The Perlan has flown for the first time in the X-Plane simulator. It is possible to calculate stability derivatives and control power but you get a much more immediate impression of the plane by flying it, even in a simulation. It is immediately obvious that the Perlan requires a lot of rudder to keep it straight.
The X-Plane simulator runs on PC or Macintosh and it allows you to design your own aircraft and fly it very quickly. There is a large community of people developing airplanes and even scenery. The detailed model of El Calafate has been created for X-Plane and it is available as a free download.
