I came across a "flight test" of X-Plane v7 today, embedded in an
overall review of the simulator. This test was performed and written up
by a real-world pilot... You might find some interesting things in there
in terms of how X-Plane does and does not model real-world aviating.
Here is the flight test:
http://www.digital-flight.com/review...lot_report.htm
(BTW the link to the Quicktime movie there appears to be dead)
That report is linked to from this review:
http://www.digital-flight.com/review...e_7_review.htm
Why am I posting this? - Answer: because I see posts here and there that
slam FS2004 while raving about X-Plane; IMO this PIREP shows where the
rubber meets the road in X-Plane-Land. The ultimate conclusion is that
X-Plane does some things reasonably well but still has some miles to go
in the realism category.
I have no idea whether the pilot that wrote this prefers X-Plane or
FS2004; I personally prefer the latter for any number of reasons (my
gripe list for X-Plane is long) - the main one being that it just feels
more like the real thing - both in the fixed- and rotary-wing regimes.
(For what it's worth - I have owned/updated X-Plane since version 4; I
keep hoping the author will hone off the rough edges but I still
ultimately return to FS2004 (or even Fly! 2) for my flight sim fix.)
Dave Blevins