TALATHARB  There is one Flightsim for the Mac, XP, so this is the best one. Flightgear has potential but still some way to go. hopefully they keep it up.

That said, xplane is a piece of crap. there was never a stable version, and there probably never will be one. this is the authors 14th attempt to deliver something without introducing silly new bugs over and over again. Maybe he's gone completely bananas, who knows. But for sure he has no knowledge of software development, quality management and customer care. sadly enough.   
(Version 9.4rc14)

ISTRA  on their website it is now $29, not bad!  
(Version 9.4rc6)

JAMUS  Best. Flight sim. Ever.  
(Version 9.4rc5)

PLAINLY X-PLANE  The good, the bad, the ugly, the wacky.

It's X-Plane plainly explained, along with a healthy dose of prove-it-to-me skepticism.

Product reviews, tips and tricks, the occasional tutorial. Get an unbiased look at the flight simulator that provokes bipolar disorder in otherwise well adjusted people:

http://plainlyxplane.blogspot.com  
(Version 9.31)

SOMMOP  You don't really need to build airplanes to enjoy this sim. If you're already a pilot, this thing is pretty damn good.   
(Version 9.30b8)

THEBEAUTIFULONE  Incredibly cool!  
(Version 9.30b7)

TARTATIN  Definitely the best simulator available on Mac.

X-Plane is available for years on our platform and since the begining the support was excellent.  
(Version 9.0)

CALEB GRANT  for everybody who says that they just sit on the runway, you obviously havent given this simulator any time. i personally have never tried to make any planes, but i still have fun flying the planes that oter people make around. the controls are very simple once you know them, although i will admit that changing them is a little tricky. this game is not meant to be played with a mouse, so i recommed that you buy a cheap joystick if nothing else. i use maybe 3 or 4 buttons, and then my joystick and clicking around in the window view.

maybe if you took a little time to think about it you could actually figure it out  
(Version 9.0rc3)

ARTWILSON22  It looks like X-Plane would be a great find for a true flight simulation enthusiast however for a newcomer who is interested in learning, it lacks guidance. You sit there on the runway wondering what to do. I would have expected a little more from a Mac app but X-Plane does not even offer a true Mac interface but some wack UI that looks like a flavor of Linux. A disappointment.  
(Version 9.0b11)

CJJ  People!

Download and buy X-PLane 9!!!

The realism and graphics are INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!  
(Version 9.0b2)

BOSIE  Scenery is still boring, crashes as regularly as previous versions even on a G5 Quad. I still can't see a reason to want to buy it unless as people say all you want to do is twiddle the knobs for realistic flight simulation. If refunds were an option I'd take it.   
(Version 8.5)

CJJ  For those of you who just want to get off the ground,

Take these Tips!

Press the "B" key to release brakes

Hold down F2 to take off

The "A" key is back view

The "W" key is cockpit

http://x-plane.org/  
(Version 8.5rc4)

PETER COLE  I've been using X-Plane for a few years now and can only say how amazed I am with it. The terrain is about as accurate as is available for almost the entire planet (from the SRTM data set - from NASA). The weather is fantasic (with a real time option too). I have hundreds of planes downloaded from and other sites incl. www.x-plane.org

GPS style maps are avaiable with a dual monitor set-up. The six minute demo was enough for me to know this rocked - and I could still fly after the six minutes, just not use the main flight controls.

If you want a real flight sim (not a game) this is it. Even MS call their Flight sim a game. Although certainly enjoyable, this is not a game. It is used to train real pilots in both fixed wing and helicopters.

X-Plane is worth every cent!  
(Version 8.5rc2)

RUSSELL GLEASON  I myself am relatively new with X-Plane (Aug. 23, 2006) having purchased ver. 8.40. I'm using a G4 Digital Audio Mac with Dual 1.8GHz Processors and a ATI 9600 converted AGP graphics card from OWC made specially for G4 Macs, along with 1.25Gb of RAM. Here is my evaluation so far:

PROs: This is probably the best "authentic" Flight Simulator for the Mac that your going to find. It is a real joy to fly/play as I can find myself spending hours on this game.

CONs: The number of free aircraft that you can download is good (but not great). The free aircraft that are available are great, but the number and type of aircraft I feel is somewhat limited (for my taste) and this leaves me alittle disappointed.

Probably the single biggest CON for me is this similator lacks "detailed geographical senery". Given the day and age of computer technology that we live in, the accuracy of low altitude senery is quiet lacking.

A GPS map display would also be nice for pin-point location accuracy (just yesterday I was walking through Sears and you can even buy hand held electronic GPS map displays/units that show exactly where your at!).

I think in the end, while X-Plane is a very, very good program that I would highly recommend to anyone, I think the makers of the program are having a tough time keeping up with todays technology for a "highly realistic" feel "beyond the instrumentation panel" for flying characteristics that gives a pilot a realistic detailed look and feel.

- Russell  
(Version 8.5b8)

CJJ  I have been using X-plane since I was six, and is VERY fun! With the new X-Plane 8.50, it even more fun!!! Hope everyone enjoys it!!!!!!  
(Version 8.5b6)

ALEXF  I'm totally new to flight sims so I can't really judge X-Plane - especially considering the ridiculous 5mins time limit on the demo.

Developers, consider making it a longer demo. You can barely get a feel for X-Plane in 5mins. Having said that, I enjoy it  
(Version 8.5b4)

HAHUHI  Would it be possible to have a Pilatus PC 12 plane in the General Aviation folder? I am missing that one as single turbo prop engine plane with great advantages.  
(Version 8.5b4)

UMAROMC  I apologize for posting this here but I find this information difficult to locate on Laminar's website; Are the F-16 Falcon and F-22 Raptor on the X-Plane CD?  
(Version 8.4b2)

AFFLECK  Hardly. They are constantly making updates. Also note that these updates are beta releases, not full releases. They are being good to us crazy early adopters and releasing new updates as they get 'em so we can beat up on 'em. I've never once had a crash or found a bug but I'm a more casual user. My guess is that any bugs actually found are going to be very esoteric.  
(Version 8.4b2)

FLORIDAPHILLIP  Why does Xplane need an update so often? Are there that many bugs in it?  
(Version 8.3.1)

JOEL MUELLER  The graphics look phenominal in this game. Western Michigan University's flight program has many students that are familiar with this flight sim. Very impressive.  
(Version 8.2.1)

JOHANNES REXX  The new updater works well. It's fast, offers to toss out obsolete files in your X-Plane folder, and updates just what you need. It looks nice too, although it occupies 1024x760 of desktop space needlessly. I like it anyway :-)

During the update, the Mac OS X graphical interface seemed to suffer a strange kind of lag, but I was able to continue to use the system anyway. The update process took about 30 minutes.

After the update, I launched X-Plane and HAD to re-calibrate my joystick real quick. After that the simulator ran smooth as silk.  
(Version 8.2b8)

DANAL  Even with a fast cable modem connection & following instructions carefully, download time for the trial is very slow. Is there something I'm not doing right?  
(Version 8.15rc2)

ANONYMOUS  Very good flight simulator, with a lot of features. Configuration and Setup takes it´s Time, but after the first start, you will love this simulator. The flight dynamics are great and highly realistic. The Instrument reactions are incredible. If you ever flew an aircraft by yourself, you will be very happy with the realism in x-plane. If you just want a little flight game, x-plane isn´t the right app for you.  
(Version 8.15b2)

ANONYMOUS  Nice Sim!

The way to update as stated on your site is a bit backwards and time consuming. Would it not be easier to copy the new files from the upgrade (approx 350mb) into the old existing folder? This would be much more efficient in regards to moving 7 or so Gig of files from the old directory to the new one. It just seems more logical to me. I did not try it though I followed the instructions as describes on your site and maybe in 50 minutes the files will be copied over.

Thanks!

Features are almost great.

Playability would have to fall in with the stability. My store bought CD version 8.0 locked up frequently when selecting a control on the pilots cockpit. Even after upgrading but before moving the scenery to the new folder it also locked up but not as much.

The sound is good. However I only have the soundcard that came with my Mac.

Graphics are good. I have to say that not being able to take full advantantage of my 20 inch screen is very disapointing. Even Cheap games allow for larger screens WITHOUT degredation. That is not to say the game did not allow me to change the resolution to 1680 X 1050 but you should have denied it until you made it look good at that res. Would be embarrasing if I were the Developer of this Sim to put it out that way.

Stability: Well, that one is easy. It is not the worst but darn close to it. To say this game is ready for market is like saying Microsoft Xp is ready for market even today. So I have to rate you here just like M$ and say your Sim is nice but you have an overall bad product. I will stay clear from your products in the future. You state this is 8.11 or at least 8.0 RETAIL DVD version. Reality says it is still BETA. Get over it. go back to the drawing board and fix it. Gee that sounds like a M$ (Microsoft) does it not.  
(Version 8.11)

ANONYMOUS  I tried to download the demo unsuccesfully several times. So, I went and purchased it. The store version is 8.0 I believe. I am running it on a new G5 20 inch. So far it is very unstable. It has locked up several times when I click a control on the cockpit. I currently have 750mb ram.

My first question: Is X-Plane capable of displaying correctly on a 20 inch G5 in FULL screen. I manually adjusted the screen resolution for 1680 X 1050 however, It not only looked bad but the cockpit did not take up the full horizon. I had 1/5 of the screen still showing the flyby of the ground on either side of the cockpit. Am I doing something wrong or is this just how it is.

MY second question: does the update 8.11 correct any of the stability issues I am having?

So far this game looks awesone but is a bit buggy.

Any suggestions would be helpful.  
(Version 8.11)

A REALLY SMART DUDE  This is the greatest flight simulator out there! The community is growing and typically very helpful. For the most part, this is realistic. Some things are not so good, like the ability to bo barrel rolls in a 747, but hey...its still pretty darn good!  
(Version 8.11)

ANONYMOUS  I have xplane 7.x and it rocks.. I've played it both on PC and MAC (powerbook 15"). It works fine on both platforms. I have a new Mac Mini now that will be testing it on tonite. I still have not got the v8.x release just. I don't see the point in 50 bucks for some more land scapes. Very realistic game. Lots of plug-ins for it. Check out the squawkbox stuff for realtime ATC(airtrafficcontrol). Good stuff. If you don't have it, get it.   
(Version 8.11b1)

ANONYMOUS  The writer of the first article needs to learn a little Loyalty and Humility  
(Version 8.11b1)

ANONYMOUS  Good flight sims are hard to find for Macs, but not impossible. If you are finding Xplane to be too complex, and/or buggy, an excellent, easier to use, and MUCH CHEAPER flight sim (FULL VERSION) can be found for FREE (well, the cost of a magazine) on the May 2005 issue of Macworld UK... http://www.macworld.co.uk/

The program is called FlightGear... http://www.flightgear.org/ . It is cross-platform...

Windows

Linux

Solaris (sparc/x86)

sgi

Mac OS X

FreeBSD

...and, similar to Xplane, they offer a host of additional aircraft...

Fokker 100.

Eurocopter Bo105.

Fairchild A-10 (Warthog).

Antonov AN-225.

B-52F Stratofortress.

Concorde v2.0 update.

More aircraft ...

...including the new double-decker Airbus A380... http://www.flightgear.org/Gallery/

Enjoy!!  
(Version 8.10)

ANDREW  I love the game. Its fun and the graphics are great. I have one small haggle. Upgrade the website!! Its so hard to find what you want on it and it really doesnt sell the product. It is also very visually unapealling.. Lets just say it doesnt compliment the game

Thats just me though

Love the game  
(Version 8.10)

ANONYMOUS  Can't download this either. Have tried several times, but no luck.  
(Version 8.10)

MKG  Pure fun. Your palms may sweat a bit when you are attempting a landing, lining up the runway, watching the airspeed, keeping an eye on the altimeter, hearing the stall warning, listening to the approach warning. You'll twist about in your chair as you tryto give it the right approach attitude. Absolutely spellbinding.  
(Version 8.10rc1)

ANONYMOUS  i tried several times to download it and it will not happen. Even tried to download directly from the developers site. Dev's site is confusing and there is no HEY I AM RIGHT HERE TO DOWNLOAD the DEMO!

I would love to try it again but no joy.  
(Version 8.10rc1)

BENQUICK  I have run X-Plane at resolution exceeding 1024x768 and never been confronted to the problem of plane panels remaining at a lower resolution except maybe with poorly designed planes. Who is to blame, the programmer or the users of the program doing a poor job?

As others have mentioned to you there a stable releases and beta releases, you have the choice. A cross plateform product has shortcomings inherent to its nature.   
(Version 8.10b1)

BENQUICK  thecloud well indeed I have run X-plane at resolutions 1280x960 and 1024x768 and used quite a wide array of freeware plane without the limitation you mention. That does not seem to be a problem with X-Plane itself but with some pooor design of planes. Ok the issue is tricky, but blaming Laminar is may be blaming the wrong person.   
(Version 8.10b1)

ANONYMOUS  can this do anti gravity plane? i want to make a flying pice of dirt or a flag pole  
(Version 8.0.6)

THECLOUD  benquick - have you ever tried using a resolution wider than 1024x768? The cockpit images are a fixed width, while the scenery outside is full-screen width. The availability of interior view files for the plane is not the issue here.

I love X-Plane. I've spent many hours with it. The flight modelling is outstanding. But I stand by my original comment: this is a program perpetually in beta mode. Most of its "releases" are actually NOT release versions, e.g. "8.0.4b1", "8.0.5rc2", etc. It seems unprofessional and it's confusing for users, whether your company is large or small. There is no reason to send every single beta out to the entire world as if it were a finished release.  
(Version 8.0.5rc2)

BENQUICK  To almost a Flight Geek and thecloud, you should maybe look at what kind of plane you use. Some developpers provide alround views of the cockpit, that it is not a flaw in the program. X-Plane is an enverinoment where you use plane models which can be more or less accurate. Of course there is always something which might be improved. That is true for programs of large companies and of small groups.   
(Version 8.0.4)

ALMOST A FLIGHT GEEK  You're right, decloud. I'm now looking at what appears to be a 1200 pixel wide cockpit in front of a 1600 wide scenery -- the cockpit just stops about 200 pixels from either lateral edge. Weird.  
(Version 8.0.4)

THECLOUD  "Almost a flight geek" - your comments are dead-on accurate. X-Plane is a program perpetually in beta mode, never quite fixing its old bugs before introducing new and useless 'features' like sunglasses or hot-air balloon obstacles.

Except you're wrong about one thing: you CAN do full-screen mode. Go to the Rendering Options menu and change the resolution to match your screen's.  
(Version 8.0.4b1)

ALMOST A FLIGHT GEEK  Surprisingly fast get with Bit Torrent requied a bit of patience at the start.

Is this ready for prime time yet? Depends on whether you are a flight geek or not. Flight Dynamics are good, scenery is reasonably good. Sounds and mist are great. Cockpit is great ... but only if you stare straight ahead. Turn to the side and your head is out of the window. The right-seat cockpit is in the Twilight Zone -- lost in the Bermuda Triangle. The look-back view is positively bizarre. You have a limited look down capability but you won't find much reason to do so (hardly any controls there). So I'm "failing" the cockpit. Even the old A-10 for classic had a better solution; and the fully controllable chase-plane view was outstanding. Here, it's an after-thought.

This is a simulator for flight geeks. Fly all over the world; enter nav and radio frequencies, etc. Hell, fly on Mars or reenter with the Shuttle! But ... (there's always a but) you can sit on the runway for hours and not get busted. It's a simulator not a game, you see; YOU provide the entertainment in your head. In short, the reason that makes prolonged use of similar simulators boring: Nothing to do but fly around or do some circuits.

I believe simulators need some context and framework. The app should file a random flight plan perhaps after you select start/end points, and you follow it. You need a copilot or, better yet, instructor to qualify you and give you direction.

Biggest bitch: it sits on the upper left-hand corner of my Cinema Screen requiring me to giraffe a bit: No window; no centering; no full-screen mode.

You have an overwhelming array of aircraft types and locations to tease you, but an underwhelming lack of completeness and polish to the software. I'D RATHER HAVE THE REVERSE. X-Plane 8 is both GREAT and UNFINISHED. The priorities are elsewhere, the program is out of control much like the production of a movie can get. At some point, you have to provide the basics (screen presentation), plot (roadmap), and LIMIT the movie's length (features) in order to get a screening (shipping product).

Not here. This will be in beta forever. Seriously short of cash, programmers, strategy and direction, etc.

Flight geeks must get [support] this for its aspects of greatness. I understand my needs enough to pass for the moment. Half of a cockpit makes it a half-cocked application.  
(Version 8.0.2b2)

ANONYMOUS  I use the BitTorrent download method. I am downloading the 8.02b1 file using Azureus and as we speak I see 2.4 Megabits/second download speed on a cable modem. I'm connected to 9 seeds and 6 peers.

To get these speeds you should enable UPnP on both your router and Azureus.

And I'll leave Azureus up for a day or so to share the bandwidth to others.

In this day and age I cannot believe that all vendors do not distribute their updates in this manner! Anybody who complains about BitTorrent technology would benefit from some RTFM'ing.  
(Version 8.0.2b1)

SOREN  X-Plane 8 as well as X-Plane 7.62 can be downloaded from a conventional server. Here is the link: http://xpdownloads.net  
(Version 8.0.2b1)

TAZ  You! Yes you! the last Anonymous!

First, you're here to comment the software itself, not the way the download it (the prob. can comes from you).

Second, learn how to use your computer and take a look to the concept of BitTorrent. I've personnaly never had any download problem with X-Plane using BiTorrent (dl at more 250Ko/s and up at 76 Ko/s).

Third of all, take a look on the official site and you'll find mirror (non-BitTorrent) to download this AMAZING software.

Then, you'll be able to give your opinion...

Sincerely yours  
(Version 8.0.2b1)

ANONYMOUS  Downloading totally SUCKS!!

I tried. I really, really tried. But, on my cable modem, BitTorrent's downloads averaged 0.5kB/sec. On rare occasion (twice in 5 mins) it would momentarily "burst" to a whopping 10.0kB/sec but soon dropped back down, often sitting at 0.0 kB/sec for a long period. This gave an estimated download time of over 450 hours for the 342 Meg file!!

As a comparison, www.macgamefiles.com typically downloads their demos between 8.8 kB/sec (Myst IV demo, 185M in 38 mins) and 2.8 kB/sec (Incredibles demo, 107M in 70 mins). Although this is still rather slow, it is within the realm of tolerability.

http://warhammer.mcc.virginia.edu/xplane/index.php offers direct (NON-BitTorrent) downloading of X-Plane, but as of Nov 13, the v8.0.1 wasn't posted yet.

It totally baffles me how a software company in year 2004 has no clue how to get their software efficiently downloaded to their users. AMAZING!  
(Version 8.0.1)

ORANABANA  The links on the right side point ot version 7.6.1, which has now been subceeded byb the final version 7.6.2.

Version 8 is currently in devlopment, with apparently loads new features. Best to look at their website [www.x-plane.com], for all info about it.

The Torrent link here is a demo, that amoungst other things does not icnlude the new scenery... so don't get all hang up about the dull scenery, its the scenery from v7.6.2.

Still the best flight sim around!!!  
(Version 8.0b15)

ANONYMOUS  For info, this isn't a demo, those are the utilities applications (plane maker, world maker etc...) for v8.

And the download links aren't for it.

Weird entry ;)  
(Version 8.0b7)

ANONYMOUS  download links 2 and 3 are broken and the first download link was too busy.

i'll try to download later!  
(Version 8.0b7)

BRANDON  Amazing Flight Sim. Best I have ever seen, and sooo much better than imitators.

I have been using this since X-plane 5 was around. I went and bought my copy and loved it. Never knew 6 came out...lol... but when 7 came out, i bought that too. And now I update b/c its better each time.

Amazing work you all are doing, keep it up! This is hands down the only sim for me!  
(Version 7.62rc1)

UNIX HACKER  Great news! Its 6 minutes! And I tried the demo for about a week.. and i bought it. Sadly, I am still searching for a B2 bomber... :(  
(Version 7.61)

JOSEI WHITE  X-Plane is a very fun, challenging, and realistic game, and worth the $50.00. Since X-Plane 7 you can fly on either Earth or Mars and space. For developers that mad airplanes previously for X-Plane 7 through 7.41 can now make see through cockpit windows, from the outside you can see through the cockpit windows of the plane, which wasn't able to be done in previous versions! People who whine that there is not enough airplanes that come with the game, you can easily go to www.x-plane.org and download airplanes and scenery.

When you land that United Airlines Boeing 747 it feals real. You can blow tire on accident if you land to hard or even make the plane bounce. You can set they type of weather you would like while flying, from stormy weather to clear skies.

Also the people that whine when they click something on the control panel that it just sits there & doesn't do anything, THATS YOUR COMPUTER NOT THE GAME! SO THESE PEOPLE THAT CAN SPELL, STOP YOUR COMPLAINING, BECAUSE probably half the people that complain don't even have the game, LOL. AND STOP KNOCKING X-PLANE. Every game has there bugs and problems, so what. Everything isn't perfect.

All-in-all, this is an amazing Flight Sim and better then those low grade Flight Sims made by Microsoft.  
(Version 7.50)

GOBLAZER!  I've used X-Plane for years and HIGHLY recommend this program. As a pilot, I find it great practice for it's realism, communication capabilties, navigation properties and huge plug-in and download options. This is a program I use a little bit almost everyday!  
(Version 7.50)

JAKE  Great! VERY NICE!  
(Version 7.41)

ANONYMOUS  Great game. Must have  
(Version 7.30)

JEFFREY MARTIN  Just bought it at the Apple Store and it is version 7.1 (March 2004). This update is dated 2003. You would think they would be selling the most recent version. How about an updater that just updates the version for those of us without highspeed lines?  
(Version 7.30)

GUBDEB  Pedro,

Note your comment about XP update. Unfortunately, to gain the greatest benefit, you need to pay to subscribe, and I feel I've paid enough for this software already. Besides which, I manage to update all my other software without needing 3rd party apps. to do it - of course, they have more logical update naming conventions and strategy and sensible updaters and installers (and 80% of that software is freeware!).   
(Version 7.20)

PEDRO PERES  Go to the page : www.xplaneupdate.com

and download the xplane update , and you will never need to download the all x-plane aplication everytime that i get's out a update, the x-plane update will only download the updated files.

a must have update for all x-plane users  
(Version 7.20)

GUBDEB  Nick,

with the exception of the water issue )a better website might have helped!), I wholeheartedly agree with your observations.

I'm just glad I'm not the only one to despair at the shambles.  
(Version 7.16)

BURAN  nick -- the "water" is due to the fact that the scenery is included on additional CDs. There's a link from x-plane.com to download it, though, if you're willing to take the time to download 2 gigs of scenery files. But the entire world is there, if you install it all.  
(Version 7.16rc1)

NICK  X-Plane is great. X-Plane is fantastic. But the whole X-Plane world is a complete mess.

I've been using this since the early 5.0s, and they just have not gotten it together to put a comprehensive package.

Older planes simply don't work with versions even one dot point above. Or they crash the sim when you try to load. The scenery is all over the place--taking off from runways floating in "water."

Their upgrade system is chaos. So many different versions existing simultaneously where some of one will work with some but not others.

The website is a disaster and harks back to 1995. Downloading new "scenery" at 5 KB/s with a cable modem. having to physically drag and drop multiple files into arcane folders instead of the installer doing it for you.

Completely unintuitive and riddled with errors. I have my monitor set at 1440 x 900 on a 1Gb machine yet X-Plane tells me my settings of 1280 x 960 are too high, then crashes and won't reboot. I have to reinstall the whole program!

Someone should take this away from Austin and make this a professional package instead of this high-schoolish free-for-all.  
(Version 7.15)

ANONYMOUS  This version will not run on my B/W 400mHz G3. It hangs at the end of application loading. Previous version 710 runs just fine.

This great sim is almost there...I'm reaching for my wallet.  
(Version 7.15rc2)

PEDRO PERES  Another update that fixes (i think) some errors, and enhance some features, but still they should fix some other bugs that cause my imac to freeze during the game.

At least they now use bit torrent, and now we don't have to download 137 mgs just because of some files.

Resuming i think that this game is the best flight sim ever made for mac or pc , much better then flight sim 2004 from microsoft, beautiful graphics, lot's of aircrafts, and guess what you can do them yourself!!! :-)

But still have some large bugs that must be corrected, that cause the computer to freeze, and a manual to the plane maker would be useful i think.  
(Version 7.15b7)

JOHANNES REXX  The Bit Torrent for Mac OS X version 3.2.2a is sound. I leave it open awhile after I download the update.

Note this is an UPDATE and not the whole product.

It's still a big update, but nobody is making you download it, so don't complain about the size. Plus it's marked as a beta. Backup accordingly.  
(Version 7.15b6)

GUBDEB  This mini update via BitTorent causes BitTorrent to crash - despite successful use previously, and no changes to system... is the .torrent file sound?  
(Version 7.15b6)

EEEYOW!  fer cryin' out loud! would somebody _please_ make an icon for this app?

thx.  
(Version 7.15b6)

PEDRO PERES  Hey anonymous you can still download x-plane updates with the xplane update program, you can download it from:

www.xplaneupdate.com

it's the easyest way to download updates for x-plane  
(Version 7.15b3)

ANONYMOUS  aaah great, now that he's using Bittorrent, i can't d/l any updates on my school's network due to the proxy and admin settings. >..  
(Version 7.15b3)

GUBDEB  Ahh... 7.15 Mini Update on the website - well done! But... b1?? Nowhere to be found, and no link on Macupdate to the mini!

An improvement, but still need to tackle the version numbering!

:::Important::::

If you already have a full download, use the 'More Info' link to download the miniUpdate - less than 3MB!  
(Version 7.15b1)

ANONYMOUS  I have the registered version of X-Plane7. Very good simulator, the aircraft graphiccs & flights are very realistic, with one exception, the terrain graphics (cities) is poor. Everything looks the same no matter where you are flying. Can't tell visually where in the world I'm at.

As far as the updates it is next to impossible to download, 139+ MB, with a dial up connection. Hope this will be changed in the near future.

respectfully: Don Hays   
(Version 7.10)

GUBDEB  Guys, having paid for this, I feel I'm entitled to say -

You've got to come up with a better release mechanism! 140MB odd updates 2 or 3 times a week? Can't you limit yourselves to perhaps 1 full download a week, plus several incremental changes to specific files? A great sim. or not (which it is), you're letting the package down with such demands of your customers. I appreciate updates and have the luxury of ADSL, but this all seems just a mess!

And please, adopt decent release numbering! This is 7.10? The more info page lists 7.10rc-4 - which has been released for several days now!

Which is the later update? 7.10? or, more logically, 7.10 which would appear to be updated to rc-4 (whatever that represents!).

The application itself doesn't have version info related to the Macintosh file management (get info). It would be helpful to know what version I presently have!

Come on peeps! Get it together!  
(Version 7.10)

WILFREDO SANCHEZ  I just wanna say that I have been using X-Plane since version 5.54. Its the best flight simulator out there. Flight data is based on real world physics and not a data file like in MSFS. The responce for the lower quality graphics by Austin Meyer (the maker of the game and only one working on it), is that its a flight simulator not and eye candy simulator. lol Another cool thing about XP is that Austin listens and talks and even meets with his customers through the X-Plane.org forums. If thats not reason enough to buy X-Plane, I dont know what is.

BTW, for those of you who want eyecandy. A third party is currently working on a plugin to display 3D Studio aircraft and other objects instead of the stock models.  
(Version 7.10rc2)

ANONYMOUS  MAX - YOU ARE A MORON! So what if the developer was working on a new version of his software. When the hell have you seen ANY software developer tell you the exact date of the release for their newest products? You are just plain ol ignorant. This developer has busted his hump putting out a product that is worth MUCH more than that crap MSFT puts out and calls a flight sim. NOTHING MSFT does is worth the paper used to package it. Get a life and learn how to rate a good product when you see one.  
(Version 7.10rc2)

SPAWNOFBILL  Griz, the main programmer for this game, who by the way did all of this in his free time, and his brother does all of the packaging out of his garage, has a degree in Aerospace engineering, and is a licensed 747 and 777 pilot. He trained in the flight sim's that the flight schools use and modeled the game after that. The game is worth more than it's current price (49.99, and it is far cheaper than the new MS flight sim (99.99 or something around that)  
(Version 7.1b1)

ANONYMOUS  To the previous two reviewers:

First of all this is not a "game" and is not advertised as a "game".

This is a pro level flight sim. You want to talk about over priced? Talk about MS-Flight Sim Pro, that was about $100 and didn't even come close to the feature count of X-Plane.

Now, why is this better than flight sim? Fully realistic physics, a huge downloadable library of aircraft and scenery...and did I mention you can fly on MARS?!?!

Also, the graphics in MS-Flight Sim a Century of Flights graphics can't even touch X-Plan 7's.

Now, to the guy who said the cockpit wasn't anything like a 747's. Heres the deal, check MS-Flight Sim, theirs is about the same. The problem is, a heavy metal jets controls are located all over the inside of the jet in 3D space, its hard to recreate that on a small screen of the computer. All of the same options are their, maybe just a slightly differntly placed. The important thing is that the jet flys realisticly.

-Tim  
(Version 7.0)

CARLOS  Warning, the new version 7 will eat up a less than 1 ghz G4 processor and a lesser Video card. If you are fortunate enough and have a faster machine with 384+ megs of ram a good joystick or the Ch pedals and rudder, this IS THE ONLY FLIGHT SIM out there. You can configure more tha 30 parameters and program the NAv computer, and program waypoints, destiny fuel consuption etc. Any Real pilot will tell you how amazing this sim really is (IF you are serious about flying), If you dont like REAL games you will find it very boring.

You can fly tons of other planes in almost all of airlines liveries in x-plane.org web site there are more than 2K planes.

I bought the version 5 then version 6 and surelly Ill put more $$$ for version 7.

My inly complaint is that the turbines do not rotate as the FS from microsoft.  
(Version 7.0rc4)

DANY  Excellent flight simulator (FS), which gets better with every release .

Unlike any other FS on any platform, this one is as realistic as it gets. It is the only one which places one in the cockpit with real flight controls.

Both the FAA and NASA approved it, check this out http://www.x-plane.com/FTD.html

Has many free add-ons (Planes, Scenery ...) at http://www.x-plane.org/  
(Version 7.0rc1)

ANONYMOUS  Great program! Could use a bit more better scenery! Can also use more keyboard commands.  
(Version 7.0b5)

MATT HUNTER  I like the detail in this sim. I feel that I could probably use this to learn how to really fly a jumbo jet. However, the documentation/instructions don't really meet up with the complexity of the sim. Other than that, it is impressive.  
(Version 7.0b4)

ANONYMOUS  Wow. 7.0b1 is nice.  
(Version 7.0b1)

TARIQ  I've downloaded the 6.25 version of X-Plane, which is now installed on my 800 G4 Ti-Powerbook, it looks great and feels great, the only drawback I would like to point out is that there isn't a realistic plane behaviour when it comes to collisions detection, for instance you could land anywhere you want and the contact with other solid objects such as planes and ground structures isn't detected, is this peculiar to the 6.25 demo? and is it possible to fix the problem?

I would be very grateful if you could reply to my e.mail address mentioned below.  
(Version 6.25)

ANONYMOUS  Beware when installing this new version (6.10rc1). Mouse control no longer works to fly the plane. You NEED a joystick now (at least in the OS X version. OS 9 wouldn't open on my machine). I'll stick with 6.10b8 for now, until this is fixed.  
(Version 6.10rc1)

RAH-66  Excellent flight sim!  
(Version 6.10b11)

AIRCRAFT MECHANIC  X-Plane is an outstanding flight sim...AS WELL as a great REAL aircraft design tool...Don't take MY word for it. Just as BOEING or Lockheed Martin who USE x-plane for R&D (no kidding. Personally, I TRUST a REAL pilot and aerospace engineer to design a sim. Not a Microsoft nerd. From an A&P Mechanic  
(Version 6.10b8)

SOMEONE WHO'S NOT AN IDIOT!  I'm reviewing this...just everyone's comments this time. What's amazing to me is that everytime I see someone who's written a negative comment can't spell or make a comment worth a damn! You guys are the ones who suck! I'm not sticking up for this product since I haven't even tried it yet, but it's always a good laugh when I see that people who can't get the thing to work or don't like it seem like they're absolute morons. That's all!   
(Version 6.10b8)

GITO  well I Tried a lot, and I think it is cool. But one thing that I don't like is that we don't have many options in airplanes models, 747SP,747300,come on guys bring them out!!!!plaese  
(Version 6.0.6)

ANONYMOUS  plane maker needs work  
(Version 6.0.6)

PETER  X-plane is an amazing program that should be approached with caution. It's complexity and realism make it a fascinating challenge. Try it and you may get hooked... It's realism and extent of stimulation has impressed both me and other pilots.   
(Version 5.66)

KREATIVE  the BEST flight-simulator I ever SEEN!  
(Version )

ANONYMOUS  Found Alternate Download site. It was much faster to download : http://expert.cc.purdue.edu/~fernands/xplane/XMACFULL554.sit  
(Version )

DOMINIC PORTER  It's popular because it's good.  
(Version )

ANONYMOUS   I am not actually writing a review, but why is this such a hugely popular download?  
(Version )