Macworld UK: X-Plane review

So, the baton passes to X-Plane, an independent project available on Windows, Linux and, of course, Mac OS X. We’ve been giving this flight sim a spin and it’s pretty breathtaking. It’s also mind numbing. While finding your way around the control system of a bog standard space simulator can sometimes take a little while, X-Plane really does simulate the process of piloting an aircraft. With control tower chatter in your ears, and multiple instruments to monitor, you’ll struggle at first to keep your aircraft moving in a straight line. Having said that – X-Plane has several advantages over Microsoft Flight Simulator – and one is that you don’t have to use the keyboard. The cockpit flight controls are right there in front of you onscreen – and with mouse control enabled you can fly the plane without even touching those.