X-Plane is a flight simulator for personal computers produced by Laminar Research. It runs on iOS, Palm's WebOS, Linux, Mac, or Windows. X-Plane is packaged with other software to build and customize aircraft and scenery, offering a complete flight simulation environment. X-Plane also has a plugin architecture that allows users to create their own modules, extending the functionality of the software by letting users create their own worlds or replicas of places on earth to create ultimate realism. It comes with five scenery disks, and one with scenery and the actual simulator.
Flight model[]
X-Plane differentiates itself by implementing an aerodynamic model known as blade element theory.[1] Traditionally, flight simulators try to emulate the real-world performance of an aircraft by using lookup tables to find previously-known aerodynamic forces such as lift or drag, which vary with flight condition. These simulators do a good job of simulating the flight characteristics of the aircraft they were designed to simulate (those with previously-known aerodynamic data), but are not useful in design work, and do not predict the performance of aircraft when the actual figures are not available.
Blade-element theory is one method of improving on this. It is a way of modeling the forces and moments on an aircraft by individually evaluating the parts that constitute it. Blade-element theory and other computational aerodynamic models can be used to compute aerodynamic forces in real time or to pre-compute aerodynamic forces of a new design for later use in a traditional lookup table type of simulator.
With Blade-element theory, a wing, for example, may be made up of many sections (1 to 4 is typical), and each section is further divided into as many as 10 separate sections, then the lift and drag of each section is calculated, and the resulting effect is applied to the whole aircraft. When this process is applied to each component, the simulated aircraft will fly virtually like its real counterpart does. This approach allows users to design aircraft on their computer quickly and easily, as the simulator engine will show immediately how an aircraft with a particular design might perform in the real world.
X-Plane is capable of modeling fairly complex aircraft designs, including helicopters, rockets, rotor craft and tilt-rotor craft. Famous real world aircraft modeled in X-Plane include the V-22 Osprey, the Harrier Jump Jet, the NASA Space Shuttle, and Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne.
Blade element theory does have its shortcomings, as it can sometimes be difficult to design an aircraft that performs precisely like the real-world aircraft. However, as the flight model is refined, the simulator can better resemble real-world performance (as well as the aircraft's quirks and design flaws.)
Extensibility[]
Users are encouraged to design their own aircraft, and design software is included with the program. This has created an active community of users who use the simulator for a variety of purposes. Since designing an aircraft is relatively simple and the flight model can help predict performance of real-world aircraft, several aircraft companies use X-Plane in their design process.[2] The CarterCopter uses X-Plane for flight training and research. X-Plane also contributed to the design of the Atlantica blended wing body aircraft.
Through the plugin interface, users can create external modules that extend the X-Plane interface, flight model, or create new features. One such feature is the Xsquawkbox plugin, which allows X-Plane users to fly on a worldwide shared air traffic control simulation network. Other work has been done in the area of improving X-Plane's flight model and even replacing entire facets of X-Plane's operation. Scaled Composites, for example, used the X-Plane rendering engine on top of their own simulator while designing and testing SpaceShipOne.[citation needed]
X-Plane is also capable of communicating with other applications via UDP. Through a relatively simple interface, third party developers can control the simulator and extract data regarding the simulation state. Companies like Scaled Composites have used this tool in order to use X-Plane as a rendering engine for their in-house simulators.[citation needed]
The maps and scenery are also fully editable. While no tool is provided to edit the 3D mesh objects, there are tutorials for using the third party 3D modeler AC3D.[3] Once built, editing landscape elevation and 3D object placement is easily accomplished with the scenery editor. In fact, much of the world's detail, including detail in airports, such as ramps, buildings, and taxiways, is provided by the end-users. Users can also subscribe to a mailing list, receiving regular updates of the airport and navaid database.
Map imagery and aircraft paint can be created and modified with any paint program capable of manipulating PNG images. Additionally, Laminar Research has released a 7 DVD "Global Scenery Package" containing imagery of a much higher quality than the default information. This package covers close to 85% of the Earth's surface. The release of X-Plane 9 (Jan 2008) has introduced much improved areas of high ground relief (in particular, mountains) and a plethora of other improvements.
Airbus2!!!!!!!!! Let gooooooooooooooooooo!!! []
' In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed an initial memorandum of understanding to collaborate to develop an innovative large airliner. West Germany and France reached a firm agreement on 29 May 1969, after the British withdrew from the project on 10 April 1969. The pan-Europeancollaborative aerospace manufacturer Airbus Industrie was formally created on 18 December 1970 to develop and produce it. The A300 prototype first flew on 28 October 1972. The first twin-engine widebody airliner, the A300 typically seats 247 passengers in two classes over a range of 5,375 to 7,500 km (2,900 to 4,050 nmi; 3,340 to 4,660 mi). Initial variants are powered by General Electric CF6-50 or Pratt & Whitney JT9D turbofans and have a three-crew flight deck. The improved A300-600 has a two-crew cockpit and updated CF6-80C2 or PW4000 engines; it made its first flight on 8 July 1983 and entered service later that year. The A300 is the basis of the smaller A310 (first flown in 1982) and was adapted in a freighter version. Its cross section was retained for the larger four-engined A340(1991) and the larger twin-engined A330(1992). It is also the basis for the oversize Beluga transport (1994). Unlike most Airbus products, it has a yoke, not using a fly-by-wire system. Launch customer Air France introduced the type on 23 May 1974. After limited demand initially, sales took off as the type was proven in early service, beginning three decades of steady orders. It has a similar capacity to the Boeing 767-300, introduced in 1986, but lacked the 767-300ER range. During the 1990s, the A300 became popular with cargo aircraft operators, as both passenger airliner conversions and as original builds. Production ceased in July 2007 after 561 deliveries. As of September 2023, there are 197 A300 family aircraft still in commercial service.
The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was announced in 1990 to challenge the dominance of the Boeing 747 in the long-haul market. The then-designated A3XX project was presented in 1994; Airbus launched the €9.5–billion ($10.7–billion) A380 programme on 19 December 2000. The first prototype was unveiled in Toulouse on 18 January 2005, with its first flight on 27 April 2005. It then obtained its type certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) on 12 December 2006.
Compatibility[]
X-Plane is available for Windows, Linux, and the Macintosh. The Macintosh version is a Universal Binary, running on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. There are also cut-down versions for iOS and the Palm Pre.
References[]
- ↑ Meet X-Plane
- ↑ Apple - Games - Articles - X-Plane. Retrieved on 2008-04-29
- ↑ X-Plane 8 Scenery Tutorials. Retrieved on 2007-11-22
External links[]
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