X-Plane 10 Global Flight Simulator (PC & MAC)

I am a longtime pilot who 'spent all the money' on the competitive product from Microsoft some years back, and didn't think much of XPlane when I first tried it. The 'free demo' of XPlane suffers from the 10-minute timer limitation- it simply takes more time than that to configure your plane and then take off. I wound up purchasing XPlane 10 on 'faith' and hoped it would work out all right. Well, it worked out great! So much so that I dismantled and uninstalled my very complex installation of the Microsoft product and fly ONLY X-Plane 10 (64-bit version). Note: Both 32- and 64-bit XPlane versions are included. I got the "global" setup which includes airspace throughout most of the world, though I find myself flying only in the USA. XPlane really shines when you add a payware airplane and a bit of payware scenery, though there are plenty of free aircraft as well as quite a bit of free add-on scenery packs available on the ORG site which carries the XPlane name. Several things stand out at once in XPlane- the scenery is very attractive- the sun and moon glistening on the water during takeoffs and landings... the cars, buses, trains, police cars and more on the surface roads - overall a much more attractive "world" than found in "the other simulators". For what this program costs, it is well worth the purchase price. If you understand computer technology - you can benefit greatly from the 64-bit version, as in the Microsoft world, only 64-bit programs (when combined with a 64-bit operating system and processor) free you from the limitations of 32-bit memory. The maximum memory space for any one program in 32-bit Windows operating systems running as a 32-bit program is between 3.5 and 4 gigabytes of ram - REGARDLESS of how much TOTAL ram is installed on your system. So if you have 16GB of ram and you're running 32-bit software, about 12 Gigabytes (12 Billion Bytes of Flash Storage) are WASTED and might as well not be on your PC! With X-Plane 10 in 64-bit mode, all 16GB are available to the program! In plain behind-the-scenes language, XPlane's primary appeal centers around: **Multiple OS compliant: Windows Mac Linux also available separately at extra cost: special smartphone editions for: Android iPhone (though the product I review here is the full-on version which is not for smart phones) ** X-Plane is actively being developed. This means it can run in 64-bits, which is HUGE. Only X-Plane flies in 64-bits. No other simulator does. The competitive products are 'frozen in time' by and large abandoned by all but a cottage industry of third-party developers who keep it alive. The downside of this army of 3PDS (Third Party Developers)? As you continue to hang on more and more add-ons to a 32-bit flight sim platform, the inevitable collision occurs when available system memory "hits the glass ceiling" resulting in stuttering, slow frames rates, and OOM's and CTDs (out of memory errors and crash-to-desktop). The fact that XPlane is 64 bits is stunningly important - and more so the fact that it is constantly being refined and enhanced and improved on a daily basis. The competitor product was abandoned about eight years ago - thus it is "dead" technology. ** XPlane is easier to configure and adjust. One centralized location is where you make adjustments to your display size, color depth, and degree of resolution of the graphics. Things like adjusting your yoke or joystick, throttles, rudders, brakes and more are at your fingertips. The competition? Spread all over the map and throughout all the hang-on (add-in) software as well. So much so that many pilots give up flying because they can't get their simulator to run smoothly enough to enjoy. The flight dynamics (how the plane feels when you're flying it) are wonderful in X-Plane 10- but again, this is a personal choice. Recommended payware airplane: Boeing 777. Pretty easy to set up and fly, includes a wonderful FMC (flight management computer) that allows you to program in your flight plan and configure the airplane's performance). Coming soon (payware) is a Boeing 757, more maneuverable and better suited to short hops. Payware is not made by Laminar Research (the authors of X-Plane). Great payware airports, Kennedy, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and LaGuardia. Note: Some of the payware airplanes will 'throw in' some nice upgraded airports at no extra charge. You can search on YouTube and watch incredible demo videos built with X-Plane 10. Downside: X-Plane, while including all the airports, does NOT include the airport buildings. The skyways don't move. The amount and sophistication of scenery add-ons including airports is limited. XPlane requires a pretty healthy system to run properly, you won't be loving this on a happy-meal PC with no dedicated graphics card. The $399 loss-leader PC isn't going to wow you here. That said, if you have a newer PC with a decent nVidia or ATI dedicated graphics card (beware of the words "Shared Memory" that means your PC does NOT have a separate dedicated video card), you will likely enjoy your flight experience on X-Plane 10. And if you're lucky enough to have a fast PC with a GREAT video card, you will love X-Plane 10 and how it performs. I have achieved frames rates substantially higher than I ever got in the competition's version. Be sure to check system requirements before ordering - and don't be afraid to download the free demo from Laminar Research to get a good feel for what is possible right now today in X-Plane 10.

Best for the serious flight simmer. Lacks good ATC communications, and missions to fly compared to Microsoft Flight Simulator X, that has now taken over by another developer. Lacks detailed airports with most just bare land with a runway few or no buildings or other aircraft and equipment. Aircraft flight characteristics are realistic and better than MS FSX and once tuned feel near to the real thing if you have experience as a real life pilot. Maps are terrible, landscape imagery rendering is much better than MS FSX and getting even better. Many improvements over XP-9. Using a yoke or stick can be frustrating getting set up and calibrated compared to FSX but the only way to go for a good flight. Best is that it has better programming than FSX but for best operation should have 1-2 GB fast gaming video card as loading for max presentation and features will destroy frame rate and crash basic systems, check mfg website and recommendations for best performance. Feature and functions are fully user adjustable but a little difficult to understand for the non-tech beginner flight simmer.. Anticipate you will spend several evenings setting it up, adjusting, tuning and getting pissed off, but once you get it fine tuned it works well. It is definitely not as intuitive as FSX and may have a much longer learning curve for beginners. The program has come a long way and with it very active and growing user base I expect it to quickly surpass FSX over the coming years unless the new owners of FSX do a complete redesign on their antique software that still only uses 32bit, is slow and crashes regularly. XP-10 as of Sept 2015 has another version upgrade with many software improvements and airports added see their website for details. They even stated that don't expect XP-11 until 2017 but suspect that it will be Major upgrade with many cool features including greater functionality and improved ATC, Airports, Missions, Aircraft Etc, Etc, Etc. Program with world maps is well worth the price even with the current problems. Once you are on board and stay with the upgrades and changes this is going to be the Flight simulator that will definitely be the leader of the pack.

SUMMARY -------------- I've been using this product for the past two weeks, and have used both a mouse-yoke and a Saitek Pro Flight Yoke (PZ44) . In short, X-Plane is a great simulator, built in a much more modern way code-wise than FSX (Microsoft Flight Simulator X); the flight model also performs better overall. It's not as "fun" as FSX and it's a bit less polished (development seems to be on-going), but it's a pleasure to fly in. + Excellent flight model (given good plane modelling) + Excellent terrain and road data + Professional software; same company makes a version approved for FAA simulator training (on approved hardware simulators) + Runs better than FSX + On-going development - Included aircraft modelled poorly; some are, frankly, atrocious - "bells-and-whistles" secenery poor to non-existant - Not game-like a la FSX; no real tutorials or "missions" - Clunky, technical interface - Some features are currently incomplete DETAILED REVIEW ------------------------ If you install all the scenery at once, the install process will take ages. The total size of the whole shebang on-disk is around 55 gigabytes. I think, for me, that translated into an installation time over two hours. I assume most of that data are the extremely detailed wire-meshes of terrain and accurate road network data since 99% of the 3D scenery (buildings, trees, etc.) is autogen. Unlike FSX, the world, itself, can be pretty barren and you certainly won't see any landmarks (even such things as the Golden Gate Bridge are absent). A few people's reviews seem to be commenting that the software runs slowly. This is true if you crank all the graphical settings up. However, the software's designed to be somewhat future-proofed, so we're not supposed to do that. If I set the graphics similarly in both X-Plane and FSX, I actually get slight better performance in X-Plane. X-Plane seems to be more graphics card-intensive than FSX, which is more CPU intensive, so that's a factor I kept in mind while jigging the settings. Unlike in FSX, I needed to configure my Saitek Pro flight yoke and quadrant, manually assigning the levers and buttons to actions. Thankfully, that wasn't too hard (press a button, choose its function). Three minor issues: 1) I had to reverse the input for two of the levers (100% on the quadrant was registering as 0% in the software); 2) I still can't get my POV 8-way hatswitch to pan smoothly. The software registers it's directions as one of four button clicks, basically panning 25° with each click; 3) The red "cycle view" button on the yoke can't seem be made to work the same way as in FSX. None of these are major issues. Either they're caused by my own stupidity or diffences in the way FSX and X-Plane handle controller input. The interface, itself, is a lot less user-friendly than FSX, but it's nowhere near unmanageable. You roll the mouse towards the top of the screen to expose a menu with dropdown lists, most of which lead to panels full of settings, and toggles, and guff like that. The whole thing has a very industrial feel to it, so I might not recommend it to people who aren't too comfortable with computers. If you're comfortable in the Windows classic Control Panel, you probably won't have too many problems with the interface. The star of the X-Plane simulator is its simulation system. FSX uses look-up tables to run its simulation. This means that it will look-up how the plane has been calculated to act in the specific circumstance it's currently in. The look-up table system works well as long as the look-up tables are accurate and they've data on the current situation. In contrast, X-Plane looks at how the forces of flight would affect the current shape of the plane. This gives very realistic results, as long as the aircraft is modelled correctly. Unfortunately, the included aircraft range from good to kind-of-atrocious. It seems like the X-Plane team recycled aircraft from earlier editions from what I have read. Certainly feels like it. A lot of them have low-resolution textures and simple modelling, which actually makes them fly oddly. Honestly, I spend most of my time in add-on third-party planes (mostly ones by Carenado, which are extremely true-to-life). Give it the correct data and X-Plane works wonderfully. Everything's just a bit more fluid and lifelike than FSX. X-Plane is chiefly a simulator. It has no missions or any real tutorial. There are "senerios", such as fighting fires, landing on carriers, and landing space shuttles, but these aren't really fleshed-out missions like those in FSX. The ATC and AI flight isn't really finished yet, it seems. The software feels like a work-in-progress in terms of any sort of extra features on the whole. Updates have come every few months so far. On the whole, am I happy with my purchase at 70-some-odd-dollars? Yes, with reservations: 1) I had used the demo for two weeks before buying, so I understood what I was getting; 2) I had bought FSX at release, when it was roughly the same price as X-Plane 10; 3) I'm expecting it to improve with age as updates roll out 4) This is the first edition of X-Plane I've purchased and used. If any of those things don't apply to you, either try out the demo or wait a few years. The price of the previous X-Plane version dropped significantly as it aged (and, probably improved). I don't see why X-Plane 10 would be any differnt. Personally, after owning X-Plane 10 for about two weeks, I now prefer it over FSX. I still spend about 10% of my time in FSX, exclusively when I'm itching for missions or complex ATC. When I want to just have fun flying or want to try applying something I've read, I use X-Plane.

I bought this since I've always had an interest in flying/planes, and I wanted a detailed simulation of real life piloting. First off, before you buy this, just download the demo at xplane.com. That will serve better than any review. Pros: After playing through the demo, I felt this was a good sim (and also fun!), so I bought the global pack. This is a very detailed simulation-- not only are flight physics replicated, but practically every last component is simulated in detail, and works just as it would in real life, just as radios/instruments, navigation aides, and even the impact of fuel on center of gravity/weight etc. Most default aircraft feature detailed 3-d cockpits, and every last knob/switch is simulated. Also, damage due to overspeed / over-G, and random component failures are simulated (and can be turned on/off). There are a lot of inaccurate reviews out there just FYI-- alot of people seem to be using severely under-powered machines, or do not understand that this is a flight sim, not a game. About graphics-The textures and graphics are actually decently detailed and performance is smooth even on my Macbook pro 2012. No, this will not look good or work well on your 6-year old Toshiba laptop. What else would you expect? Cons: There aren't as many aircraft models as I would have liked, but metric tons of extra aircraft models can be downloaded from many places (see xplane.com). The sim is not ultra user-friendly, but it's functional. Also, looking around the cockpit and turning the knobs/dials is not super quick and easy, but it's functional.

With the best CPU, GPU, RAM, and HDD money can place into a desktop, Laminar has outdone themselves by making X10 the most impossible to configure and graphically unsatisfactory flight sim ever produced. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 had an easier to work cockpit interface and better scenery. Laminar should stay with professional contracts and keep out of the consumer market. It's great for professional pilots rehearsing emergency scenarios, but as a guy who just wants a little taste of flying fantasy every now and then, I would go back to MSoft.

X Plane 10 is a fun and accurate flight simulator but you will long for more airplane options, better graphics, and more world detail. Where X-Plane 10 shows off is the realistic physics and flight mechanics that this simulator uses. As stated before, this is not a game but an accurate flight simulator. Despite these accuracies X-Plane 10 disappoints in several ways. First off, the amount of default airplanes available is very poor. There is only one commercial airline available which is the Boeing 747 and only one livery. No airbus planes, no other Boeing planes, no Concorde or anything of the type. You can however download all these planes as freeware online somewhere but it is not guaranteed you will get a high quality plane without spending some extra money on the side. Really hope for the next edition the developers will give us some more default planes to fly! Even Infinite Flight for the iPhone has more options! The same goes for scenery. Indeed the whole world is 3d and has accurate roads and airports but there is no life given to these things. All airports (with the exception of the demo airport and the add-ons that come with the game) are complete lifeless. No terminals, gates, people, buses, cars, and hardly any other planes. For example LAX is just a set of runways. To get real airports you will have to download third-party creations online and to get a high quality one you will have to pay a few bucks per each airport! Not only that but the textures around these airports look really dull and flat like they were painted in Microsoft paint or something. Similarly, there are no cities, towns, or any feeling of life in the simulated world. Buildings are pretty much randomly generated and rendered and they look the same no matter what part of the world you're in. There is a scarce amount of tall buildings and the randomly generated buildings mostly include houses and small buildings. There are cars, trains, and boats I believe but they are traveling around empty cities. To get cities to actually look like cities you'll once again need to search the web and often you'll have to pay if you want your cities to look populated and at all realistic. Not only that but if you fly into a building, whether it is an X-Plane randomly generated one or third-part made, nothing happens! You would think that such a high caliber flight simulator that focuses on realistic physics and realism wouldn't allow you to do such simple things that pilots avoid everyday such as.. crashing into buildings! If you hit a house, building, an airport terminal, or another plane, nothing will happen! A few more things that I would like to be fixed are the sky and ocean textures. The sky and clouds look pretty good during the day and night time but during sunrise or sunset the sky turns a weird bright yellow which makes it looks like you're on some other planet. If you want sky colors that looks a little more realistic you'll have to download them from a third party source. Also, no matter what part of the world you're in the ocean looks the same. It always looks very dark and dull and never changes color. Also, ridiculously long loading times, and a somewhat poorly arranged menu help contribute to the faults. Indeed it is not a "game" but still, a few tutorials or short missions would be nice. Since I've been focusing on the negative aspects I should mention the things that X-Plane does well. Whether you're using a joystick or your mouse X-Plane feels real. Each plane flies a little different and with most of the default planes the cockpits are loaded with pushable buttons that change the way you are flying. The sounds are pretty good and the interiors of the planes with 3-d cockpits are highly detailed and sometimes even include a detailed cabin. I just wish the developers would have added more default commercial airlines of this quality. Overall X-Plane is a realistic flight simulator based on real-world physics and a complete 3d world. The game feels great but visually it looks unfinished and rushed. It definitely needs a lot of work and updates if it is going to feel like a real flight simulator. I'm sorry X Plane but it is somewhat hard to feel like you're flying a real plane when you're taking off from a terminal-less JFK and look out the window to see a green and flat Manhattan. In my opinion, still worth the money, just make sure you download a lot of add-ons! Let's hope the game starts looking a little better for the next version!

designed for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It focuses on high‑fidelity flight dynamics and broad aviation realism, allowing users to fly a wide variety of aircraft across a scaled‑down global world with realistic terrain, weather, and physics. Unlike many consumer “arcade” flight games, X‑Plane aims to simulate real aircraft behaviour based on aerodynamic modeling rather than simple scripted controls, making it popular with enthusiasts and those interested in realistic flying experiences. What It’s Best For ✔ Flight simulation enthusiasts who value realistic physics over flashy visuals. ✔ Hobby pilots and users who enjoy flying many aircraft types and experimenting. ✔ Modders and tinkerers — huge community support with add‑ons and custom planes. ✔ Training purposes — the physics engine is accurate enough that even professionals use it as a learning tool (although training certification is separate). X‑Plane 10 Global Flight Simulator is a realistic, extensible flight simulator for PC and macOS that appeals especially to flight fans and serious hobbyists. It offers accurate physics, a vast world to explore, and thousands of customization options, though its graphics and interface show its age compared with modern flight sims.

This program has the potential to be an awesome flight simulator. The graphics are fantastic. The capability to use your iPad and ForeFlight with the sim is very cool. The problem is the program is very buggy. Getting vectored into mountains during an approach, having to taxi through other aircraft and trees to get to your runway, being told to hold short of the runway and then find if you don't go past the hold point the controller will never call you for takeoff, the lack of communication options that are in X-Plane 9, having to mess with radio frequencies and too strict protocols. If you are a professional pilot like myself you don't need to practice changing frequencies or taxi around large airports. It's bad enough in real life, but most pilots I know would rather spend their time practicing IFR approaches and make IFR flights without the hassle of the "little things" like freq. changes or taxi or gate holds. Several times I was given a gate hold and waited (like an idiot) almost 20 minutes without ATC ever calling me back with taxi instructions. I just exited the program and went to bed. You can't call them because there is no option to do so. The taxi instructions (lines drawn on the taxiway) is a nice feature, but it would have been better if the lines they drew were straight or made sense. They draw lines that are very crooked and ridiculous. If you happen to be following another aircraft to the runway, your patience would indeed be tested. I would rather put myself on the takeoff runway, file the flight plan and get takeoff clearance from there rather than go through the whole hassle of taxi and wait for clearance for takeoff. I suppose most "ground pounders' would rather practice the whole thing and that's fine, but I wish there was an option for that. If there is I haven't found it. I do like the program, but I would suggest to anyone interested to wait until the bugs are worked out. How long that would take, I have no idea. The current edition is X-Plane 10.31. X-Plane 9 stopped at 9.7. It will be a great program some day. Update 1/14/17: I hope X-Plane 11 is better. The bugs are still plentiful. You get an ATC clearance, taxi out behind another airplane that never goes anywhere. You don't know whether to wait or just ignore it and taxi through it like you taxed through buildings to get to the runway. I have spent many hours waiting for takeoff clearances that never came. Very frustrating.