Aerosoft’s Mega Airport Brussels review

by mark.avey on July 1, 2008

This is a review of Aerosoft’s Mega Airport Brussels by Jessica Bannister-Pearce.

Airports. Where would we be without them? Quite rightly, they make up half of our sim experience. In theory, as long as we have a runway to aim at and a place to park, we should be happy. I can still recall thinking how realistic it was as I lifted off from Meigs field to see the wire framed skyscrapers of Chicago appear in flight sim 4 (I was young!) And so, over the years, airports became much more realistic. Grey asphalt and concrete runways began to greet us. Patchwork fields surround the area, but airport buildings seemed to have changed little since flight sim 98. So the Add-on scenery market began to produce specific airports for us to fly in and enjoy. These days, however, the quality of add-ons are such, that the difference between the real world and the sim world is blurring. One of the best blurrers are Aerosoft. So enter Brussels National Airport, and be prepared to be blurred.

Lights, Camera, Reality

Available as a boxed set or 40+mb download, the airport is cheap and easily available. A real bonus is that if you buy the FSX version, you also get the FS2004 version for free. The box set contains every chart you’ll ever need whist the download provides links to the charts online, all of which are free.

Welcome to Europe

I’ve not been to Brussels since I was little, and even then it was via the ferry at Ostend, so I really knew little about Brussels National. Not knowing what to expect certainly made the trip interesting, especially the approach. From there you really begin to appreciate the level of detail that goes into these airport add-ons. The first thing I noticed was the raised approach lighting that gently guided you down over the threshold and on to the runway. But that’s just the start. From there you get to gaze around the beauty of the main airport.

I’m not quite as good as I’d like hitting that centre line. Still the lights look good

As with all the Mega Airport releases, you can appreciate the time and effort that’s gone in to producing such a fine add-on. For starters, the airport has been created entirely in Gmax. (My knowledge of flight sim creation is not vast, but I know that’s a good thing.) Basing the airport on real photo’s helps to blur that line even more. But the best features are not the accurate positioning and rendering of the many airport buildings. No, the devil, as they say, is in the detail. Everything from the high standing runway and taxiway lights to the working aircraft docking system to the myriad of little vehicles that trundle along the airport. Every detail, no matter how small, looks great. But does this come at a price?

From the taxiway lights to the beautiful modern terminal, Even the grass look good!

Beauty and the Beast?

With so many things scattered around the airport, you’d have to worry that the trade off would be made via the Frame Rate. Well, think again. Aerosoft use various tricks to keep the frame rates up without the loss of detail. For example, they only render things you can see around you. Anything outside of a mile is not rendered until you’re much closer. This keeps the screen moving at a flyable rate. (Just don’t expect more than 15 fps+ taxiing around)

For those who distrust the EU, Perhaps the best way to view Brussels. Bye.

Conclusion

What can I say that hasn’t already been said above. Aerosoft is quite literally redrawing the world, and the result is astounding. One by one the major airports of the world are joining us within FS, and with increases in processor and graphics card power, the real world will soon be available to us all. The lines really are blurring, and that can only be a good thing.