Laminar Research has announced the release of X-Plane for the iPhone, a version of the flight simulation software. It’s now available for purchase and download from the App Store for $9.99.
The news comes only a few days after Austin Meyer, the developer behind the sophisticated flight sim software, posted a detailed message to the X-Plane e-mail list saying that an iPhone port of the game was not possible. In retrospect, Meyer was just having some fun at his customers’ expense.
The desktop version of X-Plane 9 is known for its expandability and flexibility; users can add new detailed terrain maps, new airplane models and can adjust a vast array of parameters. Obviously, the iPhone version had to be scaled down, but many of X-Plane’s hallmark characteristics remain intact: You can adjust time of day, weather, sky conditions and turbulence characteristics; you can also choose from four different models of aircraft, including a personal jet.
The iPhone application lets you fly around the area of Innsbruck, Austria, which Laminar Research says is home to challenging mountains and topography for aviation.
X-Plane 9 runs on any iPhone or iPod touch running iPhone 2.0 software or later.