X-Plane 10 Quick Start Guide

This chapter is designed to allow a first-time X-Plane user to get the simulator up and running in as short a time as possible. The goal is to be in the air and flying within ten minutes of completing the installation while still learning the essentials of the simulator.

This chapter will gloss over a great deal of background information, and configuration of many non-essential options will be skipped entirely. It assumes that the computer X-Plane is being installed on is capable of running the simulator with its default rendering options. Note that the minimum system requirements to run X-Plane are a 2 GHz processor, 2 GB of RAM, and a DirectX 9-capable video card with 128 MB of on-board, dedicated video RAM (VRAM). However, the recommended specifications are a 3 GHz multi-core processor, 4 GB of RAM, and a DirectX 10-capable (DirectX 11 preferred) video card with 1 GB of on-board, dedicated VRAM. X-Plane will take advantage of as many cores or distinct processors as you can afford. Having 16 cores split among 4 CPUs is not required by any means, but Version 10 would be able to use every one. No more than 4 GB of RAM is necessary, but the more VRAM you have, the better; X-Plane 10 can easily use 1.5 GB of VRAM at the maximum settings.

Where the process differs between installing on Windows and Mac OS X, the differences have been noted.

After getting off the ground initially, you may want to continue reading the full manual, or simply keep it for reference. If you have any issues while following this guide, check the rest of the manual&mdash;the problem is very likely addressed there, and you&rsquo;ll save time for both yourself and customer support.

Detailed information on installing and configuring X-Plane can be found in Chapters and. Detailed information on joystick configuration can be found in Chapter, and Chapter contains more information on setting up and flying the aircraft.

Installing X-Plane
Mac users will need to double click on the X-Plane DVD icon on the desktop, then double click the Installer_Mac.app to launch the installer.
 * 1) Insert the first X-Plane DVD into your DVD-ROM drive and wait for it to spin up.
 * 2) In Windows, if the operating system does not launch the X-Plane installer automatically, click the Start menu, then My Computer. Double click on the XPLANE10 DVD, then Installer_Windows.exe.
 * 1) When the installer window appears, click Continue.
 * 2) By default X-Plane will install to the Desktop. Though it can be installed elsewhere, it is strongly recommended that it be placed on the Desktop so that it can be found in the future. For the purposes of this guide, we will assume it is installed there. Click Continue.
 * 3) Accept the user agreement and click Continue once again.
 * 4) Select the scenery you would like to install. Depending on the installer on your disc, either all of the world or none of it will be selected by default. An unselected tile will appear bleached in color, while a selected tile will have its full color.
 * 5) If you are unsure what areas are currently selected, just click Select None to turn everything off. From there, select the individual tiles you would like to install by clicking on them. Additionally, you can click and drag to select large areas quickly.

Note that for regions where no scenery is installed, only oceans and airports will be visible. When you&rsquo;re finished selecting scenery, click Continue to begin installing.

For the purposes of the Selecting a Location section later in this guide, be sure to select the two tiles that make up America&rsquo;s West Coast, as we will be traveling to Los Angeles International Airport (KLAX).
 * 1) The installer will begin displaying its progress. When the installer prompts you to do so, remove the current disc and insert the next. Note that installation may take anywhere from thirty to sixty minutes per disc, and that only one X-Plane disc can be in the system at once (the installer wont recognize a disc placed in a second DVD-ROM).

Installing the complete scenery package will consume about 75 GB of hard drive space and will take between five and six and a half hours to install.

Scenery can be added or removed at any point in the future by inserting Disc 1 and re-running the installer. When the X-System installer comes up saying &ldquo;You already have X-Plane 10 installed on this computer,&rdquo; click the Add or Remove Scenery button and proceed just like in step 4 above.

Launching X-Plane

 * 1) Make sure your USB joystick is plugged in. If this isn&rsquo;t plugged in prior to launching X-Plane, the simulator will not be able to interface with it. To avoid any possible problems, it is recommended that the flight controls be plugged directly into the machine rather than into a hub.
 * 2) Put Disc 1 into your DVD-ROM drive. Starting X-Plane without this will force X-Plane to run in demo mode only.
 * 3) Open the X-Plane 10 folder (located by default on the Desktop) and double click on &ldquo;X-Plane.exe&rdquo; in Windows, or &ldquo;X-Plane.app&rdquo; on a Mac.

Configuring Essential Yoke/ Joystick Functions
Note that a mouse may be used to fly if neither a yoke or a joystick is available, though it will (of course) be unrealistic and cumbersome. If the mouse will be used, however, skip to the section &ldquo; sec:choose_ac&rdquo; below.
 * 1) Once the program loads, move your mouse to the top of the screen, causing the menu to appear.
 * 2) Click on Settings (per Figure fig:select_joystick_and_equip), then Joystick & Equipment.
 * 3) Move your joystick or yoke forward and back. A green or red bar should move as you do so. Click the drop-down menu next to it and set it to pitch. Do not check the reverse box next to this control unless, when flying, the aircrafts pitch control is working backward.
 * 4) Move your joystick/ yoke left and right. The green or red bar that moves should be set to roll. Do not check the reverse box next to this control unless, when flying, the aircrafts roll control is working backward.
 * 5) Twist your joystick (if applicable). The bar that moves should be set to yaw. If you do not assign a yaw axis, X-Plane will attempt to stabilize it for you. Once again, do not check the reverse box unless, when flying, the aircrafts yaw control is working backward.

If you are using rudder pedals instead of a twisting joystick, slide them forward and backward and set the green/ red bar that moves then to yaw.

Additionally, only when using rudder pedals, press the left pedal down with your toes. The green or red bar that moves should be set to left toe brake. Do the same for the right pedal, and set that green bar to right toe brake. If this is done, you may also skip steps enum:buttons_basic through enum:toggle_brakes below.
 * 1) Move your throttle forward and back (on a yoke, this is typically the leftmost lever). Set this bar to throttle. Check the reverse box only if, when flying, the aircrafts throttle control works backward.
 * 2) Move all the joystick&rsquo;s control axes (that is, pitch, yaw, roll, and throttle) through their full range of motion to calibrate the controls.
 * 3) Once again, skip this step and steps and the following two if the rudder pedals are set up as toe brakes. Click the Buttons: Basic tab at the top of the screen.
 * 4) Press the button on your joystick that you would like to assign to brakes, then release it.
 * 5) Using the mouse, click the round button to the left of Toggle brakes regular effort found near the bottom of the second column and already selected in Figure fig:buttons_basic ).
 * 6) Close the Joystick & Equipment dialog box.

Selecting an Aircraft
Move your mouse to the top of the screen again to make the menu bar appear.


 * 1) Click Aircraft, then Open Aircraft (as in Figure 1).
 * 2) At the top of the window now open is a drop-down menu. It is currently displaying the name of the folder that the current aircraft is located in. Then, click the up/ down symbol on the right side of the folder name.
 * 3) Now a list of the folder hierarchy (the organization of the folders) opens from the drop-down menu. It starts with the main X-Plane folder and goes down to the folder that the current aircraft is in. For example, if the F-22 Raptor is open at the moment, the hierarchy shows:
 * 4) X-System folder
 * 5) Aircraft
 * 6) Fighters
 * 7) FA 22 Raptor
 * 8) The Aircraft folder opens. The folders here divide X-Planes aircraft into classes&mdash;for example, there are fighters, general aviation craft, gliders, helicopters, seaplanes, etc. Double click on General Aviation.
 * 9) Now the navigation box in the lower left of the window shows the different aircraft classified as general aviation planes. Double click on the Cessna 172SP folder.
 * 10) X-Plane aircraft files, which are what we need to click on to open an airplane, are denoted by an &ldquo;.acf&rdquo; extension. Double click on the Cessna_172.acf file (as seen in Figure fig:select_c172) to load the aircraft.

In a few moments the screen will go black. Shortly thereafter the cockpit of a new Cessna 172 Skyhawk will appear.



Selecting a Location



 * 1) Make the menu appear again by moving your mouse to the top of the screen.
 * 2) Click Location, then Select Global Airport (per Figure 3).
 * 3) If you have an airport in mind, type either its name or its airport ID to search for it. Otherwise, type KLAX to find Los Angeles International. Click on the airport you chose, then click the Go To This Airport button, as seen in Figure 4.

If you&rsquo;re having trouble finding an airport using X-Plane&rsquo;s built-in search feature, Airnav has a complete database that might assist in finding the ID or official name of an airport you&rsquo;re looking for. Note that you&rsquo;ll need its three- or four-character identifier when programming GPS waypoints, and that airport IDs in the US (and only the US) have a K appended to the front of them if and only if they are composed of all letters (and no numbers). More information on airport IDs can be found on Wikipedia&rsquo;s International Civil Aviation Organization page, specifically in the Codes registered with ICAO section.



Getting Off the Ground


Once again, these instructions are written for the Cessna 172&mdash;flying an airliner or another heavy aircraft will require flaps/ slats, a great deal more speed, and a very different technique, all of which is beyond the scope of this chapter.


 * 1) The airplane&rsquo;s engine is already running. Press the button that was assigned to brakes when the joystick/ yoke was configured. If no button was configured (e.g., if you are flying with the mouse), press the &lsquo;b&rsquo; key on the keyboard.
 * 2) Move the throttle all the way up.
 * 3) If applicable, use the joystick&rsquo;s twist or the rudder pedals to control the plane&rsquo;s left and right motion to track the centerline of the runway (don&rsquo; t worry if you go off it&mdash;you&rsquo;ll still get up to speed for take off). If no yaw axis was configured above (or if using the mouse), the simulator will attempt to control the yaw for you.
 * 4) Watch your airspeed indicator (seen in Figure 5), and when it hits 60 knots, pull back slightly to get the plane off the ground.

If using a mouse, you will have to click the white
 * 1) Gently level the plane off in order to build a little airspeed, then, when the plane hits, say, 80 knots, pull back again to begin climbing. Building airspeed this way will help to keep the plane from stalling.
 * 2) Fly away!

Updating X-Plane
Updating X-Plane will ensure that the copy of X-Plane you are using is the most stable, most feature-rich version available. Updates within a given version of X-Plane (e.g., from Version 10.0 to 10.1 to 10.2) are free, and recommended for virtually all users.
 * 1) In X-Plane, move your mouse to the top of the screen (causing the menu to appear) and click About.
 * 2) In the About menu, click About X-Plane.
 * 3) In the window that appears, there will be an Update X-Plane button if an update is available. Clicking this will cause X-Plane to download the latest update and run the updater for you.
 * 4) The installation files will be downloaded and installed, after which you will be ready to fly.

Further Considerations
Among the more important options skipped in the guide above was the configuration of flap and trim switches. If your joystick or yoke has switches or buttons you would like to use for this purpose, you can configure them similarly to the brakes that we assigned in part 3 of this guide. The difference is that when using a switch, pressing it &ldquo;up&rdquo; assign it one function and pressing it &ldquo;down&rdquo; will assign it another. Remember to click the button on your joystick before trying to assign it a function. Further information on this can be found in the section &ldquo; sec:config_controls&rdquo; of Chapter.