Note: This demo only works when starting Apex within the Allegro Common Lisp development environment.

Installation

• Download version 6.3 of X-Plane. More information and newer versions of X-Plane (which might not work with Apex) are found at the X-Plane site.
  
• Install Allegro Common Lisp 6.2.

Demo

1. Start X-Plane. After X-Plane loads the "Set Quick-Flight Options" window opens.
   
   
2. Select the general-aviation aircraft King-Air B200, using the "Open Aircraft" button. The next time you start X-Plane, this will be the preselected aircraft.
   
   
3. Select the airport "San Bernardino International" (KSBD). This is the default airport.
   
   
4. Be sure the flight conditions are good:

                                       visibility:             severe clear
                                       (any value in this range)
                                       Precip:                 none
                                       Thunderstorms:          none
                                       Wind and turbulence:    none
                                       Microburst probability: none
                                       Rate of change:         stagnant
                                     

   
   
5. Click the "Select this airport" button and the simulation will start. Note: Unless you have the X-Plane CD, a window will appear informing you that X-Plane is operating in demo mode. Click "Understood". You may encounter this notice again.
   
   
6. If the sky is dark in the simulation, change the time using the "k" or "l" key until the sun comes up.
   
   
7. (One-time step) In the Settings > Internet Connections menu, select "IP address of data receiver". Enter the following values into the 3 boxes that appear:

                                      IP address (leftmost box) : 127.0.0.1
                                      Port (rightmost box)      : 49001
                                      Send rate                 : 3 times 
                                      per second
                                     

   
   
8. Note the IP address in white at the top of the dialog box, then exit the dialog by hitting the return key.
   
   
9. Due to a bug in X-Plane some information may not be transmitted by X-Plane via UDP until one of the data channels is displayed on the screen. In Settings > Data Output, select any data channels, then select the rightmost button for that channel which will display it on the screen. Exit the menu. You can subsequently return to the menu and disable that data channel (the magic is complete).
   
   
10. In X-Plane, select the Location > Takeoff > San Bernardino International > Rwy 06 menu item.
    
    
11. Press the backslash ("\\") key and use the arrow keys and "+" and "-" keys to adjust the view as desired.
    
    
12. If desired, press the semicolon (";") key to turn the control panel translucent.
    
    
13. Start ACL and load Apex by loading the file apex/load.lisp.
    
    Note: For Windows users, type Alt-Tab to make other applications visible.
    
    
14. When Apex prompts for a system, enter 3 (apex-xplane).
    
    
15. At the Apex Listener prompt, type:

                                      (setq *my-xplane-ip* "x.x.x.x")
                                      where x.x.x.x is the IP address noted 
                                      in step 8.
                                    

    
    
16. To start the X-Plane demo, call the function X (type "(x)").
    
    
17. In X-Plane, adjust the view with arrow keys as the aircraft moves.
    
    
18. The d key will enter map mode. Adjust the zoom and position of the map using the button in the lower right of the screen. Do not click on the map, as it will relocate the aircraft. Hit the "enter" key to exit the map and continue flight.