Using X-Plane for Simulation Research

This is a summary of my experience using X-Plane 8 as a serious research tool. I created a visual flight rules (VFR) training scenario for Orlando Executive Airport. I don't have any experience with the instrument flight aspects of X-Plane. I hope you find this useful.

If you have no experience with flying simulators or real airplanes, then you will need to do some background reading on how an airplane works and what the controls do. If you don't do this, nothing will make any sense. A lot of information is available on the Web, for free, from the FAA. For the most basic explanation, start with Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. It's very detailed; you will only need to know the concepts. There are more resources at the FAA's aviation library. Once you understand the basics, I suggest this FlightGear tutorial. It was written for an open-source flight simulator called FlightGear, and it is much more thorough than the X-Plane manuals. It will help you take off, fly around the airport, and land.