X-Plane

    In X-Plane 12, flew from KLAX to KJFK in the classic 747-200. I came in hot and then a bit low, but everyone got off the plane in short order so guess everyone’s happy 😅  #XPlane12 #FlightSim #YawmanArrowA 747-200 in classic United tulip livery on approach to KFJ 31L. There are three red and one white PAPI lights, indicating the aircraft is a bit low. The plane is flying over some water, with the runway rapidly approaching. Manhattan skyscrapers can be seen in the distance. It's a partly cloudy day.

    If you have a Yawman Arrow Controller, X-Plane 12, and the Felis 747-200, here’s my amateur-hour FlyWithLua script (on GitHub) to enable the Yawman Controller to have multifunction buttons to control the aircraft #YawmanArrow #FlyWithLua #Lua #XPlane12 #FlightSim

    Just had my first flight with the Yawman Arrow flight simulator controller. It is so nice. I’m impressed with its smooth axes operation and their sensitivity. I’m very happy with this and, on first flight, was worth the wait. #YawmanArrow #FlightSim #XPlaneE175 landing almost on center at Kona, Hawaii with a giant shield volcano in the background.

    X-Plane 12 performance on a M2 Max Mac Studio

    It turns out that Austin Meyer, founder of Laminar and creator of X-Plane, uses a Mac Studio as his main computer (see interview). I imagine he has an M1 Ultra. That likely explains why my new M2 Max Mac Studio runs X-Plane 12 so well. I got the 32 Gigabyte RAM and 2 Terabyte model (I’ve found that capacity is the sweet spot). At max scenery settings, X-Plane uses about 23 GB of RAM for video, leaving 9 GB free for other things. So 32 GB seems perfect. I love how Apple Silicon GPUs can access all available RAM!

    My previous desktop machine was an M1 Mac Mini with a mere 8 Gigabytes of RAM. Depending on airport and aircraft complexity, X-Plane 12 typically ran 10-15 FPS on the ground and 20-30 in the air (worse FPS if there are low clouds). Crucially, this was (and still is) on a 1080p monitor. Despite knowing quite clearly how non-performant my Mini was running a flight simulator, I was still unprepared how well my new Mac runs X-Plane. It now runs 25-35 FPS on the ground and ~60 FPS in the air. What I thought were bugs were actually caused by the underpowered Mini. For example, on the Mini, during replay mode, spoilers and reversers would always deploy laughably early even though I deployed them at the right time. That is no longer an issue. Taxiing was also rather challenging at low 10-15 frames per second. I’d oversteer all the time. Now taxiing is far more responsive. The aircraft also feels livelier in the air, as now I can descern the air buffeting aircraft even outside turbulent conditions.

    Now all I need is the soon to be released Yawman Arrow controller. I have avoided buying other controllers because the Yawman looks perfect for my use case.

    I was watching BigJet TV’s Paris Airshow Preview and didn’t notice one of my E-175 gears didn’t extend. Landed at KRDD (Redding, CA) and found out pretty quick what happened... Oops. #FlightSim #XPlane #AvGeek

    E175  resting on its left wing because its left gear wasn't extended.

    In X-Plane 12.04 Beta 2 I’m following United 2376 (777-2, EWR-SFO) in an A340-6. I’m barely keeping up with the 777. There's some light chop just west of Laramie, which is reflected at BumpySkies.com. This latest XP beta improved weather greatly. More chores to do in cruise!

    Just flying an A340-600 from San Francisco International into Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport. #XPlane #FlightSim #AvGeek

    A340-600 on approach to KSJC 30L, just passing over downtown San Jose at night. The freeway is all lit up and the runways are visible. It's a dark night.

    I really enjoy flying the Toliss A340 in X-Plane 12. This is on approach to Oakland International. Just a short flight from San Francisco International. #flightsim #xplane #avgeek

    A banking A340 on Approach to KOAK at night. The bay bridge and San Francisco skyscapers are lit up, as is the aircraft. Rain is streaking by.Top oblique view of the A340 and the San Francisco skyline with the bay bridge looming below, all at night.

    Software documentation is usually neglected. So I’m super impressed that ToLiSS has already updated their A321 documentation for X-Plane 12 beta.