As real as it gets.

Pictured: Cessna 172 approaching KJFK.

Revolutionary engine.

Pictured: The new flow-field visualization, with pitch-rate, downwash, and wake effects.

You're FAA certified. Now your sim can be too.

Pictured: A full cockpit simulator from ExcelSim.

Cleared for takeoff.

Pictured: Some of the global scenery packed on to six dual-layer DVDs.

Switching from Microsoft ESP?

Moving over, moving up.

Meet X-Plane.

X-Plane is the world's most comprehensive and powerful flight simulator for personal computers. With the most realistic flight model available for home users, X-Plane is not just a game--it is an engineering tool that can be (and is) used to predict the flight characteristics of nearly any aircraft with incredible accuracy.

The most realistic is also the most accessible

The same engine used to drive the FAA-certified simulator is available on your desktop PC, whether it's running Windows, Mac OS, or Linux.

The simulator of choice for industry leaders

Take a closer look at X-Plane and learn what companies like NASA, Boeing, Cessna, and Van's Aircraft, and Carter Aviation already know--click here.

Inside X-Plane.

Real-time flight physics

X-Plane doesn't just regurgitate how an airplane's designer thinks a plane will fly--it calculates for itself the lift, drag, and moment on every surface of the plane individually at every point in time. The result is a flight model more realistic than anything else out there.

The key is blade element breakdown.

X-Plane reads in the geometric shape of any aircraft and then figures out how that aircraft will fly. It does this by an engineering process called "blade element theory," which involves breaking the aircraft down into many small elements and then finding the forces acting on each little element many times per second. To learn more, click here.

FAA-Certified X-Plane

Use X-Plane to log some hours

Many installations of X-Plane have been certified by the FAA for logging flight hours. To find out what this takes, see the FAA-Certified page.

Learn about the levels of the X-Plane sim

The same software purchased for home use can be unlocked for commercial, FAA-certifiable use. Learn more at the Levels of the X-Plane Simulator page.

Using the X-Plane Pro USB keys

To use the X-Plane Pro USB keys (applicable to a level 2, 3, and 4 simulator), users will need to download and install the HASP USB key driver.

Going Pro

Learn about the levels of the X-Plane sim

The same software purchased for home use can be unlocked for commercial, FAA-certifiable use. Learn more at the Levels of the X-Plane Simulator page.

Go pro to unlock EFIS-App

Realistically simulate the PFD and MFD of Eclipse and Cirrus jets using EFIS-App, unlocked using the pro-level USB keys.

Ready to step up to X-Plane Professional?

See the Ordering page to get your pro-level key.

Cleared for the Approach.

Diverting to X-Plane.

Tens of thousands of users have already switched from "the other flight sim" to X-Plane. Most of the time, they do so because they've found out about how much better X-Plane's flight model is inherently than the model that everyone else offers.

Switch to the sim of choice for industry leaders

Companies like Kalitta Air, Northwest and Japan Airlines, Cessna, and NASA trust X-Plane for training and testing. With the best of the best using X-Plane, why would you settle for anything less? Click here to find out more about why the switch from Microsoft ESP is worth it.