Learning to fly is not like learning to play a musical instrument, in that for most of us, it is impossible to practice at home—but wouldn’t it be great if we could? Austin Meyer, the inventor of X-Plane, had this idea in the 1990s after a particularly frustrating experience involving an instrument proficiency check. Today, X-Plane is one of the top aviation simulation games in the world. You can put yourself at virtually any airport in just about any airplane. The game continues to evolve—X-Plane 12 was released just before the 2022 holiday season. FLYING caught up with Meyer to get the skinny on the development of the popular pastime that has evolved from game to simulation experience.
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