iPhone App of the Week: X-Plane HDEF-4G 9.692

If you’ve been around computers for the last 25 years you probably have heard of Microsoft Flight Simulator, which is the “Most Successful Flight Simulator Series” according to Guinness World Records. In its shadow though, was an underdog that used a more realistic model for flight simulation but had a much smaller following. Today, Microsoft’s Flight Simulator is no longer developed, while X-Plane stands as one of the more realistic flight simulators, certified by the FAA as a training aid, and used by flight schools, aviation engineers, as well as major government agencies.

Only two months after Apple’s App Store had opened, the developers of X-Plane released an iOS version. They used the same code from the desktop version of X-Plane and spent two weeks to port it to iOS. In essence, the version that you play on your iPhone is very close to the version certified by the FAA. Users were stunned by the level of sophistication that was possible on a mobile device and marveled at how closely accelerometer-based controls closely approximated the yoke of an airplane. Since the original release there has been a slew of X-Plane apps modeled after helicopters, gliders, fighters, airliners, etc.

When the iPhone 4 was introduced, a version of X-Plane was released to take advantage of its higher resolution and greater processing power. For that version they also decided to include all of the aircraft and features from all of the other varieties of X-Plane. That is the version–X-Plane HDEF-4G–reviewed here. Essentially, you are getting about eight apps for the price of two.

You may think of X-Plane as a toy or a game but it’s actually more of a serious flight simulator that flight enthusiasts would find enjoyable. For the average person who is more acquainted with the ease of controlling terrestrial vehicles, flying a plane with nothing to interact with and with the ever present danger of a fatal crash may not be so fun. Added to this is the fact that to land the aircraft properly requires some knowledge and a lot of practice, which for a beginner, just adds to the sense of not being able to accomplish much in this simulator; and X-Plane does not include a tutorial.

For flight enthusiasts however, X-Plane has much to offer such as adverse weather and night flights. The storm and lightning effects in themselves are quite impressive, but not ultra-realistic. X-Plane focuses on the accuracy of the physics of flight at the expense of other elements such as aesthetic details or even the structural physics of an aircraft during a crash. X-Plane builds real-life skills that real pilots may need to handle unforeseen circumstances. As a bonus, you can fly with another X-Plane user on your Wi-Fi network and geek out together over flight physics.

X-Plane is also an educational app. Going through all the planes to try out their flight dynamics and controls will give you a better understanding of the physics of flight. As a bonus, NASA’s space shuttle is available as a choice. With it you can try procedures such as delicately docking with a space station, the dangerous re-entry into earth’s atmosphere, or you could just sit back and watch the lengthy launch sequence.

X-Plane HDEF-4G sells for $9.99.