Hello again, friends!
We hope your year’s been off to a great start so far. This month we’re taking a brief look at a major force at Laminar Research, and X-Plane’s creator, Austin Meyer. Don’t forget to read all the way to the bottom for links to a free winter scenery mod and updates for your manuals.
Q & A with Austin Meyer
Question: What was your first experience that got you into aviation?
Austin: Ironically… flying MSFS on an Apple-II!
Q: What type of computer set up do you use? How does it affect how you work or use X-Plane?
A: I am always coding X-Plane on my MacPro, always flying just long enough to test whatever I am coding at the moment. I use a MacPro, but an iMac is really just as good for a fraction of the cost.
Q: What’s the most exciting part of working on X-Plane for you?
A: Ironically, DELETING code and making things SIMPLER.
The ultimate goal is to make the app both simpler and more powerful at once, and make the CODE both shorter (thus less likely to have bugs, typically) and more powerful at the same time. This is tricky to do, but certainly my favorite part…and we have a long ways still to go in this area!
Q: Do you have a favorite aircraft to fly, or a favorite location?
A: Oh, I like the Lancair Evolution that I have in X-Plane (N844X, the one I am currently building in reality). I wrote a blog post outlining a few interesting things about the way the airplane flies.
Q: We have a bit of your bio in the manual, but it stops at the re-naming of X-Plane. Anything exciting been going on since then?
A: So there is so much going on that is exciting that it is just ridiculous… from Steam and Aerosoft distribution to Xavion to a new iPad-based IOS I am writing for X-Plane right now, the new stuff going on is just crazy.
Click the button below to read the full interview. You can also read more from Austin on his blog, Austin’s Adventures.
Tips and Tricks
PDF manuals are included with every install of X-Plane, but did you know there are online versions as well? Only the online manuals are being updated regularly, so make sure to bookmark these pages. Then check back often for the latest explanations of improvements to the sim.
Featured Freeware
Baby, it’s cold outside…so why doesn’t it ever snow in X-Plane? The regular desktop sim may not include season changes, but thanks to a mod by XFlyer, we can now have winter scenery along with summer scenery! Winter_Package is a modification that started out as a personal challenge that can now be enjoyed by all X-Plane users. It is compatible with Windows and Mac installations, and the most recent update makes it easier than ever to install and use the mod.
The mod’s description and screenshots promise if you stay in latitudes higher than about 40° N or S, you’ll “experience a new dimension of flying. Bright blue winter days or even a situation with freezing cold, stratus clouds, low visibility and severe precipitation will feel breathtakingly immersive.”
Download the Winter_Package 1.1 mod from X-Plane.org and enjoy some winter weather both inside and outside your home.
Happy flying!
– The X-Plane Team
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