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Inside Mac Games has posted a detailed review by flight-sim guru Tim Morgan of X-Plane 6, the general-aviation simulator from Laminar Research that allows players to fly aircraft ranging from the Hindenburg to the Space Shuttle.

Here's a brief excerpt:

X-Plane comes with a very large number of aircraft, from the basic all the way to the exotic and unrealistic. Included is a full fleet of general-aviation aircraft, from the Cessna 172 up to the heavy metal jets like the Boeing 777. In addition, the player can take a number of military aircraft to the skies, such as the aging F-105 Thunderchief and the nimble F-22 Raptor.

What X-Plane lacks in graphical eye candy it makes up in versatility. X-Plane can handle a large variety of aircraft, from the conventional turboprops, turbojets, and helicopters to the most bizarre of prototypes. X-Plane supports the vertically-mounted jet engine on the X-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the fifty-seven thousand pounds of thrust put out by the X-15's liquid-rocket engine, the vectored-thrust engines on the F-22 Raptor and Su-37, and even the unique design of a gyrocopter, which uses both vertical-thrust helicopter blades and a horizontal-thrust prop engine to provide lift and power. The versatility does not end with engines: X-Plane correctly models the F-14 Tomcat’s sweeping wings and the lift produced by a blimp's expansive chambers of gas.

IMG Review: X-Plane 6

X-Plane 6

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