Version 6.25

Editor's note: OK... What happened to 6.22, 6.23, and 6.24? 6.22 was a quickie bug fix for some Windows UDP problems. Then this version was in beta test for a couple of weeks as 6.23, and all of a sudden became 6.25. Go figure. Anyway, 6.25 is the first real version after 6.21.

Since countless bitmaps and ALL the airplanes have been updated, we are going for a FULL NOT MINI download here...
This release has TONS of new stuff, especially for the hardcore flight-model/engineering set... read on! New Features:

Cool new feature: VERBAL CHECKLISTS! Open any .txt checklist that you type up from the special menu... (any checklist you make as .txt file)

Now thumb thru the resulting checklist list on-screen, AND THE COMPUTER WILL READ EACH ITEM TO YOU (VERBALLY!) AS YOU GET TO IT! Cool!

WEIGHT-SHIFT AS A CONTROL INPUT! Now we have the weight-shift in those hang-gliders, Wright Gliders, and any other case where weight-shift steers!

New failure mode: Auto-feather failure.

This keeps thing interesting when an engine throws in towel on takeoff and the the prop does NOT auto-feather as planned!

New in the ATC menus: request vectors to tanker!

Now fly your intercept!

Auto-trim option in the special controls of Plane-Maker... at first I though it would only annoy, but on flying it is pretty nice! you just hold the nose level for a few moments, then let go! the plane is trimmed!

Check out the two items near the end of the instrument list in plane-maker: throttle quadrant endcaps.

We now have new improved throttle-quadrant images from Sergio, and the endcaps give a nice finishing touch...

Use them anywhere, even on the props, mixtures, and thrust-vectors and wing-sweeps and speedbrakes if you like to finsh off the cockpit nicely.

New fuel selectors... 4 new ones at the end of the list in plane-maker.

Fuel transfer selectors now avail... use them to transfer fuel between tanks to balance or trim the plane. These are used on the (real) Concorde, for example.

New autopilot option: wing-leveler.

New AI mode in the special menu: Let the plane take care of itself if you want demo hardware, etc.

Settling with power in the helos and VTOLS... do not descend at more than 300 fpm in hover or fall into your own wash and risk death.

FINALLY. PANEL IMPORT! In the panel editing window in plane-maker there is a button to import the panel from any other plane now!

FINALLY. The electrical system is fully simulated in the generic case: Each battery will gradually run down, (especially if you use those starters a lot) and the generators recharge them... if you leave the computer with the switches on and the engine off, then the battery will indeed run down.

The new electrical system has ammeters, battery voltage meters, and press-to-test-voltage buttons for the ammeters for every engine. This means the old "generator load" (which was sort of specific to certain aircraft) is now simply a generic ammeter, and a new button is now available called "Ammeter Shows Voltage" which you can press to let the ammeter show the voltage of the battery it is charging. There is also the seperate voltage indicator if you like seperate gages there.

Output STABILITY DERIVATIVES! OTHER flight sims use the stability derivatives to imitate how their airplanes fly... but someone must enter those derivatives for each airplane, and of course they do not know exactly what that derivative is! Now, go to the Special Menu in X-Plane to let X-Plane figure out those deriviatives and output them for you! This can be used to get a "performance number" on the stability of the craft.

Enter the feathered pitch of the prop in Plane-Maker to get it right for your plane... you can fine tune it to get the prop to turn slowly when feathered, as happens in some real turboprops.

New Detail/Refinements:

Up to 3 fuel tanks possible now! This lets you really get the left, right, and center tanks of those airliners just right.

Set them up in Plane-Maker, and then distribute the fuel as you like in the weight and balance screen in X-Plane,

Can a Boeing 747 stay upright at approach speeds with the left tank full, and the right one empty? Find out! (the HARD way!!!)

World-Maker airport editing: Drag the runways around with the mouse. Makes airport creation about 100x easier!

Visible roll spoilers, as requested.

Phases of the moon now in place... they vary on a monthly cycle, though it is not aligned with any particular year.

Better colors for objects and airports in World-Maker.

Redout onsets more gradually with negative g-load... this from a guy who has done negative-g aerobatics and has experience with the onset rate.

Airport rotating beacons not on during the daytime any more.

"Intro" picture still appears after selecting your language... and we will soon have a different one for each language, along with new text for each language and improved menus for each language as well.

FMS now allows entry of lat/lon waypoints! Go ANYWHERE.

Single-Cue AND Dual-Cue flight directors now available, as requested... choose your type in Plane-Maker instrument list.

2 total-energy varios: increasing pitch with increasing descent rate, and decreasing pitch with increasing descent rate. This allows American and European total-energy vario styles. See instrument list in Plane-Maker.

You can now use '-' in the tail number, as is used outside of the USA in many cases.

GPS CDI is now more accurate... just as sensitive at ALL ranges.

EFIS Digital readout for N1 FF EPR EGT.. as requested by Sergio for his exciting new cockpits coming soon!

Moving map can now be dropped into HSI mode to see an HSI there instead of the map.

Disk data output now only puts header lines where needed, thus allowing you to easily copy the data to a spreadsheet.

Vidual lift vectors from "Show Flight Model" are now scaled for the number of wing elements to give a better-caled lift profile.

OK, planet map draws airplane at right heading.

Custom needles and text messages time out after 1 second now.

Tech Mods:

Horizontal stabs now rotate about their own axis... not the horizontal axis. This comes in useful for stabs with high dihedral.
No more mis-aligned ILS's!!! X-Plane AUTOMATICALLY ALIGNS EVERY SINGLE ILS WITH THE RUNWAY now!!!
World-Maker now keeps "edge-nodes" right on the edge as you drag them! No more dragging edge nodes off the edge of the map by mistake and hosing everything! AND the node-selection bug that would sometimes mess up the map (DUH-OH!) is fixed.
Custom object improvement: In addition to entering polys of 1 (point) 2 (line) 3 (tri) or 4 (quad) you can now enter poly type 5, which is a quad that is solid, so you can land on it. Use this for bridges, helipads, etc.
Set the angle of attack at which the stall warning activates now in Plane-Maker... needed to get just right for all planes.
Ground and flight idle now available for the turboprops... switch to set it is in Plane-Maker instrument list.
Networked machines may have more responsive graphics now... give it a try if you use networked machines for out-the-window views!
NEW PANEL TEST NEAREST FORMAT! MOVE THOSE IGNITON SWITCHED OVER TO THE LEFT, AND ADD THE NEW WING-LEVELER AUTOPILOT. THIS FORMAT CHANGE IS FOR THE NEW WING-LEVELER-ONLY AUTOPILOT OPTION.
Warning and Operations screen: An option for X-Plane to spit summaries of its internet I/O data to the error.out file for you to see what is being read and sent over the net to X-Plane, and when. Helps you do your X-Plane internet communications, if you are doig add-ons, etc.
If sending in data by internet, send in -999 for any variable in the selection that you do NOT want to change.
Do this, and those variables in the data selection will just be left alone.
QUIT ALL otpion on ISO to shut down ALL computers.
If you have any scenery files with co-located or out-of-bounds nodes (slightly invalid scenery files) simply re-save them in World-Maker to World-Maker automatically solve the problem for you.

New Expansions:

New joystick button options: TOGA (goes to max power) and "kill switch" (shuts down all engines). These give you joystick buttons for instant access to 2 critical engine functions sometimes avail in reality.
Yes, even more data out output options. Every release, somebody asks for more items in the data output screen... well you have them now!
More joystick button options, such as pausing the sim.
New option in rendering options: rotate view 90 deg on side.. useful if you have a fetish for sideways mointors.
Stars fade out in lo vis, and strobe lites lite up the clouds around you in really low vis.
Rotating beacon, like runway lights, on at appropriate times based on time of day and weather conditions.
SIT files now save the failure states as well... good for setting up training scenarios!
Networked copies of X-Plane: select quit from one machine and the others will follow... more convenient... Also select your replay mode from the IOS and control the action on the master machine.
Grids in the landing gear door screen in plane maker to help with your gear doors.
Prop overspeed test button.. lowers the max rpm by 15% so you can test the prop governor before takeoff.

Bug Fixes:

No more crash as you fly over the dateline.
When you declare an emergency in a 747, ATC will not helpfully guide you to the nearest HELIPAD!
ATC will no longer get confused by two different airports with identical names... as long as they each have a unique airport ID!
Helo tail rotors operational.. bug in beta-1!
World-Maker can edit roads OK even if you try to mess things up by dragging road nodes off the map.
Heavy metal clock reads time correctly on both analog and digital indicators.
Fuel transfer does not "invent new fuel" if you try to transfer from an EMPTY tank!.. also no sxr if electrical system inop!
FMS plans can be saved and loaded now.

Version 6 Overview

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