongly recommended that users fly with at least
a joystick for a realistic experience.
So which joystick should a user purchase? Every USB joystick and yoke made in the last 10
years or so will work with X-Plane, but, as with most things in life, you get what you pay for. Be
leery of joysticks advertised for $29.95 at a local retailer. In our experience the cheaper hardware
typically does not last as long or work as well as more moderately priced equipment.
Note: X-Plane can only interface with USB devices. This covers nearly all the controllers
manufactured in the last ten years, but if you have a non-USB device, an adapter will be needed
to change it to a USB input.
3.2.1 Joysticks
Joysticks typically provide pitch, roll, and throttle control, as well as a few buttons that can be
programmed to do different things. For example, you may program one button to raise and lower
the landing gear, and two additional buttons to raise the flaps and lower them. Also, some joysticks
can have their handle twisted left and right to control yaw movement. If the joystick being used
does not offer yaw control, you will probably want a set of rudder pedals to provide realistic yaw
control in the airplane. A joystick will be best for flying fighter or sport airplanes, or planes made
by companies like Airbus, Cirrus, or Lancair, for the simple reason that those planes, in reality, are
controlled with joysticks!
3.2.2 Yokes
A yoke consists of a steering wheel-like control that rotates left and right and also slides back and
forth. These are the best option for users primarily interested in flying older-style general aviation
planes, business jets, and non-Airbus airliners, since these planes are flown with yokes in reality.
Yokes are typically clamped to the user’s desk for stability. They may have a built-in throttle
quadrant, which will allows for independent control of the propeller, throttle, and mixture for a
single propeller engine. Also, note that yokes do not control yaw movement (they do not twist left
and right for yaw control like some joysticks), so rudder pedals are required for realistic yaw control.
3.2.3 Rudder Pedals

Rudder pedals allow users to realistically control the airplane’s yaw by pushing the left or right
pedal to turn. While in flight, the pedals control the rudder, whereas on the ground they’re used
to steer. The pedals also control the brakes to help the airplane stop or turn sharply while on the
ground. (Push the top of the left or right pedal to activate the brakes on that side of the plane.)
If neither a set of rudder pedals nor the joystick is set to control yaw, X-Plane will automatically
slew the rudder to try and keep the airplane flying true. This auto-rudder function, however, is
not smart enough to take off or land properly in a crosswind, slip, or do various other things that
rudders might be used for. For this reason, rudder pedals (or at least a twisting joystick) are highly
recommended.
Please note that, when flying a helicopter, pedals must be used for the anti-torque controls—
this can not be assigned to keyboard commands, simply because it is not practical to try to use
the keyboard to fly.
3.2.4 Other Considerations

For added realism in certain situations, you may want an independent throttle quadrant. CH
Products’ Multi-Engine Throttle Quadrant is perhaps the most popular and offers independent and
variable control of six different functions. Normally, this would be set up to control the throttle,
propeller, and mixture controls for each engine on a twin-engine airplane. This controller can also
be used to control throttle and condition (fuel cutoff) for jet engines, allowing independent control
of jet aircraft with up to three engines. A multi-engine throttle quadrant is recommended for users
interested in realistically flying airplanes with more than one engine.
To purchase joysticks or other equipment, check out the CH Products, Logitech, or Saitek
websites. Each of the sites allows users to browse the available products and find where to buy
them. Also, feel free to call or e-mail X-Plane customer support ([email protected]) with any
additional questions.
Note that instructions on configuring flight control hardware are found in Chapter 4, in the
section “Configuring Flight Controls”.
3.3 Installing X-Plane

In order to avoid confusion, be sure to delete any installations of the X-Plane demo, or older
versions of X-Plane, before installing the full version from the DVDs. (Uninstalling the demo is as
straightforward as locating the “X-Plane 10 Demo” folder and moving it to the Recycle Bin/Trash.)
Note: If you are using the earliest set of X-Plane 10 discs (printed around November 2011),
you will need to download an updated X-Plane installer from X-Plane.com and launch that rather
than the installer on your discs.
3.3. INSTALLING X-PLANE 23
3.3.1 Installation on a Windows PC

To install X-Plane on a Windows-based computer, do the following:
1. Insert Disc 1 of the X-Plane installation DVDs into your DVD-ROM drive and wait for it to
spin up.
the updated X-Plane installer from our web site, then skip to step 3.
2. If the X-System window doesn’t open automatically, open My Computer and navigate to the
drive now labeled “X-Plane 10” (usually the D: drive). If the X-System window does appear
automatically, skip to step 4.
3. Double-click on Installer Windows.exe to launch the X-Plane installation.
4. When the installer window appears, click Continue.

Note that if the buttons at the bottom of the X-System screen labeled Quit, Go Back,
and Continue are not visible, then the system is probably running at a minimal resolution
like 800 x 600. Using this resolution will not allow the computer to display the bottom of
the X-Plane screen and you will need to force the installer to exit (via Ctrl+Alt+Del) and
increase the screen’s resolution in Windows to at least 1024 x 768.
5. By default, X-Plane will install to the Desktop. Though it can be installed elsewhere (by
clicking the Change Destination button), it is strongly recommended that it be placed on
the Desktop so that the folder can be found in the future. When an acceptable location has
been selected, click Continue.
7. Select the scenery you would like to install. Depending on the installer on your disc, either all
in color, while a selected tile will have its full color (as all tiles do in Figure 3.1).
Figure 3.1: All scenery selected for installation after clicking “Select All” [Full size →]
If you are unsure what areas are currently selected, just click Select None to turn everything
off (as seen in Figure 3.2). From there, select the individual tiles you would like to install by
clicking on them. Additionally, you can click and drag to select large areas quickly.
Figure 3.2: No scenery selected for installation after clicking “Select None” [Full size →]
thirty to sixty minutes per disc, and that only one X-Plane disc can be in the system at once
(the installer won’t recognize a disc placed in a second DVD-ROM). Installing the complete
scenery package will consume about 75 GB of hard drive space; doing so will take between
five and six and a half hours.
9. When the installation completes, reinsert Disc 1 and go fly!
At any point in the future, scenery can be added or removed by inserting Disc 1 and re-running
the installer. When the X-System installer comes up saying “You already have X-Plane 10 installed
on this computer,” click the Add or Remove Scenery button and proceed just like in step 7
above.
3.3.1.1 Special Considerations for Windows XP Users

Running X-Plane on Windows requires Microsoft DirectX 9.0c (or later) to be installed. Without
this, X-Plane cannot interface with audio and joystick hardware. This free software can be down-
loaded from Microsoft’s DirectX 9.0c Runtime Installer page. All newer installations of Windows
XP have DirectX 9 already, and all copies of Windows Vista and Windows 7 have DirectX 10
(which is more than sufficient) installed by default.
To find out which version of DirectX is currently installed in Windows XP, do the following:
1. Open the Start menu and click Run, or press Windows + R on the keyboard.
2. Type “dxdiag” and press Enter.

3.3. INSTALLING X-PLANE 25
3. If a box appears asking if you want to check for signed drivers, click No.
4. The lower half of the window that appears is labeled System Information. At the bottom of
that list of stats is the system’s DirectX Version.
3.3.1.2 Special Considerations for Windows Vista and 7 Users

Some of X-Plane’s menus may render strangely when using the default Aero themes in Windows 7
and Windows Vista. For this reason, it is recommended that users switch to the Basic theme when
running X-Plane.
To make Windows automatically switch to the Basic theme when you launch X-Plane (and
switch back when you’re done), do the following:
1. Locate either the X-Plane.exe file (found in the X-Plane 10 installation folder) or the shortcut
you use to launch X-Plane and right click on it.
2. Click Properties from the menu that appears.
3. Go to the Compatibility tab and check the Disable desktop composition box.
With that done, X-Plane will launch with the Basic theme and all menus will render correctly.
3.3.2 Installation on a Mac

To install X-Plane on a Mac, do the following:
1. Insert Disc 1 of the X-Plane installation DVDs into your DVD-ROM drive and wait for it to
spin up.
the updated X-Plane installer from our web site, then skip to step 3.
2. Double click on the X-Plane DVD icon on the Desktop.
3. Double click the “Installer Mac” app to launch the installer.

Note: If the buttons at the bottom of the X-System screen labeled Quit, Go Back, and
Continue are not visible, then the system is probably running at a minimal resolution like
800 x 600. Using this resolution will not allow the computer to display the bottom of the
X-Plane screen and you will need to force the installer to exit (via the Option + Command
+ Escape keys) and increase the screen’s resolution to at least 1024 x 768.
4. By default, X-Plane will install to the Desktop. Though it can be installed elsewhere (by
clicking the Change Destination button), it is strongly recommended that it be placed on
the Desktop so that the folder can be found in the future.
6. Select the scenery that should be installed. Depending on the installer on the disc, either all
in color, while a selected tile will have its full color. If you are unsure what areas are currently
selected, just click Select None to turn everything off. From there, select the individual
tiles to install by clicking on them. Additionally, you can click and drag to select large areas
quickly.
30 to 60 minutes per disc, and that only one X-Plane disc can be in the system at once
(the installer won’t recognize a disc placed in a second DVD-ROM). Installing the complete
scenery package will consume about 75 GB of hard drive space; doing so will take between
five and six and a half hours.
8. When the installation completes, reinsert Disc 1 and go fly!
Additionally, scenery can be added or removed at any point in the future by inserting Disc
1 and re-running the installer. When the X-System installer comes up saying “You already have
X-Plane 10 installed on this computer,” click the Add or Remove Scenery button and proceed
just like in step 6 above.
3.3.2.1 Special Considerations for Mac Users

By default, Mac OS X versions 10.5 (Leopard) and greater are set to automatically back up the
entire hard drive using Time Machine. This includes a user’s X-Plane directory. Most people would
prefer not to have this backed up, due to the fact that it requires a significant amount of space on
the backup disk (for something already backed up to DVDs, no less) and the fact that it takes a
great deal of time to complete the backup.
For this reason, it is recommended that users exclude the X-Plane directory from Time Ma-
chine’s backup, either during or shortly after the X-Plane installation, by doing the following:
1. Open the Time Machine preferences, either from the task bar (by clicking the Time Machine
icon and selecting “Open Time Machine Preferences”) or from the System Preferences (by
clicking the Time Machine icon there).
2. With the preferences open, click the Options... button.
3. Click the + icon to add a folder to the list of excluded directories.
4. Select the X-Plane installation directory (located by default on the Desktop) and click Ex-
clude.
5. Exit the Time Machine preferences.
Additionally, some users have had issues with Time Machine creating a “locked” copy of their
X-Plane discs. This can cause the X-Plane Disc 1 to appear in Finder as Disc 2, thus forcing X-
Plane to run in demo mode. The issue seems to have disappeared in the latest versions of OS X.
To correct the problem if it does occur, however, do the following:
1. Download and install the version of the OnyX system utility appropriate to your version of
OS X.
2. Run OnyX and select the Parameters tab.
3. Select Finder from the OnyX menu bar and then select Show hidden files and folders
from the Misc Options section.
3.4. LAUNCHING X-PLANE 27
4. Open Finder and click on “Macintosh HD” (or whatever your installation disk is called). The
Volumes directory, which was hidden before, is now visible at the bottom.
5. Go into the Volumes directory and delete the unwanted X-Plane volumes by moving them to
the Trash.
6. Eject the X-Plane DVD, empty the Trash, and reboot.
7. After rebooting, the system should be ready to fly as normal using X-Plane’s Disc 1.
8. At this point, Onyx may be reopened to turn off the Show hidden files and folders option.
3.3.3 Installation on a Linux PC

For the most up-to-date instructions on installing X-Plane in Linux, please see the Linux category
on the X-Plane Wiki.
3.4 Launching X-Plane

Unlike many of the programs you may be familiar with, X-Plane does not create shortcuts to itself
across your hard drive. We recommend launching X-Plane by opening the X-Plane 10 installation
directory (located by default on the Desktop) and double-clicking the X-Plane icon. However, if
you would like, you can create a shortcut (called an alias in OS X) by doing the following:
1. Open the X-Plane installation directory (located by default on the Desktop).
2. In Windows, right-click on the X-Plane.exe icon and select Create Shortcut. In Mac OS,
right-click on the X-Plane.app icon and select Make Alias.
3. Drag the shortcut wherever you wish to launch X-Plane from.

Chapter 4
Configuring and Tuning Your X-Plane

Installation
Having installed X-Plane as described in the previous chapter, you can configure the simulator in
a number of ways. These include downloading the latest free update (giving you the latest set of
features available), setting up flight controls, and tuning the performance of the simulator both in
terms of graphics quality and frame rate.
4.1 General Use of the X-Plane Interface

X-Plane has been written to operate on Windows, Macintosh, and Linux systems. For consistency’s
sake, the layout and appearance of X-Plane is the same across all three operating systems. This
may be slightly different than the interface that users are accustomed to, but once they pass the
learning curve, they generally find it easy to use.
Here are a few pointers to aid in the learning process:
• X-Plane’s menu is hidden when the simulator is first launched. To access the menu bar, just
move the mouse pointer to the top of the screen. When the mouse is within a centimeter or
so of the top edge of the screen, the menu bar will appear. There is no keyboard command
to access the menu bar.
• Any window within X-Plane can be closed by clicking either of the Xs found in the up-
per left and upper right corners. Alternatively, those windows may be closed by hitting the
Enter/Return key.
• Key commands can be found by opening the Joystick & Equipment screen and going to the
Keys tab. Key command assignments can also be changed using this screen (per the section
“Configuring Keyboard Shortcuts” of this chapter) to anything you like. Also, note that many
of the keyboard shortcuts are shown in the X-Plane menus. For example, opening the View
menu will display the list of available views on the left side of the drop down menu, with the
list of corresponding keyboard shortcuts on the right.
Like most programs, the simplest way to navigate around X-Plane is using the mouse, though
there are many shortcut key commands to help you navigate quickly through the options after
you become familiar with the program. These shortcuts are particularly important when using the
mouse to fly. In that case, it is much easier to use the ‘2’ key to drop a notch of flaps than it is to
let go of the controls, reach down with the mouse to adjust the flaps, and then reach back up and
grab the controls again.
29
30 CHAPTER 4. CONFIGURING AND TUNING YOUR X-PLANE INSTALLATION
Also note that most instruments and controls inside the cockpit are interactive, meaning that
the mouse can be used to alter switches, set frequencies, manipulate the throttle(s), change the
trim, etc.
4.2 Setting the Language

To change the language used throughout X-Plane, move your mouse to the top of the screen (causing
the menu to appear) and click Settings. Then, click the Operations and Warnings menu item. In
the dialog box that appears, select your language from the list in the box labeled “Language.”
4.3 Updating X-Plane

The X-Plane simulator is designed for both realism and longevity. Maximizing both of these requires
that X-Plane be updated often. Every few months, the we will make available a new update to
the simulator. In between these official (or “stable”) releases, users can download beta versions
of the upcoming update. These are treated as a kind of “update in progress”—new features and
bug fixes are included, but in the beta stage, the updates have not been fully tested in a range of
situations. This means that they may create incompatibilities or create other problems that would
not be experienced in the stable releases. For more information, see the section “Using the X-Plane
Betas” below.
Newer versions of X-Plane often contain feature enhancements, bug fixes, stability improve-
ments, aircraft and resource updates, flight model improvements, and even new feature additions.
A purchase of X-Plane entitles you to free updates through that full X-Plane version run. This
means that if you purchase the Version 10 discs, you will get the Version 10.10 update, the Version
10.20 update, etc., all the way through Version 10.99 if it exists—all free of charge. Of course, you
do not have to take advantage of these updates, but it is recommended that you do so.
As with the version of X-Plane on the DVDs you purchased, Disc 1 (the master disc) must be
inserted into your computer to use these updated versions. X-Plane uses this as a “key” to unlock
the software. Be sure to have the disc spinning in the DVD drive prior to starting up the program
so that X-Plane can find it!
Note that although previous versions of X-Plane required users to have all the desired scenery
installed before updating to a newer version, this is no longer the case. New scenery may be installed
regardless of updates.
To update X-Plane, do the following:
1. Launch the copy of X-Plane that you wish to update.
2. Once it opens, move your mouse to the top of the screen and click About, then About X-
Plane. The dialog box that appears will show both your version of X-Plane and the latest
version available. If these differ, there will be an Update X-Plane button in the bottom
right of the window.
3. Click the Update X-Plane button. X-Plane will automatically download the latest version
of the updater program and launch it.
4. In the window that appears, please do not select the “Check for new betas” box unless you
are prepared to potentially work with some kinks (per the section “Using the X-Plane Betas”
below).
4.4. USING THE X-PLANE BETAS 31
5. Click Continue to begin the program’s scanning of your X-Plane directory. This allows it to
determine which files need to be updated.
6. Assuming there is enough disk space to download the required updates, click Continue to
begin the installation.
7. The installation files will be downloaded and installed. When the installation finishes, you’re
ready to fly.
4.4 Using the X-Plane Betas

The X-Plane beta updates are for users who want to help test the newest refinements to the X-Plane
software. The advantage to doing so is that these users get access to the latest enhancements to
the software (flight model refinements, new features, etc.). The downside is that there is a greater
risk of encountering problems with third-party models or other general bugs. We recommend that
most users stick to the stable version releases, as these are the ones known to “just work.”
See the X-Plane Beta page for information on the current beta builds.
4.5 Uninstalling X-Plane

The X-Plane installer does not infest your hard drive with shortcuts and directories. Therefore, all
it takes to uninstall the program is to delete the X-Plane installation folder (located by default on
the Desktop) by dragging it to the Recycle Bin or Trash. After you empty the Recycle Bin/Trash,
the program will be removed completely from your hard drive.
4.6 Configuring Flight Controls

When using a joystick or other hardware, the hardware must be plugged in before starting X-Plane.
If it is not, X-Plane will not see the input devices.
With your flight controls plugged in and X-Plane running, you can configure how the simulator
responds to input from each axis and button. Throughout this section we will refer to any input
device as a joystick; the instructions apply to yokes, throttle quadrants, and rudders also.
4.6.1 Setting Up the Control Axes

In X-Plane, move the mouse to the top of the screen and click Settings, then select Joystick &
Equipment, as seen in Figure 4.1. This will open the dialog box allowing you to configure and
calibrate the flight controls. If it isn’t already selected, click on the Axis tab at the top of the
screen.
To begin, move the joystick’s controls around to see how the axes are mapped in X-Plane. As
this is done, one of the green or red bars will move for each input that is actuated. Thus, when the
stick is rolled left and right only one green or red bar will move; when it is pushed back and forth
another bar will move. Each control’s desired function is selected from the drop down box to the
left of its bar.
The axis bars are green when they are assigned a function, and they are red when they are not
assigned a function. For instance, before the throttle axis has been configured, moving the throttle
might move a red bar. After assigning that bar to throttle, it will turn green.
The normal configuration of flight controls goes as follows:
Figure 4.1: Selecting Joystick & Equipment from the Settings menu [Full size →]
Figure 4.2: The relevant portion of the Joystick & Equipment dialog’s Axis tab [Full size →]
1. Move your joystick or yoke forward and back. A green or red bar should move as you do so.
Click the drop-down menu next to it and set it to pitch. Do not check the reverse box next
to this control unless, when flying, the aircraft’s pitch control is working backward.
2. Move your joystick/yoke left and right. The green or red bar that moves should be set to
roll. Do not check the reverse box next to this control unless, when flying, the aircraft’s roll
control is working backward.
3. Twist your joystick (if applicable). The bar that moves should be set to yaw. If you do not
assign a yaw axis, X-Plane will attempt to stabilize yaw movement for you. Once again, do
not check the reverse box unless, when flying, the aircraft’s yaw control is working backward.
If you are using rudder pedals, slide them forward and backward and set the green/red bar
that moves then to yaw.
Additionally, only when using rudder pedals, press the left pedal down with your toes. The
green or red bar that moves should be set to left toe brake. Do the same for the right pedal,
and set that green bar to right toe brake.
4. Move your throttle forward and back (on a yoke, this is typically the leftmost lever). Set this
bar to throttle.
4.6. CONFIGURING FLIGHT CONTROLS 33
Note: Any green bar which is not actively controlled by your hardware needs to be set to none.
When this is set, the bar will turn red, indicating that X-Plane is not using the axis.
4.6.2 Centering the Controls

With the control axes configured, you can tell X-Plane to treat your joystick’s current position as
the center of its travel by pressing the Use this position as center button. Using this button will
allow you to correct for flight controls that don’t return to the center of their range–for instance,
a joystick that moves left to right in a range of 0 to 100, but returns to 55 when you lets go of it.
Without centering such a joystick, the aircraft would constantly roll to the right.
4.6.3 Calibrating the Hardware

Some flight control hardware may send a signal from 0 to 1,000 when a user moves a given control
from one limit to the opposite, while another device may send a signal (given the same movement
of a user’s hand or foot) from, say, -6,000 to 3,992. The only way for X-Plane to know the range of
a given joystick’s input is for the user to “teach” it.
All it takes to teach X-Plane how to interpret your joystick’s signal—that is, to calibrate the
joystick hardware—is to move all the axes of the joystick through their full range of motion while on
the Axis tab of the Joystick & Equipment window. Be sure to move each of the joystick’s variable
controls (that is, all sliders, joysticks, rudders, etc.) through their full range of motion. Take them
all the way forward, all the way back, left, and right. All of this can be done quite rapidly, as
X-Plane can monitor all the different inputs at once.
4.6.4 Assigning Functions to Buttons

Each of the buttons and switches on the joystick can be assigned a function within X-Plane (for
example, toggling the brakes or landing gear). To do this, open the Buttons: Basic tab of the
Joystick & Equipment window. As you operate your joystick’s buttons and switches you will see
the box in the upper left corner change the number it displays. This indicates that X-Plane has
received the input and is ready to assign that button/switch a function.
The instructions below reference only buttons. They apply, however, to switches too, though a
switch can have a function assigned to both its “up” and “down.”
To change a button assignment, simply operate that button on your joystick and then select
the function that should be assigned to it by clicking on the circular toggle next to that function.
For instance, in Figure 4.3, button 0 has been assigned to the “Toggle brakes regular effort” func-
tion. Repeat this operation for as many buttons as need functions assigned. Close the Joystick &
Equipment window and the settings will be saved.
Note: You must select the desired button by pressing and releasing it prior to assigning it a
function. If this is not done, the assignment of the last button pressed will be overwritten.
To assign a function to a joystick beyond what is available in the Buttons: Basic tab, you can
use the Buttons: Adv tab to assign any command function available to a button. As in the other
tab, simply press the button you would like to assign, click on the command you would like to
assign that button in the right half of the screen, and close the window.
4.6.5 Controlling Joystick Sensitivity and Aircraft Stability

To modify the joystick’s sensitivity or the stability of the aircraft, open the Nullzone tab at the top
of the Joystick & Equipment screen. The three sliders in the upper right of this window control the
Figure 4.3: The Buttons: Basic tab of the Joystick & Equipment menu, with a button set to Toggle
brakes regular effort [Full size →]
response curves for the pitch, roll, and yaw axes of the joystick.
If these sliders are set all the way to the left, the aircraft’s response to that axis’ input will be
completely linear. This means that a 50% deflection of the joystick will deflect the airplane’s flight
controls 50% of their travel. As these sliders are moved to the right the response becomes curved. In
this case, a deflection of the joystick from center to its halfway point may only deflect the aircraft’s
controls by 10%. This will dampen any aircraft movements and desensitize the user’s controls. Keep
in mind, however, that in this case, the remaining 90% of the control surface deflection must take
place in the last 50% of joystick movement. Thus, the controls will be dampened for the first half
or so of their travel and then become hyper-sensitive for the remainder of their throw. This gives
the user plenty of fine-tune control near the center of the flight control envelope to hold altitude
and roll precisely, but still allows for full control authority at the extremes.
Try flying with the sliders in various different positions to see what setting works best.
In the upper left portion of the Nullzone screen is another set of sliders, labeled “stability
augmentation.” These control X-Plane’s stability augmentation by damping the predicted forces
acting on the aircraft’s flight control surfaces. If these sliders are all the way to the left, then there
is no stability augmentation of the aircraft. As the sliders are moved to the right, X-Plane will
automatically add some stability augmentation to the aircraft, adding some elevator input to level
the nose, some aileron input to minimize the roll rate, and some rudder input to counter any aircraft
yaw rates. In other words, the simulator will try to make the plane easier to fly by adding control
inputs for the user. The downside, of course, is that as X-Plane adds stability, the aircraft becomes
4.7. CONFIGURING KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS 35
less responsive (and less realistic).
4.6.6 Setting Null Zones

Null zones determine how much the joystick must be moved before X-Plane actually starts to take
action. A null zone may be set for each joystick axis to fine-tune how responsive the control surface
inputs are, but this function is typically used to prevent hardware from “creeping” in flight or to
ignore the constant jittering that many older controllers will send to X-Plane.
To set a null zone, first open the Nullzone tab of the Joystick & Equipment window. Now drag
the nullzone slider (found in the lower half of the window) to the desired position; the higher the
percentage, the larger the “dead zone” that does not affect the aircraft’s controls will be in the
joystick’s input.
4.6.7 Adding Special Equipment

The final tab in the Joystick & Equipment window, labeled Equipment, is used to set up special
equipment for use in X-Plane. This tab is generally used on multi-computer X-Plane configurations
in professional, FAA-certified simulators or to tie in various GPS navigators (such as a real Garmin
96/296/396 or a 430 GPS radio). After being connected to the computer, this equipment should be
set up per the manufacturer’s recommendations, then checked off on the Equipment screen to tell
X-Plane that it is connected.
4.7 Configuring Keyboard Shortcuts

X-Plane has been designed to be both extremely flexible and easily usable. For this reason, most
of the keys on the keyboard do something.
To see which keys are tied to which functions, first open the Joystick & Equipment dialog box
by moving the mouse to the top of the screen, clicking Settings, and clicking Joystick & Equipment.
There, select the Keys tab. In the Keys tab, you can look at the functions assigned to the keys of
the keyboard.
There are two ways to change a key’s function here. The window has each key of the keyboard
represented by a rectangular button (found on the far left of the screen), and it has that button’s
function to the right of it. One way to program a key is to click one of the square buttons in the
left-hand pane and select the function (found in the left-hand pane) that the key should control.
Functions are classified into a number of categories (operation, engines, ignition, etc.), found
in the middle pane of this window. The functions themselves are found in the right pane of the
window. Click on the radio button (that is, the small, circular button) beside the category you’re
looking for, then click the radio button next to the function itself.
Alternatively, click the Add New Key Assignment button found in the bottom center of
the window. This will add a new gray button at the bottom of the left-hand pane, labeled NONE.
Click this button and press the key you would like to program. Next, find the function you’re
looking for in the right-hand pane of the window and select it.
Note that it is not necessary to try and remember all of the keyboard shortcuts. Instead, many
of them are shown in the menus when flying. For example, while in flight, move the mouse to the
top of the screen and click the View menu to see each view (listed on the left) and the keyboard
shortcut it’s assigned to (found on the right within a set of brackets). For instance, in the view
menu, the “Forward with Panel” view has a “[w]” next to it, so it can be selected with the ‘w’ key.
4.8 Configuring the Rendering Options

X-Plane is a very advanced simulator that has been designed for use across a broad range of
computers with varying specifications. As such, X-Plane offers the ability to change numerous
settings to optimize performance on your computer. For this reason, this is one of the most critical
portions of this manual. The Rendering Options window allows you to match X-Plane’s settings
(and thus the demands the simulator puts on the computer) to you computer’s capabilities.
The simulator’s performance is measured in frames per second (FPS, or frame rate). This is how
many times per second the X-Plane physics and rendering code (currently more than 700,000 lines
of code!) can be run. Each time the computer runs through the program it advances the aircraft
and recalculates the images that are seen (cloud formations, scenery, aircraft instruments, other
aircraft, etc.).
Obviously, X-Plane has to be tremendously flexible to be able to run on a three year old
computer and also take full advantage of the latest and greatest hardware available. There are two
things that affect X-Plane’s frame rate: the computer’s capabilities and how much it is being asked
to simulate (e.g., how much visibility is set, how many buildings, clouds, and other aircraft are being
drawn, etc.). It will be much harder for the computer to compute images when flying an airplane
in 30-mile visibility with 8,000 3-dimensional buildings and cloud puffs than it would be if X-Plane
were set up with only two or three miles of visibility and no clouds. Thus, generally speaking, the
higher the rendering options are set, the lower the performance and frame rate achieved.
The faster a computer can run X-Plane the more realistic and rewarding the simulation will be.
Testing has shown that the human brain can separate individual frames at frame rates of less than
about 20 FPS, causing the simulation to appear “choppy.” Coincidentally, this is also about the
same place that the engineering behind the simulation begins to fall apart. For this reason, X-Plane
has set the minimum operating speed at this level. If a computer is not capable of delivering a frame
rate of 20 FPS while rendering the level of detail set up in the Rendering Options page, X-Plane will
automatically introduce fog to help the simulation to run more smoothly. The fog keeps X-Plane
from having to draw the world to as great a distance, allowing the simulation to run faster.
The Rendering Options dialog box is used to configure the level of detail in the simulator. This
window can be found by moving the mouse to the top of the screen, opening the Settings menu,
and clicking Rendering Options.
4.8.1 Setting the Basic Rendering Options

The broadest-reaching graphics settings are located at the top of the Rendering Options dialog
box, in the section of the window labeled “Resolutions.” These include the texture resolution, the
resolution of the window when in full-screen mode, the level of anti-aliasing, and more.
4.8.1.1 Texture Resolution

The texture resolution drop-down box determines the clarity and detail of the textures displayed
in X-Plane. Textures are the image-maps that are draped over the terrain and aircraft to make
them look realistic. If the texture resolution is set to low, the runway and terrain will look blurry
and blocky. While this will not look very good, it will use very little video memory (VRAM), so
a high frame rate will be more easily achievable. The more powerful a computer’s video card is,
though, the higher the texture resolution can be set in X-Plane without hurting the frame rate. The
frame rate will be significantly impacted, though, if a texture resolution is selected that requires
more VRAM than the computer’s video card has.
4.8. CONFIGURING THE RENDERING OPTIONS 37
You can easily determine how much VRAM is required to render the current scene. At the
bottom of the Rendering Options dialog box is a line that reads “Total size of all loaded textures
at current settings: xxx.xx meg.”
In most cases, this number will only be updated after X-Plane is restarted—that is, you cannot
change the texture resolution, close the Rendering Options window, and reopen it to check the
amount of VRAM used.
If your system has a video card with 512 MB of memory and the VRAM currently used is only
128 MB, then a higher texture resolution can be set without problems. This will cause the scenery,
runway, and airplane to all look sharper and crisper. As long as X-Plane is not requiring more
VRAM than the system’s video card has, the simulation’s frame rate will not be impacted. Note
that if a texture resolution is set which requires substantially more VRAM than the video card has,
the simulator’s frame rate will be massively impacted as the computer begins to use system RAM
to store textures—a very slow process.
Do not worry if the total size of all textures loaded is larger than the amount of VRAM in your
system; in a perfect world, the VRAM used will be about equal to or a bit more than the VRAM
of the system’s video card. This will give maximum texture detail without overflowing the video
card’s memory and reducing the frame rate. Machines with faster graphics busses (like PCIe x16)
will be less sensitive to VRAM use.
4.8.1.2 Gamma
The gamma setting controls the overall brightness of the dark parts of the X-Plane world. Versions
of Mac OS prior to 10.6 Snow Leopard used a default gamma of 1.8, whereas newer versions of OS
X, as well as all versions of Windows, use a default gamma of 2.2. Increase this by a small amount
(0.1 or so) if X-Plane looks too dark.
4.8.1.3 Anisotropic Filtering

Anisotropic filtering is a bit complicated.
Imagine taking a photograph and looking at it from about two feet away, with your eyes directly
above the image and perpendicular to it. Things are clear and sharp, right? Now imagine taking
the same picture and rotating it 90◦ away from you so you’re looking at the edge. Obviously, the
image is no longer visible. Now rotate it back towards you 5 or 10◦ . You can just start to make
out the image, but since you’re looking at it from such a low angle, the picture is fuzzy and poorly
defined.
This is analogous to looking at the X-Plane scenery from a low altitude on a clear day. The
images directly in front of the aircraft will be relatively clear, but the closer the scenery gets to
the horizon, the fuzzier the image becomes. The anisotropic filter helps to clear this fuzziness away,
making the image clearer. This option has a minimal effect on most machines and a moderate
impact on some machines. Try it out and see if you like it and if you can live with the performance
penalty.
4.8.1.4 Full-Screen Resolution

The box labeled run full-screen at this resolution, when checked, will cause X-Plane to run
in full-screen mode at the resolution you choose from the drop-down box. Selecting the “Default
Monitor Settings” will make X-Plane use the same resolution as your operating system. If you choose
a resolution with a different aspect ratio than your monitor has, X-Plane will appear stretched. This
would happen, for instance, if your monitor had a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 (a widescreen,
16:9 aspect ratio) and you selected a resolution of 1024 x 768 (a “standard” 4:3 aspect ratio).
4.8.1.5 Frame Rate Locking

The frame rate lock to monitor drop-down box allows you to steady the simulator’s frame rate
by not allowing the frame rate to exceed a certain value. If X-Plane generally runs as a high frame
rate on your computer, but does not do so smoothly and consistently, you can lock the frame rate
to some ratio of your monitor’s refresh rate to keep the frame rate steady.
4.8.1.6 Anti-Aliasing
The anti-alias level parameter is used to smooth the edges of the objects drawn in the simulator.
When a computer tries to draw diagonal lines across the finite number of rectangular pixels in a
monitor, “jaggies” result—pixelated-looking, stair-stepped lines. These jaggies may be (somewhat)
eliminated by turning on anti-aliasing. This will cause X-Plane to actually draw the simulated world
several times per frame and blend those frames together, resulting in a better looking image. Thus,
it is similar to using a higher screen resolution; running at a resolution of 2048 x 2048 without
anti-aliasing is similar to running at 1024 x 1024 and 4x anti-aliasing. Both situations tax the video
card with virtually no increase in CPU use. This will completely kill the simulator’s frame rate if
the system doesn’t have a strong video card, but if the video card can take it, crank this option up.
Please note that in HDR rendering mode, standard anti-aliasing using this parameter is not
recommended; it will impact frame rate without providing any real benefit—this is simply a function
of the way the new deferred rendering system works. Since HDR rendering is really the way X-Plane
10 was meant to be seen (since it is the only mode where the beautifully realistic global shadows
are available), the anti-alias level parameter should probably be left at “none.” Instead, use an
HDR-specific method of anti-aliasing described in the section “Special Effects” below.
4.8.1.7 Field of View

The final of the basic graphics settings is the lateral field of view, found near the bottom center
of the screen in the section of the window labeled “Special Viewing Options.” Older monitors with
a 4:3 aspect ratio (corresponding to a resolution like 1024 x 768 or 1600 x 1200) probably want to
stick to a 45◦ field of view. Widescreen monitors (those with an aspect ratio of, say, 16:10 or 16:9
and a resolution of, say, 1920 x 1080, 1600 x 900, and so on) may benefit from a wider field of view
(60◦ or so).
4.8.2 Setting Up the X-Plane World

Many features of the X-Plane world are turned on or off using controls found in the portion of the
window labeled “Stuff to Draw.” These are discussed below.
4.8.2.1 Miscellaneous Drawing Settings

When the box on the far left labeled draw view indicator is checked, you will see a small orange
airplane in the top of the screen when you rotate your view left or right using the Q and E keys,
respectively.
X-Plane can simulate orbital and sub-orbital flight using the Space Shuttle and other spacecraft.
If the box labeled draw hi-res planet textures from orbit is checked, X-Plane will display
high-resolution images of the Earth when simulating space flights. These high-resolution images
will typically be displayed at altitudes of 100,000 feet or higher. This has no effect on frame rate
except when flying above that altitude.
The runways follow terrain contours box should always be checked. This causes runways
and taxiways to follow the elevation of the terrain upon which they are drawn. In some cases, the
changes in elevation of the terrain may be very abrupt, which can make airport runways overly
bumpy. Unchecking this box will cause X-Plane to flatten the terrain under runways to alleviate
potential problems. This option has no effect on frame rate.
When the box labeled draw forest fires and balloons is checked, X-Plane will randomly
generate forest fires, which can be put out after scooping up water in a water bomber such as the
CL-415 Bombardier. It will also cause hot air balloonists to meander through the world when the
weather is nice. This option has a negligible effect on frame rate.
Checking the box labeled draw birds and deer in nice weather will put randomly generated
deer near the airport which may bolt across the runway and cause a collision. It will also generate
very realistic-looking flocks of birds, each of which is modeled independently and has its own
“mission.” Colliding with the birds will cause damage to the aircraft as well as engine failures and
other things, just like in reality. This setting has only a marginal effect on frame rate.
The box labeled draw aircraft carriers and frigates will cause X-Plane to put boats and
aircraft carriers in the water near your aircraft.
The box labeled draw Aurora Borealis will make X-Plane show the Aurora Borealis at night
when in the North.
4.8.2.2 Objects on the Ground
The number of trees, number of objects, number of roads, and number of cars determine
how many of each type of ground object are drawn. In general, the number of objects will have
the greatest effect on the simulator’s performance. Each of these options are CPU-intensive; if you
do not have a fast, multi-core CPU, you may want to leave them at the default.
4.8.2.3 World Detail Settings
The world detail distance controls how much detail to use when drawing objects and other
things in the X-Plane world, as well as how far away that level of detail should be used. You should
almost always use the “default” setting here, ensuring that what you see is what a scenery artist
intended. Lowering this parameter may improve frame rate on slower computers, though.
The airport detail setting controls how much detail is used in drawing portions of the scenery
at airports. It can have a significant impact on performance when flying near airports. The highest
settings will ensure that you see all there is to see around an airport.
The shadow detail setting controls how realistic the shadows in the simulator are. “Static”
shadows simply draw a flat, unchanging shadow of your aircraft on the ground below it. “Overlay”
shadows vary the shadow cast by your aircraft on the ground by the position of the sun in the
sky. “3-D on aircraft” shadows use X-Plane 10’s new shadow rendering to allow the aircraft to cast
shadows on itself as well as on the ground; this would be most visible with a high-wing aircraft.
“Global” shadows allow all objects, trees, etc. in X-Plane to cast shadows on everything else. Global
shadows, of course, are much more difficult to render; they are both CPU- and GPU-intensive. The
degree to which your frame rate is affected by shadows will be a function of the number of objects
you’re using; lots of objects combined with global shadows may massively impact your frame rate.
Finally, the water reflection detail controls how thoroughly water reflections are calculated
using pixel shaders; it changes how many calculations the computer must do on each pixel in the
water. This can have a significant impact on the simulator’s performance when near water.
4.8.2.4 Expert Rendering Options

Checking the compress textures to save VRAM box and restarting X-Plane may enable the
simulator to use about twice the VRAM as before without overflowing the video card. However,
doing so will cause some of the crispness and precision to be lost from textures. Try it out and see
what happens.
The 3-D bump-maps and gritty detail textures will make surfaces in X-Plane appear more
realistic. They will have some impact on frame rate (they use both the CPU and some VRAM),
but for most modern graphics cards, the benefits will certainly outweigh the small cost associated
with them.
4.8.2.5 Special Effects

In X-Plane, fog is used to control the visibility. Thus, enabling the draw volumetric fog option
creates a number of small, localized fog effects, causing the density to vary whenever X-Plane
draws fog. The result is that objects and scenery fade into the distance in a much more gradual
(and pleasant) way than they otherwise would. On some computers, this can have a significant
effect on frame rate, but for newer machines, the benefits significantly outweigh the costs.
The checkbox labeled draw per-pixel lighting toggles pixel shaders. Using pixel shaders
allows X-Plane to add 3-D lighting on a per-pixel basis, to incredible effect. Rather than having the
simulator tell the graphics card how to light an area, the graphics card determines it in real time,
creating a very realistic image. If you have an older graphics card, this can have a large effect on
frame rate.
HDR rendering is the new method X-Plane 10 uses for drawing the world. It allows an
unlimited number of light sources, resulting in very convincing shadows across the whole world.
If you have a newer graphics card (one that supports DirectX 10 or later), you will probably love
using this effect; as this option is GPU-intensive, however, if you have an older graphics card, you
may want to avoid it.
With HDR rendering on, two new rendering options become available: atmospheric scatter-
ing and HDR anti-aliasing. Enabling the atmospheric scattering option causes objects that
are far away to appear more washed-out, just as they do in the real world. Once again, this shouldn’t
have a great impact on frame rate on newer computers. The HDR anti-aliasing setting allows for
more effective means of smoothing otherwise jagged lines than the older anti-alias level control.
The “FXAA” version of HDR anti-aliasing is both high quality and computationally inexpensive,
so it is recommended for almost all users. The “4xFSAA” version, on the other hand, simply has
the graphics card draw the image at four-times the normal size, then scale it down. This will have
a much greater impact on frame rate than FXAA.
4.8.2.6 Cloud Effects

The clouds in X-Plane can be configured in a number of ways. X-Plane’s 3-D clouds are generated
from many smaller cloud sprites, or “puffs.” They give the appearance of a true, volumetric cloud,
which can be flown through or around. They also develop over time, just as in real life, depending
on weather conditions.
The number of cloud puffs slider sets the number of cloud puffs. Increasing the number of
puffs will have a significant impact on frame rate. Be careful with this one.
The size of cloud puffs sets the size of each cloud puff. The larger the size of cloud puffs, the
slower X-Plane will perform, although this may not be too noticeable on modern video cards.
4.8.3 Setting the Rendering Options for Best Performance

The following procedure will allow you to optimize X-Plane’s performance for your computer,
regardless of the power of that computer or any limitations it may have.
Before we begin, we will need to be able to tell how fast X-Plane is running on your computer.
To do this, launch X-Plane and:
1. Move your mouse to the top of the screen (causing the menu to appear) and click Settings,
then Data Input & Output.
2. Check the far right box next to frame rate (item 0, in the upper left corner of the window).
This will cause X-Plane to display the current frame rate in the upper left of the screen during
flight.
3. Close the Data Input & Output window (either with one of the Xs in the corners of the
window or with the Enter key on the keyboard). You should now see how fast the simulation
is running, in the freq / sec output on the far left. This is the current frame rate, given in
frames per second (fps).
Note that the frame rate will change depending on what is happening in the simulation. It is
not uncommon for a computer to output 50 fps while sitting on an empty runway, but drop down
to, say, 35 fps when rendering lots of buildings, other aircraft, etc.
Refer to the following to determine the significance of this number.
• 19 fps is terrible and barely adequate to run the simulator.

• 30 to 50 fps is the ideal range. Higher frame rates indicate the computer isn’t rendering with
as much detail as it could. Studies have shown that starting at about 50 frames per second,
your subconscious mind forgets that you are looking at a simulator and begins thinking you
are actually flying.
• 100 fps is excessively high and indicates that the system has plenty of capacity to draw more
buildings, clouds, and other objects.
4.8.3.1 Increasing the Frame Rate

If the simulator’s frame rate isn’t as high you would like, you can raise it by following the instructions
below. We recommend following these instructions in order, checking the frame rate after each major
change until you find settings that give an acceptable frame rate.
Changing Texture Quality If your graphics card has too little VRAM for the textures X-Plane
is loading (a very real possibility in Version 10), you may see a huge drop in frame rate. To correct
this, try the following.
1. Move the mouse to the top of the window, making the menu bar appear, and click Settings,
then click Rendering Options.
2. The texture resolution drop-down menu determines how much video RAM (VRAM) the
computer will use. If your graphics card has plenty of VRAM, you can set it as high as you
want with no loss in frame rate, but as soon as the texture resolution requires more VRAM
than the graphics card has, the simulator’s frame rate will plummet.
3. To determine how much VRAM is being used at the current settings, look at the very bottom
of this window. The last line reads “Total size of all loaded textures at current settings: xxx.xx
meg.”
While it is in some cases possible to load more textures than can be stored in VRAM without
a performance hit (as not all textures will be used all the time), the size of the loaded textures
should not be significantly greater than the VRAM on the system’s video card.
4. Lower the texture resolution if the current settings require much more VRAM than your
video card has.
After changing the texture resolution, X-Plane must be restarted for the change to take effect.
We recommend putting the texture resolution on its lowest setting, exiting the sim, restarting it,
and noting the frame rate. From there, raise the texture detail up one level and repeat until the
frame rate decreases. This is the point at which all of the video card’s RAM is being used. Back
the texture resolution off to one level lower than where the decrease was noted and restart X-Plane
one more time.
If, after restarting X-Plane, your frame rate is still low, you may want to disable some of the
newer features of the X-Plane renderer, such as HDR rendering and global shadows.
Disable HDR Rendering, Simplify Shadows, and Lower Water Reflections The latest
rendering features in X-Plane 10 (HDR rendering, global shadows, and water complex water reflec-
tion) can be very costly on older computers. HDR rendering is potentially quite GPU-intensive,
and global shadows and water reflections are both CPU- and GPU-intensive. Therefore, if you are
having issues with the frame rate, should be some of the first options to go.
Uncheck the HDR rendering option (located in the Special Effects portion of the window).
Next, set the shadow detail (located in the Stuff to Draw portion of the window) to either
“overlay” or “3-D on aircraft.” Finally, set the “water reflection detail” to “none.” Restart X-Plane,
and you should see a dramatic rise in frame rate. If, however, the frame rate is still unacceptable,
you may need to change the resolution as well.
Changing the Resolution The screen resolution refers to the number of pixels that X-Plane
must fill. The lowest available (and default) resolution is 1024 x 768. Increasing the resolution will
cause a drop in frame rate if your graphics card is not powerful enough.
When using X-Plane in windowed (i.e., not full-screen) mode, simply dragging the window size
down will lower your resolution. When using X-Plane in full-screen mode, open the Rendering
Options by moving the mouse to the top of the screen, clicking Settings, then clicking Rendering
Options. Since the run full-screen at this resolution box must be checked for full-screen mode,
you can use the drop-down menu to the right of that box to choose a lower resolution. Try 1024 x
768 first to see if lowering the resolution does indeed improve your frame rate. Note, however, that
choosing a resolution different from the resolution set in your operating system may cause X-Plane
to display a black border around the simulator.
Figure 4.4: Selecting the Weather option from the Environment menu [Full size →]
Optimizing Other Rendering Options A few more rendering options are very important in
getting the best performance in X-Plane on your computer. Once again, to modify the rendering
options, move your mouse to the top of the screen, click Settings, and click Rendering Options.
On most computers, the rendering options with the greatest impact on performance are the
number of objects, number of roads, and number of cars, simply because these are CPU-
limited rather than being GPU-limited. These settings have a huge impact on frame rate. Set
them to none for the most speed, then restart X-Plane for the changes to take effect. Check the
frame rate, bring both settings up one level, and repeat, restarting the simulator each time to see
how performance is affected. Setting these options to higher levels will look much nicer but will
negatively impact the X-Plane’s frame rate.
Another important factor for X-Plane’s performance is the world detail distance setting. This
setting determines how far away from your aircraft the simulator’s 3-D objects will be rendered in
high quality. Doubling the detail distance will cause X-Plane to draw four times as many objects.
This is due to the fact that, from the aircraft’s point of view, the number of objects rendered will
grow in all directions equally. You may want to change this from default to low if frame rate is
at issue.
Higher values in the airport detail field will give, among other things, nice 3-D runway lights,
center line lights, and runway edge lights instead of simple, bodiless spots of light. These effects
contribute to a very authentic look for airports, but since these are only visible near the ground, you
may find the default value an acceptable compromise; lowering this setting can improve performance
significantly.
Modifying Cloud Rendering and Visibility Another group of settings that can be modified
for performance are the weather effects.
The number of “puffs” in each of X-Plane’s clouds can significantly affect performance. To get a
boost in frame rate, first open the Rendering Options as described above. There, drag the number
of cloud puffs slider down, perhaps to 10%.
A further increase in frame rate can be obtained by drawing only a few simple clouds, with
relatively low visibility. To set this, do the following:
1. Bring down the menu as above and click Environment, then Weather, as shown in Figure 4.4.
2. Select the radio button labeled “set weather uniformly for the whole world,” located near the
top of the screen.
3. Using the three cloud drop-down menus (found in the upper left of the screen, and pictured
in Figure 4.5), set the cloud types to “clear” or “cumulus overcast” for max frame rate. For
a good frame rate, set them to “thin cirrus” or “stratus.” “Cumulus scattered” or “cumulus
broken” take a lot of computing power to display.
Figure 4.5: Setting the cloud coverage for the whole world [Full size →]
4. Set the visibility (found on the left side of the screen) to about five miles or so. Higher visibility
takes more computing power because the computer has to calculate what the world looks like
for a much larger area.
Changing the Number of Other Aircraft The final setting that really impacts the simulator’s
frame rate is the number of other airplanes. Access this by moving the mouse to the top of the
screen, clicking Aircraft, then selecting Aircraft and Situations. In the dialog box that appears, go
to the Other Aircraft tab.
There, the number of aircraft setting (found in the upper left of the screen) should be set to
one for maximum speed. This means X-Plane will only have to calculate physics on your aircraft,
providing a significant speed increase on slower CPUs.
With that done, your performance should be optimized, and you’re ready to fly.
4.9 Configuring the Sound

To configure the sound, move your mouse to the top of the screen and click Settings, then Sounds.
The dialog box that appears allows you to configure the relative volumes of all sounds in X-Plane
using the sliders on the right side of the window. On the left side, sounds can be turned off by
category. By default, all sounds are enabled, with volumes set at 100% (sliders fully to the right).
The bottom of this window will also check the status of speech synthesis software. If the software
is not installed on Windows, download the Microsoft Speech SDK 5.1.
4.10 Allowing X-Plane through Your Firewall

Some features of X-Plane require that X-Plane be able to communicate across your network. These
features include:
• networked multiplayer flights,
4.11. EXPANDING X-PLANE 45
• multi-computer simulations,
• integration with EFIS App for iPad, and
• integration with X-Plane Remote.
In order for your computer to “see” the other computers in the situations above, you must first
allow X-Plane to communicate through your firewall. If your computer is not running a firewall, of
course, this is of no concern to you.
To allow a program through the firewall in Windows XP, follow Microsofts instructions in
Knowledge Base Article 842242.
To do this in Windows Vista and Windows 7,
1. Open Windows Firewall by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Security,
and then clicking Windows Firewall.
2. In the left pane, click Allow a program through Windows Firewall. If you are prompted
for confirmation, click Allow.
3. (Windows 7 only:) Click Change settings, then click Allow if asked for confirmation.
4. Select the check box next to X-Plane, and then click OK.
To allow X-Plane through the firewall in Mac OS,
1. Open System Preferences from the Apple menu.
2. Click Security (called Security & Privacy in OSX Lion).
3. Click the Firewall tab.
4. Unlock the pane by clicking the lock in the lower-left corner and enter the administrator
username and password.
5. Click Advanced... to customize the firewall configuration.
6. Click the + (plus) button, then select your copy of X-Plane.app. This is found in the X-Plane
9 or X-Plane 10 installation directory, which is located by default on your desktop. With
X-Plane selected, click Add.
4.11 Expanding X-Plane

X-Plane can be modified in a number of ways. You can add aircraft or custom scenery, or you can
download plug-ins that can radically alter the functionality of the simulator. If you don’t find the
aircraft, scenery, or plug-ins you’re looking for, you can create you’re own with a bit of programming
know-how. The X-Plane Wiki has a wealth of information on creating both scenery and aircraft,
and the X-Plane SDK site has documentation on developing plug-ins. The Plane Maker manual
will prove especially useful for users creating aircraft files.
4.11.1 Adding Aircraft

Perhaps the easiest place to find new aircraft is the X-Plane.org “Download Manager” page. All
the aircraft in that section of the site are free, though X-Plane.org does have models (some of which
are very, very good) for sale. Other noted sources of high-quality, payware aircraft are the folks at
X-Aviation, as well as Jason Chandler of AIR.C74.NET.
When downloading a custom aircraft, it will typically be in a compressed folder (usually a ZIP
file) that contains the airplane and all its various paint jobs, airfoils, custom sounds, and instrument
panels. Once the compressed folder is downloaded, you should be able to double-click on it to open
or expand it on Macintosh, Windows, or Linux boxes.
From here, the folder can be expanded out into the Aircraft folder within X-Plane 10 directory,
or the files within can be dragged and dropped into the Aircraft folder. Be sure to place the new
aircraft files in a folder with the name of the aircraft—for instance, for a newly downloaded Piper
J-3 Cub, the folder path in Windows might look like this:
C:\Documents and Settings\User\Desktop\X-Plane 10\Aircraft\Piper Cub\
With the new aircraft in the proper directory, open up X-Plane. Move the mouse to the top of
the window (causing the menu to appear). Click Aircraft, then click Open Aircraft. Find the file
there and double click on it to load.
Of course, users can also upload their own aircraft to X-Plane.org and similar sites. To do so,
first create a custom airplane (using Plane Maker) with airfoils, panels, sounds, etc., per the Plane
Maker manual. All the files making up the aircraft then need to be compressed into a ZIP folder
to be uploaded to the Internet.
To compress a folder in Windows, right click on the file containing all the files needed for the
plane, move the mouse down to Send To, then click “Compressed (zipped) Folder.” A new .zip file
will appear in the directory.
On the Mac, right-click or control-click (that is, press the Ctrl key on the keyboard while clicking
with the mouse) on the aircraft folder in Finder. In the resulting menu, click “Compress [file or
folder name]” to make a compressed ZIP archive of that aircraft.
These custom aircraft may be uploaded and shared (or sold) at will. We place no copyright
restrictions of any sort on aircraft made by users with Plane Maker.
4.11.2 Adding Scenery

Custom scenery packages, too, can be found on the “Download Manager” page page of X-Plane.org,
among other places. These may be downloaded and installed at will. Typically, custom scenery
packages will need to be unzipped into the X-Plane 10\Custom Scenery folder. Additionally, the
XAddonManager utility may be helpful for managing a large amount of custom scenery or down-
loaded objects.
To create new custom scenery, use the World Editor tool (WED), downloadable from the Scenery
Tools page of the X-Plane Wiki. A good number of tutorials for the tools can be found in the Scenery
Development section of the X-Plane Wiki.
4.11.3 Installing Plug-Ins

Plug-ins are little programs that let the user modify X-Plane. People write plug-ins to do all sorts
of interesting things like hang weights on the dashboard that move around accurately, run little
tugs around to push your airplane on the ground, or draw interesting terrain visualization systems,
among other things. Once again, X-Plane.org (and specifically the Downloads > Utilities page) is
a good place to go to find various plug-ins and other things to tweak your copy of X-Plane.
For information on creating custom plug-ins, see the X-Plane SDK site.
Chapter 5
Flight in X-Plane
X-Plane, of course, is a flight simulator. A typical flight consists of some, if not all, of the following
steps:
• choosing an aircraft,
• going to a location (either an airport’s runway, a location some distance out from an airport
in order to make an approach to the airport, or a random location),
• setting the weather and time of day, and
• actually flying.
In addition, you might take advantage of a number of features of the simulator either before or
during a flight. These include using instruments in the aircraft’s panel, switching your view of the
aircraft, visualizing your flight (either on a 2-D map or in 3-D), and creating files to share your
flight with others.
5.1 Opening an Aircraft

When launching X-Plane for the first time, the default airplane will be loaded. After that, X-Plane
will load the aircraft that was being used the last time you quit the program.
To open an aircraft in X-Plane:
1. Move your mouse to the top of the X-Plane window, causing the menu to appear.
Figure 5.1: Selecting the Open Aircraft dialog from the Aircraft menu [Full size →]
47
48 CHAPTER 5. FLIGHT IN X-PLANE
Figure 5.2: Working with the directory hierarchy in the Open Aircraft dialog [Full size →]
2. Click Aircraft, then click Open Aircraft, as in Figure 5.1.
3. At the top of the Open Aircraft dialog box is a drop-down menu. It displays the name of
the folder you are currently viewing (initially, this is the folder of whatever aircraft you have
open currently). Click the up/down symbol on the right side of the folder name, causing the
directory hierarchy (the organization of your folders) to be displayed, as seen in Figure 5.2. At
the top of the hierarchy is the main X-Plane folder, and at the bottom is the current folder.
For example, if you are in the folder for the F-22 Raptor, the hierarchy shows:
• X-System folder
• Aircraft
• Fighters
• FA 22 Raptor
4. Click on the line that says Aircraft to move to the main aircraft directory.
5. The folders in the Aircraft directory are divided into categories—for example, there are fight-
ers, general aviation craft, gliders, helicopters, seaplanes, etc. Double click on the class you
are interested in.
6. The navigation box in the lower left of the window now shows the aircraft classified in that
category. Double click on an aircraft’s folder.
7. X-Plane aircraft files, which are what we need to click on to open an airplane, are denoted by
a “.acf” extension. Double click on an ACF file to load that aircraft. For instance, Figure 5.3
shows us opening the Cessna 172. In a moment or two, the aircraft will load and be placed
on the nearest runway.
5.2. CHOOSING AN AIRPORT OR LOCATION 49
Figure 5.3: Selecting the Cessna 172.acf file [Full size →]
5.1.1 Choosing a Livery

A livery (an alternate paint scheme for an aircraft) can be selected in X-Plane by moving the mouse
to the top of the screen, clicking the Aircraft menu, and clicking Open Livery. If alternate liveries
are installed for the current aircraft, you can select one using the radio buttons in this dialog box.
Close the window to re-load the aircraft with the livery you selected.
5.2 Choosing an Airport or Location

X-Plane’s aircraft can be relocated to virtually any airport on Earth. It can place your aircraft on
a runway or apron, or it can start you in the air on a 3 or 10 nautical mile approach to a runway.
To select an airport, first move your mouse to the top of the screen, causing the menu to appear.
Click on the Location menu, then click Select Global Airport. In this dialog box, you can search by
name or ICAO identifier through the complete X-Plane airport database. This represents nearly
every airport on the planet (currently more than 32,000).
The Select Airport dialog box is divided into three parts. In the top left is a listing of every
airport name, arranged by airport name, with the airport’s identifier listed to the right. To the
right of the list pane is an overhead view of the currently selected airport’s layout. The bottom
half of the window displays rows of “quick start” buttons. The buttons in the “Takeoff” column
(on the far left) will transport the aircraft to the specified runway. To the right of these buttons
are the “Final Approach” buttons, which will transport the aircraft to the specified distance away
from the runway on the button’s left. Finally, the “Ramp Start” buttons will transport the aircraft
to the specified ramp for takeoff.
To search the available airports, type either the airport name or the airport ID into the white box
below the list pane (labeled “Apt:”). For instance, you could obtain the same results by searching
for “KLAX” or “Los Angeles Intl.” You could even just type “Los Angeles” and scroll through the
results.
Alternatively, use the up and down arrows on the keyboard to move through the full list. To
travel to an airport, click on it once in the list pane to highlight it (causing a grey box to appear
around it), then click the Go to This Airport button.
Note that if the aircraft is moved to an area that does not have any scenery installed, it will
end up on a runway which is hovering above the ocean down below. This is referred to as “water
world” and it is covered in detail in Appendix F, Water World.
For a full explanation of the airport identifiers used in X-Plane, see the X-Plane Airport and
Navigation Data site’s FAQ for X-Plane Users.
5.2.1 Other Ways to Choose a Location

You do not have to choose a location for your flight using the list of world airports. You can have
X-Plane choose a random location near you by moving the mouse to the top of the screen, clicking
Location, and selecting Get Me Lost. You can also choose a location visually from the 3-D globe
by selecting the Planet Map from the Location menu. The controls in the bottom right corner of
this dialog box move your view of the globe as follows.
The large round button spins the globe up, down, left, or right, depending on where along its
edge the button is clicked. The buttons below this each have two small triangles. On the left is the
button to zoom out, and next to it (labeled with two larger triangles) is the one to zoom in. Below
the zoom buttons is the center on acft button, which, when clicked, centers the map view on the
aircraft.
Clicking a location on the planet map will transport the aircraft to the airport nearest where
the map was clicked. To close the window without relocating the craft, click one of the Xs in the
top corners or press the Enter key.
5.3 Changing the Environment

The X-Plane environment consists of weather, time of day, and date, each of which can be modified
at will.
5.3.1 Setting the Weather

X-Plane’s weather simulation is highly configurable and remarkably realistic. Weather in X-Plane
can be set in four ways. The first, and most complicated, is to simply set the weather uniformly
(and statically) for the whole world. This is the way most people set the weather in older versions
of X-Plane. New in Version 10 is the ability to set randomly generated, highly plausible weather
patterns based on a few parameters such as cloud coverage, intensity, and temperature. Using a
similar system, you can manually “paint” weather patterns using the mouse, indicating where you
want cloud systems to be. Finally, you can download the real-world weather from the Internet and
have X-Plane reproduce it.
5.3. CHANGING THE ENVIRONMENT 51
Figure 5.4: Selecting the Weather option from the Environment menu [Full size →]
Figure 5.5: Setting the cloud coverage for the whole world [Full size →]
To edit the weather settings, bring down the menu by moving the mouse to the top of the
screen. Click Environment, then click Weather, as in Figure 5.4.
5.3.1.1 Setting Uniform, Static Weather for the Whole World

To set static weather for the world, first open the Weather dialog box from the Environment menu.
There, select the large radio button at the top of the window labeled “set weather uniformly for
the whole world.” Here, there are portions of the window devoted to clouds, wind, precipitation,
thermals, and water conditions.
In the upper left of the window, cloud types as well as the top and base levels for three different
cloud layers can be set (as seen in Figure 5.5). These heights are measured in feet above mean sea
level (MSL).
The pane below the basic cloud configuration has a number of buttons, labeled cat-III, cat-II,
cat-I, n-prec, and so on. These are quick-set buttons, and pressing them will automatically set
some general weather conditions.
• Cat-III sets the weather up for a Category-III ILS approach. These are extremely low in-
strument conditions, with basically zero ceiling and visibility.
• Cat-II sets the weather up for a Category-II ILS approach, with terribly poor ceiling and
visibility.
• Cat-I sets the weather up for a Category-I ILS approach, with poor ceiling and visibility.
• N-prec sets the weather for a non-precision approach, with a 3 mile visibility and a 400 foot
ceiling.
• MVFR sets the weather marginal VFR flying conditions, with about four miles of visibility
and a 1,500 foot ceiling.
• VFR sets the weather to good visual flight rule conditions—clear, sunny skies.
• CAVOK sets the weather to clear and visibility OK. Typically pilots refer to this as “CAVU”—
Clear And Visibility Unlimited.
Below the quick-set buttons is a set of sliders. Click these and drag them to change their setting.
The visibility slider adjusts what its name suggests, measured in statute miles.
The precipitation slider sets the level of precipitation. Depending on the temperature around
the airplane and in the clouds where it is formed, this will be in the form of rain, hail, or snow.
The thunderstorms slider adjusts the tendency for convective activity. The weather radar map
in the lower-right of the window shows where the cells are forming. Flying into these cells results
in heavy precipitation and extreme turbulence. The turbulence is great enough that in reality,
airplanes can fly into thunderstorms in one piece and come out in many smaller pieces.
Taking helicopters into these icing and thunderstorm situations is interesting because their very
high wing-loading on their rotor and the fact that the rotor is free teetering causes them to have
a pretty smooth ride in turbulence. They are still not indestructible, though, and they are subject
to icing on their blades just like an airplane.
The turblnc (turbulence) slider automatically sets all the sliders in the center of the screen
that control the wind and turbulence. Drag this slider down to the left and hold it there for a few
seconds to set all of the wind and turbulence to zero for a smooth flight.
Next, in the bottom left corner of the window, the temperature at the nearest airport and
the barometric pressure (air pressure) at sea level can be set. Keep in mind that the “standard
atmosphere” is 59◦ F (15◦ C) and 29.92 inches mercury (1013 millibars).
The middle column of this window controls three wind layers. Each layer has an altitude, wind
speed, shear speed, shear direction, and turbulence associated with it. X-Plane will use the high,
middle, and low altitude settings to interpolate between the layers. The circles to the right of each
altitude setting change the direction from which the wind is coming. Click and drag near the edge
of the circle and the wind will come from the direction that you let go of the mouse button (for
instance, for wind moving from the south to the north, click the very bottom of the circle and
release the mouse button there).
Enter the thermal tops, thermal coverage, and thermal climb rate in the upper right of
this window. These controls are mainly used when flying gliders. In addition to thermals, X-Plane
also runs air up and down the terrain as wind blows into mountains, simulating the effects that real
glider pilots have to keep in mind and try to take advantage of. Try setting the wind at 30 knots
or better at a right angle to a mountain range and running along the upwind side of the mountain
range in a glider—you should be able to stay aloft on the climbing air if you stay pretty low. Drift
to the downwind side of the mountain, though, and an unstoppable descent is assured!
The runway conditions drop-down box is found on the right side of the window, directly
beneath the thermals controls. Conditions can be set to clean and dry, damp, or wet, and wet
and damp conditions can be either patchy or uniform. At low enough temperatures, as in real life,
a wet runway will become an icy one. This control is automatically modified when increasing the
amount of precipitation.
Beneath the runway conditions is the wave height and wave direction for bodies of water.
Changing the wave height, in feet, will also modify the wave length and speed.
5.3. CHANGING THE ENVIRONMENT 53
Finally, beneath the runway conditions is a visual representation of the weather X-Plane gener-
ated based on your parameters. Clicking the Regenerate weather now button will cause X-Plane
to generate a new weather system with those same parameters.
5.3.1.2 Setting Randomly-Generated, Realistic Weather

By far the simplest way of generating weather is to use weather that you exercise only a small degree
of control over. In this case, X-Plane creates a weather system with some amount of uncertainty in
it, allowing you some control over the features of the weather system without bogging you down in
the details.
To use this randomly generated weather, first open the Weather dialog box from the Environ-
ment menu. There, select the large radio button at the top of the window labeled set random
and only semi-controlled weather patterns.
In the left side of the window now are five sliders. These are as follows:
• Coverage, which controls the amount of cloud coverage in the weather system. With the
slider all the way to the left, there will be no clouds at all; with it all the way to the right,
there will be full cloud coverage.
• Intensity, which controls the degree of storminess to the weather system. With the slider all
the way to the left, there will be no storms, whereas with it all the way to the right, there
will be a great deal of storms.
• Temperature, which controls the probability of encountering icing or thunderstorms. With

the slider all the way to the left, the weather will be very cold, with a high probability of
icing. With it all the way to the right, the weather will be hot, with a higher probability of
encountering thunderstorms.
• System size, which sets the size of the weather systems in the area. With this all the way
to the left, there will be many small systems. With it all the way to the right, there will be
only a few large systems.
• Randomness, which controls how closely the weather matches the parameters you set. With
this all the way to the left, it will match very closely to what you specified. With it all the
way to the right, the incidence of random changes is greatly increased.
After setting the sliders as you want them, click the Regenerate weather now button to
have X-Plane create a weather system with those characteristics. Close the Weather window and
you’ll be ready to fly.
5.3.1.3 Drawing or Adding to Weather Patterns by Hand

You can add to an existing weather pattern, or create a completely new one, using your mouse to
specify the location and intensity of clouds.
To do this, open the Weather window from the Environment menu and select the large radio
button in the top of the window labeled paint weather patterns by dragging the mouse.
Here, the largest pane in the window represents the airspace around your aircraft. You can click
and drag anywhere in this box to have X-Plane randomly generate clouds there. Drawing clouds
twice in the same area will increase the intensity of the clouds there. Finally, at any time, you can
click the Clear weather button to clear all weather features in your area.
When you’ve finished drawing the weather patterns, close the Weather window and you’ll be
ready to fly.
5.3.1.4 Downloading Current Real-World Weather from the Internet

The final method of setting the weather in X-Plane is to download the weather from the Internet.
To enable this, first open the Weather dialog box from the Environment menu. There, select the
large radio button at the top of the window labeled grab real weather from the net. Check
the box labeled Download Real Weather file ‘METAR.RWX’ from the net. X-Plane will
automatically download the weather in your current location, and it will set a timer to re-download
weather in one hour. If you want to download weather at some other time, you can always come
back to this window and press the Download right now button.
5.3.2 Setting the Date and Time

The date and time in X-Plane can be set by first moving the mouse to the top of the screen (causing
the menu to appear), clicking Environment, then clicking Date & Time. Dragging the top slider
changes the time, given as both local and Zulu time (that is, Greenwich Mean Time or UTC).
Changing the date, the second slider, will accurately track changes in the length of days and nights
within X-Plane. For instance, there are fewer daylight hours in December than in June in North
America, as in the real world.
If the local time offset from GMT in your location is not what X-Plane expects, you can modify
it using the correction from GMT, measured in hours.
Finally, you can check the always track real date and time box to keep X-Plane in sync
with the date and time set in your operating system.
5.4 How to Fly

When flying for the first time (both in X-Plane and the real world), it’s a good idea to use a
relatively simple aircraft. The Cessna 172 is an excellent choice in this regard, a fact attested to by
the millions of real-world pilots trained in this model. For instructions on opening an aircraft, see
the section “Opening an Aircraft” of this chapter.
Before beginning, be sure you have configured your flight controls, if applicable, per the section
“Configuring Flight Controls” of Chapter 4. If you are not using flight controls, you will have to fly
with the mouse. In this case, there will be a small white plus sign (+) in the center of the screen. If
only this cross is visible, with no white box around it, X-Plane is indicating that the pilot’s “hand”
is not on the stick. This means that the mouse is free to move anywhere without impacting the
flight controls. To grab the stick (and thus take control of the aircraft), click the left mouse button
in the vicinity of the little white cross and a white box will appear around the cross. The mouse
button should not be held down, only clicked once to turn the box on (i.e., to grab the stick) and
again to turn the box off (to release the stick). When the box is visible, the pilot’s hand is on the
stick and any movements of the mouse within the box will position the flight controls accordingly.
Thus, moving the mouse directly below the cross will command some up elevator (causing the plane
to climb) and not will not impose any roll commands (which should keep the aircraft from changing
its bank). Likewise, keeping the mouse lined up exactly with the cross but deflecting it to the right
a bit will cause the plane to bank to the right without altering its pitch.
To take off, the airplane must first be located at the end of a runway. X-Plane relocates the
craft here whenever the program opens, an aircraft is loaded, or the location is changed. To take
5.5. USING THE INSTRUMENTS AND AVIONICS 55
off in the Cessna 172, slowly advance the throttle, then release the brakes (for instance, by using
the ‘b’ key) when the throttle reaches its halfway point. Continue to advance the throttle and be
ready to feed in some right yaw (using the right rudder or the twist on the joystick, if applicable)
as the airplane accelerates. The tendency to turn to the left is normal in single engine aircraft due
to the turn of the propeller.
Don’t worry if it takes a few tries to learn how to keep the aircraft on the runway—a Cessna
can take off in the grass just fine. If the airplane turns off the runway as it’s accelerating, just keep
on going. Normally, the pilot will rotate (that is, apply some up elevator by pulling back on the
yoke or stick) at about 60 knots in the Cessna 172. Once the aircraft leaves the ground, push the
stick forward a bit to momentarily level off and allow the airplane to build speed. Once the craft
reaches 80 knots or so, pull back gently on the stick again and resume climbing. Building airspeed
before climbing this way will help keep the plane from stalling.
Note that if a crash occurs that damages the airplane too badly, X-Plane will automatically open
a new airplane and place it at the end of the nearest runway (which in some cases may be a grass
strip). If the impact is only hard enough to damage the airplane without necessarily destroying it,
the aircraft will just sit there and smoke. If this happens, you will need to move your mouse to the
top of the screen, click Aircraft, then click Open Aircraft to get things fixed. If only it were so easy
in the real world!
5.5 Using the Instruments and Avionics

When using the forward cockpit view, the mouse can be used to control the instruments in the
panel, just as the pilot’s hand would be used to manipulate the instruments, switches, and other
controls.
To operate a button, just click it and release. To operate a switch, do the same to change its
position. For example, to bring the landing gear down (on planes that are able to), click with the
landing gear switch. Of course, this control will look different in different aircraft. Keep in mind
that the ‘g’ key could also be used or a joystick button could be assigned to toggle the gear.
To turn knobs, move the mouse to the “plus” or “minus” side, whichever is necessary, and click
to move the knob. Click repeatedly for greater movements.
To easily see the controls within the cockpit that the mouse can operate, open the Instructions
dialog box from the About menu and check the box labeled Show mouse click regions in the
cockpit. This will draw a thin yellow square around the areas of the instrument panel that can be
manipulated with the mouse.
To get a quick description of the instruments in the panel, open the Instructions dialog box
from the About menu and check the box labeled Show instrument instructions in the cockpit.
After closing the window, you’ll see a description of an instrument whenever you hold the mouse
over it.
5.5.1 A Note on Radio Tuning

Avionics in most airplanes utilize twin concentric knobs that allow the pilot to tune the radio.
For example, there will typically be a large knob on the surface of the radio, with a smaller knob
sticking out from the large one. The large knob controls the integer (“counting number”) portion
of the frequency and the smaller knob controls the decimal portion.
For example, imagine that the COM1 radio (the communications radio number 1) needed to
be tuned to 128.00 MHz. In a real aircraft, the pilot would turn the big, lower knob until 128 was
visible in the window, then turn the small, upper knob until 00 was visible.
X-Plane is set up the same way. When hovering the mouse in the vicinity of one of the radio
tuning knobs, two counter-clockwise arrows will appear on the left of the knob and two clockwise
arrows on the right. The arrows closest to the knob are physically smaller than those on the outside-
these adjust the decimal portion of the frequency. The outside arrows are larger and adjust the
integer portion of the frequency.
5.6 Using the Views

You can change your view of the aircraft using the View menu, or by using the keyboard shortcuts
listed in the View menu. Note that the characters in brackets to the right side of each menu option
are the keyboard shortcuts for each view. For example, to select the forward view, one would press
the W key, and to turn the view 45◦ left, one would press the Q key.
Using the menus or the appropriate keyboard shortcuts, you can select a view or modify your
current view. The controls for view selection affect the type of view that you are using. For instance,
you may choose to be in the cockpit, looking forward at the instrument panel, or you may select
an external view, perhaps where you look at your aircraft from the point of view of the nearest air
traffic control tower. View selection controls are described in Table 5.2.
After selecting some view, you can modify the view using translation (moving left, right, fore,
or aft), rotation (spinning about your point of focus), or zoom (changing the angle of view). The
default keyboard shortcuts for these effects are listed in Table 5.1.
In previous versions of X-Plane, zooming was used in place of the much more appropriate trans-
lation view modification effect (unlike translation, zooming changes the field of view significantly).
Hence, in the 3-D cockpit mode, if you want to move your view closer to the instrument panel, you
would press the ‘.’ (period) key, not the ‘=’ key. To move your view farther from the instrument
panel, you would press ‘,’ (comma), not the ‘–’ key. Furthermore, you cannot zoom out past your
camera’s actual location; you have to translate backward (using the ‘,’ key) to move farther away.
There are two modes for the 3-D cockpit. Clicking “3-D Cockpit Command Look” in the View
menu, or pressing Shift + 9 on the keyboard will activate the 3-D cockpit without tying the direction
of your view to the mouse. This means the only way to move your view around is by using the
View menu, the keyboard shortcuts listed in Table 5.2, or a button assigned to your flight controls.
This mode leaves the mouse free to click on things in the cockpit without affecting where you are
looking. On the other hand, clicking “3-D Cockpit Mouse Look” in the View menu, or pressing
Shift + 0 (Shift + zero) will tie the direction of your view to the mouse. In this case, moving the
mouse to affect some control in the cockpit will also change where you are looking.
In either 3-D cockpit mode, you can use the keyboard shortcuts or the View menu itself to
change where you are looking. These are described in Table 5.1.
5.7 Letting X-Plane Fly Your Aircraft

X-Plane has the capability to fly an aircraft using artificial intelligence (AI). The AI system can
both take the aircraft off and fly it around.
To enable the AI’s control of the craft, move the mouse up to the top of the screen to bring
down the menu bar. Click Aircraft, then select A.I. Flies Your Aircraft.
With the AI controlling the airplane, you are free to experiment with the different views and
also to practice raising and lowering the aircraft’s landing gear, flaps, and so on. Furthermore, this
is an excellent way to practice tuning radios.
5.8. GETTING QUICK INSTRUCTIONS 57
Movement Name Keyboard Shortcut Effect

Translate left, right, up, and Corresponding arrow key Shifts the view a bit in the di-
down rection you choose
Translate fore and aft ‘,’ (aft) and ‘.’ (fore) Shifts the view toward the
front and rear of the aircraft,
respectively
Rotate left, right, up, and q (left), e (right), r (up), and Spins the view in the corre-
down f (down) sponding direction
Zoom in and out ‘=’ (zoom in) and ‘-’ (zoom Simple zooming
out)
Table 5.1: Controls for the 3-D cockpit view
In addition, you can have the AI control your view by opening the Aircraft menu and selecting
A.I. Controls Your Views.
5.8 Getting Quick Instructions

If you need simple, sparse instructions on performing common tasks in X-Plane, you can move
your mouse to the top of the screen, click the About menu, and click Instructions. Here, the tabs
labeled “Flight Controls,” “Cockpit Control,” “Keyboard,” “ATC,” and “Tech Support” describe
these common questions relating to the X-Plane simulator.
Checking the Show mouse click regions in the cockpit box will display a yellow box
around the controls in the cockpit which can be manipulated with the mouse. Checking the Show
instrument instructions in the cockpit box will display a short description of an instrument
when you hold the mouse over it.
5.9 Saving and Sharing Your Flight

X-Plane offers a number of ways to save and share a particular flight. These are:
• Situations, which note the current location, environmental conditions, and properties of the
aircraft in use.
• Replays, which store a “recording” of your entire flight since the last load. These are only
replayable in X-Plane, but they have the advantage of being made up of X-Plane data points
storing your aircraft’s location, so you can change your views during the replay.
• Movie files, which begin and end when you toggle them and record exactly what you see on
the screen. These have the advantage of being playable in Quicktime and other video players.
• Screenshots, which store an image of a single moment in your flight and are viewable on any
computer.
In each case, you can save the flight and replay it yourself, or you can upload it to the Internet
for others to see.
Inside the Cockpit

Name of View Keyboard Shortcut Effect
Forward with panel w Shows the instrument panel as though you
were in the cockpit, facing forward
Forward with HUD Shift+w (i.e., ‘W’) Shows a front-facing view with no instrument
panel, only a head-up display (HUD)
Forward with nothing Ctrl+w Shows a front-facing view unencumbered by
an instrument panel or any other display
3-D cockpit, using key Shift+9 (i.e., ‘(’) Displays the in-cockpit view of the 3-D in-
commands to look strument panel, where available. Uses trans-
around lation and rotation commands (listed in Ta-
ble 5.1) to move and look around.
3-D cockpit, using the Shift+0 (i.e., ‘)’) Displays the in-cockpit view of the 3-D in-
mouse to look around strument panel, where available. Uses trans-
lation commands (listed in Table 5.1) to
move around and the mouse to look around.
Outside the aircraft
Name of View Keyboard Shortcut Effect
Moving spot Shift+1 (i.e., ‘!’) Moves the camera with your craft’s initial
velocity.
Hold at location Shift+2 (i.e., ‘@’) Fixes the camera’s location some distance in
front of your craft’s initial position.
On the runway Shift+3 (i.e., ‘#’) Fixes the camera’s location on the ground at
the nearest runway.
Circling the aircraft Shift+4 (i.e., ‘$’) Moves the camera with the aircraft, allowing
you to use the rotation and translation keys
(see Table 5.1) to circle the craft.
Tower view Shift+5 (i.e., ‘%’) Fixes the camera at the nearest ATC tower.
Ride-along Shift+6 (i.e., ‘ˆ’) “Mounts” a camera to the aircraft, which can
then be moved using the rotation and trans-
lation keys (see Table 5.1).
Track fired weapon Shift+7 (i.e., ‘&’) Causes the camera to follow any fired
weapon.
Chase Shift+8 (i.e., ‘*’) Sets the camera directly behind the aircraft.
Table 5.2: Controls for view selection

5.9. SAVING AND SHARING YOUR FLIGHT 59
5.9.1 Creating a Reusable Situation

A “situation” in X-Plane is a file readable only by X-Plane. It is essentially a “snapshot” that makes
a note of the aircraft you are using, its position in the air or on the ground, its payload, the amount
of fuel in its tanks, and so on. It also includes information on the environmental conditions of the
flight, including cloud conditions, temperature, and time of day. Furthermore, any other aircraft
you have loaded will also be noted.
To create a situation (a .sit file), move the mouse to the top of the screen, click File, then click
Save Situation.
By default, X-Plane saves your situation file to the following directory:
X-Plane 10/Output/situations/
This is especially useful for quickly loading and practicing a specific type of approach, or for
recreating a specific combat situation. The situations can even be sent to other X-Plane users; all
they need is the .sit file that you created.
To load a situation in order to fly it again, open the File menu and click Load Situation. Navigate
to the location of your .sit file and double click on it to load the situation.
5.9.2 Creating an Replay

A “replay” in X-Plane is essentially a “movie” of your flight which notes the aircraft’s location
and attitude at each time step, beginning at the last time you loaded an aircraft or traveled to an
airport and ending at the moment you click the “Save Replay” button. This file is only viewable
in X-Plane, but because it is so complete, you can change your view as much as you like while
replaying. This is in contrast to a Quicktime movie, which records only what you see while you’re
recording.
These files, like situations, can be shared with and replayed by any X-Plane user.
To create a replay (a .smo file), move your mouse to the top of the screen, click File, and click
Save Replay. By default, X-Plane will store your replay in the following directory:
X-Plane 10/Output/replays/
To load a replay, open the File menu as before, but select Load Replay. Navigate to the location
in which you saved your .smo file and double click on it to load.
5.9.3 Creating a Movie

In addition to file types readable only by X-Plane, you can also create more universally readable
movies. The downside to these Quicktime movie (.mov) files is that they record exactly what you
see when you record them. You will toggle the recording on, fly around a bit, then toggle the
recording off; the resulting .mov file will contain what you saw on your screen while flying around.
To record these movies, you need Quicktime 6 or later installed on your computer. After record-
ing the movie, you can edit it in a program like iMovie (installed on new Macs by default) or
Windows Live Movie Maker.
Before recording your movie, you may want to set up the Quicktime movie’s specifications. Do
so by moving the mouse to the top of the screen, clicking on the File menu, then clicking Quicktime
Movie Specs. In the dialog box that appears, you can set:
• the frame rate of the movie (measured in frames per second)

• the resolution of the movie (width only; height will be calculated automatically from the
width), and
• the time multiplier, indicating how many frames to skip when doing a time lapse video.
In choosing a frame rate, know that videos produced at 15 frames per second will look jittery.
Film and television use 24 and 30 frames per second, respectively. In choosing a resolution, keep in
mind that an x-resolution of 720 pixels is 720p, and that increasing beyond the resolution you’re
using on your screen will give no benefit.
To begin recording a movie, either press Ctrl + Spacebar or open the File menu and click Toggle
Movie. After flying whatever you intended to record, turn the recording off by either pressing
Ctrl + Spacebar or clicking Toggle Movie from the File menu. A file called “X-Plane [aircraft
name] [number ].mov” will appear in your top-level X-Plane directory, found by default on the
Desktop.
Your Quicktime file can be played back on virtually any computer. If Quicktime is not installed
on the computer you want to play the file on, you can get it from the Quicktime Download page
on Apple’s web site.
5.9.4 Capturing a Screenshot

The final method of saving or sharing your flight is to take a simple screenshot. This can be done
either by pressing Shift + Spacebar, or by moving your mouse to the top of the screen, clicking the
File menu, and clicking Take Screenshot. The captured image (a .png picture file) will appear in
your top-level X-Plane directory, located by default on your Desktop.
These .png screenshots can be opened and viewed on any modern computer, regardless of
whether X-Plane is installed.
5.10 Visualizing and Replaying Your Flight

In addition to being able to save replays for later playback (as described in the section Saving
and Sharing Your Flight above), you can visualize your flight up to your present location in a few
different ways. You can view your flight path on X-Plane’s 2-dimensional maps, or you can toggle
the 3-D flight path and view that path in the main simulator. If you want to replay your flight,
beginning at the last time you loaded an aircraft or location, you can use X-Plane’s built-in replay
function, which has shuttle controls to play, rewind, and fast forward, just like you would expect.
Finally, if you want to visualize the path taken by a real-world aircraft, you can format its flight
data recorder information in a way that X-Plane can interpret. X-Plane will treat the data in the
FDR file just like a regular replay, so you can play, fast forward, and rewind as usual.
5.10.1 Viewing the Path Taken by Your Aircraft

The path taken by an aircraft up to its current location can always be seen as a trail behind the
aircraft when you toggle the 3-D flight path on. To do so, either press Ctrl + P on the keyboard,
or move the mouse to the top of the screen, click on the Aircraft menu, and click Cycle 3-D Flight
Path. Doing so once will cause X-Plane to display a violet-striped line behind the aircraft. Cycling
the flight path again will put that line into perspective by drawing lines intermittently from the
flight path to the ground. Cycling it once more will give a semi-transparent black bar extending
from the flight path to the ground (seen in Figure 5.6). Cycling the path once more will turn off
the flight path lines.
5.10. VISUALIZING AND REPLAYING YOUR FLIGHT 61
Figure 5.6: Visualizing a 3-D path [Full size →]
To reset the 3-D flight path, either press Alt + P on the keyboard, or open the Aircraft menu
and click Reset 3-D Flight Path. The flight path will also be reset whenever you load an aircraft
or a location.
A similar effect can be had in 2 dimensions, from an overhead perspective, by opening the Local
Map dialog box. The aircraft’s flight path since the last reset will be shown on each of the map
views. For more information on using the navigation maps here, see the section “Using X-Plane’s
Navigation Maps” of Chapter 7.
5.10.2 Using the Built-In Replay

You can replay your flight, from the last time you loaded an aircraft or a location up to your
current location, by toggling the replay mode on. This can be done either by pressing Ctrl + ‘r’ or
by opening the Aircraft menu and clicking Toggle Replay Mode. In the top of the window, you will
see shuttle controls to (listed left to right):
• stop playback,
• play backward faster than real-time,
• play backward at real-time speed,
• play backward slower than real-time,
• pause playback,
• play forward slower than real-time,
• play forward at real-time speed,
• play forward faster than real-time, and
• stop playback.
Additionally, you can click the shuttle slider and drag it to quickly jump around in the playback.
To return to the flight, either press Alt + ‘,’ or open the Aircraft menu and click Toggle Replay
Mode once again.
5.10.3 Replaying a Flight from a Flight Data Recorder (FDR)

The final method of visualizing a flight is to load a information from a flight data recorder (FDR).
This is useful primarily in accident investigation and re-creation. In that case, you would need to
take the data from the “black box” of the aircraft you’re interested in and put it in a format that
X-Plane can read. That format is the Flight Data Recorder (or .fdr) format. This is plain text file
formatted in a particular way, which means that you can make your own FDR files relatively easily
from the data you have and then re-create the flight in X-Plane.
The FDR file specification can be found in X-Plane by moving the mouse to the top of the
screen, click on the File menu, and clicking Load Flight Data Recorder File. The lower half of this
dialog box lists both the preceding data values (file version, aircraft, tail number, and so on) that
are required, as well as each of the 100 or so data values that each instant in the flight data can
have. These include the time stamp of that instant, the aircraft’s location (in latitude, longitude,
and altitude), the indicated airspeed, and more.
You can use the scroll bar above the file specification box to look through all the data values,
and you can mouse over individual values to get a description of them. Note that even if your
instantaneous “snapshots” of the aircraft do not use a given parameter (such as the engine pressure
ratio, perhaps), your data file must use a dummy value as a placeholder.
After formatting your data for X-Plane as an FDR file, you can load it using the Load Flight
Data Recorder File dialog box. Click the silver square labeled “Flight Data Recorder file,” navigate
to your file, and double click on. Then, when you close the dialog box, you will be greeted with the
standard replay shuttle buttons with which you can replay the flight.
5.11 Viewing the Behind-the-Scenes Flight Model

X-Plane models flight by breaking an aircraft down into a number of little pieces and finding the
forces acting on each piece. By clicking the Show Flight Model option from the Special menu (or
by pressing Ctrl + M on the keyboard) and moving to an outside view (e.g., by pressing Shift +
8 on the keyboard for the chase view), you can actually see all the forces calculated on each piece
of the craft. With some wind and turbulence turned on in the Weather screen, you can even see
the pseudo-random velocity vector flow field around the airplane. The velocity vectors seen are the
actual vectors interacting with the aircraft, and the force vectors (the green lines coming off the
plane) are the actual forces acting on the plane—nothing is just for show here. This is the actual
work that X-Plane is doing.
The green bars extending from the control surfaces of the aircraft indicate how much lift each
section of the surface is generating; longer bars represent greater force. The red bars, likewise,
represent drag, and the yellow bars represent lift from vertical control surfaces.
5.11. VIEWING THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES FLIGHT MODEL 63
Figure 5.7: Illustrating the forces acting on a Baron 58 [Full size →]

Chapter 6
Advanced Simulation in X-Plane
X-Plane is the most comprehensive and powerful flight simulator available. As such, there are a
great number of features available that go beyond simply taking off, flying around, and landing.
These include tools like the logbook and checklists, and features like equipment failures and damage
modeling.
6.1 Keeping a Logbook

Each time an aircraft is flown in X-Plane, the program logs the flight time in a digital logbook. By
default, X-Plane creates a text file called “X-Plane Pilot.txt” in the X-Plane 10/Output/logbooks
directory. Inside this text file are the following details of previous flights:
• Dates of flights
• Tail numbers of aircraft
• Aircraft types
• Airports of departure and arrival
• Number of landings
• Duration of flights
• Time spent flying cross-country, in IFR conditions, and at night
• Total time of all flights
To see your logbook, open the About menu and click Logbook. You can load a logbook by
clicking the Choose Pilot Logbook button and navigating to your logbook, or you can create a
new logbook using the New Pilot Logbook button.
6.2 Working with the Air Traffic Control

X-Plane 10’s air traffic control (ATC) system is powerful and realistic when you want to practice
real-world protocols, but completely unobtrusive when you want to just fly. Although AI aircraft
(i.e., those that you have turned on using the Aircraft & Situations dialog box) will always follow the
guidance of the air traffic control, they will also work around your aircraft if you are not interacting
with the ATC.
Note: You will only be able to hear the air traffic control chatter if ATC audio output is
enabled; to confirm this is the case, open the Settings menu, then click Sound.
65
66 CHAPTER 6. ADVANCED SIMULATION IN X-PLANE
Figure 6.1: The Flight Plan dialog box [Full size →]
All interactions with the air traffic control occur via the on-screen ATC menu. To access this
menu, simply press Enter (Return) on the keyboard. Alternatively, you can use the Joystick &
Equipment dialog box to program your joystick to access this menu.
In order to make a request or hear from the air traffic controllers, you must have your COM
1 radio tuned to the proper frequency for the request. Filing a flight plan is independent of any
controller, so that option is always available. However, once the flight plan is filed, you must tune
to the Clearance Delivery, Ground, or Tower frequencies (if available, in that order as in the real
world) to get clearance for takeoff. After you get clearance, you tune to the Ground (if available)
or Tower frequencies for your taxi clearance. When you get to a hold short line, ground control
will hand you off to tower and then you’ll receive handoffs throughout the rest of your flight when
necessary; keep tuning to the proper frequency to continue to receive air traffic control guidance.
Note that the Local Map dialog box (opened from the Location menu) will display the relevant
frequencies for any airport that you mouse over.
As in the real world, any ATC interaction begins with filing a flight plan. Thus, the first time
you press Enter during a flight, the only option available will be “File Flight Plan.” Click that line
of text to display the Flight Plan dialog box (shown in Figure 6.1).
You must enter your departure and arrival points, in the same ID format as the points appear
in the X-Plane maps, as well as your planned cruising (enroute) altitude. Pressing the File button
will register your flight plan with the X-Plane air traffic control.
With your flight plan filed, you can bring up the ATC menu again by pressing Enter, then click
“Request Clearance.”
The following is a brief walkthrough on how to depart the KSEA area:
1. Use the Open Aircraft dialog to load a small aircraft, such as the Cessna 172, as this will be a
quick flight. Use the Select Global Airport dialog box to position yourself at a gate at KSEA.
2. Press Enter on the keyboard to bring up the ATC menu, then select “File Flight Plan.”
3. Enter KSEA as the departure ICAO, set your altitude to 3,000 feet, and then set your
destination to KBFI. We’re going to leave the route blank because we want to go direct,
but you could also enter any NDB/VOR/FIX/Airway to get real routings. When you’re done
click File.
6.3. CHANGING HOW AND WHERE THE AIRCRAFT STARTS 67
4. You now have a flight plan in the system. If you wish to change your mind, you can return
to the flight plan dialog in the same way and update it.
5. You need an IFR clearance before you can proceed, so tune your COM1 radio to 128.00, the
clearance delivery frequency at KSEA. Now bring up the ATC menu and you’ll see an option
for “Request Clearance.” Click that and you’ll receive your clearance.
6. Bring up the ATC menu and read back your clearance. You must read back all instructions
from ATC. Note that if you hear a beep when you click on any ATC menu items, that means
that another aircraft or controller is busy talking on the radio. As in the real world, you must
wait for them to finish talking before you can talk. You must also respond within a reasonable
amount of time or they will repeat their instructions.
7. Once you’ve received and read back your clearance, tune the COM1 radio to 121.70, the
frequency for the ground controller at KSEA. You must call ground to receive a taxi clearance.
Acknowledge his clearance and then look around you. You’ll see yellow arrows painted on the
ground directing you to where he wants you to go. Where the arrows stop, you must also stop
and wait for further instructions.
8. Taxi to where the arrows are taking you. When you reach the side of the runway, ground
will instruct you to contact the tower. Read back the command and then tune to the tower
frequency of 119.90.
9. Go to the ATC menu and check in with this new controller. This is how you tell the controller
you’re now on his frequency waiting for his command. If there are aircraft using the runway,
you will have to wait until they are done. This may take some time! At that time, Tower will
call you and instruct you to cross 16L/34R and to taxi to 16C/34C. Respond and then start
taxiing.
10. Upon reaching your departure runway, you will again have to wait until the runway is safe to
use. Tower will then call you and give you your takeoff clearance. Respond and then depart.
Unless otherwise instructed, fly the runway heading up to your cleared altitude of 3,000 feet.
11. At some point, you will be handed off to the center controller on 124.20. Check in with him
in the same manner. Continue on your heading and altitude and eventually he will begin
vectoring you to an approach at your destination of KBFI. Follow his commands.
12. Once the approach is set up, you will be handed off to KBFI’s tower for landing and the
process continues until you’ve arrived back at the gate.
6.3 Changing How and Where the Aircraft Starts

By default, X-Plane starts your aircraft with engines running on a runway, ready to take off. If you
prefer to start your own engines or taxi from an apron (also called a ramp) onto the runway, you
can do so by opening the Settings menu and clicking Operations & Warnings. There, in the pane
labeled “Startup,” you can un-check the box labeled Start each flight with engines running
or check the box labeled Start each flight on ramp.
Note that not all aircraft models have engine starters built in to their instrument panels. If yours
does not, you can either add one in Plane Maker, or you can simply come back to the Operations
& Warnings menu and toggle the engine start box again.
6.4 Using a Checklist

X-Plane has the ability to display a simple checklist in the simulator. This checklist must be stored
somewhere in the X-Plane directory as a plain text (.txt) file.
To load a check list, open the Special menu and click Open Checklist for Use. After locating
your .txt file, you will see the checklist displayed line-by-line in the upper center of the screen. You
can use the forward and back buttons to go to the next and previous lines, respectively. When you
finish, you can go back to the Special menu and click Toggle Checklist for Use to hide the file.
If you prefer to see the text file all at once (rather than line-by-line as in the checklist view),
you can select Open Text File for Viewing from the Special menu, then use Toggle Text File for
Viewing to turn it on and off.
6.5 Changing How Damage Affects the Aircraft

By default, X-Plane does not remove parts of the aircraft when the craft’s limits are exceeded.
However, by opening the Operations & Warnings dialog box from the Settings menu, you can
enable the following (located in the bottom left of the window):
• remove flying surfaces in over-speed, which causes X-Plane to remove wings and other
flight surfaces when you exceed the aircraft’s maximum speed by some percentage.
• remove flying surfaces in over-G, which causes X-Plane to remove wings and other
flight surfaces when the g-forces acting on the aircraft exceed the rated maximum by some
percentage.
• remove flaps in over-Vfe , which causes X-Plane to remove the flaps if they are extended
at speeds greater than Vfe (the maximum flap extension speed, noted with a white arc on the
airspeed indicator).
• remove gear doors in over-Vle , which causes X-Plane to remove the gear doors if they
are extended at speeds greater than Vle (the maximum gear extension speed).
Additionally, with the reset on hard crash box checked, X-Plane will automatically reload
your aircraft at the nearest airport in the event of a fatal crash.
By making these damage modeling features optional, X-Plane allows both easy, possibly unre-
alistic flights, as well as much more accurate, more challenging simulations.
6.6 Setting the Weight, Balance, and Fuel

To modify an aircraft’s weight, balance, and fuel, move your mouse to the top of the screen, click
on the Aircraft menu, and click Weight and Fuel.
The dialog box that appears will have the Fuel/Payload tab selected. Here, you can use the
sliders to set the aircraft’s center of gravity, the weight of its payload, and the amount of fuel in its
tanks.
An airplane can typically stay in the air at very high weights, but it will have a hard time getting
off the ground initially. Additionally, moving the center of gravity forward (left on the slider) makes
the plane behave more like a dart, and moving the center of gravity aft (right on the slider) makes
the plane more unstable, and potentially unflyable. Flying a plane with the center of gravity far aft
6.7. SIMULATING EQUIPMENT FAILURES 69
is like shooting an arrow backwards—it wants to flip around with the heavy end in the front and
the fins in the back.
Since X-Plane calculates in real time how the plane is burning fuel, and the engines need fuel to
run, and the weight distribution of the fuel is considered in the simulation, the fuel put on board
does indeed matter.
6.7 Simulating Equipment Failures

X-Plane can simulate countless aircraft systems failures. The Equipment Failures window, found
in the Aircraft menu, lets you experience what happens when important pieces of equipment don’t
do what they’re supposed to in flight.
The World/MTBF tab of the Equipment Failures window controls things outside of the airplane,
such as bird strikes and airport equipment failures.
With the World/MTBF tab selected, the mean time between failure setting is visible at
the bottom of the screen. When the use mean time between random failures box is checked,
the simulator will use the value to the right to determine how often, on average, each piece of
equipment will fail. For instance, if the MTBF is set to 1000 hours, X-Plane will decide that each
piece of hardware in the plane has about a one in a thousand chance of breaking each hour. Since
the airplane has a few hundred pieces of hardware, that means a failure might occur every 5 to 20
hours or so.
The other tabs in this window let the user set the frequency of such failures, or command specific
failures, for hundreds of different aircraft systems.
The general failure categories are:
• Equipment
• Engines
• Flying Surfaces
• G1000 (if you have a real G1000 attached to X-Plane)
• All Instruments, and
• NAVAIDs
6.8 Enabling a Smoke Trail

A smoke trail, as might be used by an aerobatic airplane in an airshow, can be enabled behind your
aircraft by opening the Aircraft menu and clicking Toggle Puff Smoke. This control is assigned to
the ‘x’ key by default.
Chapter 7
Navigation, Autopilots, and Flying on

Instruments
People often call customer support asking about some of the more advanced things that pilots
do in the real world—how to navigate, use an autopilot, or fly on instruments. This chapter will
cover these areas in a fair amount of detail, but we recommend that, if you are really serious about
mastering these facets of aviation, you head down to a local general aviation airport and hire a
CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) for an hour or two. If you have a laptop, by all means bring it
along and have the instructor detail these things in practice. There is much more to review here
than this manual could ever cover, so a quick search for information on the Internet will also be of
assistance.
7.1 Navigating
Navigating over the Earth’s surface is as easy as knowing where your aircraft is and how to get
to where you want to go. This isn’t quite as easy as it sounds. Imagine that you’re flying IMC
(Instrument Meteorological Conditions—that is, in the clouds). You have no reference to the ground
and are flying over St. Louis in the middle of an overcast layer. As you might guess, this looks pretty
much identical to the view you would have flying over Moscow on instruments. The only way to
know that you’re over St. Louis and not over Moscow is to be able to navigate. Navigation is the
art of being able to tell where your aircraft is and how to make it go where you’d like.
7.1.1 Air Navigation History

For the first 30 years or so the best pilots could do was to fly around using what is known as
dead reckoning—that is, by confirming their position on a map as they flew, then looking ahead on
the map to see when they should be crossing some known landmark, like a road, railroad, town, or
lake. Then, the pilots periodically compared their progress over the real ground with the anticipated
progress over the map to see how things were going. This really is as simple as it sounds. The biggest
trick is to always know where you are and what to be looking for next.
Dead reckoning isn’t too difficult to get down. Shortly after college, Austin Meyer (the author of
X-Plane) and Randy Witt once piloted a Cessna 172 from Kansas City to Chicago after their second
(of two) navigation radios gave up and died in mid-flight. Clearly this is not a typical experience in
the aviation world, but it’s a reminder that a pilot always needs to be thinking ahead and preparing
for contingencies. That particular aircraft was a well-used rental and NAV 1 was dead from the
71
72 CHAPTER 7. NAVIGATION, AUTOPILOTS, AND FLYING ON INSTRUMENTS
time the plane was signed out. When NAV 2 died, there were no operable navigation radios at all,
and the two had to use dead reckoning to fly the last 300 or so miles of their trip, which was most
of the journey. They would never have allowed themselves to get into that position had the weather
been poor or had they been flying on instruments—they would have refused to take off into such
conditions given the failure in the first radio. But since the weather was nice, they took off with
only one navigation radio and were soon flying along on none. X-Plane allows you to practice this
all you like.
During the heyday of dead reckoning, the US Mail pilots that were flying on overnight mail
routes actually flew from bonfire to bonfire that had been set up along their route, using the light
to guide their progress. Just imagine what this must have been like-flying in the mid 1920s in an
open cockpit biplane (a Curtis Jenny, perhaps) trying to keep your goggles clean (the engines of
the day routinely sprayed oil) and to stay out of the clouds on a cold winter night, flying along a
chain of bonfires to your next destination. Keep in mind these were not closed-cockpit aircraft and
the pilot continually had the outside air blowing all around. Wow! I hope you dressed warm and
that you are good at folding maps in 80 MPH slipstreams of below-freezing air.
In the mid 1930s or so a system was devised where pilots would fly using aural navigation—that
is, they would tune into a new radio system such that if they were to the left of their course they
would hear a series of dashes (long radio tones, as in Morse code), and if they were to the right of
their course they would hear a series of dots (short tones). If on course, they would hear nothing
as the signals containing the dashes and dots canceled each other out. The closer the pilot was to
the transmitter the smaller the “Cone of Silence,” as it was known, was and the more defined the
boundaries between the dashes, dots, and silence. As the aircraft’s range from the station increased,
the central target (where no signals were heard) was much wider and weaker. Imagine sitting in a
cold, dark cockpit listening intently to try and hear over the drone of the engine and whistle of the
wind on your wires to see which side of the cone you were on. Airline pilots used this system for
years to successfully carry passengers all around the world. This type of navigation is not modeled
within X-Plane.
7.1.2 Modern Means of Navigation

We now come into the area of “modern” navigation based on ground-based transmitters. You’ll
need a good set of charts if you’d like to actually fly in X-Plane using any of these methods, but the
software does contain a full set of (mostly) current charts as well. To see them go to the Location
menu, click Local Map, and select one of the five map types that are available in the tabs on top
of the window. They are:
• High-Speed—used as high altitude charts by jet and turbo-prop pilots.

• Low Enroute—used as low altitude IFR navigation charts by piston (propeller) aircraft pilots.
One of the most important aspects of this chart is the addition of Vector Airways that are
virtual highways in the sky that connect different VOR transmitters. These vector airways
are given names (for example, V503) and are used by air traffic controls to assign clearances.
• High Enroute—very similar to Low Enroute but only showing the information of interest to
pilots flying above 18,000 feet and making use of vector airways that are much longer, based
on larger VORs with longer ranges.
• Sectional—the standard chart that VFR pilots are familiar with. This map has ground ele-
vation data superimposed via a shaded background and information about the airports that
are local to that area.
7.1. NAVIGATING 73
• Textured—a nice map that is not used in pilot circles. This overlays the X-Plane terrain
images on top of the navigation charts to give the user a good bird’s eye view of the area he
or she is flying over.
Note that the maps in X-Plane are covered in more detail in the section “Using X-Plane’s
Navigation Maps” later in this chapter.
7.1.2.1 NDB Navigation

Non-directional beacons were invented in the late 1940s and consisted of a ground-based transmitter
that broadcast a homing signal. A receiver in the aircraft could be tuned to one of about 300 discrete
frequencies in order to tune to a particular transmitter. With that done, an instrument in the panel,
called the NDB (or, interchangeably, the ADF, or Automatic Direction Finder), would point to the
station. This system was a large technological leap forward over the older aural-based system and
was actually quite easy to use, provided that the wind was perfectly calm or blowing in a direction
that was exactly parallel to the direction of flight. Of course, that pretty much never happened,
resulting in the aircraft always being blown off course. As a result, the pilots had to watch the trend
of movement in the needle over a relatively long period of time (e.g., five to eight minutes) to see
if the angle to the station that was depicted stayed constant or was changing. If it was changing,
it indicated that the aircraft was being blown off course and the pilot had to turn in the opposite
direction by half of the deviation. After holding that heading for another five minutes or so the
pilot would again observe the relative trend of the needle and correct again.
The trick was to fly as straight as possible from one station to another. Although nearly aban-
doned in the United States, NDBs are still used in many countries around the world. It is for this
reason that they are modeled in X-Plane.
An ADF is located in the instrument panel for the Cessna 172 that comes with X-Plane. It is
located above the mixture knob and trim wheel, below the dual VOR CDIs.
7.1.2.2 VOR Navigation

Very High Frequency Omni-Range navigation (or VOR) was introduced in the mid-1950s and
represented a large improvement in navigation accuracy. Instead of an NDB that a pilot could
home in on, the VOR sends a series of 360 discrete little carrier tones on a main frequency. Each
of these carriers is oriented along a different radial from the station, one of 360 just like a compass
rose. Thus, when you are flying along and tune in the main VOR frequency, you then fine tune your
navigation display to tell you which of the 360 radials you are flying and also whether the transmitter
station is in front of or behind you. Impressive! This finally gave pilots a means of telling exactly
where they were in relation to a fixed spot on earth, and this system “automatically” adjusted for
any winds aloft as the system would quickly display any error in track that the plane was making.
This error could only be due to two factors—either the pilot was not flying along the radial or the
wind blew the airplane slightly off of course. VORs are modeled in X-Plane.
VOR stations appear in the X-Plane maps as relatively large circles with notches around the
edges, similar to a clock face. They are tagged with boxes that have their name and identifier on
the left side and their VOR frequency on the right.
A specific type of VOR, a VOR-DME, combines the lateral guidance (that is, guidance left and
right) of a VOR with the distance guidance of a DME (distance measuring equipment). Another
type of VOR beacon, a VORTAC, is also found throughout the X-Plane maps. This is a transmit-
ter that combines both VOR and TACAN features. TACAN (or tactical air navigation) provides
special information to military pilots similar to a civilian VOR. However, for our purposes, this is
functionally identical to a VOR-DME.
To use a VOR, first look on either the sectional or low enroute map to find a VOR station that
is fairly close the location of the aircraft. Tune this station’s frequency into your VOR radio (in the
Cessna 172SP, the NAV 1 radio is found on the far right of the cockpit, beneath the GPS). The
little red ‘nav1’ or ‘nav2’ flags on your CDI (Course Deviation Indicator) should disappear (keep
in mind that you may have to hit the flip-flop switch to bring the frequency you just tuned into
the active window). Now rotate the OBS (Omni Bearing Selector) knob so that the vertical white
indicator is perfectly centered in the little white circle in the middle of the instrument. At this
point the vertical white line should be truly vertical and your aircraft is either on the radial from
the station indicated by the arrow at the top or at the bottom of the instrument, labeled TO or
FR. Now fly that exact heading and you will be flying directly towards or away from the station,
as shown by the little white up or down (to or from, respectively) arrow that will be on the right
side of the CDI, either above or below the white horizontal glide slope indicator.
Note that the vertical reference line indicates how far you are from your desired radial. To the
left and right of the center target (the little white circle) the instrument displays five dots or short
lines on each side. Each of these dots indicates that you are two degrees off of course. Thus, a
full scale left deflection of the vertical reference indicates that the aircraft is 10 degrees right of
the desired radial if the station is in front of you. Of course, if the station is behind you then the
instrument is reverse sensing and that means that a left deflection indicates that the plane is to
the left of your desired radial-yes, it can be a bit confusing. Just remember that as long as you
are flying towards the VOR, the line on the CDI indicates the location of the desired course. If the
reference line is on your left that means that your target radial is on your left.
With only one VOR you really don’t know where you are along a given radial, only that you are
in front of or behind a station and what radial you’re on. You have no way of telling if you are 15
miles from the station or 45 miles away. The solution is to use two VOR radios so that you can plot
your location from two different VORs. If you can determine that you’re on the 67th radial from
the OJC VOR and on the 117th radial from the MKC VOR then you can pinpoint your location
on a sectional chart. Don’t forget that you’ll have to work fast as your position will be continually
changing.
7.1.2.3 ILS Navigation

An ILS (or instrument landing system) differs from a VOR in that it provides both lateral guidance
(left and right, as given by a VOR) and vertical guidance (up and down). An ILS is therefore made
up of two transmitters, a localizer and a glideslope—one for each component of the navigation.
Both these components of the ILS are tuned together; tuning an ILS is just like tuning in to a
VOR.
A localizer (LOC) transmitter provides lateral guidance to the centerline of a runway. It works
by sending out two signals on the same channel, one of which modulates at 90 Hz and the other of
which modulates at 150 Hz. One of these signals is sent out slightly to the left of the runway, while
the other sent out slightly to the right of it. If an aircraft is picking up more of the tone modulated
at 150 Hz, it is off to the left. If it is picking up more of the tone modulated at 90 Hz, it is off to the
right. The course deviation indicator (or CDI) in the instrument panel then indicates this so that
the pilot can correct it. When both tones are being received in equal amounts, the craft is lined up
with the physical centerline of the runway. These LOC transmitters do not necessarily have to be
paired with a glideslope (thus making them an ILS).
An ILS combines the functionality of a localizer, which provides lateral guidance, with a glides-
7.2. USING X-PLANE’S NAVIGATION MAPS 75
lope transmitter, which provides vertical guidance to the runway. The glideslope beacon functions
similarly to the localizer, sending out two tones that have the same frequency, but different mod-
ulations. The difference is that the glideslope tells the plane that it is either too high or too low
for its distance from the runway. The pilot uses this information to push the craft’s nose up or
down as needed. The ILS will allow a pilot to fly on instruments only to a point that is a half mile
from the end of the runway at 200 feet (depending on the category of the ILS) above the ground.
If the runway cannot be clearly seen at that point the pilot is prevented from executing a normal
landing. If this happens, the pilot in real life is required to fly a “missed approach” and climb back
to altitude in order to try again or go somewhere else.
7.1.2.4 GPS Navigation
The Global Positioning System was first created for the US military and introduced to the public in
the early 1990s. This system consists of a series of satellites orbiting the Earth which continuously
send out signals telling their orbital location and the time the signal was sent. A GPS receiver can
tune in to the signals they send out and note the time it took for the signal to travel from the
satellite to the receiver for several different satellites at once. Since the speed at which the signals
travel is known, it is a simple matter of arithmetic to determine how far from each satellite the
receiver is. Triangulation (or, rather, quadrangulation) is than used to determine exactly where the
receiver is with respect to the surface of the Earth. In an aircraft, this information is compared with
the onboard database to determine how far it is to the next airport, navigational aid (NAVAID),
waypoint, or whatever. The concept is simple, but the math is not. GPS systems have turned the
world of aviation on its head, allowing everyday pilots to navigate around with levels of accuracy
that were unimaginable 20 years ago.
There are several types of GPS radios available, and about 11 of these have been modeled in
X-Plane. While the intricate workings of the various GPS radios are complex, the basic principals
are pretty consistent. If you want to navigate from one location to another just launch X-Plane,
open the aircraft of your choice, then press the “Direct To” key on the GPS radio (sometimes shown
as the symbol −→ D ) and enter the airport ID you’d like to navigate to. On the Garmin 430, entry
is performed using the control knob on the bottom right of the unit. Use the outer knob to select
which character of the identifier to modify, the use the inner knob to scroll through the characters
(see the section “A Note on Radio Tuning” for more information on using the knobs).
The databases in these radios are not limited simply to the identifiers of the airports you may
wish to fly to. You can enter the IDs for any VOR or NDB station you’d like, or the name of any
waypoint or fix you’d like to go to.
7.2 Using X-Plane’s Navigation Maps

X-Plane’s navigation maps come in a few different varieties, each of which is useful for a different
situation. These navigation maps are found in the Local Map window, which is launched from the
Location menu. This window is divided into five tabs, corresponding to the five different maps
available: Hi-Speed, Low Enroute, High Enroute, Sectional, and Textured. Note that a discussion
of the elements of these maps (the ILS, VOR, and NDB beacons) can be found above, in the section
“Modern Means of Navigation.”
The Hi-Speed map gives maximum speed. It is useful for scrolling around the map quickly,
changing NAVAIDS quickly, or, if the “Draw Cockpit on Second Monitor” option is checked in the
Rendering Options screen, using the map drawn on one monitor while flying in the cockpit drawn
on the other. In this case, the fastest map available is desirable so that the simulation is not slowed
down too much.
The Low Enroute map displays the aircraft’s general area, along with airports, airport and
beacon frequencies, ILS indicators, and low level airways.
The High Enroute map is essentially the same as the Low Enroute view, but it displays the
medium and high level airways instead of low level ones.
The Sectional map is designed as a VFR sectional chart. It shows airports, airport and beacon
frequencies, ILS indicators, roads, rivers and railway lines. It also uses a terrain shader to depict
the ground types and elevations.
The Textured map displays airports, roads, rivers and railway lines. In addition, the terrain
shader used on this map gives an overview of the landscape as it would be seen from the cockpit
in X-Plane. This view uses the actual scenery installed in X-Plane as its basis.
To move your view around a map, you can either click the map and drag (similar to the way
you click and drag in many PDF readers), or you can use the arrow keys on the keyboard. You can
also zoom in and out using the ‘-’ and ‘=” keys.
Additionally, you can use the viewing control buttons located in the bottom right corner of the
map window to alter your view. Below these checkboxes is a round button used to move the map
view up, down, left, or right, depending on where along its edge the button is clicked. The buttons
below this each have two small triangles. On the left is the button to zoom out, and next to it
(labeled with two larger triangles) is the one to zoom in.
Finally, below the zoom buttons is the center on acft button, which, when clicked, centers
the map on your aircraft.
7.2.1 Additional Features of the Maps

You can control what features of the map are shown using the checkboxes on the right side of the
screen. These boxes toggle things like clouds, NAVAIDs, aircraft, and airports.
At the top of the Local Map window is a row of check boxes which are used to put the map in
different “modes.”
The Instructor Operator Station (IOS) check box puts the map in Instructor Operator
Station mode, causing this copy of X-Plane to run as an instructor’s console. Once this box is
checked, the left side of the Map window will show a number of buttons with which to control the
flight. The instructor can enter an airport ID in the space in the upper left. With an ID entered,
the aircraft can be placed at the airport or on an approach to it.
The Instructor’s Console can be used either when drawing a two monitors from the same video
card or in a multi-computer X-Plane setup. This is a great feature for flight training because the
instructor can fail systems, set date and time, change the aircraft location, etc. for maximum
training benefit. The buttons along the left of this window allow the instructor to perform all these
tasks from one location, while maintaining a watch on the X-Plane pilot using the map view.
The edit check box opens a number of buttons on the left side of the screen which are used
to edit the various NAVAIDS on the map. Just click on a NAVAID to modify it, or to add a new
one. For a detailed description of the format used in the NAVAIDs on the Local Map, please see
the X-Plane Airport and Navigation Data website.
Enabling the slope check box will display a vertical profile of the flight at the bottom of the
map screen.
The inst check box makes a few key flight instruments appear within the map screen in order
to see what the plane is doing. By default, opening the map screen pauses the simulation, though,
so in order to use the map (and thus these gauges) in real time, one of the following must be done:
7.3. USING THE AUTOPILOT 77
1. The draw IOS on second monitor option must be enabled in the Rendering Options
screen, thus setting one of your available monitors to be used for flight and the other for an
instructor operator station.
2. A networked IOS must be set up using the IOS tab of the Net Connections window.
Note that more information on these multi-monitor simulator setups can be found in the section
“Using an Instructor Operator Station (IOS) for Flight Training” of Chapter 8.
Toggling the 3-D check box will shift the map into 3-D mode. When in 3-D view mode, the
arrow keys can be used to rotate the view and the ‘+’ and ‘-’ keys to zoom in and out.
Finally, the shut down tailwind ILSs box can be used to ignore the ILSs which are not
aimed in the direction you need. This is useful if you are flying at an airport with ILSs in opposite
directions on the same frequency, as is the case at KLAX.
7.3 Using the Autopilot

One of the most frequently asked questions from X-Plane users is the same as one of the most
frequently asked questions from real-world pilots—how do I work the autopilot? Many pilots have
simply never taken the time to learn—you might even find some real-world airliners jerking left
and right for five minutes or so as the flight crew tries to figure out how to program and engage
their autopilot.
The autopilot works by implementing a number of different functions. These include, among
other things, the ability to automatically hold a certain pitch, altitude, heading, or speed, or to fly
to a commanded altitude.
The following autopilot functions are available in X-Plane. A button for enabling each of these
can be chosen for an aircraft’s panel using the Panel Editor of the Plane Maker software. In the
Panel Editor, these buttons are located in the “autopilot” instrument folder. Each of these is a
mode that the aircraft can be put into simply by clicking that button on the panel with the mouse.
The actual use of these autopilot functions will be discussed in the following sections.
The WLV button is the wing leveler. This will simply hold the wings level while the pilot
figures out what to do next.
The HDG button controls the heading hold function. This will simply follow the heading bug
on the HSI or direction gyro.
The LOC button controls the localizer flight function. This will fly a VOR or ILS radial, or to
a GPS destination. Note that the GPS may be programmed by the FMS (discussed in the section
“Flying an FMS Plan”).
The HOLD button controls the altitude hold function. This will hold the current or pre-selected
altitude by pitching the nose up or down.
The V/S button controls the vertical speed function. This will hold a constant vertical speed
by pitching the aircraft’s nose up or down.
The SPD button controls the airspeed function. This will hold the pre-selected airspeed by
pitching the nose up or down, leaving the throttle alone.
The FLCH button controls the flight-level change function. This will hold the pre-selected
airspeed by pitching the nose up or down, adding or taking away power automatically. This is
commonly used to change altitude in airliners, as it allows the pilot add or take away power while
the airplane pitches the nose to hold the most efficient airspeed. If the pilot adds power, the plane
climbs. If they take it away, the plane descends. SPD and FLCH are almost identical functions in
X-Plane—they both pitch the nose up or down to maintain a desired aircraft speed, so adding or
taking away power results in climbs and descents, respectively. The difference is that if you have
auto-throttle on the airplane, FLCH will automatically add or take away power for you to start
the climb or descent, whereas SPD will not.
The PTCH button controls the pitch sync function. Use this to hold the plane’s nose at a
constant pitch attitude. This is commonly used to just hold the nose somewhere until the pilot
decides what to do next.
The G/S button controls the glideslope flight function. This will fly the glideslope portion of
an ILS.
The VNAV button controls the vertical navigation function. This will automatically load al-
titudes from the FMS (Flight Management System) into the autopilot for you in order to follow
route altitudes (as discussed in the section “Flying an FMS Plan” below).
The BC button controls the back course function. Every ILS on the planet has a little-known
second localizer that goes in the opposite direction as the inbound localizer. This is used for the
missed approach, allowing you to continue flying along the extended centerline of the runway, even
after passing over and beyond the runway. To save money, some airports will not bother to install
a new ILS at the airport to land on the same runway going the other direction, but instead let
you fly this second localizer backwards to come into the runway from the opposite direction of the
regular ILS! This is called a back course ILS.
Using the same ILS in both directions has its advantages (e.g., it’s cheaper), but there’s a
drawback: the needle deflection on your instruments is backwards when going the wrong way on
the ILS. Hit the BC autopilot button if you are doing this. It causes the autopilot to realize that
the needle deflection is backwards and still fly the approach.
Note that HSIs do not reverse the visible needle deflection in the back-course; you must turn the
housing that the deflection needle is mounted on around 180 degrees to fly the opposite direction.
Note also that the glideslope is not available on the back course, so you have to use the localizer
part of the procedure only.
7.3.1 Turning It On and Off

Before using the autopilot, it needs to be turned on. The autopilot power switch is labeled “Flight
Director Mode,” or simply “FLIGHT DIR.” It has OFF, ON, and AUTO modes.
If the flight director is OFF, nothing will happen when you try to use the autopilot. If it is ON,
then the autopilot will not physically move the airplane controls, but will rather move little target
wings on your artificial horizon that you can try to mimic as you fly. If you do this, you will be
following the guidance that the autopilot is giving you, even though you are the one actually flying.
The flight director, then, is following whatever autopilot mode you selected, and you, in turn, are
following the flight director to actually fly the plane. If the flight director is set to AUTO, then the
autopilot servos will actually fly the airplane according to the autopilot mode you have selected.
In other words, turning the flight director ON turns on the brains of the autopilot, displaying
the commands from the modes above on the horizon as little magenta wings you can follow. Turning
the Flight Director switch to AUTO turns on the servos of the autopilot, so the plane follows the
little magenta wings for you without you touching the stick.
Therefore, if you have a flight director switch, make sure it is in the right mode for the type of
autopilot guidance you want—none, flight director only, or servo-driven controls.
When you first turn the flight director to ON or AUTO, it will automatically engage in the
pitch sync and wing leveler modes, which will simply hold the craft’s current pitch and roll until
some other mode is selected. If the system is turned on with less than 7 degrees of bank, however,
the flight director will assume you want the wings level, and it will automatically do so for you.
With the flight director set to the right mode, you can engage the autopilot functions by simply
pressing the desired button in the instrument panel. To turn off an autopilot function, simply hit
its button once again. When all other autopilot functions are turned off, the autopilot will revert
to the default functions—pitch and roll hold modes.
To turn the autopilot off altogether, simply turn the FLIGHT DIR switch to OFF. Alternatively,
assign a key or joystick button to turn it off in the Joystick & Equipment dialog box of X-Plane.
7.3.2 Using the Controls

With the autopilot turned on (either to the flight director-only mode or the servo-driven control
mode), you are ready to use the autopilot functions. We will discuss when it would be appropriate
to use some of the most common functions.
7.3.2.1 Wing Leveler and Pitch Sync

Hit either the wing leveler (WLV) or the pitch sync (PTCH) to hold the current roll and pitch
attitude, respectively. This is useful when switching between autopilot functions.
7.3.2.2 Heading, Altitude, Vertical Speed, Speed Hold, Flight Level Change, and
Auto-Throttle
Hit the heading hold (HDG), altitude hold (ALT), vertical speed (V/S), speed hold (SPD), flight
level change (FLCH), or auto-throttle (ATHR) buttons and the autopilot will maintain whatever
values are entered into their respective selectors. For the sake of smooth transitions, many of these
values will be set by default to your current speed or altitude at the moment the autopilot function
buttons are hit.
If you want the autopilot to guide the aircraft to a new altitude, you have to ask yourself: Do
you want the airplane to hold a constant vertical speed to reach that new altitude, or a constant
airspeed to reach it? Since airplanes are most efficient at some constant indicated airspeed, climbing
by holding a constant airspeed is usually most efficient.
Regardless, we’ll start with the vertical speed case.
Imagine you are flying along at 5,000 feet and you hit ALT, causing the autopilot to store your
current altitude of 5,000 feet. Now, though, you want to climb to 9,000 feet. You would first dial
9,000 into the altitude window. The plane will not go there yet; before it will, you must choose how
you want to get to this new altitude.
If you decide to get there via a constant vertical speed, hit the V/S button and the plane
will capture your current vertical speed (possibly 0). Then, simply dial the VVI (vertical velocity
indicator) up or down to set how fast your will reach your target of 9,000 feet. When you get to
9,000 feet, the autopilot will automatically disengage the vertical speed mode and drop right back
into altitude mode at your new altitude.
Now, to get to your new altitude via a given airspeed (as airliners do), after dialing in 9,000
feet in the altitude window, you would hit the FLCH or SPD buttons. This will cause the plane to
pitch the nose up or down to maintain your current indicated airspeed. Now, simply add a dose of
power (if needed) to cause the nose of the plane to rise (which the autopilot will command in order
to keep the speed from increasing). When you reach 9,000 feet, the autopilot will leave speed-hold
mode and go into altitude-hold mode, holding 9,000 feet until further notice.
As you can see, both the airspeed and vertical speed modes will be maintained until you reach
the specified altitude, at which point the autopilot will abandon that mode and go into altitude-
hold mode. The same thing will happen with the glideslope control. If the glideslope is armed (that
is, lit up after you pushed the button), then the autopilot will abandon your vertical mode when
the glideslope engages. This will also happen with the localizer control. If the localizer is armed,
the autopilot will abandon your heading mode when the localizer engages. This is referred to as
“capturing” the localizer or glideslope.
The key thing to realize is that the vertical speed, flight level change, and heading modes are all
modes that command the plane the moment they are engaged. Altitude, glideslope, and localizer,
on the other hand, are all armed (in standby) until one of the modes above intercepts the altitude,
glideslope, localizer, or GPS course.
An exception to the above rule is altitude. If you hit the altitude button, the autopilot will be
set to the current altitude. This is not the way a smart pilot flies, though. A smart pilot with a
good airplane, a good autopilot, and good planning will dial in the assigned altitude long before he
or she gets there (including the initial altitude before take off) and then use vertical speed, flight
level change, or even pitch sync to reach that altitude.
Here is how the system in a real plane would be used (and thus how the system in X-Plane is
best used):
1. While on the ground, short of the runway, the you are told to maintain, say, 3,000 feet. You
are given a runway heading and is cleared for takeoff.
2. You enter 3,000 feet into the ALTITUDE window and a runway heading (for instance, 290)
into the HEADING window.
3. You take off.
4. In the initial climb, around maybe 500 feet, you set the flight director to AUTO. The autopilot
notes the plane’s current pitch and roll and holds the plane steady.
5. You hit the HDG button, and the plane follows the initial runway heading.
6. You hit either the V/S, FLCH, or SPD button. The autopilot automatically notes the
current vertical velocity or airspeed, and the plane flies at that airspeed or vertical velocity
until it gets to 3,000 feet, where it levels off.
7. You are given a new heading and altitude by ATC.
8. You dial the new heading into the window, dial the new altitude into its window, and then
hit V/S, FLCH, or SPD to let the plane zoom to the new altitude.
9. You are cleared to the plane’s destination or some other fix. You enter those coordinates into
the GPS and the HSI source is set to GPS (since the autopilot follows the HSI). You hit the
LOC button. The autopilot will then follow the HSI needle deflection laterally as it climbs
to the new altitude.
Do this, and you can get where you are going.
7.3.2.3 Pitch Sync with the Pitch Sync Joystick Button

You can assign a joystick button to the pitch sync (PTCH) control. When pressed, this button
will make the autopilot match its settings to whatever you are doing as you fly the plane. Then,
when you release the pitch-sync joystick button, the autopilot servos will take hold of the yoke and
maintain the vertical speed, altitude, airspeed, or pitch that you were just flying.
Instructions on assigning a joystick button to this function can be found in Chapter 4, in the
section “Assigning Functions to Buttons.”
Here’s how the pitch sync works. Imagine you are at 3,000 feet. The flight director is in altitude
mode, so the autopilot is holding 3,000 feet for you. You hit the pitch sync joystick button. When
you do this, the autopilot servos release control of the yoke and let you fly. You fly to 3,500 feet
(with the autopilot still in altitude mode) and let go of the pitch sync joystick button. At that point,
the autopilot will hold 3,500 feet, since you were in altitude mode at 3,500 feet at the moment you
let go of the pitch sync button.
If you are in vertical speed mode, the autopilot will try to maintain the vertical speed that you
had at the moment you released the pitch sync button.
If you are in speed or level change mode, the autopilot will try to maintain the airspeed (by
pitching nose up or down) that you had at the moment you released the pitch sync button.
So, when you press the pitch sync joystick button, the autopilot turns the servos off and lets
you fly, but when you release the button, the servos take hold and try to maintain the speed,
altitude, or vertical speed that you had at the moment when you released the pitch sync joystick
button. The same applies to bank angle. If you are in wing level or heading mode when you hit
pitch sync, then the plane will try to maintain the bank angle you had at the moment you released
the button.
Note, once again, that if the plane’s bank angle is less than 7 degrees, the autopilot will just
level the wings, as it assumes that you want nose level.
7.3.2.4 Localizer and Glideslope
These are the options that nobody can figure out, partially because the right frequencies and HSI
mode must be selected to use them, and partially because they will do nothing until they capture
the approach path they are looking for. For that to happen, some other mode (any of the ones
discussed above) must be engaged to do that.
These modes capture an ILS, VOR, or GPS course, so they must obviously be able to fly either
NAV 1, NAV 2, or GPS. The autopilot only knows which of these three to use when you tell
it which one. This is done with the button labeled “NAV-1 NAV-2 FMC/CDU” (with filename
“but HSI 12GPS” in the Panel Maker’s HSI folder), which is the HSI source selector.
Note: In some aircraft, this is instead a three-position switch labeled SOURCE.
The autopilot will fly whatever course the HSI is showing (if you have one), so you need to
decide what you want the HSI to show: NAV 1, NAV 2, or GPS (labeled FMC/CDU, for Flight
Management Computer, which gets its signal from the GPS). Once you decide, use this button to
tell the HSI what to display. The autopilot will then fly to that course.
If you set this button to NAV 1, the HSI will show deflections from the NAV 1 radio, and the
autopilot will fly VOR or ILS signals from the NAV 1 radio when you hit the LOC or G/S buttons.
Similarly, if you set this to NAV 2, then the HSI will show deflections from the NAV 2 radio,
and the autopilot will fly VOR or ILS signals from the NAV 2 radio when you hit the LOC or
G/S buttons.
If you set this switch to FMC/CDU, then the HSI will show deflections from the GPS, which
can be set manually or by the FMS, and the autopilot will fly to the GPS destination when you hit
the LOC button. Remember that if you enter destinations into the FMS, they will automatically
feed into the GPS, so the autopilot will follow them if you select LOC.
To repeat: be sure to send the right signal (NAV 1, NAV 2, or GPS) to the autopilot when
using the LOC and G/S (lateral and vertical navigation) buttons.
The LOC button will immediately begin lateral navigation (navigating to a GPS destination)
once engaged. It will, however, only track a VOR radial or ILS localizer after the needle has come
off of full-scale deflection. This means that if you have a full-scale ILS needle deflection (simply
because you have not yet gotten to the localizer) the localizer mode will simply go into armed
(yellow) mode, and will not do anything yet to the plane. Your current heading or wing level mode
(if engaged) will remain in force (or you can fly by hand) until the localizer needle starts to move
in towards the center. Once that happens, the LOC will suddenly go from armed mode (yellow) to
active mode. This causes the autopilot to start flying the plane for you, disengaging any previous
modes.
The reason that the localizer function disengages previous modes is that you will typically fly
heading mode until you get to the localizer, and as soon as the localizer needle comes in, you
want the autopilot to forget about heading and start flying the localizer down to the runway.
Alternatively, you may simply fly the plane by hand to the localizer (with no autopilot mode on
at all) and have the autopilot take over once the ILS needle starts to come in, indicating you
are entering the localizer. Interestingly, this is much the same as the altitude modes. Just as the
localizer is armed by hitting the LOC button, and you can do anything until the localizer arms
take over lateral control, the altitude is also armed (always and automatically) and you can fly any
vertical speed, airspeed, or pitch (manually or on autopilot) until the altitude is reached, at which
point the autopilot will go into altitude hold mode.
Just like the lateral navigation (that is, the localizer function), the vertical navigation (glides-
lope, or G/S mode) will not do anything until the glideslope needle starts to move. Unlike with the
localizer, though, the glideslope function won’t do anything until the glideslope needle goes all the
way through the center position. It does this because you typically have the airplane on altitude
hold until you intercept the glideslope, at which point the plane should stop holding altitude and
start descending down to the runway. In other words, the glideslope function will automatically go
from armed to active once the plane hits the center of the glideslope.
Let’s now put the LOC and G/S functions into use to fly an ILS.
7.3.3 Flying an ILS Using LOC and G/S

To fly an ILS, do the following while still far away from the ILS and below glideslope:
1. Hit the ALT button to hold the current altitude.
2. Enter a heading in the heading window to be followed until you intercept the ILS.
3. Hit the HDG button to hold that heading.
4. Hit the LOC button. It will go to “armed” (yellow).
5. Hit the G/S button. It will also go to “armed” (yellow).
6. As soon as you intercept the localizer, the LOC button will go from yellow to green, aban-
doning the heading mode to instead fly the localizer.
7. As soon as you intercept the center of the glideslope, the G/S button will go from yellow to
green, abandoning the altitude hold mode to instead fly the glideslope.
8. The autopilot will track you right down to the runway, and even flare at the end, cutting
power if auto-throttle is engaged.
Just as in a real airplane, these things only work well if you:
• intercept the localizer far away (outside of the outer marker) and below the glideslope,
• intercept the localizer at less than a 30◦ angle, and
• hold altitude when you intercept the glideslope.
If you come in above the glideslope, cross the localizer at a wide angle, or intercept the localizer
too close to the airport, the autopilot will not be able to maneuver the airplane for landing (again,
just as in a real plane).
Now that we’ve detailed flying with the autopilot, let’s talk about flying an FMS (flight man-
agement system) plan.
7.3.4 Flying an FMS Plan

To fly a flight management system plan, a few things must happen:
1. You must enter your entire flight plan into the FMS.
2. You have to have the HSI set to GPS, not NAV 1 or NAV 2 (because the autopilot will fly
whatever it sees on the HSI).
3. You must have the LOC button selected ON since that button causes the autopilot to follow
the localizer (or whatever is on the HSI).
4. You must have the FLIGHT DIR switch set to AUTO, so that the servos are running.
5. You must hit the VNAV button if you want the FMS to also load altitudes into the altitude
window.
Do all these things and the plane will follow any FMS plan, assuming, of course, that the plane
you are flying has all this equipment (which of course some do not).
To demonstrate the use of an FMS, we’ll go through the procedure in a typical aircraft (a
Boeing 777). The steps will be similar in any aircraft.
1. Open up the Boeing 777 using the Open Aircraft dialog box. It is found in the Heavy Metal
aircraft folder.
2. The FMS is found on the right half of the screen, near the middle of the panel (it should be
displaying the text “PLAN SEGMENT 01”). Hit the INIT button on the FMS. This gets
the FMS ready to receive a flight plan.
3. Now hit the AIRP button, telling the FMS that you are about to go to an airport.
4. Now enter the ID of the destination airport by hitting the keypad keys with the mouse.
Let’s imagine we are starting at San Diego International Airport (KSAN) and flying to San
Bernardino International (KSBD).
5. If you like, hit the line-select button on the left side of the FMS next to the text “FLY AT
FT” and enter the altitude you want to fly at using the keypad.
6. Now, if you want to do more than just fly to an airport, hit the NEXT button on the FMS
and repeat the steps above for the next waypoint.
There is a back arrow to erase mistakes, as well as VOR, NDB, FIX, and LAT/LON
buttons to enter those types of destinations. The PREV and NEXT buttons will cycle
through the various waypoints in your plan, and the LD and SA buttons will load or save
flight plans if you would like to use them again.
7. Once you have entered the plan into the FMS, take off and set the SOURCE switch for the
HSI (found near the left edge of the panel) to GPS so that the HSI is getting data from the
GPS (rather than the NAV 1 or NAV 2 radios).
8. Move the FLIGHT DIR switch to AUTO so the autopilot servos are actually running, and
hit the LOC autopilot button (at the top of the panel) to follow the HSI lateral guidance
(which was just set to get data from the GPS), with the servos actively flying the plane. If
you entered an altitude into the FMS, you’ll also need to hit the VNAV autopilot button to
track the entered altitude.
9. Sit back and let the autopilot take you to your destination.
7.4 Flying on Instruments

Though for a long time considered impossible in aviation circles, the ability to fly an aircraft through
a large cloud or fog bank relying completely on the aircraft’s instruments was made possible in
the 1920s. Before then, nearly everyone that attempted this had become just another part of the
wreckage, smoldering in a field. Now it is commonplace for even relatively inexperienced pilots to fly
long distances in clouds. An instrument rating only requires 125 hours total flight time—although
it would certainly not be wise for a 130- or 140-hour pilot to attempt an instrument approach in
a 200 ft overcast with 1/2 mile visibility or to take off on a foggy day. Modern gyroscope-based
instrumentation and continual training make it possible to safely fly with reference to only the
instrument panel.
7.4.1 Keeping a Sense of Balance

To begin a discussion on instrument flight, we must first discuss why it is so difficult. It isn’t that the
principles behind flying on instruments are so difficult or that interpreting what the instruments are
telling you is that difficult. Rather, the difficulty lies in believing what the instruments are saying.
Your body had developed a system of balance and equilibrium that has evolved in humans over
millions of years, and forcing your brain to ignore these signals and to believe what the instruments
are telling you is very difficult. To put it bluntly, in a real aircraft, your life depends on ignoring
your feelings and senses and flying based solely on the information in front of you.
This is why it’s so difficult. Your sense of balance comes from three sources within your body.
These are, in order of prerogative, your inner ear, your eyes, and your sense of touch and even
hearing. You should remember from high school that your inner ear is a series of semi-circular
canals that are filled with fluid. They are positioned in your head in different planes and each is
lined with thousands of small hairs. The root of each hair is connected to your nervous system. As
your body changes position in space, the fluid is moved due to momentum. The resulting bending
of these hairs feeds your brain signals that indicate the orientation of your head in space. This
information is continually updated and corrected by what your eyes are sending your brain as
7.4. FLYING ON INSTRUMENTS 85
well as by your sense of touch. While standing stationary on the ground, your ears tell you that
your head is positioned vertically and not moving, your eyes tell you that the ground is stationary
beneath your feet, and the skin on the bottom of your feet tells you that it is standing on the
ground. All of these inputs align to say the same thing-that you’re standing on the ground.
One limitation to your sense of balance is seen when you are accelerating very slowly, or when
you accelerated briefly and have now stopped. Think of a post on a playground that stands vertically
in the sand with a seat affixed to it a couple feet from the ground. It can be extremely disorienting
to sit on the seat, close your eyes, and then have someone spin you at a constant rate. It doesn’t
matter if you’re being spun to the left or the right-what is critical is that you are quickly accelerated
and then kept at a constant angular velocity. When you first begin to spin, your inner ear will detect
that you are accelerating and spinning. Before long, however, the fluid in your ears will stop moving,
since you are no longer accelerating but rather just spinning. Stay like this for a few seconds and
it will fell like you’re just sitting stationary. You may still feel a breeze on your face or hear sounds
“spinning” about you, but your inner ear will be telling your brain that you’re sitting stationary
and your brain will believe it. Now if you’re suddenly stopped, you will instantly feel an incredible
sense of angular acceleration in the opposite direction, like you are being spun wildly the other way.
Open your eyes and they will tell your brain that you are stationary, but the feeling within your
head (a primal, driving sensation) is that you have just started to spin. In scientific circles, this is
called “vertigo,” but the sensation is commonly referred to as being dizzy.
The same thing can happen in a cockpit pretty quickly. Imagine for a moment that there is a
large bank of clouds in front of you on a calm day. With a few passengers on board you can enter
the cloud in a left bank of, say, 20◦ . Then, after entering the cloud very slowly and very smoothly,
you start to bank the aircraft to the right. If you do this slowly and smoothly enough, no one on
board will notice. Before you come out of the cloud, you get to a substantially different attitude
(perhaps banked 30◦ right). The unsuspecting passengers may feel the very beginning of the change
in bank, but they will probably suspect you’re banked to the left. When you suddenly fly through
the other end of the cloud, they’re suddenly in a right-hand turn! While this was fun and harmless
to do to unsuspecting friends in college, it underlines the difficulty that unsuspecting pilots can
find themselves in if they are not careful.
7.4.2 Gyroscopes and Their Application in Flight

The gyroscope was invented many decades before aircraft, but its tremendous implications for flying
were not realized until the mid- to late-1920s. The basic principal that they work on is that if you
take a relatively heavy object and rotate it at a high rotational velocity it will hold its position
in space. You can then mount this stable, rigid gyroscope in an instrument that is fixed to your
aircraft and measure the relative motion of the instrument case (and thus the airplane) about the
fixed gyro. The gyroscope is physically attached to an indicator of some sort, and these indicators
then relay critical information to the pilot concerning the aircraft’s attitude (that is, its orientation
relative to the horizon). There are three primary gyroscopic instruments in the panel. They are:
• the attitude indicator (or AI, normally driven by a vacuum pump on the engine),
• the turn coordinator (or TC, typically electrically driven), and
• the directional gyro (or DG, typically vacuum powered, though possibly electric).
The AI indicates what attitude the aircraft is flying at—how far the nose is above or below the
horizon, as well as how far the wings are banked and in which direction. The TC indicates the rate
of turn—that is, how steep or shallow your bank is in relation to a standard 2 minute turn rate,
and the DG is nothing more than a gyroscopically driven compass that is more stable and accurate
than the old standby, the magnetic (or “whisky”) compass.
7.4.3 The Primary Flight Instruments

There are six primary instruments that have become standard in any instrument panel. Since the
early 1970s, these have been arranged in a standard layout referred to as “the six pack.” They are
laid out in two rows of three instruments each. The top row, from left to right, contains the airspeed
indicator (ASI), the attitude indicator (AI) and the altimeter (ALT). The bottom row contains the
turn coordinator (TC) the directional gyro (DG) and the vertical speed indicator (VSI).
The airspeed indicator shows the speed at which the aircraft is traveling through the air. In its
simplest form, it is nothing more than a spring which opposes the force of the air blowing in the
front of a tube attached under the wing or to the nose of the aircraft. The faster the airplane is
moving the stronger the air pressure is that acts to oppose the spring and the larger the deflection of
the needle from which the pilot reads the craft’s speed. Obviously, it’s quite a bit more complicated
than this, as the pressure exerted by the stream of air varies with the local air density (which
continually changes as the airplane climbs or descends), and the ASI must account for this.
The attitude indicator informs the pilot of his or her position in space relative to the hori-
zon. This is accomplished by fixing the case of the instrument to the aircraft and measuring the
displacement of the case with reference to a fixed gyroscope inside.
The altimeter looks somewhat like the face of a clock and serves to display altitude. This is
measured by the expansion or contraction of a fixed amount of air acting on a set of springs. As the
airplane climbs or descends, the relative air pressure outside the aircraft changes and the altimeter
reports the difference between the outside air pressure and a reference, contained in a set of airtight
bellows.
The turn coordinator measures the rate of turn for the aircraft. The instrument is only accurate
when the turn is coordinated-that is, when the airplane is not skidding or slipping through the
turn. A skid is the aeronautical equivalent to a car that is understeering, where the front wheels do
not have enough traction to overcome the car’s momentum and the front of the car is thus plowing
through the turn. In a car, this results in a turn radius that is larger than that commanded by
the driver. A slip is a bit more difficult to imagine unless you’re a pilot already. It results from an
aircraft that is banked too steeply for the rate of turn selected. To correct the slip, all the pilot has
to do is increase back pressure on the yoke, pulling the airplane ‘up’ into a tighter turn, such that
the turn rate is in equilibrium with the bank angle.
The directional gyro is a simple instrument that points north and thus allows the pilot to tell
which way she or he is flying.
The vertical speed indicator reports the craft’s climb or descent rate in feet per minute. Typi-
cally, non-pressurized airplanes will climb comfortably at about 700 fpm (if the plane is capable)
and descend at about 500 fpm. Descent rates faster than this cause discomfort on the occupants
which is felt in passengers’ ears. Pressurized airplanes can climb and descend much more rapidly
and still maintain the cabin rate of change at about these levels, since the cabin altitude is not
related to the ambient altitude unless the pressurization system fails.
Chapter 8
Special Situations in X-Plane
8.1 Using an Instructor Operator Station (IOS) for Flight Train-

ing
An Instructor Operator Station is a sort of console used by a flight instructor or someone standing in
for an instructor. This console can be used to fail multitudes of aircraft systems, alter the weather
and time of day, or relocate the aircraft. The IOS can be run either on the same computer as
the simulator (using a second monitor), or it can be a separate computer which connects to the
computer used as the simulator either via a local network or over the Internet.
Using one computer it is possible to draw whatever view of the aircraft or panel you wish
in addition to an Instructor Operator Station (IOS), assuming your graphics card has two video
outputs. To enable output of an IOS on your second monitor, open the Rendering Options from
the Settings menu. There, check the “draw IOS on second monitor on same card” box (located in
the Special Viewing Options portion of the window). A second window will appear displaying your
view of your aircraft, and when you close the Rendering Options window, you will have a standard
Local Map dialog box open in the other. Then, simply ensure the IOS box is checked in the upper
right of the window and you will be ready to go. Use the button on the left to load different aircraft,
relocate the aircraft, fail systems, and alter the weather for the “student” pilot.
Note that the mouse cannot be used to fly the aircraft when running an IOS on a second
monitor.
Alternatively, to use a second computer as an IOS. To do so, launch X-Plane on both computers
and open the Net Connections dialog box (found in the Settings menu). There, select the IOS tab.
You need only tell the “master” machine (the one running the simulator, used by the student pilot)
and the IOS how to “talk” to one another. On the master machine, check the box labeled IP of
single student instructor console (this is master machine). Then, enter the IP address of
the computer used as the IOS. Correspondingly, on the computer used as an IOS, check the box
labeled IP of master machine (this is instructor console) and enter the IP address of the
student’s computer.
In both cases, it should not be necessary to change the port number from 49000.
8.2 Flying Gliders

To fly a glider, such as the ASK 21 included with X-Plane 10, you will want to first be towed
aloft by another aircraft. To do so, first load your glider as usual (using the Open Aircraft dialog
box), then open the Aircraft & Situations dialog box. Here, you have two options. The Glider Tow
87
88 CHAPTER 8. SPECIAL SITUATIONS IN X-PLANE
button will load another aircraft (by default, the Stinson L-5) to which your glider will be attached.
This aircraft will pull yours along behind it, and you will be able to release the line connecting you
to the towplane at your desired altitude. On the other hand, the Glider Winch button will set up
a stationary winch on the ground which will quickly pull in a wire attached to your glider, which
you will release once you are 1500 feet or so above the ground. In either case, you can release the
tow line by pressing the space bar.
When using the towplane, you will start behind the plane with its engine running and ready to
go. Releasing the glider’s brakes (using the ‘b’ key by default) commands the towplane to take off,
dragging your glider with it.
The towplane, once in flight, will take the glider as high as you likes. While being carried up to
altitude, though, you must keep your glider in formation behind the towplane. Pressing the space
bar will release the line between the aircraft, allowing you to soar freely.
Notice, of course, that until you have unhooked yourself, the tow rope connecting your glider
to the towplane is attached to your nose and the towplane’s tail. X-Plane models the real physics
of this situation, so if your glider pulls left, right, up, or down, it will drag the towplane’s tail in
that direction. This could result in simply pulling the plane off course, or ultimately in dragging
the plane into a stall or spin. If that happens, things will get very complicated very quickly—the
towplane (which will likely be crashing) will be dragging the glider with it! The dynamics of the
resulting crash are interesting if nothing else.
According to the FAA Glider Handbook, a glider pilot should keep the glider in one of two
positions when being towed to altitude. It should either be in a “low tow” position, wherein the
glider is just below the wake from the towplane, or it should be in a “high tow” position, just
above the wake from the towplane. Hold this position carefully to keep from dragging the towplane
around!
A glider pilot must watch the wind and the slope of the terrain carefully to hold inside the
upward-moving currents of air, using the lift of the air flowing up the mountain slope to hold the
craft aloft. With a good 25-knot wind set in the simulator, you can get a nice, free elevator ride to
10,000 feet when flying along the windward side of a nice, steep mountain. This is called ridge lift.
X-Plane will also model the columns of rising hot air, called thermals, that are useful for pro-
longing a glider flight. To turn on the thermals, open the Weather dialog box from the Environment
menu. Select the set weather uniformly for the whole world radio button, then drag the ther-
mal coverage slider up—15% coverage or more makes for a nice flight. A 500 ft/min thermal
climb rate is fine, but you can raise that value, too, if you like. Additionally, as you’re starting out
in gliders, you may want to keep the various wind speed, shear speed, and turbulence sliders
set to minimum.
Now, to take full advantage of both ridge lift and thermals, gliders have a unique instrument
known as the total energy variometer. This indicates your glider’s rate of climb or descent. You can
see the visual representation of this instrument in the panel (it is labeled “Total Energy”); if the
needle is above the center of the dial, you are climbing (perhaps due to ridge lift or a thermal), and
if it is below the center, you are falling. Even better, you can flip on the switch labeled “Audio”
in the instrument panel to get auditory feedback from the variometer. If it is beeping, then the
aircraft is in a nice updraft from the air following the terrain. Circling in that area will let the
glider ride the climbing air to altitude. When the variometer is emitting a steady tone, the craft is
in descending air—the glider has been blown to the wrong side of the mountain, and a crash will
follow soon if you do not find a way out of that area!
To land the glider, simply circle down to runway level. The trick is to approach the runway
with just enough speed to set the craft down safely. Remember, pulling the speedbrakes in can help
slow the craft down, but if it doesn’t have enough speed to reach the landing strip, the glider has
8.3. FLYING HELICOPTERS 89
no way of generating thrust. Ideally, you will reach the runway at just above stalling speed, but
it’s always better to have too much speed (which you can burn off using the speedbrakes) than too
little.
8.3 Flying Helicopters

The following is a description of how helicopters are flown in the real world, along with the appli-
cation of this in X-Plane. Note that helicopters are loaded in X-Plane just like any other aircraft,
using the Aircraft menu’s Open Aircraft dialog box. Note also that you can move to the helipad
nearest you at any time by opening the Aircraft menu, clicking Aircraft & Situations, and pressing
the Helipad Takeoff button.
All manner of different helicopter layouts can be found in reality, but we will discuss the standard
configuration here—a single overhead rotor with a tail rotor in the back. Here’s how this works:
First, the main rotor provides the force needed to lift the craft by continuously maintaining the
same rotor RPM for the entire flight. The amount of lift generated by the main rotor is only varied
by adjusting the blade pitch of the main rotor blades.
So, imagine the one-and-only operational RPM of a helicopter is 400 RPM. When the craft is
sitting on the ground, the rotor is turning 400 RPM, and the pitch of the rotor’s blades is about
zero. This means that the rotor is giving about zero lift! Because the blades have zero pitch, they
have very little drag, so it is very easy to move them through the air. In other words, the power
required to turn the rotor at its operational RPM is pretty minimal. Now, when the pilot is ready
to go flying, he or she begins by pulling up on a handle in the cockpit called the “collective.” When
this happens, the blades on the rotor go up to a positive pitch. All the blades on the main rotor
do this together at one time—“collectively.” Of course, they are then putting out a lot of lift, since
they have a positive pitch. Equally apparent is the fact that they are harder to drag through the
air now, since they are doing a lot more work. Of course, since it is a lot harder to turn the blades,
they start to slow down—if this were allowed to happen, it would be catastrophic, since the craft
can’t fly when its rotor isn’t turning! To compensate, at that point any modern helicopter will
automatically increase the throttle as much it needs to in order to maintain the desired 400 RPM
in the rotor.
To summarize, this is the sequence for getting a helicopter in the air in X-Plane:
1. While on the ground, the collective handle is flat on the floor. This means the rotor pitch
is flat, with minimum drag and zero lift. In X-Plane, a flat collective corresponds to the
throttle being full forward, or farthest from the user. The automatic throttle in the helicopter
is obsessively watching the rotor’s RPM, adjusting the throttle as needed to hold exactly 400
RPM in the example above. On the ground, with the collective pitch flat, there is little drag
on the blades, so the power required to hold this speed is pretty low.
2. When you decide to take off, you do so by raising the collective up—that is, by pulling
it up from the floor of the helicopter. In X-Plane, this is done by easing the throttle on a
joystick back down toward you. This increases the blade pitch on the main rotor and therefore
increases its lift, but it also increases the drag on the rotor a lot. The rotor RPM begins to fall
below 400 RPM, but the auto-throttle senses this and loads in however much engine power
it has to in order to keep the rotor moving at exactly 400 RPM.
3. More collective is pulled in until the blades are creating enough lift to raise the craft from
the ground. The auto-throttle continues adding power to keep the rotor turning at 400 RPM
no matter how much the collective is raised or lowered.
Once the craft is in the air, the first-time helicopter pilot’s first crash is no doubt beginning.
This inevitability can be delayed for a few moments using the anti-torque pedals.
The main rotor is of course putting a lot of torque on the craft, causing it to spin in the opposite
direction (because of course for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction—the rotor is
twisted one way, the helicopter twists the other way). This is where the anti-torque pedals come
in. The rotational torque on the helicopter is countered with thrust from the tail rotor. Just push
the left or right rudder pedal (such as the CH Products Pro Pedals) to get more or less thrust from
the tail rotor. If rudder pedals aren’t available, the twist on a joystick can be used for anti-torque
control. If the joystick used does not twist for yaw control, then X-Plane will do its best to adjust
the tail rotor’s lift to counter the main rotor’s torque in flight.
Incidentally, the tail rotor is geared to the main rotor so that they always turn in unison. If
the main rotor loses 10% RPM, the tail rotor loses 10% RPM. The tail rotor, like the main rotor,
cannot change its speed to adjust its thrust. Like the main rotor, it must adjust its pitch, and it is
the tail rotor’s pitch that is being controlled with rudder pedals or a twisting joystick.
Once the craft is in the air and the collective pitch of the main rotor is being adjusted (in
X-Plane, using the joystick throttle), try holding the craft 10 feet in the air and adjusting the
tail-rotor pitch with the anti-torque pedals (i.e., rudder pedals or a twisting stick) to keep the nose
pointed right down the runway. From here, the joystick should be wiggled left, right, fore, and aft
to steer the helicopter around.
Here is how this works: If the stick is moved to the right, then the rotor blade will increase
its pitch when it is in the front of the craft, and decrease its pitch when it is behind the craft. In
other words, the rotor blade will change its pitch through a full cycle every time it runs around
the helicopter once. This means that it changes its pitch from one extreme to the other 400 times
per minute (7 times per second) if the rotor is turning at 400 RPM. Pretty impressive, especially
considering that the craft manages to stay together under those conditions! Now, while it seems
that the right name for this might be the “helicopter destroyer,” the fact that moving the stick
sends the blade pitch through one cycle every rotation of the rotor blades means we call the control
stick the cyclic stick. So, we have the collective, cyclic, and anti-torque controls.
Let’s talk more about the cyclic. When the stick is moved to the right, the rotor increases pitch
when it is in the part of its travel that is in front of the helicopter. This will increase the lift on
the front of the rotor disc, causing it to tilt to the right, since the gyroscopic forces are applied 90◦
along the direction of rotation of the gyroscope. Now that the rotor is tilted to the right, it will of
course drag the craft off to the right as long as it is producing lift.
The fascinating thing is that the rotor on many helicopters is totally free-teetering; it has a
completely “loose and floppy” connection to the craft. It can conduct no torque (left, right, fore,
and aft) to the body of the helicopter. Maneuvering is only achieved by the rotor tilting left, right,
fore, and aft, dragging the top of the craft underneath it in that direction. The helicopter body is
dragged along under the rotor like livestock by a nose-ring, blindly following wherever the rotor
leads.
Once you master hovering in place, push the nose down to tilt the rotor forwards. The lift from
the rotor acting above the center of gravity of the aircraft will lower the nose of the helicopter, and
the forward component of lift from the rotor will drag the craft forward as it flies along.
8.4 Flying the Space Shuttle

Read this chapter before attempting Space Shuttle landings in X-Plane if you want your virtual
pilot to live!
8.4. FLYING THE SPACE SHUTTLE 91
The first rule of flying a glider—quite unlike flying a powered plane—is this: Never come up
short. When bringing a powered plane in for landing, if the pilot thinks the craft will not quite
make it to the runway, it is no big deal. She or he just adds a bit more power to cover the extra
distance. If a little more speed is needed, it is again no problem—just add power.
Gliders play by a different set of rules, though. There is no engine to provide power, so when
setting up a landing, a pilot must be sure to have enough altitude and speed to be able to coast
to the airport, because if s/he guesses low by even one foot, the craft will hit the ground short
of the runway, crashing. Gliders must never be low on speed or altitude, because if they ever are,
there is no way of getting it back—a crash is assured. (Thermals, or rising currents of air, provide
the exception to this rule. These can give efficient gliders enough boost to get the job done, but
thermals will typically provide less than 500 feet per minute of vertical speed—not enough to keep
even a lightweight Cessna in the air!)
Now, with the Space Shuttle, it is certainly true that the aircraft has engines—three liquid-
fuel rockets putting out 375,000 pounds of thrust each, to be exact. (To put this in perspective, a
fully-loaded Boeing 737 tips that scales around 130,000 pounds, so each engine of the orbiter could
punch the Boeing straight up at 3 Gs indefinitely. That is not even considering the solid rocket
boosters attached to the Shuttle’s fuel tank that provide millions of pounds of thrust!)
So, the Space Shuttle has engines; the problem is fuel. The orbiter exhausts everything it’s
carrying getting up into orbit, so there is nothing left for the trip down. Thus, the ship is a glider
all the way from orbit to its touch-down on Earth. With the final bit of fuel that is left after the
mission, the orbiter fires its smaller de-orbit engines to slow it down to a bit over 15,000 miles per
hour and begins its descent into the atmosphere.
So, if you want to fly the Space Shuttle, and the Space Shuttle is a glider from the time it leaves
orbit to the time it touches down on Earth, you must bear in mind the cardinal rule of gliding:
Always aim long (past the landing point), not short, because if ever you aim short, you are dead,
because you cannot make up lost speed or altitude without engines. Aim long since the extra speed
and altitude can always be dissipated with turns or speedbrakes if the craft winds up being too
high, but nothing can be done if it comes up short.
In observance of this rule, the Orbiter intentionally flies its glide from orbit extra high to be on
the safe side. But there is one problem. It would appear that if the Orbiter flies its entire approach
too high, it will glide right past Edwards. In reality, this doesn’t happen for one reason. For most
of the re-entry, the Shuttle flies with the nose way up for extra drag, and it makes steep turns to
intentionally dissipate the extra energy. The nose-up attitude and steep turns are very inefficient,
causing the Shuttle to slow down and come down to Earth at a steeper glide angle. If it ever looks
like the Orbiter might not quite be able to make it to the landing zone, the crew simply lowers
the nose to be more efficient and level it out in roll to quit flying the steep turns. This makes the
Orbiter then glide more efficiently, so the crew can stretch the glide to Edwards for sure. The extra
speed and altitude is the ace up their sleeve, but the drawback is they have to constantly bleed the
energy off through steep turns (with up to 70◦ bank angle!) and drag the nose up (as high as 40◦ !)
to keep from overshooting the field.
We will now walk through the re-entry process from the beginning as it is done both in the real
Shuttle and in X-Plane.
After de-orbit burn, the shuttle heads for the atmosphere at 400,000 feet high with a speed of
17,000 miles per hour and a distance of 5,300 miles from Edwards (equivalent to landing in the
Mojave Desert after starting a landing approach west of Hawaii—not a bad pattern entry!). In
reality, the autopilot flies the entire 30-minute re-entry, and the astronauts do not take over the
controls of the shuttle until the final 2 minutes of the glide. The astronauts could fly the entire
re-entry by hand, but it is officially discouraged by NASA, for obvious reasons. These speeds and
altitudes are way outside of normal human conception, so our ability to “hand-fly” these approaches
is next to nil.
During the first one hundred NASA Shuttle missions, the craft was hand-flown for the entire
re-entry only once, by a former Marine pilot who was ready for the ultimate risk and challenge.
In contrast, users flying the Space Shuttle in X-Plane will have to complete the entire mission by
flying by hand.
8.4.1 Walkthrough
To open the Space Shuttle for a re-entry flight into the atmosphere, go to the Aircraft menu and
select Aircraft & Situations. In the window that opens, click the Space Shuttle: Full Re-entry
button. X-Plane will load the craft at around 450,000 feet, in space, coming down at a speed of
Mach 20. Control will be limited in space (the craft is operating off of small reaction jets on the
Orbiter, set up as “puffers” in Plane-Maker), but once the shuttle hits atmosphere, there will be
some air for the flight controls to get a grip on and the craft will actually be able to be controlled.
The ship will first hit air at about 400,000 feet, but it will be so thin that it will have almost no
effect.
The airspeed indicator at this point will read around zero—interesting, since the craft is actually
moving at over 17,000 mph. The reason for this is that the airspeed indicator works based on how
much air is hitting it, just like the wings of the Orbiter do. In space, of course, that’s very little. The
indicated airspeed will build gradually as the craft descends. Under these conditions, even though
the Shuttle is actually slowing down, the airspeed indicator will rise as it descends into thicker air
that puts more pressure on the airspeed indicator. This oddity of the airspeed indicator, though,
is useful, since the air is also putting more pressure on the wings. This means you should get some
help with your research paper and the airspeed indicator is really measuring how much force the
wings can put out, which is really what a pilot is interested in here.
Restated, the airspeed indicator indicates the craft’s true airspeed times the square root of the
air density. It indicates lower speeds in thin air, but the wings put out less lift in thin air as well, so
the airspeed indicator works very well to tell the pilot how much lift can be put out by the wings.
If the airspeed indicator reads more than about 250 knots, the wings have enough air to generate
the lift to carry the aircraft. If the airspeed indicator is showing less than about 250 knots, then
the wings do not have enough air hitting them to lift the Shuttle, so it is still more or less coasting
in the thin upper atmosphere, where the air is too thin to do much for controlling flight.
As the airspeed indicator on the HUD gradually starts to indicate a value (as the aircraft
descends into thicker air), it means the craft is starting to ease down into the atmosphere at 15,000
mph like a sunburned baby trying to ease into a boiling-hot Jacuzzi—very carefully and very slowly.
Remember, if the craft was going 15,000 mph in the thick air of sea level, it would break up into
a million pieces in a microsecond. The only reason it survives at 15,000 mph up here is the air is
so thin that it has almost no impact on the ship. Again, the airspeed indicator tells how much the
air is really impacting the craft; 250 knots is a “comfortable” amount. The trick is to get the craft
moving much slower than 15,000 mph by the time it gets down to the thick air of sea level—and
to have it doing so at Edwards Air Force Base. This is what the re-entry is for, to dissipate speed
while descending so that the Orbiter is never going too fast for the thickness of the air that it is in.
It should only descend into the thicker air once it has lost some speed in the thinner air up higher.
The whole thing should be a smooth process wherein the ship doesn’t get rammed into thick, heavy
air at too high a speed.
Now, as the Orbiter begins to touch the outer molecules of the Earth’s atmosphere, you will
notice a slight ability to fly the ship as some air begins to pass over the wings. At the same time,
8.4. FLYING THE SPACE SHUTTLE 93
the HUD should begin showing speed. Notice the picture of the Orbiter on the right-hand EFIS
display. The Atlantis already has this display retrofitted over its old steam gauges (the EFISs from
the Atlantis are modeled very accurately in X-Plane—astronauts could use it for familiarization
for sure). Both the Orbiter and the path down to Edwards should be visible. The goal is to stay
on the center path. If the craft gets above it, it is either too fast or too high and might overshoot
the landing. If it gets below it, it is either too slow or too low and might not make it.
Remember that the line is drawn with a large margin for error, so if a pilot stays on the line,
he or she will have plenty of extra energy. Getting below the line a little will only tap into the
speed/altitude reserve. Getting below the line a lot will keep the craft from reaching Edwards.
The Orbiter must stay near the center green line. This green line represents the desired speed
for the early part of the re-entry, the desired total energy for the middle part of the re-entry, and
the desired altitude for the final phase of the re-entry. This is the way NASA set up the EFIS. If
the craft is too fast or too high (meaning it is above the center line) then it is time to dissipate
some energy. Put the Shuttle in a steep bank, pull the nose up, and hang on!
The real Orbiter will have it nose up about 40◦ and be in a 70◦ bank to try to lose energy while
moving at 14,000 mph, glowing red hot, hurtling through the upper atmosphere on autopilot, and
leaving a ten mile-long trail of ionized gas behind it while the astronauts just watch.
Go into some steep turns to dissipate energy as needed to keep the ship from going above the
center green line. Look at the little blue pointer on the far left-hand side of the far right display.
That indicates how high the nose is supposed to be. The green pointer is where the nose is now-they
need to match. The pointers just to the right indicate the desired and current deceleration. These
indicators, though, will not be used to fly by. Look at the little pointer up top on the horizontal
scale. That is the computer’s estimation of how much bank angle the craft probably needs to stay
on the center green line. Pilots should follow the computer’s recommendation or their own intuition
for how much bank to fly, but they must certainly keep the nose up (in order to stay in the upper
atmosphere) and fly steep banks to dissipate the extra speed and altitude. It might be tempting
to just push the nose down if the craft is high, but don’t. The aircraft would drop down into the
thick air and come to an abrupt stop from the tremendous drag, keeping it from ever making it to
Edwards. It would wind up swimming in the Pacific somewhere around Hawaii.
Now, as the pilot makes those steep turns, the aircraft will gradually be pulled off course. For
this reason, the turn direction should be switched from time to time to stay on course. Turn left
awhile, then right, then back to the left again. This is what the real Orbiter does—it slalom-skis
through the upper atmosphere at Mach 20. Watch Edwards on the center EFIS display.
As the ship approaches Edwards, right on the center green line on the right-hand display, there
should be a sort of a circle out past Edwards. This is the Heading Alignment Cylinder, or H.A.C.
The aircraft will fly past Edwards at about 80,000 feet, then fly around the outside of the H.A.C.
like it’s running around a dining room table. After coming around, it will be pointed right at
Edwards. If the craft is still on the green line, its altitude will be just right for landing as well. In
the real Shuttle, this is usually where the pilot will turn off the autopilot and hand-fly in.
The craft should now be doing about 250 or 300 knots, coming down at about 15,000 feet per
minute or so (about 125 miles per hour of descent rate). Needless to say, pilots do not want to hit
the ground with that 125 miles per hour descent rate. Do not aim for the runway without expecting
to become a smear on it. Instead, aim for the flashing glideslope lights 2 miles short of the runway
that NASA has thoughtfully provided. If they are all red, the craft is too low. If they are all white,
it is too high, so the speed brakes need to be brought in. If the lights are half red and half white,
the Orbiter is right on its glideslope (about 20◦ ). Airliners fly their approach at 125 knots with a
3◦ angle of descent, while the Space Shuttle uses 250 knots and a 20 degree descent angle—not too
unusual considering pattern-entry started west of Hawaii, actually.
To recap: the craft should be at 250 knots, on the green line, lined up with the runway. It
should be facing half red, half white glideslope lights with the flashing strobes by them. This
approach configuration should be held until the craft is pretty close to the ground (3◦ glideslope
to the runway), then the descent should be leveled and the gear put down (using the ‘g’ key or
the mouse). Pull the nose up for a flare as the runway approaches, causing the Orbiter to touch
down smoothly. Lower the nose then and hit the parachute and even the brakes if the craft will be
allowed to roll out.
Now, if you can just repeat that process another hundred times in a row without a single hitch,
you will be as good as NASA.
Special thanks to Sandy Padilla for most of the Shuttle re-entry information!
8.5 Flying the X-15

The North American X-15 is a rocket-powered speed demon. With a top speed of Mach 6.72 (4520
miles per hour), it is the fastest manned aircraft in the world. To begin flight, this craft is dropped,
uniquely, from the B-52 “mothership.” Its top speed is over double that of the SR-71 (the world’s
fastest jet airplane), and its maximum altitude of over 50 miles qualifies its pilots for astronaut
status.
The craft’s absurdly high top speed requires a blast shield to be installed over one side of the
windshield—without it, the windows would burn up. The X-15 pilots would fly the high speed
portion of the mission with the shield on the right side, looking out the left side only. After the
craft slowed down (and the left window was sufficiently charred), the pilot would jettison the blast
shield and move to the right window in order to land.
To open the X-15, open the Aircraft menu and click Aircraft & Situations. In the dialog box
that appears, click the Air Drop from B-52 button. X-Plane will load up both the X-15 and its
drop ship (by default, the B-52). When you are ready, press the space bar to release the rocket
from the drop ship. Give it full throttle, with no flaps, and watch your airspeed “rocket”—that is,
until it gains enough altitude, at which point its indicated airspeed will drop to maybe 15 knots,
while it is actually moving at Mach 6.
8.6 Simulating Combat in X-Plane

X-Plane is not intended to be a combat simulator. Therefore, while combat functionality exists in
the form of guns and missiles, damage from weapons is not simulated realistically—getting hit will
simply cause your engines to die, allowing you to glide to the ground.
Simulating combat in X-Plane involves four steps:
• configuring your controls,
• adding enemy aircraft,
• equipping your own aircraft with guns and/or missiles, and
• dogfighting.
8.6.1 Configuring Your Controls

In order to use your flight controls to control your weapons, either to fire them or to cycle through
the currently armed weapons, open the Settings menu and click Joystick & Equipment. There, go
to the Buttons: Basic tab and configure the buttons as you desire. Remember to first press the
button on the joystick that you intend to assign, then select its function.
8.6. SIMULATING COMBAT IN X-PLANE 95
Figure 8.1: The weapon controls found in the Buttons: Basic tab [Full size →]
You can also assign weapons controls in the Buttons: Adv tab or the Keys tab. The “weapons/”
category contains the relevant settings there.
Note that assigning joystick controls is especially important if your aircraft does not have
controls in the instrument panel for arming weapons. If you intend to use missiles, you must assign
buttons to select targets, using the “target select up” and “target select down” functions.
8.6.2 Adding Enemy Aircraft
To set up a combat situation, first open the Aircraft menu and click Aircraft and Situations. The
bottom panel, labeled Other Aircraft Selection, is the one we’re interested in. Set the number of
aircraft (in the upper left of the box) to 2 or more. Boxes will appear below corresponding to the
other aircraft, as seen in Figure 8.2.
Clicking the box to the left of an aircraft file name will open a standard “Load Aircraft” dialog
box; use these boxes to load the aircraft you would like to battle.
To the right of each aircraft file is the plane’s “team color.” Aircraft which have the same color
will be teammates, and all other colors will be enemies. In Figure 8.2, “your plane” is on the red
team, while the three other aircraft are on the green team. In this case, all three enemy aircraft
will target you alone.
Having selected the enemy aircraft to fly against, you can choose their skill level, ranging from
very easy to very hard, using the drop down box near the top of the Other Aircraft Selection portion
of the window.
Finally, you can choose to either save the aircraft you have selected to your preferences or
have them randomized at each load using the radio buttons next to the number of aircraft setting.
Having set up the combatants, you can close the Aircraft and Situations window.
Figure 8.2: Adding enemy aircraft using the Aircraft and Situations window [Full size →]
Figure 8.3: Adding weapons using the Weight and Fuel window [Full size →]
8.6.3 Equipping Your Aircraft

Many military craft, such as the F-22 Raptor, F-4 Phantom II, and Saab JA 37 Viggen come
equipped with guns and missiles by default. If your aircraft does not have weapons, or if you would
like to change the loadout, you can do so using the Weight and Fuel window, launched from the
Aircraft menu. There, the Ordnance tab can be used to add a weapon to the aircraft’s hardpoints
(or weapon stations).
Clicking the small squares to the left of each weapon slot will bring up a dialog box to load a
weapon. Opening the Weapons folder (found in the main X-Plane directory) will display a number
of weapon options. For instance, in Figure 8.4, a GAU-8 Avenger 30mm gun is selected.
Clicking Open will arm the weapon you chose.
8.6.4 Arming Weapons and Fighting

With enemy aircraft in the sky, weapons equipped to your aircraft, and your joystick or yoke
configured for weapons, it’s time to dogfight. If your aircraft was designed with combat in mind, it
will have a toggle for arming a weapon, and potentially a weapon rate of fire control as well. For
instance, Figure 8.5 shows the weapons controls in the F-22 Raptor. The Raptor’s gun is currently
8.6. SIMULATING COMBAT IN X-PLANE 97
Figure 8.4: Selecting a gun [Full size →]
Figure 8.5: The weapon controls in the panel of the F-22 Raptor [Full size →]
selected, with its rate of fire set to the maximum. Similar controls appear in the F-4 Phantom II,
seen in Figure 8.6.
With your weapon selected, whether guns or missiles, all it takes to fire is to press the button
on your joystick assigned to fire weapons.
8.6.4.1 Targeting Enemy Aircraft and Using Missiles
In order to lock on to a target using missiles, you must have a joystick or key assigned to the
“target select up” and/or “target select down” functions, as described in the section “Configuring
Your Controls” above. In order to usefully target, the aircraft must have either a head-up display
(HUD) or moving map, and preferably both.
When enemy aircraft are nearby, you can use the target select controls to assign targets for
your missiles to seek out. With a target which is not currently visible selected, the HUD will show
an arrow pointing in the direction of the target, as the image on the left in Figure 8.7. If the active
Figure 8.6: The weapon controls in the panel of the F-4 Phantom II [Full size →]
Figure 8.7: Two HUD views; on the left, a target is high and to the left, off screen, while on the
right, the target is in view. [Full size 1 →] [Full size 2 →]
target is visible on screen within the HUD, however, a targeting reticle will appear around the
aircraft, as in the image on the right in Figure 8.7.
In aircraft with a moving map display, there is often much more data visible than what is
relevant in a dogfight. Therefore, by pressing the green buttons beneath the standard EFIS moving
map, you can turn off all but the TCAS (traffic collision avoidance system) indicators—that is, the
indicators for other aircraft. For instance, compare the two displays in Figure 8.8.
With only the other aircraft displayed on the map, it is much easier to see the location of enemy
fighters and to distinguish the active target. For instance, in Figure 8.9, the aircraft approximately
30◦ to the right was selected as the target, so it is highlighted in red on the display.
Additionally, note that the dial above the moving map labeled TFC (traffic) controls the radar
system’s range. Moving the dial clockwise will increase the range, and turning it counterclockwise
will decrease it. At low ranges, finer detail is available on the EFIS display.
8.7. PERFORMING CARRIER OPERATIONS 99
Figure 8.8: Two moving map displays; the display on the left is showing all available data, whereas
the one on the right is is showing only other aircraft [Full size 1 →] [Full size 2 →]
8.6.5 Strategy
The key to winning a dogfight lies in creating a situation where your aircraft’s strengths are em-
phasized and an opponent’s weaknesses are exploited. This means trying to force a tight, up-close
battle when flying a more maneuverable fighter than the enemy, or aiming for dive-bombs and other
tactics requiring speed and weight when flying a faster, larger craft.
Additionally, do not underestimate the value of quick combat maneuvers, such as:
• corkscrews–rolling your craft left or right while continuously varying its pitch
• feints—rolling to one side as though to go into a banked turn (i.e., a turn with the craft on
its side, while pulling back on the controls in order to pull “in” to the turn), but pushing the
nose forward instead
• barrel rolls—often described as “a cross between a roll and a loop” (see Figure 8.10)
For more information on combat tactics, see the Dicta Boelcke, a list of tactics developed by
World War I ace Oswald Boelcke.
8.7 Performing Carrier Operations

To begin carrier operations, select the aircraft you will use. The F-22 Raptor or the JA 37 Viggen
(both found in the Fighters folder, in the Aircraft directory) are good choices. Then, open the
Aircraft & Situations window and press the Carrier Catshot or Aircraft Carrier Approach
buttons to set up a catapult launch from a carrier or a final approach to one, respectively.
Figure 8.9: The moving map display with a target selected, located about 30 degrees to the right, in
front of the aircraft and travelling at 393 kts [Full size →]
Figure 8.10: Diagram of a barrel roll. Thanks to released MioUzaki for releasing this image into the
public domain. [Full size →]
8.8. FLYING A BOEING 747 WITH THE PIGGYBACKING SPACE SHUTTLE 101
To take off from a carrier, a few things must be done in quick succession. First, give the aircraft
full throttle, and pull in about half flaps. Release the brakes (using the ‘b’ key by default) to
activate the catapult propelling your aircraft off the deck. From there, simply guide the craft down
the flight deck and, once clear, pull the nose up. When you’re safely in the air, bring the gear up
(using the ‘g’ key by default) and you’re off.
Landing on the carrier is a bit more difficult. First, be sure you have an aircraft with an arresting
hook, such as the default fighters in X-Plane.
To set up an approach to a modern carrier, such as the USS Nimitz included with X-Plane 10,
bear in mind that the landing runway is angled 30◦ to the port (left) side—it is not straight down
the flight deck like in older carriers. This change was made in order to prevent the all-too-common
overruns that occurred in WWII when a landing plane crashed into the stacked line of planes at
the far end of the carrier. A pilot landing on such a carrier must correct for this angling. With your
ADF tuned to the carrier, then, you must wait until the ADF is pointing either 15 or 60◦ to the
right before turning in for a landing.
When approaching the flight deck to land, a glidepath of about 3.5◦ is standard. At this time,
the tail hook should be lowered by tapping the HOOK button, turning it green. This will allow the
tail of the aircraft to catch the arresting wires on the deck. These wires will accelerate the craft
from well over 100 knots down to zero in little more than a second.
Unlike in a conventional landing, there should be no “flare” before touching down on the carrier.
Whereas, say, an airliner would raise its nose up just before touching the runway (thereby ensuring
a smooth landing), a carrier approach should maintain a constant glideslope until the craft hits the
deck.
Also, rather counter-intuitively, a real fighter pilot must slam the throttle to full the instant
that the aircraft touches the deck. This is because, even when the pilot has done everything right,
the craft’s tail hook can bounce over the arresting wires in what is called a “bolter.” When this
happens, the pilot must be ready to get off the deck safely and come around for another try. Don’t
worry—even when the throttle revs up like this, the arresting wires will still pull the craft down to
zero velocity.
8.8 Flying a Boeing 747 with the Piggybacking Space Shuttle

The piggybacking Space Shuttle situation in X-Plane 10 was inspired by the following email, which
was circulated by United Technologies corporate. It is a “trip report” from the pilot of the 747 that
flew the Shuttle back to Florida after the Hubble repair flight.
Well, it’s been 48 hours since I landed the 747 with the shuttle Atlantis on top and I
am still buzzing from the experience. I have to say that my whole mind, body and soul
went into the professional mode just before engine start in Mississippi, and stayed there,
where it all needed to be, until well after the flight... in fact, I am not sure if it is all
back to normal as I type this email. The experience was surreal. Seeing that “thing” on
top of an already overly huge aircraft boggles my mind. The whole mission from takeoff
to engine shutdown was unlike anything I had ever done. It was like a dream... someone
else’s dream.
We took off from Columbus AFB on their 12,000 foot runway, of which I used 11,999
1/2 feet to get the wheels off the ground. We were at 3,500 feet left to go of the runway,
throttles full power, nose wheels still hugging the ground, copilot calling out decision
speeds, the weight of Atlantis now screaming through my fingers clinched tightly on the
controls, tires heating up to their near maximum temperature from the speed and the
weight, and not yet at rotation speed, the speed at which I would be pulling on the
controls to get the nose to rise. I just could not wait, and I mean I could not wait, and
started pulling early. If I had waited until rotation speed, we would not have rotated
enough to get airborne by the end of the runway. So I pulled on the controls early and
started our rotation to the takeoff attitude. The wheels finally lifted off as we passed
over the stripe marking the end of the runway and my next hurdle (physically) was a
line of trees 1,000 feet off the departure end of Runway 16. All I knew was we were flying
and so I directed the gear to be retracted and the flaps to be moved from Flaps 20 to
Flaps 10 as I pulled even harder on the controls. I must say, those trees were beginning
to look a lot like those brushes in the drive-through car washes, so I pulled even harder
yet! I think I saw a bird just fold its wings and fall out of a tree as if to say “Oh, just
take me.” Okay, we cleared the trees, duh, but it was way too close for my laundry.
As we started to actually climb, at only 100 feet per minute, I smelled something that
reminded me of touring the Heineken Brewery in Europe... I said “Is that a skunk I
smell?” and the veterans of shuttle carrying looked at me and smiled and said “Tires!”
I said “Tires?! Ours?!” They smiled and shook their heads as if to call their captain an
amateur... Okay, at that point I was. The tires were so hot you could smell them in the
cockpit. My mind could not get over, from this point on, that this was something I had
never experienced. Where’s your mom when you really need her?
The flight down to Florida was an eternity. We cruised at 250 knots indicated, giving
us about 315 knots of ground speed at 15,000 feet. The miles didn’t click by like I am
use to them clicking by in a fighter jet at Mach 0.94. We were burning fuel at a rate
of 40,000 pounds per hour or 130 pounds per mile, or one gallon every length of the
fuselage. The vibration in the cockpit was mild, compared to down below and to the
rear of the fuselage where it reminded me of that football game I had as a child where
you turned it on and the players vibrated around the board. I felt like if I had plastic
clips on my boots I could have vibrated to any spot in the fuselage I wanted to go
without moving my legs... and the noise was deafening. The 747 flies with its nose 5◦
up in the air to stay level, and when you bank, it feels like the shuttle is trying to say
“Hey, let’s roll completely over on our back.” Not a good thing, I kept telling myself.
So I limited my bank angle to 15◦ and even though a 180◦ course change took a full zip
code to complete, it was the safe way to turn this monster.
Airliners and even a flight of two F-16s deviated from their flight plans to catch a glimpse
of us along the way. We dodged what was in reality very few clouds and storms, despite
what everyone thought, and arrived in Florida with 51,000 pounds of fuel too much to
land with. We can’t land heavier than 600,000 pounds total weight and so we had to do
something with that fuel. I had an idea... Let’s fly low and slow and show this beast off
to all the taxpayers in Florida lucky enough to be outside on that Tuesday afternoon.
So at Ormond Beach we let down to 1,000 feet above the ground/water and flew just
east of the beach out over the water. Then, once we reached the NASA airspace of the
Kennedy Space Center, we cut over to the Banana/Indian Rivers and flew down the
middle of them to show the people of Titusville, Port St. Johns and Melbourne just
what a 747 with a shuttle on it looked like. We stayed at 1,000 feet and since we were
dragging our flaps at Flaps 5, our speed was down to around 190 to 210 knots. We could
see traffic stopping in the middle of roads to take a look. We heard later that a Little
League Baseball game stopped to look and everyone cheered as we became their 7th
8.9. FIGHTING FOREST FIRES 103
inning stretch. Oh say can you see...

After reaching Vero Beach, we turned north to follow the coast line back up to the
Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF). There was not one person laying on the beach... They
were all standing and waving! “What a sight,” I thought, and figured they were thinking
the same thing. All this time I was bugging the engineers, all three of them, to re-
compute our fuel and tell me when it was time to land. They kept saying “Not yet
Triple, keep showing this thing off,” which was not a bad thing to be doing. However,
all this time the thought that the landing, the muscling of this 600,000 pound beast, was
getting closer and closer to my reality. I was pumped up! We got back to the SLF and
were still 10,000 pounds too heavy to land so I said I was going to do a low approach
over the SLF going the opposite direction of landing traffic that day. So at 300 feet, we
flew down the runway, rocking our wings like a whale rolling on its side to say hello to
the people looking on! One turn out of traffic and back to the runway to land... still
3,000 pounds over gross weight limit. But the engineers agreed that if the landing were
smooth, there would be no problem. “Oh thanks guys, a little extra pressure is just
what I needed!” So we landed at 603,000 pounds, and very smoothly if I have to say so
myself. The landing was so totally controlled and on speed, that it was fun. There were
a few surprises that I dealt with, like the 747 falls like a rock with the orbiter on it if you
pull the throttles off at the “normal” point in a landing and secondly, if you thought
you could hold the nose off the ground after the mains touch down, think again... It is
coming down!!! So I “flew it down” to the ground and saved what I have seen in videos
of a nose slap after landing. Bob’s video supports this!
Then I turned on my phone after coming to a full stop only to find 50 bazillion emails
and phone messages from all of you who were so super to be watching and cheering us
on! What a treat, I can’t thank y’all enough. For those who watched, you wondered
why we sat there so long. Well, the shuttle had very hazardous chemicals on board and
we had to be “sniffed” to determine if any had leaked or were leaking. They checked for
Monomethylhydrazine (N2 H4 for Charlie Hudson) and nitrogen tetroxide (N2 O4 ). Even
though we were “clean,” it took way too long for them to tow us in to the mate-demate
area. Sorry for those who stuck it out and even waited until we exited the jet.
I am sure I will wake up in the middle of the night here soon, screaming and standing
straight up dripping wet with sweat from the realization of what had happened. It was
a thrill of a lifetime. Again I want to thank everyone for your interest and support. It
felt good to bring Atlantis home in one piece after she had worked so hard getting to
the Hubble Space Telescope and back.
—Triple Nickel, NASA Pilot
To select this situation, open the Aircraft & Situations dialog box from the Aircraft menu.
There, click the button labeled Piggyback Shuttle on 747.
8.9 Fighting Forest Fires

In order to do water bombing on forest fires in X-Plane, load up your desired water tanker, such
as the Bombardier 415 seaplane. Then, in order to increase the likelihood of encountering forest
fires, open the Environment menu and open the Weather dialog box. There, click the radio button
labeled set weather uniformly for the whole world. Set all cloud layers to “clear,” with no
precipitation, and set the temperature to 70◦ F (21◦ C) or more.
At this point, you should be able to find some forest fires, especially in mountainous areas.
To jump instantly to the nearest forest fire, you can open the Aircraft menu and click Aircraft &
Situations. In the dialog box that appears, click the Forest Fire Approach button. Alternatively,
the forest fires will show up in the X-Plane maps (available in the Local Map dialog box, found in
the Location menu) as a small fire icon.
In the Bombardier 415, you will have to first scoop up water into the aircraft’s underside.
With your water payload ready to be dropped, you can assign a key (as described in the section
“Configuring Keyboard Shortcuts” of Chapter 4) to the “jettison payload” function (categorized
under flight controls). Press that button to drop your load of water on the fire.
8.10 Flying in Non-Standard Gravity

You can change the X-Plane world’s gravitational properties using the Environment Properties
dialog box, which is found in the Special menu. The planet’s gravity is calculated based on the
radius and mass of the planet. This can be used for some interesting experiments.
8.11 Flying Other Special Situations

In the Aircraft & Situations dialog box (opened from the Aircraft menu), you will find a number
of other special ways to take off and fly. Pressing the Grass field takeoff, Dirt field takeoff,
Gravel field takeoff, or Waterway takeoff buttons will take you, in your current aircraft, to
the nearest airstrip of that type. Be sure not to use the Waterway takeoff button unless you are
in a seaplane!
Using the Frigate Approach, Medium Oil Rig Approach, or Large Oil Platform Ap-
proach buttons will give you excellent targets for a helicopter landing.
Chapter 9
Expert Essays—Unleashing the

Simulator’s Full Potential
9.1 Tuning the Handling of Aircraft X-Plane

If X-Plane is set up and flying, but aircraft seem to be too sensitive in pitch, or if they pull to one
side, the simulator’s handling may need to be tuned.
Before performing the following, make sure the joystick and/or other control devices are set
up and calibrated. See the section “Configuring Flight Controls” of Chapter 4 for instructions on
doing this.
To easily see whether the controls are properly calibrated, go to the Settings menu and click
Data Input & Output. There, select the rightmost of the check boxes labeled joystick ail/elv/rud.
When you close the Data Input & Output dialog box, you will see, in the upper left corner of the
screen, the aileron, elevator, and rudder inputs from the flight controls (such as a joystick, yoke,
rudders, etc.).
With properly configured controls, the aileron, elevator, and rudder joystick inputs all read
around 0.0 when your flight controls are centered. When the controls are pushed full left and
forward, they should read around −1.0. When the controls are pulled full aft and right, they should
read around 1.0. If this is what you see, then your controls are properly calibrated. If not, it’s no
wonder the plane is not flying correctly! You need to configure the controls as described in the
section “Configuring Flight Controls” of Chapter 4.
If the controls are indeed properly calibrated as per the above test, but the plane still is not
flying correctly, it’s time to look at the first level of control response tuning. Go to the Settings
menu and click Joystick & Equipment. In that dialog box, select the Axis tab. Leave the flight
controls centered and hit the button labeled Use this position as center.
With that done, close the Joystick & Equipment dialog box and move the flight controls to the
centered position. Check to see if the data output (which should still be on the screen from the
pre-test in the above paragraphs) is around 0.000 when the controls are centered. If it is, then the
hardware works fine and the center point was set successfully. If the data output does not read near
0, the hardware is either of poor quality (or failing) or the center point was not properly set.
With the center point set correctly, try flying the plane once again. If it still does not handle
correctly, read on to tune the next level of control response.
Open the Joystick & Equipment window and select the Nullzone tab. Look at the three sliders
labeled control-response (one each for pitch, roll, and yaw) in the upper right of the screen.
If these three sliders are fully left, then the control response is linear; that is, a 50% stick
105
106 CHAPTER 9. EXPERT ESSAYS
deflection in the hardware will give 50% control deflection in the aircraft. Likewise, 100% stick
deflection in the hardware will give 100% control deflection in the aircraft.
If the problem being experienced is that the plane feels too responsive in the simulator, try
dragging the sliders all the way to the right. This will give a non-linear response. Set this way,
0% hardware deflection will still give 0% control deflection in the simulator, and 100% hardware
deflection will still give 100% control deflection. The difference lies in between—50% stick deflection
in the hardware might only give 15% control deflection in the simulator. In other words, while the
hard-over roll rate in the simulator will remain unchanged no matter how these sliders are set, fine
control will be increased for smaller, partial deflections, since the flight controls will move less for a
small-to-moderate stick deflection in the hardware joystick or yoke. This will give a nice, fine pitch
control and slow, detailed roll control.
If, after changing the control response, the aircraft still does not fly as it should, read on.
The next level of control tuning is stability augmentation. If the plane still feels squirrelly or
overly sensitive, go back to the Nullzone tab of the Joystick & Equipment window and try dragging
the three sliders in the upper left of the window (labeled stability augmentation) all the way to
the right.
This will cause X-Plane to automatically counteract any stick input to some degree, resisting
rapid or large deflections in pitch, heading, and roll. Basically, it is like always having an autopilot
on that smooths things out. This is obviously very fake, but in the absence of a perfect flight
control system, g-load, and peripheral vision feedback, this can help smooth out the airplane’s
flight characteristics. Try flying with those sliders at various places, bearing in mind that full left
should be most realistic (with no artificial stability added).
If, after doing all of the above, the aircraft still does not fly as it should, nothing more can be
done within the simulator. It is now time to tweak the airplane model itself. In the real world, if a
plane is pulling to one side or the other, a pilot will bend the little trim tab on the aileron one way
or another. This bending of the aileron trim tab counteracts any imperfections in the shape of the
airplane, the dynamics of the propwash, or the mass distribution inside the plane. The same thing
can be done in X-Plane—you can bend a trim tab a bit one way or the other to make the plane fly
true.
To do this, first exit X-Plane and open Plane Maker (found in the X-Plane installation folder,
located by default on the Desktop). Go to the File menu and select Open. There, select the plane
that is pulling left or right and load it using the Open button.
Then, go to the Standard menu and click Control Geometry. In this window, select the Trim &
Speed tab. Look at the far right-hand column of controls in the top half of the screen, labeled trim
tab adjust. This is a measure of how much the trim tabs are bent on each axis. The top control is
the elevator, the middle the aileron, and the bottom the rudder (per the labels on the far left). A
value of 0.000 in the trim tab adjust means that the trim tab is not bent at all. A value of 1.000
means the tab is bent so far that the control is fully deflected by the trim tab—this is way too far.
Try bending the trim tab just a little bit—maybe set the value at 0.05 or at most 0.10. This would
correspond to being enough force to deflect the controls 5% or 10%, respectively, due to the trim
tab. A positive value corresponds to bending the trim tab up or right, depending on whether it is
pitch, yaw, or roll. Thus, if the plane needs to roll right a bit more (or needs to stop rolling left),
then enter a positive number for the aileron control. The same goes for the rudder: if the plane
needs to pull right a bit more, enter a positive rudder trim tab adjust. If the plane needs to pull
up a bit more, give it a positive elevator trim tab adjust. Tweak the trim tabs as needed, save the
aircraft file (using Plane Maker’s File menu), and exit Plane Maker. Then, open up X-Plane and
try flying the plane again. It should noticeably pull one way or another based on how the trim tabs
were bent. The trim tab controls may need to be tuned again to get the plane to fly as straight as
9.2. SETTING UP A COPILOT’S STATION 107
is desired.
9.2 Setting Up a Copilot’s Station

A copilot’s station is a second computer networked to the main simulator, set to view a portion of
the cockpit intended for the copilot. To use a copilot’s station, you will first need two computers,
each running their own copy of X-Plane. These need to be on the same network, or then need to be
joined together with a single crossover Ethernet cable. The computers should form a simple LAN,
configured as normal within Mac OS X or Windows, whatever the case may be.
You will need two copies of the aircraft file you intend to fly, both either created or modified
using Plane Maker. The first copy of your aircraft should have the pilot-side instrument panel. If
you are content with the default panel layout, any of the stock planes could be used.
With the first version (the pilot-side version) of the plane ready, simply make a copy of the
entire airplane folder and add some suffix, such as “ copilot” to the end of the folder’s name—for
instance, if the aircraft you wanted to fly was in the folder “Boeing 747”, you might name the
copilot-side version “Boeing 747 copilot”.
Next, open the copilot-side copy of the aircraft in Plane Maker and tweak the instrument panel
(as described in the chapter “Creating an Instrument Panel” of the Plane Maker manual) as desired
for the co-pilot’s side of the craft. Save it when finished and close Plane Maker.
There should now be two copies of the same aircraft folder, where each aircraft file within
has its own instrument panel. These folders should have names like “[Plane name]” and “[Plane
name] copilot”. Both folders should be in the same place within your X-Plane directory.
Simply copy that entire aircraft folder from one of the computers over to the other, putting the
aircraft folder in the same directory (relative to the X-Plane installation directory) on the second
computer. For example, the folder location might be X-Plane 10\ Aircraft\Boeing 747\ on the
pilot’s computer and X-Plane 10\ Aircraft\Boeing 747 copilot\ on the copilot’s computer.
With that done, open X-Plane on each computer, move the mouse to the top of the screen, click
on the Settings menu, and select Net Connections. In the Net Connections dialog box, go to the
“External Vis” tab. From here, the procedure for the pilot’s and copilot’s machines differ.
On the pilot’s machine, check one of the boxes labeled IP of extra visual/cockpit (this is
master machine) and enter the IP address of the copilot’s machine.
Now, on the copilot’s computer, check the box labeled IP of master machine (this is extra
cockpit) and enter the IP address of the pilot’s computer. In the lower left, click on the “folder
name suffix” text box and enter “ copilot” (or whatever suffix you decided on previously). After
that, no matter what aircraft is opened on the pilot’s machine, this computer will add “ copilot”
to the name of the aircraft folder that it needs to open.
Next, on the pilot’s (and thus “master”) computer, open the pilot version of the aircraft file you
are using. If everything is set up correctly, the pilot’s machine will send all the appropriate data to
the copilot’s machine, the copilot’s machine will get the message. The copilot’s machine will then
apply the suffix “ copilot” to the name of the aircraft folder, and it will open the copilot’s version
of the aircraft cockpit on the copilot’s machine.
9.3 Configuring a Multi-Monitor Simulator

There are a number of different ways in which a multi-display simulator can be used. You might
want many displays linked together to form a super wide cockpit view, or you might want one
display for your cockpit and others for external visuals.
There are two general ways of configuring multiple monitors. You can either have your monitors
all connected to one computer, running one copy of X-Plane, or you can have multiple different
computers all networked together, each one with its own monitor and its own copy of X-Plane.
In general, using multiple displays on one computer will be more restrictive regarding the ways in
which you can configure the simulator. Networking many computers together will be more flexible,
but it will also be much more expensive.
9.3.1 Driving Multiple Displays from One Computer

Multiple displays can be used with one computer in three ways. You can either:
• configure plug two monitors into your graphics card (if it supports multiple monitors) and
configure the monitors as entirely separate in your operating system;
• purchase a video splitter like the Matrox TripleHead2Go, plug your monitors into that, and
configure all your monitors as a single, super-large display in your operating system; or
• using a technology like AMD’s Eyefinity (included with the Radeon 5xxx and later series
video cards), plug your multiple monitors directly into your video card and configure them
in the operating system like a single, super-large display.
If your multiple monitors are configured as a single large display in your operating system, all
you need to do to have X-Plane fill the screen with a single large window is to check the run
at full screen box in the Rendering Options dialog box. If, on the other hand, your monitors
are configured in the operating system as separate displays, your best option is to have a regular,
windowed version of X-Plane which you manually resize to fill as much of your display as possible.
If you want to use your secondary monitor as an instructor operator station, refer to the section
“Using an Instructor Operator Station (IOS) for Flight Training” of Chapter 8.
9.3.2 Networking Multiple Computers for Multiple Displays

To set up a multi-computer simulator, each of the computers you want to use must first be linked
together over a network. X-Plane should then be launched on each computer. On each computer,
open the Settings menu and click Net Connections. In this dialog box, select the “External Vis”
tab. Here, the steps differ between the “master” machine (the computer which is hooked up to all
your flight controls) and the other computers. On the master machine, you need to check as many
of the IP of extra visual/cockpit boxes as you have extra computers, then enter the IP addresses
of each of the other computers. On the computers used as other displays, however, you need only
check one box labeled IP of master machine and enter the master machine’s IP address. Note
that in no case should you need to change the port number from 49,000.
How should these extra displays be configured? Let’s assume we are to use four computers
and four monitors: one cockpit and three external visuals (a common setup). On each of the three
computers used for external visuals, we first need to open the Rendering Options dialog box from
the Settings menu. There, we will enter a lateral field of view of 45◦ for each of them. Enter a
lateral offset for networked scenery of −45◦ for the left screen, 0◦ for the center screen, and
45◦ for the right screen, with no vertical offset on all screens. This will simply yield a 135◦ (45 · 3)
field of view. If this is drawn out on paper, it becomes apparent that the 45◦ offsets on the left and
right screens will cause them to perfectly sync up with the center screen.
From there, the monitors need to physically be moved around the “cockpit” (that is, where a
user will sit when flying the simulator) in a semi-circle describing a 135◦ field of view. If this is not
done, then the horizon will not appear straight as the craft pitches and rolls, caused by the “fisheye
9.3. CONFIGURING A MULTI-MONITOR SIMULATOR 109
lens” effect. If a 135◦ field of view is described in a flat plane or in an arc of monitors that describe
less than 135◦ of arc, fisheye distortion will result, apparent as a horizon that seems to bend and
distort between monitors.
9.3.2.1 Lining Up the Horizon (Without Vertical Offsets)

Now, sometimes people sit on the ground and see the horizon does not line up, so they enter vertical
offsets on some of the display machines only in order to get the horizons to line up. They quickly
become confused when everything breaks down as they pitch and especially roll. If vertical offsets
are used, they must be used on all networked machines in your simulator, unless you have one
monitor physically above another. If some but not all of your computers have vertical offsets, things
start getting messed up. What often happens is that a user will fly with a cockpit in the center
screen, which shifts the center of that screen as far as scenery is concerned to be around 75%
of the way up the monitor; this is done in order to leave room for the instruments. The external
visuals, on the other hand, have screen centers in the center of the monitor, since they do not have
to reserve space for the instrument panel. In this case, you need to do the following:
1. Open Plane Maker from the X-Plane installation directory.
2. Click on the File menu, then click Open Aircraft.
3. Navigate to the aircraft you wish to fly and open it.
4. Click on the Standard menu, then click Viewpoint.
5. In the Viewpoint dialog box, go to the View tab.
6. Set the view center Y, panel view (i.e., the y coordinate of the center of the screen when
in the panel view) to be one-half the height of your monitor in pixels (assuming you run
X-Plane in full screen mode). For instance, if your monitor has a resolution of 1920 x 1080
pixels, you would enter 540 here (1080/2).
7. Close the Viewpoint dialog box, either by pressing Enter or by clicking an X in the corner of
the window.
8. Open the File menu and click Save As (not Save, since you do not want to overwrite the
original file).
9. Type in a name for this copy of the aircraft file (for instance, “Triple Monitor [aircraft name]”)
and press Save.
10. Close Plane Maker.
Now, when you load the new copy of the aircraft up in X-Plane, the screen center will be just
where you like it.
9.3.2.2 Correcting for Monitor Bezels

Let’s imagine that you have three networked computers for additional visuals to form a wrap-
around cockpit. Each computer might have a 45◦ lateral field of view (as set in the Rendering
Options). You would enter a lateral offset for networked scenery of −45◦ for the left visual,
0◦ for the front visual, and 45◦ for the right visual, as discussed above. If each display has a field
of view of 45◦ , these images will blend together seamlessly if you don’t consider the width of the
displays’ bezels (the frame around each monitor). If you cannot set up the monitors to run their
effective image all the way to the edge (as you can with some, even though you wouldn’t be able
to see the part under the border), you might instead try a field of view of maybe 43◦ based on
whatever fraction of the monitor is visible. Vertical and roll offsets, of course, are the up/down and
tilt equivalents of the lateral offset.
Note: While the view offsets do indicate how much to the left or right or up or down each view
is looking, people make the same mistake over and over: they run a center view with a cockpit in
the center screen, and external visuals on the left and right—which is fine—but they notice that
the horizon in the center (cockpit) screen does not line up with the horizons on either side. The
reason for this is that the center-point of the screen where the horizon rests in a level flight attitude
is up near the top of the screen in the cockpit view (to make room for the instrument panel) and
the center of the screen for the external visuals (which do not need room at the bottom for the
instrument panel). Often, people will incorrectly lower the vertical offset of the center panel (with
the cockpit).
This results in countless problems with the views not lining up. The way to correct this is to do
as in the “Lining Up the Horizon (Without Vertical Offsets)” section above and change the screen
center for your aircraft; only then will the horizon always line up across all the visuals. In other
words, the only time a vertical offset should be used is if there is one monitor on top of another.
9.3.2.3 Using Other Special Viewing Controls

The lateral field of view setting, located in the Rendering Options window, will change the way
X-Plane displays the view of the outside world. Higher settings will allow more of the terrain to
be viewed at any one time, but will reduce performance. Higher settings will also increase the
“fish eye” effect of the simulator. The default value is 45◦ per display, which generally gives good
performance and a natural view. Note, of course, that changing the field of view of a monitor in a
multi-display setup will require you to re-evaluate your lateral offset values as well.
Now, suppose you are using multiple monitors, some for external visuals and others for cockpit
displays. You may notice that when views are changed within X-Plane, the change propagates to
all the visuals. To stop this from occurring, you can select the radio button labeled lock to panel
view near the bottom right of the Rendering Options dialog box. Selecting this will cause the
display to always show the forward-with-cockpit view.
Appendix A
Airfoil Maker Supplement
Let’s talk about the Airfoil Maker application, found in the X-Plane installation directory.
A.1 Menus
The menus of Airfoil Maker are very simple.
A.1.1 About
The About menu’s only option, Version, will display the version of the program and check for
updates from the x-plane.com website.
A.1.2 File Menu

The file menu works just like the file menu of any word processor or spreadsheet application. Files
are created, loaded, and saved here; the only difference is that, instead of text documents, Airfoil
Maker is opening and saving files that represent airfoils.
New
Use this to generate a new airfoil.
Open
Use this to open an existing airfoil for viewing or modification.
Save
Use this to save an airfoil that was created or modified.
Save As
Use this to save an airfoil that was created or modified under a different name.
Exit
Exit Airfoil Maker.
111
112 APPENDIX A. AIRFOIL MAKER SUPPLEMENT
Figure A.1: The graph of the airfoil’s coefficients [Full size →]
A.2 Designing an Airfoil

Every airfoil ever designed has its own specific characteristics, which are its coefficients of
• lift (how much the airfoil wants to lift up),

• drag (how much the airfoil wants to pull back), and
• moment (how much the airfoil wants to pitch up).
A.2.1 The Coefficient Graph

Dominating the design screen is a large black graph with green, red, and yellow lines on it, like
Figure A.1.
Moving the mouse around in the graph will cause the numbers displayed in the black box in
the bottom left of the screen (seen in Figure A.2) to change in real time.
This is the coefficient display box, and it displays, for whatever angle of attack the mouse it
pointing at, the coefficients of the airfoil at that angle of attack. Just point the mouse at the part
of the curve you are interested in, and look at the exact coefficients in the coefficient display box.
Figure A.2: The coefficient display box [Full size →]

A.2. DESIGNING AN AIRFOIL 113
Figure A.3: The Reynolds number parameter [Full size →]
The left edge of the graph corresponds to an angle of attack of -20 degrees, and the right edge
corresponds to an angle of attack of +20 degrees. Therefore, moving the mouse to the left edge
of the chart will cause the alpha: reading in the black box to go to -20, corresponding to the -20
degree angle of attack. The same goes for the right edge with its +20 degree angle of attack.
The center of the chart represents an angle of attack of zero degrees. (Remember that the angle
of attack is the angle of the wing to the air. It is the angle at which the wing hits—attacks—the
air).
The green line in the graph is the coefficient of lift, called cl in the coefficient display box in
the bottom left. The red line is the coefficient of drag, called cd in the coefficient display box. The
yellow line is the coefficient of moment, called cm in the coefficient display box. We’ll look at the
behavior of each of these lines below.
A.2.2 Reynolds Number

In the upper left of the screen is a number labeled Re, for Reynolds number, as highlighted in
Figure A.3.
The Reynolds number is simply the air density times the speed of the airplane times the chord of
the wing divided by the viscosity of air (wow!). Experiments have shown that a wing’s coefficients
of lift, drag and moment vary somewhat with Reynolds number. For recreational purposes, we
can probably neglect any change in performance with Reynolds number, thus ignoring this setting
altogether. The number entered in the Reynolds number box may have some impact, however, on
the simulation. For highest realism, users can generate two different airfoil files for the same airfoil
in Airfoil Maker, each file at a different Reynolds number, and assign them both to a wing in Plane
Maker! X-Plane will figure out the Reynolds number on each piece of the plane at least 10 times
per second and interpolate between the two airfoil files to give the most realistic coefficients for
that flight Reynolds number.
Pilots should realize that very good accuracy can be obtained without touching the Reynolds
number at all, and without generating two airfoil files for each airfoil. Most users can ignore the
above paragraph and the “Reynolds number” slot in the airfoil generation screen without sacrificing
a good simulation.
In this section, we also have the thickness ratio and the drag-divergence Mach number. Thickness
only affects the visual appearance of the wing when it is shown in Plane Maker and X-Plane. The
thickness ratio is an important characteristic of the airfoil so it is usually easy to find in the airfoil
data or even the airfoil name. NACA 2412 has a thickness of 12% so you would enter 0.120 here.
Figure A.4: A graph of an airfoil’s coefficients [Full size →]
Drag div Mach is the airspeed when drag starts to increase dramatically. The Mach number is
a fraction of the speed of sound. Hence, 0.75 is 75% of the speed of sound or about 750 km/h. Most
aircraft never get close to this speed so you don’t need to set this number for your airfoil. If you
are designing a near-supersonic aircraft like an airliner or a supersonic aircraft then you will either
need to find this number in the published specifications or adjust it until you get the resulting
performance you want in X-Plane.
A.2.3 Coefficients
A.2.3.1 Coefficient of Lift
The green line in Figure A.4 is the coefficient of lift.

Notice that at zero degrees angle of attack (the center of the graph) the coefficient of lift is
fairly low; it is close to the thin white line that represents zero. As the angle of attack increases, the
coefficient of lift increases right along with it, until it reaches around 16 degrees angle of attack, at
which point the coefficient of lift falls abruptly. That represents the stall. Looking at the negative
angles of attack, one sees that the coefficient of lift actually gets negative. If you go to a large
enough negative angle of attack, the airfoil stalls then, too. It is possible to stall upside down! A
good wing will have a decent coefficient of lift (maybe 0.4) at angles of attack close to zero, and
a nice high coefficient of lift (maybe 1.6) at the maximum angle of attack. A safe airfoil will also
have a stall that is not too abrupt. In other words, the coefficient of lift will fall off gradually at
the stall, rather than sharply.
A.2.3.2 Coefficient of Drag

The red line on the graph in Figure A.4 is the coefficient of drag.
Notice that the coefficient of drag is lowest close to zero degrees angle of attack. The drag gets
higher and higher as the wing goes to larger and larger angles of attack. That is not surprising, is
it? The higher the angle the wing is offset from the airflow, the greater the drag!
It doesn’t matter much whether the wing moves to positive or negative angles of attack (that is,
whether the wing is aimed up or down); moving the wing away from its most streamlined position
increases its drag. A good airfoil will obviously have the lowest drag possible. (Notice that this drag
coefficient does not include the drag due to the production of lift. X-Plane will figure this drag out
automatically).
A.2.3.3 Coefficient of Moment

The yellow line in the graph in Figure A.4 is the coefficient of moment.
The coefficient of moment is the tendency of the wing to pitch up about its axis, or rotate
upwards about the spar. Most wings actually want to pitch down, so the coefficient of moment is
usually negative. The moment varies a bit with angle of attack, often in ways that are a little bit
surprising. Typically the moment will be negative for all normally encountered angles of attack,
decreasing (that is, becoming more negative) especially as the angle of attack is increased. This
continues until the stall, at which point the moment heads back to zero. A desirable characteristic
of an airfoil is usually to have a low coefficient of moment.
A.2.4 General Information

A.2.4.1 Finding Coefficients
Many users wonder how to find what the coefficients are for the airfoils of their own airplane. To do
this, the user must first find what airfoil the aircraft uses, probably from the manufacturer. Then,
check to see if that airfoil is included with X-Plane. If a user is flying a Cessna 182, for example,
that aircraft uses the NACA 2412 airfoil, which is included. Cessna 182 owners, then, do not need
to generate their own airfoil for that wing. Users who do not know what airfoil to use should leave
them as the defaults of Plane Maker.
A.2.4.2 Recommended Background Reading

Airfoil selection is a fun and interesting process, because one looks for the best possible combination
of lift, drag, and moment characteristics for a particular airplane. For users that will be experi-
menting with their own airplane designs and are new to the matters discussed in this chapter, we
highly recommend the following book to get started:
R/C Model Airplane Design
A.G. Lennon
Motorbooks International Publishers and Wholesalers, Inc.
The book is intended for radio control designs, but is very straightforward, easy to understand,
and all of the principles apply to full-scale aircraft.
Once you understand the basics of airfoil theory and nomenclature, we recommend:
Theory of Wing Sections
Abbot and Von Doenhoff
McGraw-Hill, New York (1949)
Figure A.5: A NACA 2412 airfoil [Full size →]
An oldie but goodie! This book has the lift, drag, and moment plots of many airfoils in it, so
the reader can choose their favorite airfoil for a design and then enter it into the computer using
the technique described below.
A.2.4.3 Types of Airfoils

In the following discussion, thin and symmetrical, thick and highly cambered, and “normal general
aviation” airfoils will be discussed. These types of airfoils serve as a good introduction because they
are so different from one another.
Thin, symmetrical airfoils are thin and have the same shape on both the top and bottom
surfaces. They do not produce very much lift or drag. They typically are used for vertical stabilizers
and often horizontal stabilizers as well because they are not called upon to produce a lot of lift,
and are not expected to produce much drag, either.
Use thick, high-cambered airfoils in the foreplanes of canards, or other applications where you
want a large amount of lift from a small wing area. These foils are known for providing a large
amount of drag as the penalty for providing a large amount of lift.
So-called “normal general aviation airfoils,” like the NACA 2412 (seen in Figure A.5), are
compromises between the two, and are good candidates for the wing of a general aviation aircraft.
Supercritical, laminar-flow, and other possible groupings of airfoils exist, but for the purposes
of our discussion we will concentrate on the thin and symmetrical, thick and highly cambered, and
“normal general aviation” airfoils just outlined.
A.2.5 Generating Airfoils

A.2.5.1 Coefficient of Lift Intercept
Now let’s actually generate an airfoil. The control to modify first is the coefficient of lift intercept
control, found in the upper left, as highlighted in Figure A.6.
To increase this number, just click right above the digits that you want to increase, and below
the ones that you want to decrease. For example, if the lift intercept on the screen is 0.25 (as in
Figure A.6), and you want to change it to 0.33 to model your airfoil, just click above the “2” in
“0.2500” and twice below the “5” in “0.2500.” This is how all of the data for the entire design and
simulation system is changed.
The coefficient of lift intercept is the coefficient of lift at an angle of attack of 0 degrees. For a
symmetrical airfoil, this will always be zero, since, in such an airfoil, the air is doing exactly the
same thing on the top and bottom of the wing at zero degrees angle of attack. Symmetrical airfoils
are sometimes used for horizontal stabilizers, and are almost always used for vertical stabilizers.
Sleek, skinny wings with low camber might have a lift intercept of 0.1. Fat, highly cambered foils
Figure A.6: The parameters used in generating an airfoil [Full size →]
have a value around 0.6. A typical airfoil like the NACA 2412 (commonly used in general aviation)
has a value of about 0.2.
A.2.5.2 Coefficient of Lift Slope

This is the increase in coefficient of lift per degree increase in angle of attack. A thin airfoil has a
value of about 0.1. A really fat airfoil has a value of about 0.08. Fatter airfoils have slightly lower
lift slopes. (You will find, however, that lift slopes are almost always very close to 0.1).
The coefficient of lift slope is modified using the slope control, seen in Figure A.6.
A.2.5.3 Coefficient of Lift Curvature Near the Stall

As the angle of attack gets close to stall, the lift slope is no longer linear. Instead, it gradually levels
off as it approaches the maximum, or stalling, coefficient of lift.
This value is modified by the first power control, seen in Figure A.6.
Just play with this control until you find a power curve that connects the linear and stalling
regions smoothly. Chances are a power of around 1.5 will work pretty well. Just play with it until
the lift comes up smoothly, then gradually levels off to the stall, since that is what happens with a
real airfoil.
A.2.5.4 Coefficient of Lift Maximum

This is the maximum coefficient of lift, or the coefficient of lift right before the stall. A very thin,
symmetrical airfoil has a value of around 1.0. A thick, highly cambered airfoil has a value of around
1.8. A typical general aviation foil might have a value of around 1.6.
This value is modified using the maximum control, seen in Figure A.6.
A.2.5.5 Coefficient of Lift Immediate Drop at Stall

This is the drop in lift that immediately follows the stall. For thin airfoils, which tend to stall sharply,
this value might be 0.2. For many airfoils, however, there is no immediate drop, but instead a more
Figure A.7: Further specifications for an airfoil’s constants [Full size →]
gradual one as the angle of attack is further increased. In most cases, this number will be zero or
very close to zero.
This is modified using the drop control, seen in Figure A.6.
A.2.5.6 Coefficient of Lift Curvature After the Stall

Different airfoils have different lift slopes after the stall. For skinny airfoils that stall sharply, the
power should be fairly low, perhaps around 1.4. For fat airfoils (which usually have more gentle
stalling characteristics) this number may be closer to 2.0.
This setting is controlled via the box, seen in Figure A.6.
Just play with the power control until the graph looks like the data you are trying to model
from the airfoil chart in whatever book you are getting your airfoil data from.
A.2.5.7 Coefficient of Lift Drop from Stall to 20 Degrees

This is the decrease in coefficient of lift from the stall to an angle of 20 degrees. This number,
modified using the drop control seen in Figure A.6, might be in the 0.4 range for a thicker airfoil,
0.6 for a thinner one. The NACA 2412 has a value of about 0.4. (The coefficient of lift goes from
around 1.6 to 1.2 as the angle of attack goes from around 16 to 20 degrees).
A.2.5.8 Coefficient of Drag Minimum

The coefficient of drag minimum, labeled cd-min in Figure A.7, is the minimum coefficient of drag
of the airfoil. Once again, this does not include induced drag, which is determined automatically
by the X-Plane simulator.
This minimum coefficient of drag also should not include the “low-drag bucket” of a laminar flow
wing. A thick or highly cambered airfoil has a value of about 0.01. A typical older general-aviation
airfoil such as the NACA 2412 has a value of about 0.006, and a really thin, symmetrical airfoil has
about a 0.005 value. Laminar flow airfoils can approach values of 0.004, but that number should not
be entered here, because it will be addressed in the laminar drag bucket controls discussed below.
A.2.5.9 Coefficient of Lift at Which Minimum Drag Occurs

Enter the coefficient of lift at which the minimum drag occurs in the min-d cl control, seen in
Figure A.7. This value is probably very close to the coefficient of lift at zero degrees angle of attack,
called the lift intercept—the very first number we entered. If anything, the minimum coefficient
of drag occurs at a coefficient of lift a little lower than the lift intercept coefficient of lift. This is
because an airfoil usually has the least drag at an angle of attack of about zero degrees or just a
hair lower.
A.2.5.10 Coefficient of Drag at Angle of Attack of 10 Degrees

This value is modified using the d alpha=10 control seen in Figure A.7. For a thin, symmetrical
airfoil, this value might be around 0.015. The NACA 2412 comes in with a surprisingly good 0.012.
A really highly cambered airfoil might be around 0.025, though.
A.2.5.11 Coefficient of Drag Curvature

This value is set by the first power control in the drag section, seen in Figure A.7 The power curve
is simply the curvature of the drag curve as it changes with angle of attack. You will have to fiddle
with the curvature until the curve looks like the experimental data, but theoretically this number
will be around 2.
A.2.5.12 Laminar Drag Bucket Location

Some airfoils, called “natural laminar flow” or “NLF” airfoils, have perfectly smooth airflow across
a large part of the wing. This flow pattern is called “laminar flow” (hence the company name
“Laminar Research”). This super smooth, low-drag flow can only happen at fairly small angles of
attack, though, so there is a “low-drag bucket,” or area in a small angle of attack range, that has
lower-than-normal drag. The drag bucket location is usually thought of in terms of the coefficient
of lift. In other words, the center of the drag bucket occurs at some coefficient of lift of the airfoil.
This might happen at a coefficient of lift of around 0.6.
The laminar drag bucket location is set using the cl location control, seen in Figure A.7.
A.2.5.13 Laminar Drag Bucket Width

The laminar drag bucket width, set using the width control (shown in in Figure A.7), refers to
how “wide” the bucket is, or what range of coefficient of lift the drag bucket covers. A decent guess
would be 0.4.
A.2.5.14 Laminar Drag Bucket Depth

This is the all-important variable. The depth control, seen in Figure A.7, determines how much the
airfoils drag is reduced by going to laminar flow. Ideally, this will be around 0.002. That is actually
quite a bit, though; it might turn a coefficient of drag of 0.006 to 0.004—quite a large percentage
difference.
A.2.5.15 Laminar Drag Bucket Curvature

This is set using the second power control in the drag section of the window, seen in Figure A.7.
The power curve is simply the curvature of the low drag bucket. You will have to fiddle with the
curvature until the curve looks like the experimental data, but chances are this number will be
around 3 to 5.
A.2.5.16 Coefficient of Moment Low-Alpha Change Point

The coefficient of moment is usually linear across the non-stalled angle of attack range. In other
words, if the airfoil is not stalled, the moment curve is usually a straight line. After the stall, however,
the moment coefficient tends to change direction. For the NACA 2412, the moment coefficient has
Figure A.8: Further specifications for an airfoil’s constants [Full size →]
its low angle of attack moment change at 10 degrees, a point corresponding to roughly +4 degrees
before the stall.
This point of change is set using the alpha 1 control highlighted in Figure A.8.
A.2.5.17 Coefficient of Moment High-Alpha Change Point

This characteristic, set using the alpha 2 control (seen in Figure A.8), determines where the
moment coefficient changes direction with a positive angle of attack. The NACA 2412 airfoil has
its high angle of attack moment-change right at the positive stalling angle of 16 degrees.
A.2.5.18 Coefficient of Moment at 20 Degrees

This is set using the cm 1 control, seen in Figure A.8.
For the NACA 2412, this number is about 0.075. Notice that this is a positive number. This
means that if the airfoil is at a clear negative angle of attack, it will stall and try to pitch back up
to an angle of attack closer to zero. This is a nice effect, because the airfoil tends to try and recover
from the stall automatically.
A.2.5.19 Coefficient of Moment at Low-Alpha Change Point

This is set using the cm 2 control, seen in Figure A.8. For the NACA 2412, this number is about
-0.05, which is a light pitch-down. A wing with a higher camber will have a value of around -0.10,
perhaps even -0.13. A symmetrical airfoil will have no pitch tendency at all here, so 0.0 should be
entered for that type of airfoil.
A.2.5.20 Coefficient of Moment at High-Alpha Change Point

This is set using the cm 3 control, seen in Figure A.8. For the NACA 2412, this number is about
0.025, which is a very light pitch-down. A wing with a higher camber will have a value of around
0.10, perhaps even 0.13. A symmetrical airfoil will have no pitch tendency at all here, so 0.0 should
be entered for that type of airfoil.
A.2.5.21 Coefficient of Moment at 20 Degrees

This is the coefficient of moment well into the stall, set using the cm 4 control seen in Figure A.8.
For the NACA 2412, it is about -0.10. This is a moderate pitch-down, which is desirable because
this pitch-down will help recover from the stall.
A.3. OTHER AIRFOIL MAKER SCREENS 121
Figure A.9: A graph of the -180 to 180 degree coefficients [Full size →]
A.2.6 Finishing Up
Change all of the parameters around a bit as discussed above, then select Save As from the File
menu. Type in an airfoil name and hit Enter. Congratulations! You have just generated your own
airfoil! Drop it in the Airfoils folder in your X-Plane folder (so that it will be usable by all planes),
or in a folder that you make called “Airfoils” in the same folder as your airplane designs (to be
used only by that airplane).
A.3 Other Airfoil Maker Screens

There are three other pages of information in Airfoil Maker. These are not required to make a
successful airfoil, but you would probably look at them at least once during the development of an
airfoil.
A.3.1 -180 to +180 Coefficients

This window is just an information display. This shows the complete airfoil coefficients from -180◦
to +180◦ . These coefficients would only be used if you were flying backwards or some other unusual
attitude.
If you change any of the parameters on the left, you will see that all of the editing you did above
was only working on the small section from -20◦ to +20◦ . There is normally no need to change the
coefficients outside this range because it doesn’t matter if your airfoil was designed by Boeing or
by Airbus; the performance of any airfoil is about the same when your plane is fluttering through
the air like a falling leaf.
It is possible to change these values by editing the .afl text file directly but that is only useful
if you have a gigantic amount of data on your airfoil. If you do do that, then never open the .afl
Figure A.10: The Finite L/D tab [Full size →]
file in Airfoil Maker as it will overwrite your coefficients with its own in the +/-20◦ region. The
intercept/slope/power numbers are not used by the simulator, only the tabulated coefficients.
A.3.2 Finite L/D

This is another information page. It is useful to check the results of your entries by calculating the
L/D (lift over drag ratio) for a hypothetical wing. Remember the coefficients on the previous pages
are never found in real life because they refer to an imaginary wing of infinite length. Even wind
tunnel data must be corrected for th effect of only having a specific length of the theoretical infinite
wing.
Enter the aspect ratio (AR) for your plane and the efficiency factor e. A glider or U-2 Dragon
Lady with extremely long wings might have an aspect ratio of 30. A light aircraft such as a Cessna
180 has an aspect ratio of 7.3. The aspect ratio of a straight wing is the wingspan divided by the
chord. For any other shape of wing, the easiest way to calculate AR is to square the wing span and
divide by the wing area:
s2
AR =
A
A.3.3 Camber
The camber page is used to influence the visual representation of the wing profile in X-Plane. Many
real wings are almost flat on the bottom or have different bulges to the typical airfoil.
This has no effect on the way the plane flies in X-Plane—it is only for the visual model. There
are only a couple of points here, so you can’t make a detailed 3-D model of your wing. There should
be enough adjustment here so that your model of the Concorde doesn’t look completely silly with
fat wings.
The yellow lines visually indicate the thickness ratio which you set on the first page.
A.3. OTHER AIRFOIL MAKER SCREENS 123
Figure A.11: A view of the wingfoil’s camber [Full size →]
If you are modeling an aircraft that has different airfoils at different positions along the wing
span you need to pay attention to this camber page. Each wing can have a different airfoil at the
root and the tip and X-Plane smoothly interpolates between them. If two X-Plane wing segments
are attached together root-to-tip then there will be an obvious step if the two cambers don’t match.
Either use the same camber in both airfoil files (difficult) or always make sure the tip airfoil of the
inner wing uses exactly the same airfoil file as the root airfoil of the outer wing section.
This feature can also be useful when you need to make small fairings or fittings out of dummy
wings. Engine Pylons, Misc Bodies or Misc Objects should be considered first but sometimes a small
stub wing is required. Remember a pylon or a misc body is a Plane Maker body like a fuselage
which contributes to the simulated drag on the aircraft. An object is a 3-D model produced in an
external modeling program which is just a visual effect with no aerodynamics. But a wing can also
produce lift, roll or yaw, affecting the plane’s flight path.
Appendix B
Troubleshooting X-Plane
This chapter is designed as a reference for when you encounter common problems in X-Plane. Each
of the following sections describes a common problem and its solution.
B.1 The X-Plane Installer Fails to Extract a File

If the X-Plane installer gives an error about a failed file extraction, it is almost always because your
DVD drive cannot read the disc. X-Plane is distributed on dual-layer DVDs, which are sometimes
more difficult to read in older DVD drives. Take note of the file reported in the error message and
try to copy it from the DVD (using the Finder in Mac OS or Windows Explorer on Windows). If
possible, try copying the file into a different folder. If multiple DVDs cannot be read, it is likely
that your DVD drive is to blame. If, however, only a single DVD is causing problems, it is more
likely the DVD is defective. Defective discs will be replaced by Laminar Research free of charge;
simply email our tech support at [email protected].
B.2 X-Plane Gives Errors about Missing DLLs, or There Are

Strange Graphical Anomolies
Most graphics- and DLL-related issues in X-Plane are due to a lack of video drivers. Make sure your
graphics drivers are up to date by following the instructions in the X-Plane Wiki article entitled
Updating the Computer’s Graphics Drivers in Windows.
B.3 X-Plane Crashed

A hard crash in X-Plane 10 is most likely caused by the system running out of usable system memory
(RAM). Symptoms of this include (1) segmentation faults, which occur when a request for memory
failed and wasn’t properly detected, and (2) X-Plane’s “uncaught exception: std::bad alloc” error.
This may occur (rarely) when your computer is has truly used up all available RAM. More
commonly, however, it occurs when X-Plane runs out of virtual address space. Because X-Plane
is a 32-bit application, it can only access 2–4 GB of virtual memory (address space) at a time,
regardless of how much RAM is installed in your computer. The specific limits are as follows:
• In 32-bit Windows (including Windows XP and some installations of Windows Vista and
Windows 7): 2 or 3 GB, depending on the operating system’s settings
• In 64-bit Windows (including most installations of Windows Vista and Windows 7): 4 GB
125
126 APPENDIX B. TROUBLESHOOTING X-PLANE
• In Mac OS X: 3.5 GB
• In Linux: 3 GB or so
When X-Plane reaches the address space limit of your system (listed above), it will crash.
You can confirm that this is occurring by using your system’s memory monitor and watching the
memory use of the X-Plane process.
To check memory usage on a Mac, do the following:
1. Click on the Applications folder in the task bar. In the menu that opens, click Utilities, then
click Activity Monitor.
2. Launch X-Plane as normal.
3. In the Process Name column of Activity Monitor, look for the X-Plane process.
4. Look at the Real Mem column corresponding to the X-Plane process. It should have a value
like 950 MB or 1.5 GB listed. If this value is beyond 3.5 GB, X-Plane is liable to crash.
To check memory usage in Windows, do the following:
1. Right-click on an empty area of the task bar and click Start Task Manager. In the window
that opens, click on the Processes tab.
2. Launch X-Plane as normal.
3. In the Image Name column of the Task Manager, look for the X-Plane process.
4. Look at the Memory column corresponding to the X-Plane process. It should have a value
like 950,000 K listed. If this value is beyond your operating system’s address limits (listed
above), X-Plane is liable to crash. Note that there are 1, 024 · 1, 024 = 1, 048, 576 kilobytes in
1 gigabyte, so the 2 GB memory limit in Windows XP would be represented as 2,097,152 K.
If this is indeed your problem, you can correct it by doing the following:
• Turn down rendering settings. The major ones are: airport detail (set to default), forests
(set to something moderate if you are using autogen too), and texture res (first run with
compressed textures). Dont use 4x SSAA when in HDR mode use FXAA instead.
• If you are on 32-bit Windows, consider moving to 64-bit Windows, at least in the long term.
• If you are on 32-bit Windows with 2 GB per process, increase that limit to 3 GB as described
on the X-Plane Wiki.
B.4 My Joystick or Yoke Isn’t Working

If the joystick and other flight controls appear to be configured correctly according to the steps
outlined in Chapter 4 but are not giving the desired response in the simulator, it’s time to trou-
bleshoot. Thankfully, X-Plane makes it easy to find out how the software is perceiving the flight
controls’ input.
In the following example we’ll assume that the plane’s pitch, yaw, and roll are not matching
the way the joystick is being moved. A similar procedure may be used for other malfunctioning
controls.
1. Move your mouse to the top of the screen and open the Settings menu.
2. Click Data Input & Output.
3. Select the rightmost box next to joystick ail/elv/rud. This box will cause X-Plane to display
the input it is receiving while running the simulation.
B.5. MY FRAME RATE IS LOW 127
4. Close the Data Input & Output window.
5. A box in the upper right should be displaying the elev, ailrn, and ruddr commands (elevator,
aileron, rudder, respectively) being received from the joystick.
6. Now, center the stick and pedals. Each axis should indicate 0.0, or close to it.
7. Move the stick full left. The ailrn should indicate -1.0 or near -1.0.
8. Move the stick full right. The ailrn should indicate 1.0 or near 1.0.
9. Move the stick full aft. The elev should indicate 1.0 or near 1.0.
10. Move the stick full forward. The elev should indicate -1.0 or near -1.0.
11. Move the rudder full left. The ruddr should indicate -1.0 or near -1.0.
12. Move the rudder full right. The ruddr should indicate 1.0 or near 1.0.
By moving the stick and pedals and seeing what values they are sending X-Plane, you can see
if X-Plane is getting proper stick input.
If the correct values (according to the tests above) are not being received in X-Plane, and you
have calibrated the controls in X-Plane per the section “Calibrating the Hardware” of Chapter 4,
then the issue is with the hardware’s calibration in your operating system, not X-Plane. If the hard-
ware is indeed calibrated correctly in the operating system, the hardware itself is malfunctioning.
On the other hand, if the correct values from the above tests are being received, then the hardware
is working fine.
B.5 My Frame Rate is Low

For a step-by-step guide to increasing frame rate, see the section “Setting the Rendering Options
for Best Performance” of Chapter 4.
B.6 My PC Freezes after Running X-Plane Awhile

When a computer freezes after running X-Plane for awhile, the problem is almost always heat
related. When the system is running X-Plane, the video card and processor get very hot because
they are running at 100% utilization. This causes the temperature to rise inside the case. To
eliminate heat as an issue, remove the computers cover and aim a fan into the case. Run X-Plane
for a while and see if the problem goes away. If it does, then you need to add some additional
cooling.
Note that this assumes that the system has enough RAM. Running out of RAM will cause
crashes as well. At least 2 GB of RAM should be used for current versions of X-Plane. This also
assumes that the computer is not overclocked.
B.7 Airplanes Flutter and Crash in the Simulator

The tendency for some aircraft to flutter and crash is a known limitation. Just as a car can only go
a certain speed with a given horsepower, the X-Plane simulator can only accurately model flight at
a certain speed with a given frame rate.
If the frame rate gets too low for the flight model to handle, then the plane is likely to start
oscillating quickly back and forth (referred to as “simulator flutter,” often occurring with autopilot
on) as the flight model tries unsuccessfully to predict what the plane will do next. At this point,
the computer is running too slowly to take small enough steps in the flight model to see what the
plane will really do at each moment. Smaller and more maneuverable planes will accelerate more
quickly, and greater accelerations require a higher frame rate to simulate.
This occurs due to the way that X-Plane moves aircraft within the simulation. X-Plane calculates
the acceleration of the craft for each frame, then adds up the acceleration between frames to move
the plane. This works fine if the frame rate is reasonably high and the accelerations are reasonable
low. In fact, for any reasonably normal aircraft that has reasonably normal accelerations, a frame
rate of 20 fps or more is fine.
Problems occur, though, when you have very light aircraft with very large wings going very
fast, or sitting on the ground with landing gear spread very far out from the center of gravity.
All of these things add up to the same result—high acceleration. A light aircraft gives high
acceleration because there is little mass, and therefore little inertia. Big wings give high acceleration
because they put out lots of force. High speeds give high acceleration because there are high forces
under all that air pressure. A widely spaced landing gear gives high acceleration because it has a
huge lever arm on the center of gravity.
X-Plane, of course, can handle these high accelerations, but it needs a high frame rate to do it.
For the flight model to work, there can only be a certain amount of velocity change per frame of
the simulation. If the accelerations are high, then the frame rate better be high so that there is a
reasonable velocity change (i.e., acceleration) per frame.
To determine how high a frame rate is enough to handle a given acceleration, just find the frame
rate at which there is no flutter.
For example, imagine a Boeing 747 at approach speed. It slowly lumbers along, hardly acceler-
ating at all. One frame per second could track that flight accurately. Now imagine holding a paper
airplane out the window of a car at 80 miles per hour and letting go. The plane doesn’t smoothly,
gradually, accelerate up to speed, it disintegrates in a thousandth of a second! To simulate that
may require a simulator to run at one thousand frames per second!
So, while a simple 20 frames per second works fine for most any aircraft, when small, light,
big-winged craft with widely spaced landing gear designs start flying fast, the accelerations come
up enough that in extreme cases, 100 fps might be needed to model accurately.
This is more of a problem with planes that:
• are small because they maneuver much more quickly than big planes,
• are light because they have less inertia and react faster,
• have long wings because they have more leverage on the center of gravity, thus reacting faster,
• have big wings because they get more lift, thus reacting faster, or
• have widely spaced landing gear because the gear has more leverage on the craft, causing it
to torque the plane faster.
When using an airplane that reacts extremely quickly to the environment, the computer needs
to react just as quickly to simulate it. This can be achieved by reducing the rendering options and
visibility in X-Plane enough to raise the frame rate to a non-fluttering level. More info on this can
be found in the section “Setting the Rendering Options for Best Performance” of Chapter 4.
B.8. GETTING HELP WITH OTHER PROBLEMS 129
B.8 Getting Help with Other Problems

If your issues do not match those above, please email tech support at [email protected]. If your
problem involves a system crash, please include the following in your email:
• The “crash-log.txt” file (found in your X-Plane directory after a crash),

• The “log.txt” file after encountering your error (also found in your X-Plane directory)
• The Apple crash log (if you are using a Mac)
Appendix C
Tech Support
Before calling or emailing, save both yourself and customer service time by checking this manual
or the X-Plane Wiki for answers. Also, be sure you have the latest version of the software you’re
using before calling (you can check this by following the instructions found in the section “Updating
X-Plane” of Chapter 4).
To contact customer service, email [email protected] or call (913) 269-0976 (Central Standard
Time).
For questions regarding your order status from X-Plane.com, email our shipping department at
[email protected].
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132 APPENDIX C. TECH SUPPORT
Appendix D
How to File a Bug Report
When sending a bug report, please include as much information as possible—anything that the X-
Plane development crew might need to know in order to reproduce the malfunction. This includes
(but is not limited to) the following information:
• The software in question (X-Plane, EFIS App, Plane Maker, etc.)

• The operating system being used
• The version of X-Plane in question
• The hardware in use (if the issue only occurs when using certain hardware)
• The exact steps (as specific and step-by-step as possible) required to reproduce the problem
Additionally, before filing a bug report, please:
• Be sure you are using the latest version of X-Plane (this includes making sure you aren’t
using an outdated shortcut).
• Delete (or change the name of) your preferences file in order to rule that out.
• Disable any plug-ins or third-party add-ons. (Please report bugs in third-party software to
the software’s developer, not the X-Plane team.)
• Be sure you understand the feature you are reporting a bug on.
• Contact X-Plane customer support at [email protected] if you are not sure whether you have
a bug or a tech support problem.
• Attach a log.txt file from X-Plane (or the installer or other X-Application) when filing the
report, as well as PNG screenshots for any visual problems. The log.txt file will tell us a lot
of information about your system that will speed up bug analysis.
To file a bug report, please use the following web page:
http://dev.x-plane.com/support/bugreport.html
Please note that, if the report was filed correctly, you will not receive any feedback on it. The
report will be saved and looked into, and, depending on its priority, fixed in a future update.
Very often, people will report a bug like, “My speed indicator does not work.” Well, I might
crash my Corvette into a tree, pick up my cell phone as the airbag deflates in my lap, call General
Motors, and say, “My speed thing indicates zero!”
In a case like that, how good a job can GM do in deciphering that report?
Filing a report with X-Plane saying “My speed indicator does not work” can be that incomplete
for two reasons. The first is that with about 20 or 30 instruments available in the X-Plane world
133
134 APPENDIX D. HOW TO FILE A BUG REPORT
(accessible via Plane Maker) that indicate speed, saying “speed Indicator” does not really isolate
what instrument is being discussed. The second reason is that you have not really given a checklist
of steps that you took to find yourself with the apparent bug. For example, it may take certain
conditions for the airspeed indicator to not work, conditions you may cause without thinking about
based on your airplane selection, weather, etc.
In the Corvette analogy above, the proper report to GM would be:
1. I got in my car.
2. I hit the starter button, the engine started, and I put the transmission in first gear.
3. I hit the gas and turned the wheel and drove until I hit a tree, which stopped me.
4. The speedometer in the instrument panel indicated zero.
5. I included a picture I took on my digital camera here, showing both the speedometer indicating
zero and the car actually stopped.
In the X-Plane world, a proper checklist for the report would look like this:
1. I renamed my preferences file so I did not have any odd settings that may cause this that we
might not know about.
2. I fired up X-Plane on my computer running [some operating system].
3. I went to the File menu and opened the “Austin’s Personal Transport” aircraft.
4. I noticed the EFIS airspeed indicator stayed at zero, no matter how fast I flew.
5. I included a screenshot of X-Plane showing the panel here, with the actual speed of the plane
shown using the Data Output screen to show my real speed.
The difference between the five-lined report above and the one-liner at the top is that you have
actually told us what you are doing. You are starting by resetting the preferences so that we can
do the same as you (a first step toward solving the problem!). You are telling us what aircraft you
are opening (so we can do the same). You are choosing one of the planes that come with X-Plane
(so we can do the same as you), and you are listing which of X-Plane’s dozens of speed indicators
you are referring to, so we can see what the problem really is.
To summarize, be sure to give a complete checklist to duplicate the issue, starting with deleting
the preferences and choosing an airplane that comes with X-Plane so that we can go through the
same steps as you. We must be able to mirror your actions, step by step, to duplicate the bug on
our computers, as this is the first step to solving the problem.
Another common mistake, though, is to say something like, “I flip a switch and hit a button and
an indicator goes to 56%.” The problem with this is that it doesn’t tell us what the issue actually
is. What do you think the indicator should go to? And, above all, prove it.
In almost all filed bug reports, the report lacks any sort of proof that the value being cited as
wrong is actually wrong. Since we sometimes get reports from people that think a Cessna cannot
roll, an airliner cannot take off without flaps, or a helicopter cannot turn without pulling collective
(all incorrect assumptions on the part of the “bug” reporter). We need proof that a characteristic
that is claimed to be wrong actually is. Segments of pilot’s operating handbooks are typically just
fine.
135
So, be sure to include proof that a characteristic of the simulator is wrong if you believe it to
be so.
Another very common error is for people to install plug-ins that modify data in the simulator,
third-party scenery packages that don’t quite follow the standards, or third-party airplanes that
may have problems, and then report it as a “bug” when something does not work correctly.
We won’t be able to duplicate the problem if it is due to third-party modifications. So, be
sure that starting from a freshly installed copy of X-Plane with the preferences (and any plug-ins)
removed is the first item in your step-by-step walkthrough for recreating the problem. Build up
from there as needed, including each step in the checklist so that I can go through it and see the
same thing you see. Use only scenery and planes that come with X-Plane if possible, so that I can
duplicate the bug.
Once again, be sure to:
1. Use a checklist to explain what you are doing, starting with renaming the preferences.
2. Include every step in the checklist that you send in your bug report.
3. Use proper terminology. If you do not know the name of an instrument, then go into Plane
Maker and click on it with the mouse. The X-Plane instrument name will be displayed at
right. Alternatively, you can get the real name of the instrument by turning on the instrument
instructions option (by going to the About menu, clicking Instructions, and checking the to
get the Show instrument instructions in the cockpit box).
4. Explain why you think the result you are seeing is wrong. Provide proof if you think the
simulator is not doing what the real plane would do.
Remember, a bad report would say, “The pressure gauge does not work.” (Which pressure
gauge? Why do you think it does not work? What do you expect it to show? What plane are you
even flying?)
A good report would say, “On a Mac running OS X Lion, I renamed the preferences and opened
[an aircraft included with X-Plane] via the File menu, then I set the controls as follows, then
I observed the manifold pressure gauge to indicate manifold pressure of zero as I advanced the
power, though in the real plane I would get 25′′ of manifold pressure in this plane, as I know from
the following excerpt from the plane’s pilot’s operating handbook.”
That report indicates what type of computer you are using, what you do to get the problem
(in a way that lets us perfectly mirror it), what you think the problem is, and it gives proof that
what you believe about the plane is in fact true. That is enough info for me to work with!
Also, be sure to send the log.txt file! This lists what type of computer you have. Hardly anyone
even thinks to mention whether they are on Mac, Windows, or Linux!
136 APPENDIX D. HOW TO FILE A BUG REPORT
Appendix E
Commissioning Custom Aircraft Files
Laminar Research now offers the capability to custom-create real aircraft for X-Plane on a contract
basis. This work can duplicate an owner’s airplane, down to the paint, tail number, avionics and
instrument panel, including the proper placement of controls and switches. This process includes
custom one-off engineering and design graphics work. Historically, we have even certified a few of
these aircraft for use with the FAA-certified version of X-Plane. As you can imagine, this work is
priced accordingly and is not inexpensive, typically about $3,500 per file.
Please contact X-Plane Customer Service at (913) 269-0976 or email us at [email protected]
for more information. If either of these has become outdated, current contact information can be
found at X-Plane.com.
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138 APPENDIX E. COMMISSIONING CUSTOM AIRCRAFT FILES
Appendix F
Water World, or “Help, there’s water

everywhere!”
When scenery is not installed for a given location, all that will be visible are airports and water. This
is referred to as “water world,” and is a common problem, especially when using older installers.
To avoid water world, either install the scenery for the location in which you’re flying, or choose
to fly somewhere else. To install scenery, insert the first X-Plane installation disc (the same disc
used to run the simulator) and run the installer as before. Instead of installing a new copy of the
program, though, when the installer window appears, press the Add or Remove Scenery button.
If scenery for the location is in fact installed, be sure that the copy of X-Plane for which it is
installed is the one being used—for instance, if you have two copies of X-Plane installed (say, one
running version 9.62 and one running 10.0), the two versions may have different amounts of scenery
installed.
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140 APPENDIX F. WATER WORLD
Appendix G
Data Output from X-Plane
The following table provides a brief description of the fields present in X-Plane 10’s data output.
This includes UDP output (output over a network), file output (to the Data.txt file located in your
X-Plane installation directory), graphical display (in the Data See tab of the Data Input & Output
window), as well as on-screen display in the cockpit during flight. Note that this list is current as
of X-Plane 10.0.
To enable output from these fields, launch X-Plane and open the Data Input & Output window
(found in the Settings menu). There, check the boxes corresponding to the fields you wish to output.
Each field has four checkboxes, corresponding to the four places the data can be sent (i.e., to the
network via UDP, to a file, to a graphical display, and to the display while in flight).
In this table, note that each group of data fields is labeled as it would be in the Data Input &
Output window. For instance, to see the values of the “f-act” or “frame time” variables, you would
consult the table and see that those variables are under the frame rate label. Simply check the
box corresponding to “frame rate” in the Data Input & Output to see those variables. Alternately,
if you know you want frame rate-related variables, you could consult the portion of the table under
the frame rate heading to find out what data is available. Where the meaning of a label in the
Data Input & Output window is not immediately obvious, a longer version of the label is given—for
instance, “Simulator statistics (sim stats).”
Field label Description

Frame rate
f-act, /sec The actual frame rate being displayed by X-Plane. Unless
your computer is bogged down, this will be the same as
f-sim.
f-sim, /sec The frame rate the simulator is “pretending” to have in
order to keep the flight model from failing.
frame, time The time required to render one frame, in seconds.
cpu, load The combined CPU and GPU load, as a decimal part of the
full power available.
continued on next page
141
142 APPENDIX G. DATA OUTPUT FROM X-PLANE
continued from previous page

grnd, ratio
flit, ratio
Times
real, time The number of seconds, in the real world, elapsed since the
simulator was launched.
totl, time The number of seconds elapsed since the simulator was
launched minus time spent in a loading screen.
missn, time The time since the start of the “mission” (generally the time
since the last time an aircraft or location was loaded).
timer, time The time elapsed on a timer for general use.
zulu, time “Zulu” time (Greenwich Mean Time, or GMT) in the sim-
ulator, in decimal hours (e.g., 3.5 for 3:30 a.m.).
local, time Local time in the simulator, in decimal hours.
hobbs, time The aircraft’s Hobbs time (a measurement of how long the
aircraft’s systems have been run).
Simulator statistics (sim stats)
explo, DIM
explo, USE
cratr, DIM
cratr, USE
puffs, TOT
puffs, VIS
tris, vis
q, depth
Speeds
Vind, kias The craft’s indicated airspeed, in knots indicated airspeed.
Vind, keas The craft’s indicated airspeed, in knots equivalent airspeed
(the calibrated airspeed corrected for adiabatic compress-
ible flow at the craft’s current altitude).
143

Vtrue, ktas The craft’s true airspeed (the speed of the craft relative to
undisturbed air), in knots true airspeed.
Vtrue, ktgs True airspeed, in knots true ground speed.
Vind, mph The craft’s indicated airspeed, in miles per hour.
Vtrue, mphas The craft’s true airspeed, in miles per hour airspeed.
Vtrue, mphgs The craft’s true airspeed, in miles per hour ground speed.
Aircraft Mach speeds, vertical velocity, and g-loads (mach, VVI, G-load)
Mach, ratio The aircraft’s current speed, as a ratio to Mach 1.
VVI, fpm The aircraft’s current vertical velocity, in feet per minute.
Gload, norml The g-load across the aircraft.
Gload, axial The axial g-load on the aircraft.
Gload, side The side g-load on the aircraft.
Atmosphere: weather
SLprs, inHG SLprs , in inches mercury.
SLtmp, degC SLtmp , in degrees Celsius.
wind, speed The wind speed around the aircraft, in knots.
wind, dir The wind direction, in degrees clockwise deviation from
north. Wind blowing from north to south has direction 0.0,
while wind blowing from west to east has direction 270.0.
trb, locl Amount of local turbulence.
prec, locl Amount of local precipitation.
hail, locl Amount of local hail.
Atmosphere: aircraft
AMprs, inHG AMprs , in inches mercury.
AMtmp, degC AMtmp , in degrees Celsius.
LEtmp, degC LEtmp , in degrees Celsius.
dens, ratio The aircraft’s density ratio.
A, ktas A, in knots true airspeed.
Q, psf Q, dynamic pressure or velocity pressure, in pounds per
square foot.

gravi, fts2 Gravitational force, in feet per second squared.
System pressures
baro, inHG Barometric pressure, in inches mercury.
edens, part
vacum, ratio
elec, ratio
AHRS, ratio Pressure in the attitude heading reference system (AHRS),
as a ratio to normal.
Joystick aileron, elevator, and rudder input (joystick ail/elv/rud)
elev, yoke1 The user’s elevator input, as a ratio to full upward deflec-
tion. For instance, a value of -1.000 indicated the user is
commanding the aircraft’s nose down as fast as possible.
ailrn, yoke1 The user’s aileron input, as a ratio to full rightward deflec-
commanding the aircraft to roll left as fast as possible.
ruddr, yoke1 The user’s rudder input, as a ratio to full rightward deflec-
commanding the aircraft to yaw left as fast as possible.
Other flight controls
vect, rqst The requested thrust vectoring.
sweep, rqst The requested wing sweep.
incid, rqst The requested wing incidence.
dihed, rqst The requested wing dihedral.
retra, rqst The requested wing retraction.
water, jetts Water jettisoned.
Artificial stability inputs for aileron, elevator, and rudder (art stab ail/elv/rud)
elev, astab The artificial stability system’s elevator input, as a ratio to
full upward deflection.
ailrn, astab The artificial stability system’s aileron input, as a ratio to
full rightward deflection.
145

ruddr, astab The artificial stability system’s aileron input, as a ratio to
full rightward deflection.
Flight control deflections for aileron, elevator, and rudder (flight con ail/elv/rud)
elev, surf The proportion of the elevator deflected for upward pitch.
If the elevators and flight inputs are in sync, this will match
the combined yoke and artificial stability system input.
ailrn, surf The proportion of the aileron deflected for rightward roll. If
the elevators and flight inputs are in sync, this will match
ruddr, surf The proportion of the rudder deflected for rightward yaw.
If the elevators and flight inputs are in sync, this will match
nwhel, steer The nosewheel’s direction, in degrees of deviation from
pointing straight ahead. For instance, a value of -31.000
indicated the wheel is pointed left 31 degrees.
Wing sweep and thrust vectoring (wing sweep/thrust vect)
sweep, 1, deg The craft’s wing sweep, in degrees back from normal.
sweep, 2, deg The craft’s wing sweep, in degrees back from normal.
sweep, h, deg The craft’s wing sweep, in degrees.
vect, ratio
sweep, ratio The craft’s wing sweep, as a ratio to fully forward.
incid, ratio The craft’s wing incidence, as a ratio to fully angled.
dihed, ratio The craft’s wing dihedral, as a ratio to fully angled.
retra, ratio The craft’s wing retraction, as a ratio to fully retracted.
Trim, flaps, slats, and speedbrakes (trim/flap/slat/s-brakes)
trim, elev Elevator trim.
trim, ailrn Aileron trim.
trim, ruddr Rudder trim.
flap, handl
flap, postn Flap position.

slat, ratio Slat position.
sbrak, handl
sbrak, postn Speedbrake position.
Landing gear and brakes (gear/brakes)
gear, 0/1 Gear extended status.
wbrak, part
lbrak, part Left toe brake depression.
rbrak, part Right toe brake depression.
Angular moments
M, ftlb
L, ftlb
N, ftlb
Angular velocities
Q, rad/s
P, rad/s
R, rad/s
Pitch, roll, headings
pitch, deg The aircraft’s pitch, in degrees.
roll, deg The aircraft’s roll, in degrees.
hding, true The aircraft’s true heading, in degrees.
hding, mag The aircraft’s magnetic heading, in degrees.
Angle of attack, sideslip, and paths (AoA, side-slip, paths)
alpha, deg The aircraft’s angle of attack, in degrees.
beta, deg The aircraft’s angle of sideslip, in degrees.
hpath, deg
vpath, deg
slip, deg
Magnetic compass (mag compass)
147

mag, comp
mavar, deg
Latitude, longitude, and altitude (lat, lon, altitude)
lat, deg The aircraft’s latitudinal location, in degrees.
lon, deg The aircraft’s longitudinal location, in degrees.
alt, ftmsl The aircraft’s altitude, in feet above mean sea level.
alt, ftagl The aircraft’s altitude, in feet above ground level.
on, runwy
alt, ind
lat, south
lon, west
Location, velocity, and distance traveled (loc, vel, dist traveled)
X, m
Y, m
Z, m
vX, m/s
vY, m/s
vZ, m/s
dist, ft
dist, nm
Latitude for all aircraft (all planes: lat)
lat n, deg Aircraft n’s latitudinal location (zero if craft n does not
exist).
Longitude for all aircraft (all planes: lon)
lon n, deg Aircraft n’s longitudinal location (zero if craft n does not
exist).
Altitude for all aircraft (all planes: alt)
alt n, ftmsl Aircraft n’s altitude location (zero if craft n does not exist).

Commanded throttle (throttle command)
thron, part Aircraft n’s commanded throttle.
Actual throttle (throttle actual)
thron, part Aircraft n’s actual throttle.
Engine or propeller mode (feather-norm-beta-revers)
moden, 0123 Engine n’s current “mode,” where 0 corresponds to feath-
ered, 1 corresponds to normal, 2 to beta, and 3 to reverse
thrust.
Propeller setting (prop setting)
propn, set Aircraft n’s propeller setting.
Mixture setting
mixtn, ratio Aircraft n’s mixture setting.
Carburetor heat setting (carb heat setting)
heatn, ratio Aircraft n’s carburetor heat setting.
Cowl flap setting
cowln, set Aircraft n’s cowl flap setting.
Ignition settings
ignin, set Aircraft n’s ignition setting.
Starter timeout
starn, sec Aircraft n’s starter timeout.
Engine power
power, n, hp Engine n’s power, in horsepower.
Engine thrust
thrst, n, lb The thrust, in pounds, generated by engine n.
Engine torque
trq n, ftlb The torque, in foot-pounds, generated by engine n.
Engine RPM
rpm n, engin The current RPM of engine n.
149

Propeller RPM (prop RPM)
rpm n, prop The current RPM of propeller n.
Propeller pitch (prop pitch)
ptchn, deg The current pitch of propeller n.
Slipstream/propwash/jetwash (propwash/jetwash)
pwash, kt
N1
N1 n, pcnt The current N1 for engine n.
N2
N2 n, pcnt The current N2 for engine n.
Manifold pressure (MP)
MP n, inhg The current manifold pressure for engine n, in inches mer-
cury.
Engine pressure ratio (EPR)
EPR n, part The current engine pressure ratio for engine n.
Fuel flow (FF)
FF n, lb/h The current fuel flow for engine n, in pounds per hour.
Interstage turbine temperature (ITT)
ITT n, deg The current interstage turbine temperature for engine n.
Exhaust gas temperature (EGT)
EGT n, deg The current exhaust gas temperature for engine n.
Cylinder head temperature (CHT)
CHT n, deg The current cylinder head temperature for engine n.
Oil pressure
OILPn, psi The current oil pressure for engine n, in pounds per square
inch.
Oil temperature (Oil temp)
OILTn, deg The current oil temperature for engine n.

Fuel pressure
FUEPn, psi The current fuel pressure for engine n, in pounds per square
inch.
Generator amperage
genrn, amp The current generator amperage for generator n.
Battery amperage
battn, amp The current batter amperage for battery n.
Battery voltage
battn, volt The current battery voltage for battery n.
Fuel pump on/off

pumpn, 0/1 Fuel pump n’s status.
Idle speed lo/hi
idlen 0/1 Engine n’s idle speed.
Battery on/off
battn, 0/1 Battery n’s status.
Generator on/off
genrn, 0/1 Generator n’s status.
Inverter on/off
invrn, 0/1 Inverter n’s status.
FADEC on/off
fadec, 0/1 The FADEC’s status.
Igniter on/off
ignin, 0/1 Igniter n’s status.
Fuel weights
fuel, n lb Fuel tank n’s weight, in pounds.
Payload weights and center of gravity (payload weights and CG)
empty, lb The aircraft’s empty weight, in pounds.
151

payld, lb The aircraft’s payload weight, in pounds.
fuel, totlb The total weight of the aircraft’s fuel, in pounds.
jetti, lb The aircraft’s jettisonable weight, in pounds.
curnt, lb The aircraft’s current weight, in pounds.
maxim, lb The aircraft’s maximum weight, in pounds.
cg, ftref The aircraft’s center of gravity, measured in feet behind the
reference point.
Aerodynamic forces (aero forces)
lift, lb The lift acting on the aircraft, in pounds.
drag, lb The drag acting on the aircraft, in pounds.
side, lb The side forces acting on the aircraft, in pounds.
Engine forces
norml, lb
axial, lb
side, lb
Landing gear vertical force (landing gear vert force)
gear, lb
Landing gear deployment
gear, rat
Lift-to-drag ratio and coefficients (lift over drag & coeffs)
L/D, ratio The aircraft’s lift-to-drag ratio.
cl, total
cd, total
dihed, delta
Propeller efficiency (prop efficiency)
Peffn, ratio Propeller n’s efficiency ratio.
Aileron deflections (defs: ailerons)
Lailn,n,deg The deflection of left aileron n, in degrees.

Railn, n, deg The deflection of right aileron n, in degrees.
Roll spoiler deflection (defs: roll spoilers)
Lsplr,n, deg The deflection of left spoiler n, in degrees.
Rsplr, n, deg The deflection of right spoiler n, in degrees.
Elevator deflections (defs: elevators)
elevn, deg The deflection of elevator n, in degrees.
Rudder deflection (defs: rudders)
rudrn, deg The deflection of rudder n, in degrees.
Yaw brake deflections (defs: yaw brakes)
Lyawb, deg The deflection of the left yaw brake, in degrees.
Ryawb, deg The deflection of the right yaw brake, in degrees.
Control forces
pitch, lb
roll, lb
hdng, lb
l-brk, lb
r-brk, lb
Total vertical thrust vectors (total vert thrust vects)
vertn, tvect
Total lateral thrust vectors (total lat thrust vects)
latrn, tvect
Pitch cyclic disc tilts
pitch, cycli
Roll cyclic disc tilts
roll, cycli
Pitch cyclic flapping
pitch, flap
Roll cyclic flapping
153

roll, flap
Ground effect (lift) from wings (grnd effect lift, wings)
wingn, L cl*
wingn, R cl*
Ground effect (drag) from wings (grnd effect drag, wings)
wingn, Lcdi*
wingn, Rcdi*
Ground effect (wash) from wings (grnd effect wash, wings)
wingn, wash*
Ground effect (lift) from stabilizers (grnd effect lift, stabs)
hstab, L cl*
hstab, R cl*
vstb1, cl*
Ground effect (drag) from stabilizers (grnd effect drag, stabs)
hstab, Lcdi*
hstab, Rcdi*
vstbn, cdi*
Ground effect (wash) from stabilizers (grnd effect wash, stabs)
hstab, wash*
vstbn, wash*
Ground effect (lift) from propellers (grnd effect lift, props)
propn, cl*
Ground effect (drag) from propellers (grnd effect drag, props)
propn, cdi*
Wing lift
wingn, lift The lift generated by wing n.
Wing drag
wingn, drag The drag generated by wing n.

Stabilizer lift (stab lift)
hstab, lift The lift generated by the horizontal stabilizer.
vstbn, lift The lift generated by the vertical stabilizer.
Stabilizer drag (stab drag)
hstab, drag The drag generated by the horizontal stabilizer.
vstbn, drag The drag generated by the vertical stabilizer.
COM 1/2 frequency
COM n, freq The current frequency of the COM n radio.
COM n, stby The standby frequency of the COM n radio.
COM, xmt The transmit statud of the COM n.
NAV 1/2 frequency
NAV n, freq The current frequency of the NAV n radio.
NAV n, stby The standby frequency of the NAV n radio.
NAV n, type
NAV 1/2 OBS
NAV n, OBS
NAV n, s-crs
NAV n, flag
NAV n deflections
NAV n, n-typ
NAV n, to-fr
NAV n, m-crs
NAV n, r-brg
NAV n, dme-d
NAV n, h-def
NAV n, v-def
ADF 1/2 status
ADF n, freq
155

ADF n, card
ADF n, r-brg
ADF n, n-typ
DME status
DME, nav01
DME, mode
DME, found
DME, dist
DME, speed
DME, time
DME, n-typ
DME-3, freq
GPS status
GPS, mode
GPS, index
dist, nm
OBS, mag
crs, mag
rel, brng
hdef, dots
vdef, dots
Transponder status (XPNDR status)
trans, mode
trans, sett
trans, ID
trans, inter
Marker status
OM, morse Signal from outer marker (OM)

MM, morse Signal from middle marker (MM)
IM, morse Signal from inner marker (IM)
audio, activ
Switches 1: electrical
avio, 0/1 The status of the AVIO switch.
nav, lite The status of the navigation light switch.
beacn, lite The status of the beacon switch.
strob, lite The status of the strobe light switch.
land, lite The status of the landing light switch.
taxi, lite The status of the taxi light switch.
Switches 2: EFIS
ECAM, mode The ECAM mode.
EFIS, sel n
HSI, sel n
HSI, arc
map, r-sel
map, range
Switches 3: Autopilot, flight director, and head-up display (switches 3: AP/f-dir/HUD)
ap, src
fdir, mode
fdir, ptch
fdir, roll
HUD, power
HUD, brite
Switches 4: anti-ice
ice, all
ice, inlet
ice, prop
157

ice, windo
ice-n, pitot
ice, AOA
ice, wing
Switches 5: anti-ice/fuel
alt, airn
auto, ignit
manul, ignit
l-eng, tank
r-eng, tank
Switches 6: clutch and artificial stability (switches 6: clutch/astab)
prero, engag
clutc, ratio
art, ptch
art, roll
yaw, damp
auto, brake
Switches 7: miscellaneous (switches 7: misc)
tot, energ
radal, feet
prop, sync
fethr, mode
puffr, power
water, scoop
arrst, hook
chute, deply
Annunciators: general
mast, cau

mast, war
mast, accp
auto, disco
low, vacum
low, volt
fuel, quant
hyd, press
Annunciators: general
yawda, on
sbrk, on
GPWS, warn
ice, warn
pitot, off
cabin, althi
afthr, arm
ospd, time
Annunciators: engine
fuel, press
oil, press
oil, temp
inver, warn
gener, warn
chip, detec
engin, fire
ignit, 0/1
Armed autopilot functions (autopilot arms)
nav, arm
alt, arm
159

app, arm
vnav, enab
vnav, arm
vnav, time
gp, enabl
app, typ
Autopilot modes
auto, throt
mode, hding
mode, alt
bac, 0/1
app,
sync, butn
Autopilot values
set, speed The desired speed setting for the autopilot.
set, hding The desired heading setting for the autopilot.
set, vvi The desired vertical velocity setting for the autopilot.
dial, alt
vnav, alt
use, alt
sync, roll
sync, pitch
Weapon status
hdng, delta
pitch, delta
R, d/sec
Q, d/sec
rudd, ratio

elev, ratio
V, kts
dis, ft
Pressurization status
alt, set
vvi, set
alt, act
vvi, act
test, time
diff, psi
dump, all
bleed, src
Auxiliary power unit and ground power unit status (APU/GPU status)
APU, eqipd
APU, swtch
APU, runng
APU, ac
fm N, AP
, GP
Radar status
targ, selct The status of the target selection.
Hydraulic status
hydr, pumpn The status of hydraulic pump n.
hydr, qtyn The hydraulic fluid in pump n.
hydr, presn The pressure of hydraulic pump n.
Electrical and solar power status (elec & solar status)
battn, volt Battery n’s voltage.
busn, volt Bus n’s voltage.
161

batt, in W
batt, out W
batt, w-hr
DC, voltm
Icing status 1
inlet, ice
prop, ice
pitot, ice
statc, ice
Icing status 2
aoa, ice
lwing, ice
rwing, ice
windo, ice
Warning status
warn, time
caut, time
warn, work
caut, work
gear, work
gear, warn
stall, warn
VRS, ratio
Flight plan legs (flite-plan legs)
leg, #
leg, type
leg, lat
leg, lon

Hardware options
pedal, nobrk
pedal, wibrk
yoke, PFC
pedal, PFC
throt, PFC
cecon, PFC
switc, PFC
btogg, PFC
Camera location
camra, lon The camera’s longitudinal location.
camra, lat The camera’s latitudinal location.
camra, ele The camera’s elevation.
camra, hdg The camera’s heading.
camra, pitch The camera’s pitch.
camra, roll The camera’s roll.
camra, clou The camera’s cloud cover.
Ground location
cntr, X
cntr, Y
cntr, Z
slope, X
slope, Z
Travel statistics (travel stats)
fob, lb
ff, pph
ff, gph
speed, mph
163

eta, mpg
eta, nm/lb
range, sm
endur, hours
Table G.1: Descriptions of fields available in X-Plane 10’s data output

Index of Menu Items
The following is a list of this manual’s references to specific menu items in X-Plane 10. Note that
for the sake of providing context, each page number indicates the beginning of the section in which
the reference occurs.
About
About X-Plane
Update X-Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 15, 30
Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pp. 55, 57
Logbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 65
File
Save Situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 59
Load Situtation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 59
Save Replay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 59
Load Replay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 59
Load Flight Data Recorder File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 62
Take Screenshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 60
Toggle Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 59
Quicktime Movie Specs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 59
Quit
Aircraft
Open Aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 13, 45, 47, 54, 89
Open Livery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 49
File Flight Plan
Weight and Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 68, 94
Equipment Failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 69
Aircraft & Situations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 44, 87, 92, 94, 94, 99, 103, 104
A.I. Flies Your Aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 56
A.I. Controls Your Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 56
Toggle Puff Smoke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 69
165
166 INDEX OF MENU ITEMS
Cycle 3-D Flight-Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 60

Reset 3-D Flight-Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 60
Toggle Replay Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 61
Location
Select Global Airport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 14, 49
Local Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pp. 72, 75–76, 103
Planet Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 50
Get Me Lost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 50
Environment
Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 50
Set weather uniformly for the whole world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 51, 87, 103
Set random and only semi-controlled weather patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 53
Paint weather patterns by dragging the mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 53
Grab real weather from the net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 54
Date & Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 54
Settings
Data Input & Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. ??, 105
Net Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 77, 107, 108
Joystick & Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pp. 12, 31, 94
Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pp. 31, 105
Nullzone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 33, 105
Buttons: Basic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 33, 78, 80
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 35
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 35
Rendering Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 36–43, 77, 87, 108, 108, 109, 110
Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 44, 65
Operations & Warnings
Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p. 30
Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 67
Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 68
View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 56
Forwards with Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 56, 58
Forwards with HUD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 56, 58
Forwards with Nothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 56, 58
3-D Cockpit Command-Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .pp. 56, 58
3-D Cockpit Mouse-Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 56, 58
167
View is Ridealong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 56, 58

View is Chase, View is Circle, View is Still Spot, View is Linear Spot,
View is Beacon Tower, View is on Runway, View is on Weapon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 56, 58
View is Free-Camera
Translate Left, Translate Right, Translate Up, Translate Down, Translate Fore,
Translate Aft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pp. 56, 57
Rotate Left, Rotate Right, Rotate Up, Rotate Down, Zoom In, Zoom Out . . . . . . . .pp. 56, 57
Toggle Cinema Verite
Toggle Transparent Cockpit
Toggle Sunglasses
Toggle Night Vision Goggles
Special
Find Pitch Stability Derivative
Find Yaw Stability Derivative
Show Flight Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 62
Output Flight Model
Open Text File for Viewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 68
Toggle Text File for Viewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 68
Open Checklist for Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 68
Toggle Checklist for Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 68
Set Environment Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 104
Set Artificial Stab Constants
Set Autopilot Constants
Set FADEC Constants
Show Control Deflections
Show Bouncers
Show Weapon Guidance
Show Projector Setup
Show Sky Colors
Plugins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 46
168 INDEX OF MENU ITEMS
Glossary
G.1 Working with the Program Itself

Download: To download something means to get files from some remote server on the Internet
and receive those files on your computer. Users can download lots of airplanes and scenery packages
for X-Plane from the Internet. Downloading is receiving files from the Internet; it is not the same
as installing those files.
Install: To install something is to move a copy of the software onto your computer so that it can
be run. When you get a DVD with X-Plane on it, you run the installer to install the program from
the DVD—this is not downloading the program. It is installing it. You would only be downloading
the program if the files were coming from the Internet (though once such files were downloaded,
you would install them to have them ready for use).
Update: To update a piece of software is to convert it to a newer version. This should be done
every couple months or so in order to take advantage of new features in the simulator. To update in
X-Plane, a user first downloads and then installs a newer version. The updater program (available
for free at X-Plane.com) does both of these things for you very easily.
G.2 Controls in an Aircraft

Anti-torque pedals: In a helicopter, the anti-torque pedals are the foot pedals which modify
the collective pitch of the tail rotor. Because the helicopter’s throttle governor keeps the rotors
turning at a constant RPM, changing the pitch also changes the thrust generated by the rotor, so
the tail rotor can swing the helicopter’s tail to the left or right. This is referred to as yaw motion.
Collective: In a helicopter, the collective is the lever that modifies the collective pitch of the
main rotor’s blades. It is called “collective” because the pitch of all the blades is modified at the
same time. Because the engine keeps the rotor moving at a constant RPM, increasing the rotor
blades’ pitch with this control will also increase their lift.
Cyclic: The control (a joystick in real life) which changes the pitch of the main rotor’s blades as
they go through each cycle, used to steer the craft left, right, forward, or aft.
Joystick: A control device used in aircraft. It consists of a base with a handle attached to it. The
handle can be tiled around within the base to control the pitch and roll movement of the aircraft.
Computer joysticks often have the ability to twist the handle to control yaw movement also. Real
169
170 GLOSSARY
Figure G.1: The flight dynamics of an aircraft. Thanks to Wikipedia contributor ZeroOne for
releasing the image under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. [Full size →]
airplanes have either a joystick or a yoke to control them, while helicopters are controlled with
joysticks only.
Rotor: The rotating part of a helicopter that generates the craft’s lift; similar in appearance to
an oversized airplane propeller, though different in its operation.
Rudder pedals: Foot pedals in an airplane used to steer the plane down the runway and to
control its yaw motion in flight (that is, the wagging of its tail left or right). This becomes very
useful when starting turns and counter-acting crosswinds. Note that these are not spelled “petals,”
as they are not named after the fragile leaves of a flower.
Yoke: The yoke, named after a wooden device draped across oxen to tow things, is the “steering
wheel” of the airplane. It is used to steer the plane in flight by dipping the wings up or down and
by pulling the nose up and pushing it down. Note that this is not spelled “yolk,” as it is not named
after the center of an egg.
G.3 Movement of an Aircraft

Pitch: Movement of the aircraft’s nose up or down (illustrated in Figure G.1).
Roll: Movement of the aircraft’s body along the line formed by its body; in an airplane, this is
easily seen as the dip or rise of the wings (illustrated in Figure G.1).
Yaw: Movement of the aircraft’s body left or right, most easily pictured as a wagging of the
aircraft’s tail (illustrated in Figure G.1).
G.4. OTHER AVIATION TERMS 171
G.4 Other Aviation Terms

Above Ground Level (AGL): When holding an altitude requested by air traffic control, a
pilot will hold an altitude AMSL (above mean sea level). This lets the pilot stay at a constant level
while flying. In order to avoid a horrific and instant death, however, pilots should be aware of their
altitude AGL (above ground level) as well! The altimeter in the aircraft works on air pressure, so it
measures the altitude above sea level, so awareness of minimum allowable altitudes in one’s region
is always needed in order to stay at least that high. The radio altimeter measures the height above
the ground (AGL). Most planes, however, do not have these installed. This is increasingly okay,
though, because in theory a pilot can follow the en route and approach charts, which list safe MSL
altitudes, and more and more planes have moving maps that clearly show the terrain elevation, so
pilots can be sure that their elevation is safe.
Airspeed indicator (ASI): The ASI is driven by the pressure of the air impacting a little tube
on the nose or wing of the plane. More pressure means the craft is moving faster. See the discussion
in the “Indicated airspeed (IAS)” entry below.
Air Traffic Control (ATC): The body governing aircraft operations in a given airspace.
Altitude: An aircraft’s altitude is its height above sea level. This is typically displayed on the
aircraft’s altimeter, which is driven by air pressure.
Automatic Direction-Finder (ADF): This is the old-style navigation device that just points
a needle at a transmitter on the ground. These are not used too often any more because modern
navigation involves staying on a pre-defined course (a line), not just taking any random routing to
get to a pre-defined point, like an ADF typically provides. Additionally, with GPS navigation, the
whole idea of going to pre-defined points (like picking up bread-crumbs to find one’s way home)
is thankfully disappearing. The GPS will take pilots all the way to where they want to go in a
straight line, not a zig-zaggy one like would be achieved in flying from one navigation transmitter
to another, wasting fuel with an indirect routing simply because of the locations people chose to
plant navigation transmitters fifty years ago.
Back Course (BC): This is the part of the ILS that goes beyond the touch-down zone. Read
all about it in Chapter 7, Navigation, Autopilots, and Flying on Instruments.
Course Deviation Indicator (CDI): This instrument (part of the OBI or HSI) displays which
direction the aircraft needs to turn in order to intercept the VOR course. This is discussed in
Chapter 7, Navigation, Autopilots, and Flying on Instruments.
Density altitude: As the temperature of the air increases, its density decreases. The barometric
pressure can vary based on a number of other factors, too, so at sea level on a hot, low-pressure
day, the density of the air may be the same as standard air density at 10,000 feet up in the air!
This is a 10,000 foot density altitude. This means there is less air for the engines, less air for the
propeller, and less air for the wings. All of this adds up to say that it will take the aircraft longer
to get off the ground.
172 GLOSSARY
Distance Measuring Equipment (DME): An instrument used in navigation which measures

distance using the delay between the sending and receiving of a radio signal. Aircraft use this to
determine their distance from a fixed NAVAID.
Drag: The aerodynamic force (created by a fluid such as air flowing around an object) that slows
the object’s motion.
Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS): A flight instrument system (found in an air-
craft’s panel) with electronic displays rather than the mechanical gauges of a standard panel.
Go Around (GA): An autopilot mode that raises the nose in a wings-level attitude and calls
for lots of power in order to get back to altitude after a botched landing approach).
Glideslope (G/S): The angle at which an aircraft approaches (or needs to approach) a runway;
often used when discussing navigation by instruments. See Chapter 7 for more information.
Global Positioning System (GPS): A form of navigation using data from satellites.
Heading (HDG): An aircraft’s heading is the direction that its nose is pointing. This is also a
mode in the autopilot that lets the pilot hold a pre-defined heading, typically magnetic. A magnetic
heading is heading to the magnetic north pole, something a hair different than true north, which
is a geographic heading that will take one to the true geographic North Pole. Remember, since
the magnetic north pole is separated from the geographic north pole by a bit, true and magnetic
heading are not typically the same! They may be off by 5 or 10 degrees in the medium latitudes.
The difference between the true and magnetic north poles is called the magnetic variation.
Hold (HLD): Pressing this button will engage the autopilot in altitude hold mode. See the
Autopilots section of Chapter 7 for more information.
Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI): This instrument is found in the panel of many aircraft
in X-Plane. It serves the same function as an OBI—that is, it indicates course deviation. See Chapter
7 for more information.
Instrument Flight Rules (IFR): The procedure for flying an aircraft based solely on the
craft’s instrument panel. Environmental conditions requiring such flight (such as the poor visibility
on a rainy day) are referred to as IFR conditions. This is contrasted with VFR conditions (those
operating under visual flight rules). In bad weather or above 18,000 feet, pilots need to fly by
Instrument Flight Rules, following their instruments and air traffic control instructions carefully
to avoid hitting the ground or other planes, or going off course and messing up the carefully laid
plans of the air traffic controller. When flying IFR, it really makes no difference whether the pilot
can see out the front of the plane or not, since he or is on a carefully mapped procedure to stay on
a safe course. Seeing out the window in this case is an unneeded luxury.
Instrument Landing System (ILS): A ground-based system for guiding approaching aircraft
into the runway via radio signals. See the Chapter 7 for more information.
Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC): When pilots are in clouds or rain and cannot
see out the window, they are required to fly by IMC rules. In such conditions, they need to be on
an instrument flight plan.
Indicated airspeed (IAS): The presumed airspeed of a craft as determined by measuring the
pressure acting on a little tube attached to the craft which points into the wind. This differs from
true airspeed in situations where the air has very little density (for example, at 80,000 feet in an
SR-71 Blackbird or in orbit in the Space Shuttle). This error, though, can be useful, because if there
is less pressure pushing on the airspeed indicator, then there is also less pressure pushing on the
wings of the aircraft. Therefore, the airspeed indicator tells how much air pressure is available for
the props and wings (which is what a pilot really cares about, as more pressure gives more lift and
drag). So, if a pilot is going 120 mph in thin air, but the pressure is only strong enough to measure
100 mph on the airspeed indicator, then that means the aerodynamic pressure on the wings is only
100 mph-worth of pressure! It is this pressure that determines how much lift and drag the wings
can put out.
Lift: The aerodynamic force (created by a fluid such as air flowing around an object) that pushes
an object upward.
Localizer (LOC): A localizer is part of an instrument landing system (ILS). It serves as a lateral
(left and right) guide to the centerline of the runway.
Mach speed: The speed of sound through the air. Mach’s number actually describes the speed
of sound through any fluid (that is, liquid or gas). In application to aeronautics, though, it is
implied that the fluid is air. Note that this number is dependent on a number of factors, such as
temperature, humidity, and pressure. Generally, “Mach 1” is cited as 768 miles per hour (the speed
of sound at sea level in dry air at 68◦ Fahrenheit).
NAV: Short for “navigate.” This is an autopilot mode that follows an ILS, localizer, VOR, or
GPS path. See Chapter 7 for more information.
NAVAID: A navigation aid transmitter (typically a VOR, NDB, or ILS) which is used as a
reference when flying. These are often found on or near an airport, but they can also be scattered
between airports to use a node points in an airway. Pilots often fly from NAVAID to NAVAID on
long flights, as a VOR is only usable from about 50 miles away. See Chapter 7 for more information.
Non Directional Beacon (NDB): See the ADF note above.
Omni-Bearing Indicator (OBI): This instrument, used for navigation, is found in most general
aviation aircraft. It consists of a moving arrow (called the course deviation indicator, or CDI) which
points the way to whatever VOR frequency is tuned in the navigation radio. The instrument is set
using the Omni-Bearing Selector (or OBS), the knob in its lower left corner. A more expensive
version of this is an HSI. See Chapter 7 for more information.
Rotations per minute (RPM): a way of measuring the speed of a rotor or propeller. In a
helicopter, the RPM of both the main rotor and the tail rotor are held constant.
174 GLOSSARY
Speed: The change in the position of an object over time; unlike velocity, speed does not take
into account the direction of the object’s movement.
Thrust vector: The direction in which the engine or rotor’s thrust is going; for a helicopter
sitting on a helipad with its controls at neutral, this is straight down.
Thrust vectoring: The ability of helicopters and some other aircraft (such as the Harrier or the
F-22) to change the direction of the thrust from its engines/rotors.
Vector airways: Vector airways are the pre-charted airways that are defined by a series of VORs.
Pilots fly from VOR to VOR until they reach their destination, thereby staying on a vector airway.
Each segment of the vector airway thoughtfully lists the minimum altitude that pilots can fly that
airway segment with to avoid crashing.
Velocity: The combination of an object’s speed and the direction of its movement; for example,
an aircraft might have a vertical velocity of 500 feet per minute (meaning it moves upward at a rate
of 500 feet per minute) or a vertical velocity of -500 feet per minute (meaning it moves downward
at 500 feet per minute).
Vertical speed/vertical velocity: The rate at which the aircraft is gaining or losing altitude,
typically given in feet per minute.
Velocity of Flap Extension (Vfe ): This is the maximum speed at which the aircraft can deploy
its flaps without damaging or breaking them.
Visual Flight Rules (VFR): This is flying done using a combination of the pilot’s view of the
outside world and the aircraft’s instruments. Environmental conditions permitting such flight (such
as a sunny day with 10 mile visibility) are referred to as VFR conditions. It is assumed in such
conditions that pilots are always able to see out the window well enough to avoid collisions with
terrain and other aircraft. To use visual flight rules, one typically needs about 3 miles visibility and
to stay about 1000 feet from the clouds.
Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC): These are environmental conditions suitable for
flying by sight (VFR).
Very high frequency Omnidirectional Range (VOR): This is a type of NAVAID that sends
out signals that pilots can follow to get to or from the transmitter. While an NDB simply lets the
aircraft’s ADF needle point right to it, the VOR actually lets pilots fly to the station along a
programmed radial. So, for example, rather than just “flying to the VOR,” a pilot can be sure to
fly to the VOR along the 090 radial (from the east), guaranteeing his or her location to be along an
airway for the entire trip to the VOR. This is nice because once the airway is charted, the aircraft
will be over mapped terrain height for the entire trip, and if the wind starts to blow it off course,
then the pilot will see it quickly due to a deflected needle, at which point he or she can turn the
nose into the wind to stay on the desired radial. Light airplanes often track these VOR signals using
an Omni-Bearing Indicator, or OBI, while more expensive craft often use a Horizontal Situation
Indicator, or HSI. See Chapter 7 for more information.
Velocity Never Exceed (Vne ): This is the maximum speed that a given airplane can go. Going
faster than Vne can result in “structural damage.” Please be aware that “structural damage” is
very conservative language for “ripping your wings off so you plunge to a horrible death.”
Velocity Normal Operating (Vno ): This velocity should not be exceeded unless the air is very
smooth. Even then, it should be exceeded “with extreme caution,” as the operating handbooks say.
Vertical Speed/Velocity Indicator (VSI or VVI): By looking at how fast the air pressure
is changing, the VSI deduces how quickly the aircraft must be climbing or descending.

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ii

About This Manual

About This Manual

About This Manual iii

2 Quick Start Guide 9

3 Preparation and Installation 19

3.3.2.1 Special Considerations for Mac Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

4 Configuring and Tuning Your X-Plane Installation 29

6 Advanced Simulation in X-Plane 65

7 Navigation, Autopilots, and Flying on Instruments 71

7.2.1 Additional Features of the Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

8 Special Situations in X-Plane 87

9 Expert Essays 105

A Airfoil Maker Supplement 111

B Troubleshooting X-Plane 125

B.5 My Frame Rate is Low . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

C Tech Support 131

D How to File a Bug Report 133

E Commissioning Custom Aircraft Files 137

F Water World 139

G Data Output from X-Plane 141

Index of Menu Items 163

1.2 What X-Plane Includes

The stock installation includes the following aircraft:

Cirrus Vision SF50 X-15 and X-30 X-Planes

Beechcraft Bonanza Boeing 727/737/747/787

1.3 About the Two Versions of the X-Plane Simulator

1.3.1 X-Plane 10 Global

1.3.2 X-Plane 10 Professional

1.4.1 Austin’s Bio, As of Mid-2006

1.5 X-Plane Today

Quick Start Guide

2.1 Installing X-Plane

5. Accept the user agreement and click Continue once again.

2.2 Launching X-Plane

2.3 Configuring Essential Yoke/Joystick Functions

2.4 Selecting an Aircraft

1. Click Aircraft, then Open Aircraft (as in Figure 2.6).

Click on the line that says Aircraft, as seen in Figure 2.7.

2.5 Selecting a Location

2.6 Getting Off the Ground

4. Watch your airspeed indicator (seen in Figure 2.11), and when it

2.7 Updating X-Plane

2. In the About menu, click About X-Plane.

2.8 Further Considerations

Figure 2.8: Selecting the Cessna 172.acf file [Full size →]

Preparation and Installation

3.1 System Requirements

• A 2 GHz, dual-core processor,

However, for the best experience, we recommend the following:

• a 3 GHz, multi-core CPU (or, even better, multiple processors),

1. Opening the Start menu,

3.1.1 Display Hardware

3.1.2 Graphics Drivers

3.1.2.1 Updating Graphics Drivers in Windows

2. Uninstall your old graphics drivers.

3.2 Selecting Flight Control Hardware

3.2.3 Rudder Pedals

3.2.4 Other Considerations