X-Plane Extreme is by far the most difficult X-Plane iPhone App I have ever coded.
This is because now we are really getting into the hard stuff: the tricky and demanding propulsion and flight-control systems that make X-Plane so complex.
NOW we are getting into flight-modeling that gets as tricky to manage as X-Plane for desktop, and the results show it:
We have some of the most unusual, fast, maneuverable, or advanced planes ever made... EACH with it's own unique control systems that radically effect the way the plane handles, and how it must be flown. The F-22, B-1, B-2, and SR-71 with X-Plane Extreme are simply stunningly different to fly... much more so than any other planes for X-Plane. As well, we have recently added the B-52 and the X-15! Google 'X-15' to see how these two planes work together.
We start with the F-22 Raptor.
The Raptor is by far the most maneuverable and powerful fighter in the sky... nobody else comes remotely close.
An interesting point of the Raptor is that the thrust vectors up and down to steer the craft.
This lets the plane pitch the nose up and down with full authority even at zero speed, simply by vectoring the thrust.
The F-22 can in fact hang motionless on the engines. But this comes at a cost: When you chop the power, you lose that lift and maneuverability!
Can you handle the Raptor in all phases of flight, from 0 to 1,000 knots, and all power settings from idle to maximum?
We then move to the SR-71 Blackbird.
This is the fastest airplane in the world, exceeding Mach-3, exceeding 70,000 feet.
Managing this airplane is sort of like balancing 3 checkbooks at once: Can you work out the speed, altitude, and flight control to see well over Mach-3 at well over 70,000 feet,
and still make it back to the airport and get stopped on the runway?
Now the B-1 'Bone' Bomber.
The B-1 has almost full-span flaps, spoilers for roll control, and differentially-deflecting all-moving stabilators to aid in roll control.
Despite the huge flaps and multiple roll controls, this huge ungainly bird still has terribly high stall speeds and limited roll rate due to it's high weight...
if you can get this plane around the sky and down in one piece, you are doing well!
We also have a new slider to complement the throttle, trim, flaps, and speedbrakes: WING SWEEP!
Use this in the B-1... but only above 500 knots or you will go down like a lawn dart! You will eat dirt at 400 knots.
The harbinger of the Apocalypse: The B-2 'Jet' Bomber:
The B-2 has.. umm... no tail. At all. No vertical stabilizer. No horizontal stabilizer. And no flaps.
Ailerons on the wingtips split open to add drag on the left or right side of the plane to give yaw-control!
A fly-by-wire system coupled to multiple flight-control surfaces makes this airplane manageable, and really rather nice to fly.
The missile with a man in it.. the X-15.
This plane was dropped from a B-52 bomber like a bomb, and then flown by hand INTO SPACE. Once the plane exhausted it's fuel, it glided back down to Edwards for landing. This high-speed and hi-altitude research refined much of the engineering ultimately used on the Space Shuttle program!
>ALL< of the systems mentioned above are simulated in X-Plane-Extreme for iPhone... From Zero-Speed to Mach-3-plus, from surface to 100,000 feet, at the engineering-level of accuracy that X-Plane for desktop has... can you handle them? As well, for the first on iPhone, we have OTHER planes for you to chase around. These other planes race though the mountains and canyons, supersonic in some cases, with realistic physics. Can you stick with them? What's new in Version 9.697 Camera views updated even a hair more! We now have fixed-on-plane circle, fixed-on-path circle, fly-by, and fly-alongside-chase all working in the way that people have requested, in flight, paused, and all replay-speed modes. So now, even the fly-alongside view will track the airplane in all replay speeds, forwards and backwards. We also let the camera a bit closer the planes now because a few people asked for that. If there is any view that does not seem to work perfectly, in any flight, pause, or replay mode, then email me at austin@x-plane.com and I will make it perfect! Once I have confirmed that everyone is happy with the views, then I will move on the NEXT feature: In-flight EQUIPMENT FAILURES! THAT will really start to ratchet up the thrill-factor! Look for that new set of features in the mid-July time-frame. Seller: Laminar Research © 2009, Laminar Research LANGUAGES: English REQUIREMENTS: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later DOWNLOAD Here
