X-Plane for Professional Use

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Advanced features at your fingertips

Get access to powerful features not available in the home use simulator.

Commercial Use

License your simulator for unlimited use outside your home, or for generating revenue.

FAA Certification

Hardware and frame-rate checks make the simulator eligible for FAA-Certification.

Unique Capabilities

Enable cylindrical and spherical projection (as found in large simulators), and the ability to drive Garmin Real Simulator Units.

Kiosk Mode

Protect your fine-tuned settings and preferences by enabling a password-protected mode that prevents any unauthorized changes.

Photometric Lighting Engine

Light brightness, intensity, spread, and more – all computed in real time with the laws of physics.

3D Water

Gorgeous global water rendering, complete with wave height controls and floatplane interaction based on feedback from expert pilots.

Seasonal Effects

Tree color and leaf coverage vary to show season – snow accumulates, too!

Tropical Water Colors

Gorgeous, geographically-aware water colors.

3D Forests and Vegetation

Large variety of 3D trees with variation of species, size, and seasonal effects. They even sway in the wind.

Ambient Sounds

The entire world now comes to life with FMOD sound – birds in the forest, cars in the cities and of course, ground service vehicles.

What makes it "X-Plane for Professional Use"?

  1. It includes all the features of the home-use version of X-Plane 11 Global.
  2. It licenses your simulator for commercial use (that is, any use of X-Plane outside of your own personal use in your own personal home.) This license is also required for generating revenue, either directly or indirectly, using X-Plane.
  3. It provides hardware and frame-rate checks required for FAA certification of the simulator.
  4. It unlocks features of the simulator not available in X-Plane 11 Global. These include the ability to use cylindrical and spherical projection (as found in large simulators), and the ability to drive Garmin Real Simulator Units.

So, to build a simulator for professional use, simply:

Note that you will need one pro-use license—whether digital download or USB key—per computer if you’re planning a multi-machine simulator.

For professional-caliber flight sim hardware, we recommend Precision Flight Controls.

Get your free report on training in a simulator

We’d like to send you a free one-month course on how training in a flight simulator can make you a better pilot. In this course, we’ll show you how you can:

  • shoot approaches to your favorite runways,
  • become an expert on the autopilot,
  • get a virtual version of the airplane you fly in the real world, and fly it in X-Plane,
  • practice procedures with the ATC, and more!

You’ll also receive our “tips & tricks” newsletter about once a month, jam packed with X-Plane news, add-ons, & more.

We promise to never spam you, and we will never sell or share your email address. Your email address will only be used to send you X-Plane-related emails. (See our privacy policy for more info.) If you ever change your mind, you can unsubscribe at any time.

Once again, this course on getting the most out of your flight simulator training is completely free.

Don’t want email? No problem. You can read the emails we send in the course here.

Download the demo now, for free.

Download the X-Plane Demo