Chapter 2: Getting Acquainted with the iPad/iPhone 4 Simulator
From X-Plane Wiki
Let's go through the basics of using the X-Plane for iPad/X-Plane HDEF 4G application. In the next chapter, Aircraft Specifics, we will go into the specifics of flying each type of aircraft.
Remember that definitions for any unfamiliar terms may be found in the glossary.
Contents |
Basic Flight Controls
The cockpit view of the Cirrus jet
Upon opening the simulator for the first time, the user is greeted with the panel seen in the image above. This is the cockpit view in the Cirrus Vision SJ50.
In the bottom left corner of every airplane's panel view is the BRAKE button (labeled 1 in the previous image). Tap this button to toggle the brakes on or off. When it is lit up (as in the screenshot), the brakes are on; when it is unlit, they are off.
On the right side of this panel view is the gear lever (labeled 2 in the previous screenshot). Tap it and drag it up or down to toggle the gear. When this lever is down, the gear is down, and when it is up, the gear is up.
Next to the gear toggle is the throttle lever, labeled 3 in the previous screenshot. Slide this lever all the way to the top of its housing for full throttle, or all the way to the bottom for zero throttle.
In some aircraft (those with thrust reversal capabilities), the throttle slider will default to about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of its travel. Dragging the slider to the top of the screen will, of course, give the aircraft full (forward) throttle. Dragging it to the bottom, however, will give it full reverse thrust, useful in slowing down after touching the ground on a landing. For a list of reverse thrust-capable aircraft, see each app's specific chapter.
The lever next to the throttle, labeled 4 in the previous image, controls the flaps. When this is at the top of its housing it commands no flaps, and when it is at the bottom, it commands full flaps.
Note for X-Plane HDEF 4G users only: To accommodate the iPhone's smaller screen size, the instrument panel in many of the aircraft scrolls to the right; to see the rightmost edges of the panel, touch above the panel and drag your finger to the left. After you've finished adjusting instruments on the far right, you can drag the view back to the right.
To steer the aircraft left, tilt the iPad/iPhone to the left. To steer it right, tilt right. This movement—when the wings dip down or rise up while the fuselage (the main body of the plane) stays pointed in the same direction—is referred to as roll. To pull the airplane’s nose up, tilt the device back toward you, and to push its nose down, tilt the device down away from you. This movement—when the wings remain at the same attitude, but the fuselage moves—is called pitch. See the Flight Dynamics appendix for a visual representation of this.
In the bottom center of the screen (labeled 5 in the image above) is the rudder control. This pushes the aircraft’s nose left and right, a movement referred to as yaw. Touch the RUD slider and drag it left in order to turn the aircraft to the left, and drag it right to turn the aircraft to the right. Once again, a the Flight Dynamics section depicts this visually.
Basic procedure for taking off the airplanes (covered in greater depth in the following chapter) is as follows:
- 1. Turn off the brakes.
- 2. Drag the flaps about 1/3 of the way down to create some extra lift for takeoff.
- 3. Slide the throttle all the way up.
- 4. Tilt the iPad/iPhone left and right to steer down the runway.
- 5. When the aircraft reaches its takeoff velocity (which is different for every craft—heavier planes need greater speed), tilt the iPad/iPhone back toward you, thus pulling back on the craft’s flight controls.
- 6. Once the airplane is safely in the air, drag the flaps back up to the top of the screen and toggle the gear up (if applicable).
- 7. Level the plane off once it is a few feet above the ground so that it can build up speed. This will act as a "cushion" to prevent it from stalling once it begins to climb in earnest.
- 8. Climb at around a 10 degree incline (more powerful craft can handle higher climb rates) at full throttle until the desired altitude is reached. Note that once the power is set at full, the performance of the plane (in terms of its climb rate and airspeed) is controlled by pitching the nose up and down. If its nose is pitched too high up, its speed will drop until it stalls. This can be thought of as being similar to a car trying to go up a hill—an excessively steep hill will cause the car to go very slowly and its engine to overheat.
Note: When your aircraft crashes, go into the Settings menu (per the section below) and select either a new airport to take off from or a random flight. This will reset the airplane after the crash, giving you a brand new one to fly again.
Using the Menu and View Options
Tapping the center of the screen will cause the various menu icons to appear at the top. There are a total of eight icons, as seen in the image below.
The menu buttons at the top of the screen
The view button labeled 1 in the previous image selects the standard external view. Tap this button, then drag your finger around on the screen to adjust the viewing angle. To zoom out, put two fingers down far apart on the screen and drag them closer together. To zoom in, put two fingers on the screen close together and drag them apart. This is a nice way of controlling the view that is just not possible with a mouse pointer, since the simulator takes input from both fingers at once.
The next view button in the menu (labeled 2 in the previous screenshot) is the spot view. Selecting this will give the user a stationary view from which to watch as the aircraft flies by.
Next is the linear spot view, labeled 3 in the previous image. In this view, the camera takes a constant-speed trajectory to match the airplane's flight path. This is like the view of a pilot with whom the user is flying formation if that pilot were to turn around and look at the user’s airplane. This will look identical to the standard external view until the user's craft changes either speed or direction.
The view button labeled 4 in the previous image selects the head-up display (HUD). The HUD is described in detail below.
The view button labeled 5 in the previous image selects the cockpit view, where the aircraft's instrument panel takes up most of the bottom half of the screen. The instrument panel is described in depth in Part B of this section, beginning on page 12.
Tapping the button labeled 6 in the previous screenshot will cause X-Plane to display the aerodynamic forces acting on the airplane. These are only visible when using an external view (i.e., the first, second, and third view options). The lines seen coming off the aircraft are a visual representation of the forces that X-Plane is calculating for each piece of the airplane. When in an external view, try maneuvering the plane around a good bit to see the little green bars move in real time. Just as in real life, it is these forces that act on the mass of the plane to accelerate it and move it through space—just as Newton predicted over three hundred years ago. Watch what happens as you add and decrease power, extend and retract the flaps, or slow to a stall (where the wings can no longer produce enough lift to support the weight of the plane). Cool!
The menu button labeled 7 in the previous screenshot opens the Settings menu, discussed below.
The final menu option (labeled 8 in the previous screenshot) is the pause button. Upon tapping this button, the replay buttons will appear in the center top of the screen, seen in the following image:
The center of these five buttons pauses the replay. The two buttons immediately to the left and right, respectively, rewind and fast-forward the replay at a slower-than-real-time rate. The two outer buttons rewind and fast-forward the replay much faster.
At any point in the replay, you can press the pause button in the right-hand corner of the screen again to begin the simulation from wherever the aircraft is at the moment. That is, you could fly around for awhile, press the pause button, rewind using the replay buttons, and start from the point you began.
The Head-Up Display in Depth
The head-up display, or HUD, allows the user to see a great deal of information regarding the aircraft's operation without sacrificing the view of the outside world.
The HUD controls
The slider labeled 1 in the image above (which is only available in some aircraft, such as airliners) controls the craft's trim, used to hold the nose at a desired pitch. To hold the nose up, drag the TRIM slider down a bit. To hold the nose down, drag the TRIM slider up a bit. This is ergonomically equivalent to using a real trim wheel, which the pilot rolls up to push the nose down, or down to pull the nose up.
Beneath the trim slider is the THROT slider, labeled 2 in the image above. This is used to control the aircraft's throttle. When at the top of its range of motion, it commands full throttle. When it is at the bottom of its range of motion, it commands zero throttle.
Opposite the trim slider is the speedbrake slider (labeled 3 in the image above). This slider commands a special control surface only found on some aircraft (such as airliners) which generates drag in order to slow the aircraft down. When this slider is at the top of its range of motion, it commands no added drag, and when at the bottom of its range of motion, it commands the maximum drag added.
Beneath the speedbrake is the flaps slider. This slider works just like the flaps lever found in the cockpit view. When at the top of its range of motion, it commands no flaps, and when at the bottom of its range of motion, it commands full flaps.
Note that when dragging these sliders, the box with writing on it (such as FLAPS or THROT) shows where the user has commanded the controls to be, while the other box following it shows where the setting is at the moment. If the user commands a quick, large movement of the controls, it will take the aircraft a second or two to meet that command.
Now, let's discuss the HUD itself.
The ticking tape on the left side of the screen (seen in the image above) scrolls with the craft's airspeed, and the number in the box (highlighted in blue in the image) displays the craft's actual airspeed in knots. For instance, in the image, the craft is moving at 1169 knots.
Note that this is the aircraft's indicated airspeed, not necessarily its true airspeed. This measurement comes from the airspeed indicator (ASI), which, in its simplest form, it is nothing more than a spring which opposes the force of the air blowing in the front of a tube attached to the aircraft. The faster the airplane is moving the stronger the air pressure is that acts to oppose the spring and the larger the indicated speed. However, when there is little air available to "push" on that spring, the instrument will display a low number regardless of how fast the craft is moving. For instance, in the SR-71 Blackbird, the craft might be zipping along at Mach 1.5, but at an altitude of 70,000 feet, its ASI will show it moving at around 200 knots (around 0.3 Mach at sea level). Even better, in the Space Shuttle, the craft can be moving at around 17,000 miles per hour while its airspeed indicator shows zero (because, of course, there is no air at all in space).
Directly beneath the ticking airspeed indicator is the aircraft's speed relative to the speed of sound (highlighted in red in the previous image). For instance, in the previous image, the craft was moving at 1.8 Mach.
To the right of the airspeed indicator is the indicator for wind speed and direction (highlighted in yellow in the previous image). The arrow points in the direction that the wind is moving, and the number beneath it displays the wind speed in miles per hour. For instance, in the previous image, the wind was moving with the aircraft at 9 miles per hour.
Finally, beneath the airspeed ticker is the fuel gauge, highlighted in orange in the previous image. When the triangle-shaped indicator is at the far right, the aircraft’s fuel tanks are full. When it is at the far left, as it is in the image above, the fuel tanks are empty, and the aircraft’s engines will not be able to run.
The ticking tape on the right side of the screen (seen in the previous image) scrolls the craft’s altitude, and the number in the box (highlighted in red in the image) displays the craft's actual altitude in feet above mean sea level. For instance in the previous image, the craft was at 7,580 feet above sea level. The number directly below the altitude tape (highlighted in blue in the previous image) is the craft's climb rate in feet per minute. For example, in the previous image, the craft was descending at a rate of 1,400 feet per minute, so the number displayed was -1,400.
The center of the HUD view
In the center of the screen are two horizontal bars. The V-shaped bar (highlighted in red in the previous image) indicates the aircraft's attitude—that is, the combination of its pitch and roll. The bar with a circle in the center of it (highlighted in blue in the previous image) is called the flight path indicator. It represents where the plane is actually flying, rather than where it is pointed. For instance, when the craft is taken into a 90 degree stall, the attitude indicator (the V-shaped bar) will stay momentarily at the 90 degree mark even as the flight path indicator drops rapidly. This is due to the fact that the aircraft's vertical velocity slows to zero, then becomes negative, while its nose is still pointing up. Only after the craft falls a bit will its nose be pushed down.
Surrounding those bars are lines marking degrees of pitch. For instance, in the preceding image, the aircraft was pitched down about 4 degrees (indicated by the V-shaped bar), but it was actually moving down at around 3 degrees (indicated by the bar with a circle in the middle). Its wings were banked ever-so-slightly to the right.
Note that the craft will hold a constant altitude (that is, it will have a climb rate of zero) when the center of the velocity vector's circle is at the zero degree mark.
Finally, in the bottom center of the screen is a directional gyro, as seen in the previous image, showing which direction the aircraft's nose is pointing.
The Panel View in Depth
In the panel view, the aircraft's instrument gauges (or EFIS, as the case may be), navigation radios, and basic autopilot settings (where available) are accessible. Unlike in other X-Plane Mobile platforms, where flying from this view requires the use of the artificial horizon, in X-Plane for iPad and X-Plane HDEF 4G, users can simply look out the window!
A few different panels are used in the aircraft in the application. Many of the general aviation aircraft, such as the Cessna 172, use a panel equipped with steam gauge flight instruments. More complex aircraft, such as those using jet engines, have an electronic flight instrument system, or EFIS, instead. All of the more specialized panels are based on some combination of these two types; understanding what each gauge and screen does in the two following sections will allow the user to understand any of the panels in the simulator.
The Steam Gauge-Based Panel
The steam gauge panel from the Cessna 172 is shown in the following image:
The Cessna 172 steam gauge panel
Note that, in the following descriptions, the numbers on the instrument faces correspond with their numbers in the full panel view above. These sets of images work together to give both a detailed look at the instrument itself and a view of where in the panel it lies.
The group of switches labeled 1 in the image above toggle the indicated systems on and off. The switch labeled “BATTERY” controls all the electrical systems, while the switch labeled “LAND LIGHT” controls the landing light, and so on.
The gauge in the screenshot above is the airspeed indicator (ASI). In its simplest form, this is connected to nothing more than a spring which opposes the force of the air blowing in the front of a tube attached to the aircraft. The faster the airplane is moving the stronger the air pressure is that acts to oppose the spring and the larger the deflection of the needle from which the pilot reads the craft’s speed. There are a number of ways that this reading can be thrown off (most obviously by flying at an altitude where there is little to no air), so bear in mind that this is the indicated airspeed, not necessarily the true airspeed.
The instrument to the right of the ASI is the attitude indicator (AI), seen in the image above, which displays the aircraft's position in space relative to the horizon. This is accomplished by fixing the case of the instrument to the aircraft and measuring the displacement of the case with reference to a fixed gyroscope inside. This instrument corresponds to the horizontal bars seen in the middle of the HUD view.
Next to the attitude indicator is the altimeter, seen in the image above. This displays the aircraft's altitude (in feet above mean sea level) by measuring the expansion or contraction of a fixed amount of air acting on a set of springs. As the airplane climbs or descends, the relative air pressure outside the aircraft changes and the altimeter reports the difference between the outside air pressure and a reference, contained in a set of airtight bellows.
To the right of the attitude indicator is the course deviation indicator (CDI), labeled 5 in the previous image. More information on this instrument can be found in Chapter 6.
Beneath the electrical switches are the fuel indicators, seen in the image above. These work just like the fuel gauges in an automobile, aside from the fact that most of the aircraft here have two fuel tanks (one in each wing for the sake of balance).
To the right of the fuel gauges is the turn coordinator, seen in the image above. This measures the aircraft's rate of turn. The instrument is only accurate when the turn is coordinated—that is, when the airplane is not skidding or slipping through the turn. A skid is the aeronautical equivalent to a car that is understeering, where the front wheels do not have enough traction to overcome the car's momentum and the front of the car is thus plowing through the turn. In a car, this results in a turn radius that is larger than that commanded by the driver. A slip is a bit more difficult to imagine unless one is a pilot already. It results from an aircraft that is banked too steeply for the rate of turn selected. To correct the slip, all the pilot has to do is increase back pressure on the yoke, pulling the airplane "up" into a tighter turn, such that the turn rate is in equilibrium with the bank angle.
Next to the turn coordinator is a directional gyro, as seen in the previous image, indicating which direction the aircraft is traveling.
To the right of the directional gyro is the vertical speed indicator (seen in the image above), also called the vertical velocity indicator or variometer. This reports the aircraft’s climb or descent rate in feet per minute (fpm). Typically, non-pressurized airplanes will climb comfortably at about 700 fpm (if the plane is capable) and descend at about 500 fpm. Descent rates faster than this cause discomfort on the occupants which is felt in passengers’ ears. Pressurized airplanes can climb and descend much more rapidly and still maintain the cabin rate of change at about these levels, since the cabin pressure is not related to the ambient altitude unless the pressurization system fails.
Next to the variometer is a second CDI (labeled 10 in the full panel image) which functions exactly like the other. Having two CDIs like this allows a pilot to track two NAVAIDs at once. For more information, see Chapter 6: Advanced Features of X-Plane for iPad/X-Plane HDEF 4G.
In the top right of the panel is a tachometer, seen in the image above, which indicates the aircraft engine's RPM on a scale from 0 to 100 percent of maximum.
Directly beneath the tachometer is a fuel flow indicator, as seen in the image above. Like the tachometer, this measures on a scale from 0 to 100 percent of its maximum rate.
In the top right corner of the panel are the navigation radios, seen in the previous image. These are used for navigating using a radio signal (sent by a navigation aid, or NAVAID). Each radio is tuned using the two knobs on the instrument. The knob on the left is used to tune the integer (or "counting number") portion of the frequency. The knob on the right is used to tune the decimal portion of the frequency.
To turn a knob up, touch it and move your finger clockwise around it. To turn it down, touch it and move counter-clockwise around it. For instance, if the frequency read 111.10 and the user circled clockwise around the left knob, the frequency would increase to 112.10. If the user instead circled clockwise around the right knob, the frequency would increase to 111.20. More information on instrument navigation is found in Chapter 6: Advanced Features of X-Plane for iPad/X-Plane HDEF 4G.
The Glass Cockpit Panel
The “glass cockpit” instrument panels—that is, those that use an electronic flight instrument system (or EFIS)—display the same information as the steam gauges in the previous section, with a few additions.
The EFIS panel
Again, note that in the following descriptions, the numbers on the instrument faces correspond with their numbers in the full panel view above. These sets of images work together to give both a detailed look at the instrument itself and a view of where in the panel it lies.
The rows of switches labeled 1 in the panel image above are identical to the switches seen in the previous section; they control navigation lights, electrical systems, and so on, and are toggled on and off with a tap.
Beneath the switches are the fuel gauges, labeled 2 in the image of the panel above. These, too, are identical to the fuel gauges in the previous section, dropping closer to empty the farther the craft is flown.
In the top center of the panel is the navigation source selection switch (seen in the previous image). This switch selects between navigating using the frequency on the NAV 1 radio and that of the NAV 2 radio; the selected radio's data is sent to the EFIS and moving map display (described below). Tap the switch to change its position.
In the top right of the panel are the autopilot controls (seen in the image above). Use of the autopilot is described in Chapter 6.
Beneath the autopilot controls are the navigation radios (labeled 5 in the screenshot above), which function just like those found in the steam gauge-based panel from the previous section.
Beneath the navigation radios are two fuel flow indicators, one for each engine (where available). Each of these functions like the fuel flow indicator in the steam gauge-based panels.
The center of this panel is occupied by two LCD screens. The first, labeled 7 in the image above, is the EFIS. The second, labeled 8 in panel image, is a moving map.
The EFIS combines the functions of a slew of navigation instruments into one display. Let's look at it closer:
The left EFIS display
The scrolling tape on the far left (labeled with a 1 in the preceding image) is the airspeed indicator. Once again, this is the indicated airspeed, not necessarily the true airspeed (see the discussion in the HUD section for information on why this is so). Directly below the scrolling tape is the craft's speed relative to the speed of sound, just like in the HUD view. In the previous image, the craft had an indicated airspeed of 155 knots, corresponding to 0.24 Mach.
In the center of the EFIS display is the attitude indicator (labeled 2 in the previous screenshot). This shows the aircraft's pitch and roll attitude in space relative to the horizon. As in the HUD view, there are lines above and below the representation of the aircraft that mark degrees of pitch. Additionally, the two purple lines (one horizontal and one vertical) represent the course deviation indicator (CDI) and glideslope indicator. More information on navigation is found in Chapter 6.
The scrolling tape on the right (labeled 3 in the previous image) is the altimeter. This displays the airplane’s altitude in feet above mean sea level. In the previous image, the aircraft was at 1,710 feet above mean sea level.
In the bottom of EFIS screen is a modified view of the horizontal situation indicator (or HSI—labeled with a 4 in the previous screenshot). This is a combination of a directional gyro (DG) and the course deviation indicator (CDI). The DG is a gyroscopically driven compass, which makes it much more stable than the older "whisky" compasses (so named because of the whisky alcohol used to stabilize the compass inside the housing). It is the DG portion of the HSI that is marked 4 in the image on the previous page. Once again, more information on flying on instruments can be found in Chapter 6.
The right display panel of the EFIS is the moving map, as seen in the following image:
The moving map display
The local airport’s identifier is shown in blue—in the case of the image above, this is the default field for the Hawaii region, PHOG. The magenta triangles are the localizers which set up the approach for that runway at that airport. More information on using the localizers can be found in Chapter 6.
The Settings Menu
Selecting the second menu button from the left (marked in the following image) will open the Settings menu.
The Settings button at the top of the screen
Map
The options available on the Map screen are simple: Place the craft in a random location or on whole new random flight by tapping the respective buttons. Beneath the Random Location button is buttons to set a random location at a predefined altitude (5,000 or 10,000 feet above mean sea level).
The buttons below the randomizing ones place the aircraft either on the runway for the indicated airport or on a final approach to that runway. The map can be dragged using a single finger or zoomed in or out of using two fingers, just like when using the external aircraft view. Additionally, placing two fingers on the screen and moving them in a circular motion (“swizzling” them) will rotate the map. Tapping the Center button will center the map view on your aircraft.
Zoom into the map near a navigational aid (NAVAID) or airport to view detailed information about it such as its ILS or VOR frequency.
Found in the center of the Map screen is a circular compass, as seen in the following image.
The compass in the Map tab
The numbers inside the compass denote the degrees (multiplied by ten) from north. Thus, the 0 mark (for 0 degrees) points north, the 9 mark (for 90 degrees) points east, the 18 mark (for 180 degrees) points south, and the 27 mark (for 270 degrees) points west.
The Map tab is also where you can reset a flight after a crash. Upon crashing, open the settings menu, which will come to the Map tab by default. Tap one of the location buttons (either for an airport or for a random flight) to “fix” your virtual aircraft and start a new flight.
Region
The Region tab allows the user to select which region to fly from. Swiping a finger across the screen will scroll through the available maps. Upon leaving the Region tab, the last region selected will be loaded. For instance, if the user tapped the Plane tab when the screen looked like this:
The Region tab, with the Grand Canyon selected
X-Plane would take a few seconds to load the Grand Canyon region, then display the Plane tab.
Plane
The Plane tab lets the user pick one of the forty-five different aircraft included in the application. As with the Region tab, the aircraft that is in the center of the screen when the user changes tabs will be loaded. It will be placed on the default runway for the current region. The specifics of each aircraft are discussed in Chapter 3.
Beneath the images of the aircraft are the weight and center of gravity settings. Here, the user can move the center of gravity forward to give the craft greater stability, or aft to make it more maneuverable. Additionally, the weight of the aircraft can be adjusted using the slider—just touch the slider and drag it. Lighter airplanes will of course perform better than heavier ones.
Time
The Time tab of the Settings window allows the user to set one of four times of day, and thus four corresponding levels of daylight.
Wxr
The Wxr tab is used to set the weather. This in the upper half of the window are cloud coverage levels (X-Plane renders two cloud layers). Beneath each bank of images is a slider used to adjust the cloud base height. To move a slider, simply tap and drag it.
Beneath the cloud controls are four sliders (moved just like in the Sky tab) which are used to change the visibility, wind speed, turbulence, wave height, and storm cell prevalence. Additionally, the round button is used to set wind direction. To move this, touch near the edge of the circle and drag your finger. Wherever your finger releases is where the wind will come from.
Apollo
In the Apollo tab, users can purchase the Apollo add-on. This is a sort of app-within-the-app; when running the Apollo simulator, only the Apollo tab modifies the simulation. See Chapter 7 for more information on the Apollo simulator.
Set
The Set tab
The Set menu allows the user to change the iPad or iPhone's “control calibration.” Just hold the device at the desired angle and tap the Set current pitch and roll as center button to make the current attitude of the device the point for which input is zero. This lets users fly with the device in their lap when sitting or standing, or held vertical when lying down—kind of convenient!
Also in this window is the Show instructions in flight if in Cessna 172 button. This is enabled by default and will provide on-screen, step-by-step instructions for taking off, climbing, cruising, approaching the runway, and landing in the Cessna 172, just like in the X-Plane Trainer and X-Plane 9 apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Beneath the control settings are three sliders to control volume. The first is the master volume, set by default at 50%. Next is the volume for air traffic control chatter. Following that is the variometer volume. Recall from the section on the instrument panel that the variometer is an instrument measuring the rate of ascent or descent of an aircraft. When flying a glider, it is useful to have an audible indication of this. If it is beeping, then the glider is in a nice updraft from the air following the terrain. Circling in that area will let the glider ride the climbing air to altitude. When the variometer is emitting a steady tone, the craft is in descending air.
In addition to the volume sliders, there is a slider to control the skill level of the enemy fighters, which appear automatically when flying some of X-Plane's military fighters.
Finally, at the bottom of this screen is the multi-player configuration. When in the Set tab, X-Plane will search for other devices running the simulator. Both users need to tap the button labeled with the other user's device in order to play with that person. For example, if William and Mary want to fly together on their iPads, William will need to go to the Set tab and tap the Mary's iPad button. Likewise, Mary will need to go to the Set tab and tap the William's iPad button. Note that the button is selected when it turns a very light gray color. When both users have selected the other, click Done and X-Plane will set both users at the default runway.
Also, note that both users must be on the same wireless network in order to play together. This is configured in the device's Wi-Fi setup (found in the device's Settings, as shown in the following image for iPad).
Setting up the Wi-Fi connection
In multiplayer mode, hitting the other aircraft will result in damage (sometimes fatal) just like hitting the ground in the simulator. If this occurs, simply open up the Settings menu and take off from an airport again. Note that both users must select the same airport if they are to fly together; otherwise, X-Plane assumes that the users want to start in different places and meet up somewhere.
Finally, when in multiplayer mode, a pointer will appear (in the shape of a little airplane) near the directional gyro in the HUD view indicating the other user's location. Follow this pointer to join up with the other player in the event that you lose each other.
Updating X-Plane for iPad
The easiest way to update X-Plane for iPad/X-Plane HDEF 4G is to go to the App Store (found on the device's "home page") and tap Updates down at the bottom of the screen (selected in the image below).
Updating the X-Plane for iPad application
There, just tap the Update All button (highlighted in the image above). The device will prompt for the username and password which were used to purchase the applications, then it will automatically download and install the updates.
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