X-Plane Connect

The X-Plane Connect (XPC) Toolbox is an open source research tool used to interact with the commercial flight simulator software X-Plane. XPC allows users to control aircraft and receive state information from aircraft simulated in X-Plane using functions written in C, C++, Java, MATLAB, or Python in real time over the network. This research tool has been used to visualize flight paths, test control algorithms, simulate an active airspace, or generate out-the-window visuals for in-house flight simulation software. Possible applications include active control of an XPlane simulation, flight visualization, recording states during a flight, or interacting with a mission over UDP.

Architecture

XPC includes an X-Plane plugin (xpcPlugin) and clients written in several languages that interact with the plugin.

Quick Start

To get started using X-Plane Connect, do the following.

1. Purchase and install X-Plane 9, 10 or 11.
2. Download the XPlaneConnect.zip file from the latest release on the releases page.
3. Copy the contents of the .zip archive to the plugin directory ([X-Plane Directory]/Resources/plugins/)
4. Write some code using one of the clients to manipulate X-Plane data.

Each client is located in a top-level directory of the repository named for the client's language. The client directories generally include a src folder containing the client source code, and an Examples folder containing sample code demonstrating how to use the client.

Additional Information

For detailed information about XPC and how to use the XPC clients, refer to the XPC Wiki.

Capabilities

The XPC Toolbox allows the user to manipulate the internal state of X-Plane by reading and setting DataRefs, a complete list of which can be found on the X-Plane SDK wiki.

In addition, several convenience functions are provided, which allow the user to efficiently execute common commands. These functions include the ability to set the position and control surfaces of both player and multiplayer aircraft. In addition, the pause function allows users to easily pause and un-pause X-Plane's physics simulation engine.

Compatibility

XPC has been tested with the following software versions:

• Windows: Vista, 7, & 8
• Mac OSX: 10.8-10.14
• Linux: Tested on Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation release 6.6
• X-Plane: 9, 10 & 11

Contributing

All contributions are welcome! If you are having problems with the plugin, please open an issue on GitHub or email Chris Teubert. If you would like to contribute directly, please feel free to open a pull request against the "develop" branch. Pull requests will be evaluated and integrated into the next official release.

Notices

Copyright ©2013-2018 United States Government as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. All Rights Reserved.

No Warranty: THE SUBJECT SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTY THAT THE SUBJECT SOFTWARE WILL CONFORM TO SPECIFICATIONS, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT, ANY WARRANTY THAT THE SUBJECT SOFTWARE WILL BE ERROR FREE, OR ANY WARRANTY THAT DOCUMENTATION, IF PROVIDED, WILL CONFORM TO THE SUBJECT SOFTWARE. THIS AGREEMENT DOES NOT, IN ANY MANNER, CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT BY GOVERNMENT AGENCY OR ANY PRIOR RECIPIENT OF ANY RESULTS, RESULTING DESIGNS, HARDWARE, SOFTWARE PRODUCTS OR ANY OTHER APPLICATIONS RESULTING FROM USE OF THE SUBJECT SOFTWARE. FURTHER, GOVERNMENT AGENCY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES AND LIABILITIES REGARDING THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE, IF PRESENT IN THE ORIGINAL SOFTWARE, AND DISTRIBUTES IT "AS IS."

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X-Plane API

Copyright (c) 2008, Sandy Barbour and Ben Supnik All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

• Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
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X-Plane API SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.