by mark.avey on November 4, 2008
Robin Peel has released an update for the official X-Plane Airport and Nav-Aid data.
New data is available for X-Plane. This is data cycle 2008.10 and includes many new global airport details, including updates for North America (eg. CYEG, KRAL, KORS, KOAK, KLSV, etc), Poland, Russia, and an updated EHAM.
Different versions of the data files are available for X-Plane 8.10 - 8.60 and for X-Plane 8.61 and later (including the latest release, X-Plane 9.20). Please make sure that you download the correct version.
Data for X-Plane 8.10 - 8.60 will be released shortly. (Some issues need to be resolved with newer data for PAPIs and VASIs for these older file formats.)
As always, get the new data from my website.
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by mark.avey on October 27, 2008
RealScenery has released their State of Arizona scenery for X-Plane.
Features
- 11,500 images
- 113,000 sq mi / 293,000 sq km
- 34 scenery files
- Available for X-Plane 9
- Ships on 3 DVDs
The new Arizona scenery is available for X-Plane 9. This is a scenery extension to X-Plane and allows you to fly over the actual terrain for a realistic flying experience. The new Arizona scenery also supports the
new “texture paging” capabilities of X-Plane 9.2 offering great performance for custom scenery!
Movies, image gallery, and downloadable demos are now available.
Arizona is home to many airports from small desert airstrips, to large commercial terminals, to military bases. This new package contains beautiful desert scenery and urban landscapes which provide for great
flying opportunities with X-Plane. We are now accepting orders! Please visit http://www.realscenery.com/ for more details.
by mark.avey on October 20, 2008
It seems like iPhone X-Plane updates are coming out even quicker than the desktop version!
Version 9.03 was released today. This latest update has added some great features, transforming the sim from a fun example of what the iPhone can do into a “proper” simulator.
Here’s a taste of what’s included (source: iTunes):
Go to the map in the settings screens to see the airports and NAVAIDS, including NAVAID frequencies.
Close that window and hit the Instrument Panel button to see the full-screen instrument panel, good enough for flight-training. This is a first for the iPhone.
Drag the panel up or down to see the NAV radios, and tune the NAV radio to the desired VOR and ILS frequencies. You can now shoot a full ILS approach, complete with intercept from the VOR! Set the HSI to NAV-1 or NAV-2 with the little button right under the HSI to display the NAV radio desired.
That’s pretty impressive stuff for an application running on a phone!
by mark.avey on September 24, 2008
Version 9.01 of X-Plane for the iPhone has been released.
This is a free upgrade for existing owners. Go to the AppStore on your iPhone and check for updates to get the new version.
New in this version
- 25% faster frame rates
- Calibration for the iPhone accelerometers
- Higher contrast interface
by mark.avey on September 21, 2008
Hot on the heels of the release of X-Plane for the iPhone (read our review here), Austin and his crew have sent version 9.01 for approval for the iTunes AppStore.
Due in this next release are:
- 25% frame-rate improvement! I REALLY like the increased fluidity of the sim in 9.01 thanks to this increase.
- Calibration screen for phone tilt! One guy writing a review at the AppStore said he likes to fly on the couch, and wants VERTICAL to represent neutral-elevator: Fly on, couch-dude! Just go to the SETTINGS tab in the interface and set any phone angle as neutral! Now you can relax in bed or on the couch, with vertical being the reference-point for neutral-elevator, or sit up holding the phone in your lap with HORIZONTAL being the reference-point for neutral elevator, or anything in between! Set the center-point as you see fit!
- Higher-contrast interface! One person said his eyes are a little weaker these days, so we contrasted the interface a bit more to make it easier for all to see! I managed to do this without making the interface look too harsh, I think.
- Power and flaps set for you on the final approach selections. One guy writing a review at the AppStore was rather panicked that he had to move his thumbs 1/4″ to set the power and flaps on final.. the horror! So, X-Plane now sets 25% power and flaps automatically when you set yourself up in flight, to be more closely configured for your landing! Kind of convenient.
- The interface screens are organized a hair differently… much better I think. This lets volume-control and neutral-elevator control be in their own system-config screen, with a different screen dedicated to setting your location! Kind of nicer organization.
It’s fantastic to see that this is clearly being developed and at a rather rapid pace.
If you’re interested (and it’s a great story), Austin has detailed the development process that took place to get the iPhone version ready in, would you believe, 10 days. It’s a long post, but provides a fascinating insight into what it took to develop the app and also how Apple operates. Well worth a read.
