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XCSoar 7.45.3 released
(22. Sep 2026 by folken)

XCSoar 7.45.3 is out.

This is a maintenance release on the 7.45 line. It improves Android Bluetooth sensors, IGC logging and downloads, and dark mode on Apple devices, and fixes weather, FLARM, and simulator issues reported after 7.45.2.

Downloads

Updates in the app stores may take a little longer to appear.

Highlights

Android Bluetooth Low Energy sensors are more reliable. Heart-rate sensors such as a Xiaomi Smart Band connect on the first try. The Devices list shows remaining battery for sensors that expose the standard Battery Service, and it shows Heart Rate, Pressure, Temperature, and Relative humidity when a device reports them. Environmental Sensing readings (pressure, temperature, and humidity) are read from compatible BLE devices. Engine Type stays hidden on heart-rate sensors; it is only for engine sensors.

A BlueFly Vario on Android connects when you choose the BLE port and the BlueFly driver. It was previously offered only as a BLE sensor, so it would not connect.

IGC files include the GPS ellipsoid altitude when the receiver reports it. Checklist checkbox ticks stay until XCSoar exits or a different checklist file is selected.

Dark mode Auto on macOS and iOS follows the system appearance, including a scheduled switch while XCSoar is running.

Fixes

Linux saves the settings and the flight log when Ctrl-C or a system stop ends XCSoar.

Windows shows the program version in the file properties of XCSoar.exe and the installer. --help and --version print in the Command Prompt window.

RASP Auto update no longer downloads the same forecast again every time the page changes. FLARM IGC downloads no longer stop in the middle of the file, and downloads over a USB cable on Android are reliable again.

Condor 3 UDP air-data is ignored so it cannot override the NMEA GPS and climb. Quit on the Fly / Simulator screen no longer empties a profile that was given on the command line.

See the full changelog for the complete list.

— Philipp Wollschlegel

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XCSoar 7.45.2 released
(12. Sep 2026 by folken)

XCSoar 7.45.2 is out.

This is a maintenance release on the 7.45 line. It keeps Android and iOS store updates possible, improves UTC offset handling and list scrolling, and fixes crashes, weather overlays, task InfoBoxes, and device support reported after 7.45.1.

Downloads

Updates in the app stores may take a little longer to appear.

Highlights

Android now targets Android 16 so Google Play still accepts updates. iOS 64-bit builds require iOS 15 or newer.

UTC offsets can be set manually up to +14:00 in 15-minute increments. Automatic offsets stay in sync with the operating-system time zone, including daylight-saving and travel changes.

Icons render at a higher resolution on high-DPI screens. Lists are easier to scroll: the scroll bar jumps to where you press, a swipe on a touch screen no longer drags the selection, and settings panels such as Setup / Look / Pages can be scrolled without locking up.

Fixes

Android internal and Bluetooth sensors no longer go silent right after they are opened.

iOS lets Return submit text when using the system keyboard. The app no longer crashes on exit from a late altimeter callback, or when a Task Manager button action fails.

Kobo’s power-off screen lists flights again after flights.log moved into the logs directory.

UK XC Therm forecast overlays work again, and XC Therm polygons stay visible when the map is not north-up. The repetitive airspace warning sound keeps repeating while inside or near airspace.

CUP FAI quadrants load as quadrants, not plain sectors, in gcc 15 optimized builds. Achieved task distance (planned minus remaining) is correct, so task speed InfoBoxes and Status stay consistent. Speed Task Leg no longer stays at zero after the task starts. T Next Leg shows no wind in the comment when wind is unavailable, and its equivalent thermal is correct with a headwind or tailwind.

Opening the port monitor no longer crashes. Condor 3 Spectate altitude is no longer about 40 m (136 ft) too low. IGC downloads from LX Navigation loggers (Colibri, LX20, LX7007 IGC) no longer show about 65000 m for negative pressure altitudes.

NOTAM details can be scrolled instead of being truncated. Moving keyboard focus on the waypoint picture page or in the flugwetter.de image view no longer crashes. The Wi-Fi connection state stays visible when the network name is long. Left/Right still change settings pages on Services until Up selects a service action.

Windows backups skip the NMEA log and IGC file the loggers are writing, so a backup no longer fails the whole archive. Backup and restore are refused while flying.

See the full changelog for the complete list.

— Philipp Wollschlegel

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XCSoar 7.45.1 released
(28. Aug 2026 by folken)

XCSoar 7.45.1 is out.

This is a maintenance release on the 7.45 line. It adds a few small features and fixes crashes, weather overlays, map drawing, glide calculations, and device support reported after 7.45.

Downloads

Updates in the app stores may take a little longer to appear.

Highlights

Linux can now control the systemd service and display brightness from XCSoar. macOS has a standard application menu. Display type, text size, resolution, and rotation have moved onto their own Display page, separate from Layout.

Fixes

Android no longer crashes when leaving the app, or when restarting it immediately afterwards.

iOS uses the system keyboard (with a Paste button) and the system font, saves settings when the app moves to the background, and restores other apps’ audio after XCSoar plays a sound. Full-screen dialogs no longer leave a thin white frame at the display edge.

USB HID remotes such as SteFly keep working on OpenVario after the stick re-enumerates. Condor 3 UDP now follows ground track in a crosswind instead of heading. LXNAV polar sync no longer zeros the vario polar when crew or empty mass are sent before the device polar is known.

SkySight overlay times use UTC, and stepping weather layers no longer re-downloads forecast metadata in a way that could hit the API rate limit. Map labels no longer show a ragged white halo on high-DPI screens, and the live snail trail keeps circling detail as the map follows the aircraft.

Density scaling no longer inflates MacCready, so best-glide and speed-to-fly at altitude stay correct. Circling wind works again on paragliders and other aircraft without airspeed or a gyroscope. ADS-B ground speed no longer wraps above 457 km/h, and no-position FLARM targets show on the radar and map.

See the full changelog for the complete list.

— Philipp Wollschlegel

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XCSoar 7.45 released
(15. Aug 2026 by folken)

XCSoar 7.45 is out.

This is a large release, with new weather overlays, live NOTAMs, better tools for moving data and flight logs, improved Condor 3 support, multi-touch map controls, and OpenGL builds for Windows.

Downloads

Updates in the app stores may take a little longer to appear.

Weather

SkySight, EDL, and XC Therm can now be shown directly on map pages.

They use the same basic controls as RASP: choose a layer and forecast time for each page, then adjust them from the cursor bar at the bottom of the map. Forecasts can update automatically, and selected forecast data can be downloaded before a flight.

RASP now supports contour lines, transparency, a colour scale, and values at the cursor. flugwetter.de has additional radar and lightning images.

On Windows, these overlays require one of the new OpenGL builds.

NOTAMs

XCSoar can download NOTAMs and display them with the other airspaces on the map. Downloads are cached and refreshed in the background.

Filters are available for time, distance, IFR-only NOTAMs, and Q-codes. Tapping a NOTAM airspace opens its text.

NOTAM support is disabled by default. It is intended as an additional source of situational awareness and does not replace a proper pre-flight briefing.

Data Management

The new Data Management screen brings together Site Files, the Download Manager, flight export, data import, backups, and a file explorer.

You can:

  • import waypoints, airspaces, terrain, profiles, and other files from a USB stick or folder;
  • export IGC and NMEA flight logs to external storage;
  • upload selected IGC files to WeGlide;
  • create and restore dated backups of your settings and site files;
  • copy, move, rename, and delete files.

Backups leave out logs, other backup archives, and cached downloads. XCSoar must be restarted after restoring one.

XCSoar now keeps files in folders according to their type. Existing files are moved on the first start after upgrading where possible.

Map and flight calculations

Android and iOS now support pinch-to-zoom, two-finger panning, and map rotation.

Other map changes include distance rings, larger map text, more visible waypoints, a smoother snail trail, and an optional turn-back marker showing how far along track the active waypoint can still be reached.

The glide polar now accounts for air density at altitude. This affects speed-to-fly, task and final-glide calculations, netto vario, and the speed-to-fly arrows.

Alternates can follow XCSoar’s calculated list or be selected manually. Up to ten alternatives are shown, with airfields listed before outlanding sites.

OGN and SkyLines traffic now use the same map and radar display as FLARM traffic.

Condor 3 and devices

Support for the Condor 3 simulator has been improved with two new drivers.

The UDP telemetry driver receives airspeed, altitude, vario, AHRS and gyro data, G-load, MacCready, water ballast, and radio frequency.

The Spectate driver reads Condor’s Spectate.json file and shows multiplayer traffic on the map and FLARM radar.

Other device changes include GDL 90 ADS-B input, an LX Navigation LX160 driver, LX Eos declaration and logger support, additional BlueFly functions, $LK8EX1 support on every port, and eight device slots.

User interface

This release includes a broad set of touch, keyboard, and e-paper fixes. Lists and configuration dialogs are easier to navigate without a touchscreen, waypoint searches stay open while viewing details, and long translated text wraps correctly.

The Quick Guide, checklists, Credits, and configuration pages can be changed with a horizontal swipe. E-paper scrolling now avoids unnecessary animation, and several InfoBox, focus, layout, and dialog crashes have been fixed.

Platforms

Windows users should now use the OpenGL builds. They use the same accelerated graphics path as Android, Linux, and macOS and support features such as transparent weather and airspace overlays.

Installers and portable zip files are available for both 64-bit and 32-bit Windows. The old PC and WIN64 single-file binaries are deprecated and will be removed in a later release.

Linux, OpenVario, and Kobo now have WiFi configuration under Config → Setup → Network.

Kobo starts in light mode because dark mode is not suitable for its e-paper display.

On iOS, the audio vario can play through the speaker and the built-in GPS continues reporting while stationary. A macOS rendering problem with thick lines has also been fixed.

Thanks

Uwe Augustin began the SkySight work in OpenSoar. Stefan Schumann, with Caz Yokoyama, ported it to XCSoar and developed much of its map and forecast integration. Matthew Scutter helped with the SkySight API and caching.

Benjamin Girard added EDL. Philip Heinrich developed the XC Therm integration, including its in-flight cursor controls.

Simon GH worked on RASP rendering and brought the OpenGL graphics backend, packaging, and installer to Windows. Yorick Reum developed the NOTAM support and contributed substantial iOS and macOS work.

Stefan Schumann also developed Data Management, the Linux/OpenVario/Kobo network panel, and the internal speed-to-fly audio vario.

Bapt A., Joe Capra, and Eric Carden worked on alternates and waypoint InfoBoxes. Dominic Spreitz added the density-scaled polar. Davis Chappins and Wolfgang Drescher developed the turn-back marker and distance rings.

Thanks also to Rik Vanden Boer, Jiri Maier, Christian Grøvdal, Linar Yusupov, Igor Nazarenko, Josef Klein, Helmut J. Rohs, Thomas Maier, Chris Woolley, Roland Niederhagen, Mirek Burdych, si.gr, DanD222, bennsch, and everyone who tested 7.45 and reported problems.

— Philipp Wollschlegel

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