Chapter 4: Features and Flight in X-Plane 9

The “X-Plane 9” application for the iPhone, iPod Touch, Pre, and Android devices has six map regions and seven airplanes available. The standard controls for time of day, weather, and aircraft weight are also configurable as per Chapter 2 of this manual. Multiplayer also works as described in that section. Navigation radios and autopilots (where available) both work as described in Chapter 12.

Aircraft
The following aircraft are included as of the Version 9.66 update to X-Plane 9:
 * Cessna 172
 * Columbia 400
 * Piper Malibu
 * Cirrus Vision
 * Piaggio Avanti
 * Beechcraft King Air
 * Eclipse 500

The Cessna 172 is the most basic of the available craft, while the Columbia 400 is a high performance, turbocharged piston (that is, propeller-based) aircraft. The Piper Malibu is a piston-engined craft with a maximum speed very close to that of the Columbia 400. The Beechcraft King Air is a twin-turboprop craft, and the Cirrus Vision is a next-generation personal jet still being developed. The Eclipse 500 is a six-seater, business-class very light jet (VLJ). Finally, the Piaggo Avanti is a super-efficient Italian turboprop business aircraft.

When flying the Cessna 172, if the Get flight instruction if in Cessna 172 button is enabled in the Set menu (which it is by default), the simulator will give on-screen, step-by-step instructions for taking off, flying, and landing the aircraft.

Reverse thrust capabilities are available in the Piaggio Avanti and Beechcraft King Air. As with other reverse thrust-capable aircraft, the throttle slider in these aircraft will sit by default about 1/3 of the way up the screen. Drag it to the bottom of the screen to give the aircraft full backward throttle, or drag it to the top of the screen to give it full forward throttle.

The table below lists the approximate minimum takeoff speed for each of the aircraft in X-Plane 9. It is a good idea to add five to ten knots to this number as a "speed cushion" before pulling the aircraft's nose off the ground during takeoff (called "rotating"). Note that each of these numbers assume that 1/3 flaps have been pulled in.


 * {| width="400" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"


 * + Approximate Takeoff Speeds
 * Aircraft
 * Approx. Takeoff Speed (knots)
 * Cessna 172
 * 60
 * Columbia 400
 * 95
 * Piper Malibu
 * 90
 * Cirrus Vision
 * 80
 * Piaggio Avanti
 * 95
 * Beechcraft King Air
 * 90
 * Eclipse 500
 * 85
 * }
 * 95
 * Beechcraft King Air
 * 90
 * Eclipse 500
 * 85
 * }
 * 85
 * }

Regions and Airports
The regions listed below, with their respective airports, are available in X-Plane 9. Note that these are the same as in X-Plane Trainer.

The detailed Innsbruck, Austria region includes Innsbruck Airport (LOWI). The city of Innsbruck, nestled as it is in the valley of the Inn River and surrounded by mountains, is an ideal spot to take off from.

The Hawaii region includes nearly the whole of the Maui and Lanai islands. Its main airports are Kahului Airport (PHOG) and Lanai Airport (PHNY). With the close combination of flats, gently sloping mountains, jagged peaks, and the ocean, Hawaii makes a beautiful place to fly.

The Boswell Bay region features prominently Boswell Bay and a large portion of Prince William Sound, located in southeastern Alaska.

The Southern California region spans the coast of California from Imperial Beach in the south to Barstow in the northeast to Edwards Air Force Base in the northwest. It includes San Bernardino International (KSBD), San Diego International (KSAN), and Ontario International (KONT) airports.

The San Francisco region spans from San Rafael in the northwest, to Concord in the northeast, to Santa Cruz in the south.

The Desert Sky region encompasses much of the Salton Sea, and it is virtually right next door to the Southern California Desert map.

As a side note, the Innsbruck field (LOWI) presents an interesting challenge for users who want to fly an instrument approach. The airport is very unusual in that, due to the mountainous terrain nearby, it sits in a deep valley. Thus, the normal 3 degree descent path to the runway would not provide the required terrain clearance. Instead, two localizers (discussed in Chapter 12) are used—one pointing toward the runway and the other away from it. Pilots must first fly over the airport at a high altitude on approximately the reciprocal heading to the runway of intended landing, then come back around to touch down. To see this more clearly, go to the Map screen and zoom in on the LOWI airport. The two localizers (LOC) that set up this approach can be seen clearly—note how they are set inside the valley between the peaks. Note also that they are slightly offset, so that when pilots fly the first LOC (heading about 070 degrees) they reach the end and must make a pretty sharp right-hand turn of just under 180 degrees, after which they fly the second LOC back to the airport. For more information on flying an instrument approach, see Chapter 12.

Taking Off and Flying
We will go through the takeoff and flight of X-Plane 9’s default aircraft, the Cirrus Vision. Takeoff in the simulator's other aircraft will be nearly identical—simply substitute in that aircraft's takeoff speed (found in the chart above) for the 80 knots specified here for the Cirrus.

When the simulator loads initially, the Cirrus is placed on LOWI’s runway with its engine running and ready to go.

Tap the BRAKES button on the lower left of the screen to turn the brakes off. Drag the flaps (controlled with the scroll bar on the right side of the screen) to about 1/3 or 1/2 of the way down to get ready to take off. This will partially lower the flaps in order to give the craft more lift, getting it into the air more quickly. Do not put the flaps all the way down because they would add too much drag. Full flaps are only used when landing.

With the flaps dialed in, drag the throttle (the scroll bar on the left) all the way to the top. This will give the aircraft full power. At this point, the screen should look like this:


 * [[Image:Full_throttle_third_flaps_mobile.png]]

Drag the rudder slider (at the bottom of the screen) left and right to steer down the runway, holding the phone at about a 45 degree pitch (for a neutral elevator). When the craft reaches about 80 knots (indicated by the scrolling tape on the left side of the screen), tilt the phone back toward you to raise the nose and get the craft off the ground.

After the craft has risen a few feet, let the nose drop back down a bit to (nearly) level off, but don't settle back to the runway. Let the plane accelerate for a few moments like this (until it reaches, say, 100 knots), then resume climbing. Leveling off in this way will provide a “cushion” of speed for the aircraft so that when it begins to climb in earnest, it will be less likely to slow down toward the stalling speed.

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 the craft's 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. In the Cirrus Vision, a speed of around 130 knots is desirable when climbing.

Tilt the phone left and right to steer, and hold the nose about 10 degrees up to climb away from the runway. Hit the GEAR button to raise the landing gear, and, once the craft is safely in the air, drag the FLAP slider back up to the top to fully retract the flaps. Continue to hold the nose up about 10 degrees as the plane climbs out. In the climb, both the gear and flaps should be up and power should remain at full. When flying, always keep the plane’s speed above about 80 knots as an absolute minimum to avoid stalling. It may be necessary to either add power or lower the nose to maintain this speed.

Once again, note that the craft’s altitude is displayed on the tape on the right, and its vertical speed is shown right underneath it.