X-Plane RACING for iPhone is here, X-Plane MULTIPLAYER free upgrade is
here for all iPhone Apps, X-Plane 930 Beta-4 is getting close!

Learn all about the iPhone apps at www.X-Plane.com

For 9.30 Beta-4, we are finalizing the bug-fixes, and adding a new
flight model enhancement that really steps of the realism of the
flight model: WAKE.

The WAKE model actually tracks the airflow behind all wings and tails
to see if the horizontal stab is in the decelerated flow from the
wing, or the aft wing is in decelerated from the canard.

You do NOT have to change any of your craft to take advantage of this
new modeling: The flow-field is automatically re-considered everywhere
around the plane in real-time during flight. You don't need to DO
anything with your aircraft to take advantage of this new realism. You
may notice the planes are not quite so 'aggressive' or 'sensitive' in
pitch, though, in same cases, since now the tail will be in
decelerated flow, and therefore a little less effective, in some
cases, just like the real plane!

We expect beta-4 in a few days, and will include screenshots showing
this and other flow-field effects in 3-D like you have never seen in a
real-time sim before!

OK now we have a REALLY cool new feature: A really improved 3-D airflow physics model and tools to SEE it!
 
First just LOOK at it:
 
Open the Cessna 172 or Cirrus Jet and take it to 10,000 ft and set the time of day to dusk or so in clear weather.
Now go to external view with the | key and hit the / key a couple of times, watching the result with each press.
The RED vectors are at 10% speed BELOW ambient.
The GREEN vectors are at ambient speed.
The VIOLATE vectors are at 10% ABOVE ambient speed.
Now try it at low speed, flaps down, nose up, near the stall, full power.
Now pull up into the stall.
Now you really start to SEE what sets X-Plane apart from: ALL the others.
You can SEE the propwash (accelerating the air-flow to violet under full power, or decelerating it to yellow on the engine-out).
You can SEE the downwash (the downward-moving vectors behind the wing).
You can SEE the wake (decelerating the airflow behind the wings due to the drag of the wing!).
 
Of course, this airflow, modified by downwash, propwash, and wake, impacts the wings, bodies, and even propellers that live in that airflow!
 
And this goes beyond anything we have done before: We now find the downwash and wake not just from each wing, but from each ELEMENT of each wing!
This means that if you have a flap or aileron on a wing, the downwash on the surfaces BEHIND that BIT of the wing
(such as the horizontal stabilizer) are affected differently depending on WHERE in the flowfield the various PARTS of the stabilizer are!
There will be more downwash on the part of the stab behind the flaps when the flaps are down, for example! Everything is handled PER-ELEMENT,
not PER-WING, so all the different flow off of and onto wings and stabs that varies across the span is considered!
 
Then it gets BETTER: This new 3-D model with wake looks at the geometry of each wing casting downwash and wake in real-time, so the origin of the wake and downwash
actually move AFT in real-time as you sweep the wings, for example, if you are in an F-14 or F-111!
 
And it gets BETTER: We now have an improved stall model that psuedo-randomizes the flow when any wing is stalled!
Pull aft enough to stall in the | view after hitting the / key see the flow and get ready for information-overload!
 
Try getting in various different planes at various different speeds, power settings, and flap settings, and hitting the / key a bit in the external view...
you will see how the streamlines and velocity vectors are affected by all of these things. Then turn on some turbulence if you want things to get really wonky!
 
Who ELSE does this math? NOBODY that I can find!
 
 
 
New command: sim/view/hold_3d_angle.
Assign any key you like to this command in the joystick button/keyboard command-binding screen
and then hold that key when in 3-D cockpit mode to keep your viewpoint from moving around with the mouse...
This makes it easier to click on stuff in the 3-D cockpit because the viewpoint is not moving as you move the mouse,
as long as you hold that key or joy button down!
 
New joystick axis: Nose-Wheel steering Tiller. Nice for airliners if you set that up!
The TILLER axis ALWAYS steers the nosewheel thru the 'lo-speed steering' range specified in Plane-Maker, no matter the aircraft speed.
 
As well, we have various framerate optimizations. You may, or may not, SEE these improvements because we now spend more time doing the 3-D flow-field math
for the new physics specified above.
 
 
Generic rheostats can "wrap" their dataref values. Use this to make OBS knob that go from 360 back to 0 degrees.
Back-lit (additive) style lighting is now available on all instruments.
You should now have trim on the helicopters, no rocket thrust on the rockets without fuel, rudder key-control whether the mouse-screen is up or not,
Space Shuttle and B-2 aileron/elevator linkages are now hooked up properly, you should only hydroplane on WET runways, not icy ones, de-ice systems
should be able to keep all the ice off the jets, replay mode should show smoke-puffs from touch-down in the right place, and external cockpits should give
good engine indications. We fixed crash that could happen sometimes on Startup on Vista, and a panel jittering when you scrolled with a strange-size window.
Check "Matrox triple-head" in the equipment settings dialog box and the sim will not try to zoom the cockpit across all three monitors.
ENV files will render correctly, and the runways will not flicker in the textured map.
Cursors for generic rotaries and rheostats work better, and the default rolling generic instrument will default to six digits.
VOR reception range is increased by 25%, and the show-hide for instrument groups fixed.
Windows plugins can override the mouse cursor without flicker, planet textures are fixed to not have a big black square over Southern California,
the Mac version can run without sound even if OpenAL is not installed, and Windows and Linux versions can run without internet!
Non-generic instruments will follow the correct lighting rheostat, and 3-d Panels should load using any naming convention.
Plugins replay mode dataref works, fixes x737 and ACARS plugin, and the engine start command is fixed, which fixes x737 plugin.
Linux build should properly detect whether it is a demo or full install, and you can animate a non-deck hard surface in an OBJ.
Custom full screen settings are saved properly in the preferences.

X-Plane 930 Beta 6 is here, Mac, Windows, and Linux!
 
www.X-Plane. com
 
Bug fixes and a few minor enhancements:
 
Track-IR should run smoother.
Prop-sync command fixed, but props gotta be within a mere 50 rpm for  
it to WORK perfectly!
Nosewheel tiller should have a 10% nullzone
A bit more tuning on the thrust-reverse joystick axis... They should  
be just like airliners now!
Various 'throttle with pitch, roll and yaw' options, as you can set in  
Plane-Maker, now work for engines offset at any angle.. so you can  
build little puffer-engines at all angles now to maneuver your plane!
new commands: sim/radios/RMI_ L_to and sim/radios/RMI_ R_tog to toggle  
the RMI VOR/NDB sources.
Various little bug-fixes.
 
Have at it and let me know how it goes!
 
austin

X-Plane 9.30 Beta-8 is here for Mac, Windows, and Linux!
 
I am really refining the flight model here!
 
As well, we are really focusing on making sure 9.30 is really bug-  
free... if you can find any bugs, report them to me at this email addy!
 
austin
 
Here is the new Stuff for 9.30 Beta 8:
 
FLIGHT-MODEL REFINEMENTS:
 
Further flight-dynamics refinements. .. I think we can actually,  
consistently, pull off a pretty decent approximation of a SPIN now!
The secret: No longer does the airplane really have any idea of a  
flight path!
Instead, each PART of the airplane has it's OWN flight path.
So now, an airplane is NOT really a single entity: It is a whole bunch  
of parts all moving in formation!
As odd as this seems, THIS is the way to understand how EACH bit of  
the airplane has it's OWN flight path (different for each bit of the  
airplane if the plane is pitching, yawing, or rolling), and THIS is  
the secret that really allows us to get a good SPIN: Each bit of the  
wing, stabilizer, etc all have their own flight path angle and  
speed... this builds up the forces in the dynamic cases of hi spin-  
rates: Most noticeable, not surprisingly, in a spin. We have had an  
approximation of this since version 1.00, but only now, for 9.30  
Beta-8, have we really completely overhauled the physics to really  
have no concept at all of the flight path of the 'airplane', and  
instead handled it totally independently for each ELEMENT of each  
surface of the plane. This, combined with the new wind model that has  
no concept of the wind on the 'airplane', but instead knows the wind  
on each BIT of the airplane. THIS is really where we start to get into  
serious computations to learn new things about how the plane will fly.
 
Just a HAIR more refinement the lift, drag, and moment lookup  
calculations. .. just enough to make the propeller efficiency model  
just a hair more accurate, in theory. A little more refinement in the  
transonic flight-model as well: That tricky speed between Mach 0.85  
and 1.00. It's a very minor refinement, but we may see a hair more  
accuracy here. Remember: If you mean to break Mach-1, you really will  
want THIN wings to make that happen! (And plenty of power, and  
altitude, and a jet engine inlet efficiency speed of more than Mach-1).
To give you an idea of the accuracy we are seeing here, if you design  
a wing with a bit of extra incidence near the root, or an airfoil that  
produces more lift near the root, and less so at the tip, then X-Plane  
will see, in flight, that there is more lift near the ROOT of the  
wing, and INCREASE the effective aspect ratio of the wing in flight,  
reducing the spillover of air around the wingtip, and increasing the  
efficiency of the wing. Warning: As in reality, the reciprocal is also  
true!
 
Improvements in the propulsive-efficien cy indication: It USED to  
indicate the transmissions losses as well, which was really sort of  
WRONG, since most people would not lump the transmission- losses into  
the propulsive efficiency of the propeller... so now the propulsive  
efficiency of the propeller is really showing the ratio of power GOING  
TO THE PROP that is making it to the airstream as thrust, not making  
any reference to losses in the transmission. This also now properly  
indicates propulsive efficiency for unusual configurations, such as  
where multiple engines drive one prop, or vice-versa. This is only a  
difference in INDICATION on the data output screen, and should not  
actually effect the flight model, but there you have it.
 
Further electrical system modelling... We should now handle the  
various cases properly where the APU, ground power, air-driven  
generator, and regular generators are all overloaded, going into a  
voltage sag and passing the load down to the battery, all as in reality!
 
Flap-Overspeed protection system (Plane-Maker, Special Controls screen),
Flap-Overspeed Indicator (EFIS airspeed indicator as moving red barber-  
pole),
and Flap-Overspeed flaps-removal (Operations and Warnings screen) are  
all now scaled to run the max allowable flaps smoothly between Vfe1  
and Vfe2 based on all intermediate flap deflections and speeds.
 
A bit more tuning on the FADEC system, to give finer throttle control  
and make overboost a bit less likely.
 
GENERAL FLYING FEATURES:
 
Towplane should circle to the left on climbout, as desired.
EFIS-App Avidyne now has ADF-1 and option for ADF-2, as requested.
 
GENERAL SIM FEATURES:
 
If you put the mouse over the lower-right corner of the screen in X-  
Plane, then a small rectangle appears there to remind you that you can  
just drag the corner to re-size the X-Plane window now!
 
Tuned mouse-control input now follows the non-linear power-curves that  
you can set for the joystick, which is kind of nice for mouse-users.
 
Generate OBJ from ACF gives a much more detailed OBJ for you to use as  
a starting point for your aircraft OBJs for the plane or custom scenery.
 
New commands for transponder and fuel-transfer.
 
Sound volume sliders show %, as requested.
SLIDERS can go to a power curve as specified in plane-maker, now.
 
Mag compass and clock should function in FDR replay mode. No change in  
fdr format at all, we are just extracting more data from it to display!
 
MINOR TWEAKS OR BUG-FIXES:
 
Proper HUD-colors restored.
The custom setting of prop incidence in plane-maker now auto-sets for  
all subsequent props when you enter data for the first one.
The parachute should not catch wind from the propwash now... typically  
this will be a bit more accurate.
Old ARGUS nav-instrument back working again!
Tip-rockets operational again... they were out for the earlier betas..  
sorry!
Bezier lines can now use the LAYER_GROUP command - see http://scenery. x-plane.com/ library.php? doc=linspec. php
WARNING: ATTR_light_level has a syntax change - see http://scenery. x-plane.com/ library.php? doc=obj8spec. php
New apt.dat (from April-09) cycle included
Newer version of the C172 and Cirrus Jet
Generic rotary brightness fixed. It will now match the EFIS when set  
to "glass" mode.
Panel texture does not cut a hole in the airplane shadow.
Planet map is much faster.
3-D flight path with FDR recorder files is faster.
Translucent panel mode should work.
Fixed: newly created key binding won't be "stuck" down.
HUD won't turn black when brightness is turned down.
LOD handling tuned for large monitors.
Cockpit object texture is now uncompressed for better visual quality.
Generic trigger instruments won't double-press commands when combined  
with ATTR_cockpit_ region
"Draw outside of fuselage" checkboxes in Plane-Maker should work as  
expected.
Gamma level on windows defaults to 2.5
"make_panel_ previews" command makes one panel texture even when  
subregions are used.
Lots of new datarefs - documentation will be posted shortly.

X-Plane 9.30 Beta-9 is here Mac, Windows, and Linux!
 
Grab it at:
 
http://www.x- plane.com/ beta.html
 
If you can find any bugs, let me know what they are!
 
Thanks!
 
austin
 
NEW STUFF:
 
Helo rotor-wash tuned WAY down.
Wake turbulence from other craft, most visible in the glider-tow,  
tuned way down.
Various volume sliders should control the correct sounds now.
Improved Avidyne PFD pointers and frequencies and the like.
DG Linear instrument wraps properly through all headings.
Power-curve for sliders now functioning properly!
2-d Panel horizon should match X-Plane 922's behavior.
Changes to framebuffer handling - might help shadow problems for  
10.4.11 users.
Airplanes that use generic triggers should load correctly.
More monitor modes are available. We are still tuning this - if your  
monitor mode list overflows, please file a bug WITH a screenshot!
You can load a scenery pack with missing objects - it's a warning now,  
not an error.
Window resize box looks nicer on OS X.

X-Plane 9.30 Beta-10 is here!
 
http://www.x- plane.com/ beta.html
 
New stuff:
 
Space Shuttle orbiter model improved... some dimensions were off before.
More realistic night vision... kind of cool.
Engine nacelle angular offsets should be properly represented.
Missiles should only draw their little fire-trail if they are firing,  
and not during the drop-phase, if they have zero-thrust for that phase.
 
If you have a custom 'compass_GA- 1' in your plane, be sure to copy  
that file from the resources/bitmaps/ cockpit folder,
and/or customize your compass heading file, being sure to follow the  
same heading range as the 'compass_GA- 1' in resources/bitmaps/ cockpit!
 
In Plane-Maker:
- Instruments will automatically align to avoid blurred pixels.
- Object offset is not cleared when an object is cleared.  
- Generic Annunciator flashes when instrument animation is turned on  
in the panel editor.
 
A few bug-fixes:
fixed plugin crashes for a number of heavily used plugins.
shadow in cirrus jet does not have "holes" in it.
sectional map shading works correctly.
crash when starting with IOS screen ope.
X-Plane will detect when no OpenGL drivers are installed on Windows.
Old-style LIT instruments work.
fractions may be entered by keyboard into numeric fields.
 
Try it out and let me know how it goes!
 
austin

X-Plane TRAINER is here for iPhone!
this is a FREE x-plane mini-app that gives you a little bit of real-time
help on how to fly, and coaches you in the cessna 172.