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IFR DESKTOP SIMULATORS : BUY ON-TOP OR X_PLANE !
X-Plane
X-Plane’s users run the gamut from non-pilot sim enthusiasts to the product development departments of companies like Garmin. What simulates flight connected to real G1000 screens as that product is developed and refined? X-Plane does.
As you’d expect, the flight model is the most realistic of all the simulators—put the flaps to 10 degrees in a single-engine Cessna and the nose will immediately pitch up. The visuals are outstanding. Settings for weather are simple but flexible, with quick buttons for things like marginal VFR or Cat-I minimums. There’s also a quick placement on 10-mile final for any runway. The database is worldwide, but you only install what you want. There’s even an automated ATC that does a passable job on vectors to an ILS (if a bit overzealous in issuing heading changes).
The program comes with a variety of aircraft, but most are for gaming, not proficiency. You can download almost any aircraft you want if you search online. Many are free, but even the for-pay ones are usually under $40 and often contain several similar types. X-Plane is the only option that will run natively on a Mac (or Linux). It will also do that trick of driving your real, portable GPS.
Using X-Plane for IFR proficiency has some limitations. It’s not the most intuitive program to use, although the forums and customer support is excellent. Since it was developed as a game, the instruments and avionics look great, but are smaller and harder to see and control than On Top or Elite.
The avionics also aren’t necessarily accurate representations of any given radio. Common conveniences like flip-flop frequencies aren’t always available. This may cramp your style if you’re trying to practice procedures just as you would in your real aircraft.
It’s worse if you’re trying to simulate more modern cockpits. We flew a Cirrus SR20/22 model provided by C74 Enterprises (air.c74.net) that flew great (it’ll even porpoise on landing if you botch it) but it must use the simulation of the Avidyne system and GNS 430 that’s part of X-Plane. X-Plane’s Avidyne is quite limited and the 430 isn’t capable of much more than direct-to. There’s no G1000 simulation within X-Plane.
Add-ons can come to the rescue here. You can drop that same Reality XP 430W, or even a 530W, that ASA and Elite use into an X-Plane cockpit for $49.95. The module only works on a Windows version of X-Plane. They also have a similar plug-in for Microsoft FSX.
You can fly a full G1000 cockpit for several piston singles using SimAvio from FlyThisSim. This isn’t a plug-in for X-Plane. It’s a separate program that provides just the glass cockpit and runs at the same time as X-Plane. The two work together so you can fly with X-Plane handling the flight controls and visuals and SimAvio doing the cockpit. They can run on the same machine or on two networked com****rs. FlyThisSim also has an Avidyne Entegra cockpit with GNS 430s that it will offer soon
SimAvio requires a fairly powerful Windows machine to run and we weren’t able to test it on our hardware. We saw it operating live through a screen-sharing demo and it looks impressive. We’ll try to look at it closer in a future issue. Pricing for the SimAvio is $39.95, and it comes with two round-gauge cockpits. G1000 or Avidyne add-ons are packaged by the manufacturer (so you get all the Cessna singles as a package, for instance) at $98.95. FlyThisSim will also offer just the 430 and 430W at some point in the future. Database updates for any of these systems will be $8 a cycle. And you thought you only had to pay for current data in your real airplane.
X-Plane
X-Plane’s users run the gamut from non-pilot sim enthusiasts to the product development departments of companies like Garmin. What simulates flight connected to real G1000 screens as that product is developed and refined? X-Plane does.
As you’d expect, the flight model is the most realistic of all the simulators—put the flaps to 10 degrees in a single-engine Cessna and the nose will immediately pitch up. The visuals are outstanding. Settings for weather are simple but flexible, with quick buttons for things like marginal VFR or Cat-I minimums. There’s also a quick placement on 10-mile final for any runway. The database is worldwide, but you only install what you want. There’s even an automated ATC that does a passable job on vectors to an ILS (if a bit overzealous in issuing heading changes).
The program comes with a variety of aircraft, but most are for gaming, not proficiency. You can download almost any aircraft you want if you search online. Many are free, but even the for-pay ones are usually under $40 and often contain several similar types. X-Plane is the only option that will run natively on a Mac (or Linux). It will also do that trick of driving your real, portable GPS.
Using X-Plane for IFR proficiency has some limitations. It’s not the most intuitive program to use, although the forums and customer support is excellent. Since it was developed as a game, the instruments and avionics look great, but are smaller and harder to see and control than On Top or Elite.
The avionics also aren’t necessarily accurate representations of any given radio. Common conveniences like flip-flop frequencies aren’t always available. This may cramp your style if you’re trying to practice procedures just as you would in your real aircraft.
It’s worse if you’re trying to simulate more modern cockpits. We flew a Cirrus SR20/22 model provided by C74 Enterprises (air.c74.net) that flew great (it’ll even porpoise on landing if you botch it) but it must use the simulation of the Avidyne system and GNS 430 that’s part of X-Plane. X-Plane’s Avidyne is quite limited and the 430 isn’t capable of much more than direct-to. There’s no G1000 simulation within X-Plane.
Add-ons can come to the rescue here. You can drop that same Reality XP 430W, or even a 530W, that ASA and Elite use into an X-Plane cockpit for $49.95. The module only works on a Windows version of X-Plane. They also have a similar plug-in for Microsoft FSX.
You can fly a full G1000 cockpit for several piston singles using SimAvio from FlyThisSim. This isn’t a plug-in for X-Plane. It’s a separate program that provides just the glass cockpit and runs at the same time as X-Plane. The two work together so you can fly with X-Plane handling the flight controls and visuals and SimAvio doing the cockpit. They can run on the same machine or on two networked com****rs. FlyThisSim also has an Avidyne Entegra cockpit with GNS 430s that it will offer soon
SimAvio requires a fairly powerful Windows machine to run and we weren’t able to test it on our hardware. We saw it operating live through a screen-sharing demo and it looks impressive. We’ll try to look at it closer in a future issue. Pricing for the SimAvio is $39.95, and it comes with two round-gauge cockpits. G1000 or Avidyne add-ons are packaged by the manufacturer (so you get all the Cessna singles as a package, for instance) at $98.95. FlyThisSim will also offer just the 430 and 430W at some point in the future. Database updates for any of these systems will be $8 a cycle. And you thought you only had to pay for current data in your real airplane.
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