Our first release of 2025 is packed with exciting new stuff for newcomers and experienced users alike. To kick things off, we’ve introduced a set of new flight lessons designed for beginners exploring the world of X-Plane for the first time – and who better to guide you through the skies than Austin Meyer himself?
That’s not all – this update also includes improvements to our camera system for additional immersion and a fun custom airport. Let’s dive in!
Flight Lessons with Austin
Starting fresh? We’ve got you covered! Step into the cockpit with Austin and let him guide you through the skills you need enjoy X-Plane to the fullest.
Cirrus SR-22

Our first four lessons focus on mastering the Cirrus SR-22, an great platform for learning the fundamentals of flying in a safe, modern aircraft with great handling characteristics.

Lancair Evolution

When you’re ready to take it up a notch, it’s time to fly the Lancair Evolution. This is Austin’s personal aircraft in real life so he might be able to teach you a thing or two. This one-of-a-kind aircraft offers a unique flying experience that will stretch your skills and teach you how turbine power plants work in aviation.
Physics-Based Camera

With this release, we’re introducing a new physics-based camera option that simulates the forces experienced while flying an aircraft. You can easily see it in action – just slam on the brakes while taxiing, and you’ll notice the effect immediately.
The new camera system is focused on enhancing your view from the pilot seat but we’ve also added a hand-held camera mode for external views. This introduces subtle movements to create a more immersive experience and is ideal for recording videos of your flights.
Here’s a preview of what you can expect in these new modes:
Internal Camera
External Camera
Scenery






Our new flight lessons take you to beautiful Austria, centered around the beautiful city of Salzburg. We’ve enhanced the local autogen, Salzburg Airport (IATA: SZG, ICAO: LOWS), and added the Red Bull hangars the famous Salzburg Castle bringing the alpine city to life like never before.






Barra Airport (IATA: BRR, ICAO: EGPR) is one of the world’s most unique airports. Located on the Isle of Barra in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, it is famous for its one-of-a-kind runway and picturesque surroundings.
So where are the runways?

Barra Airport’s runways are located on a tidal beach. That makes it the only airport in the world where scheduled flights land and take off on a beach.
Important Information about Barra
The airport operates in harmony with nature. Flight schedules are determined by the tide times, as the runways are submerged at high tide. Pilots must ensure they land and take off during the designated low-tide windows.

The exact tidal state is indicated by tidal clocks located at Barra Airport and the nearby Benbecula Airport (IATA: BEB, ICAO: EGPL). Starting from any of the ramps at Barra Airport is safe at any time. The tidal clock at Benbecula Airport is near the tower and is visible from the main apron.
Two of the runways are marked by wooden poles with white lights positioned just off their ends. The windsocks at Barra Airport are taken down when the airport is officially closed during high tides.

New Demo Area
With our new flight lessons set around the picturesque city of Salzburg, we’ve also introduced an extensive new demo area covering parts of Austria, Northern Italy, and Southern Germany.. Together with our other existing demo areas, new users now have a wealth of options to explore and experience the world of X-Plane before making their purchase.
Whether you’re gliding over the iconic Salzburg Castle or navigating the rolling hills of South Germany, there’s no shortage of flying fun to have!




Garmin G1000 – Search and Rescue (SARS)

The Search and Rescue (SAR) function of the Garmin G1000 avionics system is designed to aid pilots in emergency situations, helping them to navigate effectively and locate a distress signal or target area.
The SAR function can be activated via the G1000’s menu and helps the pilot efficiently cover a specific search area by optimizing the aircraft’s flight path. The G1000 SAR function allows pilots to enter predefined search patterns, such as a track line search or a search spiral pattern.

New Library Objects
We’ve expanded our library with many new objects for creating Gateway airports, as well.
Static Assets – Snow and De-Icing Equipment





Static Assets – Firefighting Scenarios and Ambulances





Static Assets – Trucks





Static Assets – Airside and Airport Operations





Gateway Airports
Since the last update, 1,481 Gateway airports have been refreshed. We are incredibly grateful to all the contributors who continuously work to keep this community project up-to-date.

Safe Mode

We added a “safe mode” for situations where X-Plane crashes due of a plugin. This can also be activated manually by holding the CTRL key during startup, or by using a new startup scripts located in (X-Plane/Support) folder. Now you won’t have to go through the tedious process of removing addons one at a time to isolate crashes.
Fixes and Enhancements
General
- New Joystick profiles for the VKB S-TECS Throttle Mini
- Adjusted magnetic pole in X-Plane to match real world data
- Fixed an error when resizing the windows using a Wayland session on Linux
- AI aircraft will obey STAR altitude restrictions when on final (XPD-16285)
- Fixed an error when changing audio devices in the sound settings page (XPD-16365)
- Glider Tow crashes when activating TCAS Override (XPD-16422)
Aircraft
Cessna 172 SP
- Improved the climb and idle performance to better match those of the real airplane
Grumman F-14 Tomcat
- This release includes a brand-new manual on how to operate the F-14 Tomcat. You can easily find the manual in the aircraft folder.
ATC
- Entering an airport in the flight-plan as waypoint will no longer override the destination airport
- We’ve updated the voice pack to include additional aircraft manufacturers and models
- Don’t allow read-back before the message has been fully heard (XPD-163479)
- Pilot voice says “Ukraine International” instead of “international” at ENGM (XPD-16405)
- Many additional fixes and smaller enhancements
Scenery
- Added some “Warning Jet Blast Signs” at Princess Juliana International Airport (IATA: SXM, ICAO: TNCM)
Systems
General
- Fixed KDAB ILS7L.HANAV when flying a slow aircraft, such as the Cessna 172
- Boeing 737 autopilot turns to north upon capturing LOC instead of inbound course when flying the ILS32R at EDDK (XPD-16462)
Garmin G1000
- Pressing the small FMS knob on the MFD will no longer have an effect while being on the map display (XPD-16433)
FMS
- Fixed stutters when calculation the mach change-over altitude
Weather
- Improved the display of wind directions in the weather map
- Many improvements around the METAR reader, especially the handling of GRIB data
Web API
- Added support for calling commands using the Web API. We’ll have more documentation announced on our developer site soon!
Available now
Exciting one! X-Plane 12.1.4 is now available in public beta, and you can easily install it using the X-Plane Installer or by selecting the public beta option on Steam. Just remember to check the “Check for new betas as well as updates” box before starting the update process in the X-Plane Installer.
For additional details and a more comprehensive list of changes, have a look at the full release notes, please.