aerosoft

Aerosoft has released another of their German Airfields packages, this time covering Northern Bavaria.

Take off in your small aircraft and explore the Northern Bavarian landscape. The 14 VFR airfields are highly detailed and located in a beautiful landscape. Fly and enjoy!

You can also approach one of the two regional airports (Hof/Plauen and Bayreuth) which offer instrument approaches in case the weather turns for the worst. The product created by the developers of the well known VFR Airfields series brings real life experience into your simulator.

Features

14 high detailed airfields:

• EDFC Aschaffenburg
• EDFW Wurzburg-Schenkenturm
• EDMS Straubing- Wallmuhle
• EDNC Beilngries
• EDNR Regensburg-Oberhub
• EDQC Coburg-Brandensteinsebene
• EDQE Burg Feuerstein
• EDQK Kulmbach
• EDQP Rosenthal Field Plössen
• EDQT Hassfurth
• EDQW Weiden
• EDQY Coburg-Steinrucken

Regional airports:

• EDQM Hof/Plauen
• EDQD Bayreuth

All airfields are optimized for the VFR Germany series within Flight Simulator X but could also used as a stand alone package.

• Photo realistic ground textures for all 4 seasons
• Wind depending signals (windsocks etc)
• Full night textures
• Visible snow and ice on the buildings in the winter season
• AI generated traffic between the airports
• Manually adjusted landclasses around the airfields when using this package as a stand alone scenery
• All charts included
• Detailed english manual

Another release in the German Airfields 2 collection from Aerosoft, this time covering Nordlichter.

Not only does this scenery give you 15 new high detailed airports, it also will give you a large area to explore. From the major cities Kiel and Hamburg to the complete detailed coastline. From flying passengers to Helgoland to SAR mission from the major base at Kiel airport.

Perfectly compatible to other Aerosoft sceneries (VFR Germany, German Airports). This is the number four of the ‘German Airfields’ series, created by the best designers. German Airfields cover the best known GA airfields and smaller regional airports.

15 detailed airfields

• EDHK - Kiel-Holtenau
• EDHE - Uetersen
• EDHM - Hartenholm
• EDXM - St. Michaelisdonn (sloping runway)
• EDXJ - Husum (unique: the middle of the runway has a fense)
• EDXF - Flensburg-Schäferhaus
• EDXC - Schleswig-Kropp
• EDHN - Neumünster
• EDCW - Wismar
• EDHB - Grube
• EDXR - Rendsburg-Schachtholm
• EDHS - Stade
• EDAN - Neustadt/Glewe
• EDHO - Ahrenlohe
• Boberg (Hamburg)

Special features

• Full support for FSX features (like specular effects, wet runways etc.)
• The favourite water runway at the port of Hamburg (Hamburg-Norderelbe)
• SAR-Base of the German Naval Air Wing 5 in Kiel-Holtenau (with active traffic of SeaKing-helicopters)
• SAR-Base in Hamburg-Boberg
• Regional air traffic and shipping traffic (!)
• Animated car traffic on roads and highways around the airfields (even on bridges!)
• High definition terrain model in St. Michaelisdonn with sloping runway and the cliff to the west of the airfield
• High resolution aerial images 5cm/pix
• Full night textures
• Thrilling missions especially designed for this scenery
• Detailed documentation in German and English language
• Official AIP visual approach charts

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.

Aerosoft has added another airport to their German Airports 2 collection - Leipzig/Halle:

Leipzig/Halle is the last airport covered in the German Airports 2 collection and as always this is state of the art scenery design.

Continuing in the tradition of the German Airport Series, Leipzig/Halle is featured with its latest and up to date layouts, buildings, objects, runways, taxiways, lights, and navigation aids. Just like the real life airport.

A high definition aerial photograph has been used for ground texturing making the airport and its surroundings seem absolutely realistic. The GA Team have also included the Dynamic Airport Enhancement Services Lite Edition by Oliver Pabst as was the case in earlier releases such as Hanover and Frankfurt. Numerous moving vehicles on the apron and the nearby `Autobahn´ create a lively atmosphere!

Even with this whole range of objects, details and features, the framerates remains excellent.

Features

• Detailed representation of the airport and immediate surrounding
• All navigation aids included (ILS,VOR/DME,NDB,ATIS)
• Photorealistic day and night textures
• Taxiway bridge over highway
• Animated trains and train signals and announcement on the train station
• Over 2000 cars on the surrounding roads (actual number depends on time of day and framerates
• AES Light to provide vehicle traffic in the platforms (new…. Cars now detect aircraft and give way)
• AES TrafficTool
• Based on aerial image (April 2008)
• New DHL included
• Porsche plant near Runway 26R
• New engine test hangar
• Surrounding includes small roads and small villages
• AGNIS docking system
• Ground textures with Mipmaps
• Extensive manual
• Original DFS-charts
• Compatible with AES (Airport Enhancement Services)
• Compatibel with Ultimate Terrain Europe
• And much more

All customers of this version are eligible to a FREE UPDATE to the FSX version of Leipzig/Halle as soon as its released!

IVAO and Aerosoft have prepared a Fly-In for the 28th June, 2008, between Lisbon Portela LPPT and Madrid Barajas LEMD airports.

The main purpose is to introduce Aerosoft’s new scenery packages and, of course, to have fun

You can get the full details on the IVAO site.