X-Plane 12.0 Turns IFR Practice Into Homework

The frustration of trying to achieve an Instrument Proficiency Check led to the creation of X-Plane, its creator tells FLYING.

Meg Godlewski

Monday, January 02, 2023 at 02:59 PM ET

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X-Plane 12.0 was released just in time for the holidays, and it's already gaining rapid use in the aviation community. [Screenshot]

Key Takeaways:

Austin Meyer developed the physics-based X-Plane flight simulator out of a personal need to practice IFR flying at home after a frustrating instrument proficiency check.
X-Plane 12, released for the holidays, introduces realistic "four-dimensional" volumetric clouds and improved aircraft flight modeling, focusing on accurate airport environments, avionics, weather, and air traffic control.
Unlike simulators prioritizing detailed ground scenery, X-Plane emphasizes essential flight management from startup to shutdown and is expanding its professional training applications, maintaining its $59.99 price.

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Learning to fly an airplane can be compared to learning to play a musical instrument—you need to practice to get good. This is particularly true for IFR pilot certification. The big difference in the skill acquisition is that you can practice a musical instrument at home—flying IFR at home is more difficult, but that challenge is what drove Austin Meyer, the creator of X-Plane flight sim software, to develop the simulation technology.

X-Plane 12.0 was released just in time for the holidays, and it’s already gaining rapid use the aviation community.