Laminar Research has rolled out X-Plane 12.4.0 Beta 3, delivering another round of refinements for aircraft systems, avionics, visuals, scenery, VR, and overall stability. The update is now live for simmers who have opted into the public beta channel.

Aircraft & Avionics: Cleaner Maps, Better Indications

Beta 3 tackles a handful of aircraft issues that can break immersion fast, including a fix for landing gear indicator lights on fixed tailwheel aircraft and correcting flight plan route display issues on EFIS maps.

On the avionics side, Laminar addressed an issue where wind speeds above 99 knots weren’t being displayed properly on the X1000.

Airbus A330-300 Gets More Love

The default Airbus A330-300 continues to receive targeted improvements in this beta. Beta 3 includes changes like:

• A fix for the “Managed Dot” logic at cruise altitude
• Refinements and better input behavior on the MCDU PERF APPR page
• Fixes to ND drawing issues
• Improved autopilot turn rate behavior
• A usability upgrade that enables the transponder CLR button

In other words: smoother operation in day-to-day cockpit flows, and fewer “why is it doing THAT?” moments at FL350.

Graphics, Scenery & ATC Fixes

There are also improvements outside the cockpit. Beta 3 corrects a sky rendering issue, updates global airports to resolve mesh problems (including Lukla / VNLK), and restores missing ATIS at some airports.

VR & Stability: Less Drama, More Flying

Laminar also focused on stability and usability, addressing multiple crashes tied to UI, multi-monitor setups, and 2D panels. VR users get fixes for issues like the radial menu hanging and certain anti-aliasing settings causing visual distortion.

 SDK Improvements for Plugin Reliability

For developers (and for the rest of us who enjoy plugins that don’t implode mid-flight), Beta 3 includes SDK stability improvements and better error handling, plus crash fixes related to plugin windows and probes.

How to Get X-Plane 12.4.0 Beta 3

Beta 3 is available right now to users who have opted into the X-Plane 12 public beta.

Sky Blue Radio Takeoff Tip

If you’ve been flying the A330 in X-Plane 12 lately, Beta 3 looks like a solid “quality-of-life” hop forward, especially for autopilot behavior and MCDU handling. And if you’re a VR flyer, fewer menu hiccups is always a win.

Want more sim updates like this? Keep it locked to Sky Blue Radio, where the news is fresh and the runway is always open.