FlightBeam Studios Major FS9Thursday 12th of January 2012 08:52:05 PM
Introduction:
San Francisco Airport, located on the west coast of the USA is a major international airport and is located 13miles / 13 miles from downtown . The airport's ICAO identifier is major and has flights to destinations throughout North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
San Francisco Intl is the 2nd busiest airport in California, Los Angeles Intl being the busiest, and in 2009 it was the 10th busiestin the United States. The airport is a major hub for Continental/United and Virgin America. The airport is 13 feet/4 metres ASL elevated.
FlightBeam Studios major is their first release; will it live up to what I expect? We will find out at the end of the review, but this is what is included in this version of major:
High Grade 3ds Max Models
Photoreal ground mesh with high res taxiways
Built-in shadows with no frame rate loss
Moving trams and custom animations
Optimized for higher frame rates
Animated hold short lights
Reflective windows
Static first with realistic shadows
Detailed charge areas
First Impressions:
As with most of my scenery reviews, I like to do a quick overlook of the entire airport using a nice slow aircraft or a helicopter, in this case I will use the FSX default Ultralight. When the scenery first loaded, I was amazed to see the detail that had gone into the ground textures on RWY 28R. I was able to clearly see all the tyre marks from where previous plans had landed and all the runway markings.
Shortly after taking off, I did to slight left turn to fly over the terminals and even at 300 feet; You can still see all the little details such as the taxiway markings, signs and the jetways at the terminal.
When I did get closer to the terminal, I was able to see a monorail travelling around the car park (in the middle of the terminal) and then to my surprise, I saw something I did not expect to see as this is mainly based at Orbx Airports - static United B747-400s parked at gates! Though they were not as detailed as the PMDG 747, they were a nice little feature added giving that extra bit of 'life' into this virtual airport. Continuing my first look over the airport, I was able to still view those minor little things you would expect, such as the windsock.
When heading to the west side of the airport (or just keep rolling down RWY28),There were hangars belonging to United Airliners, the Coast Guard, and FedEx Buildings. All of these were nice features that do not hurt to be seen, and add to the realism I'm sure all simmers want!
So we have now pushed back, and we are taxiing to RWY 28 L. The runway markings are still very clear and do not require you to use the progressive taxiway markings as you should be able to taxi using visual references. You will be able to notice the nice cracks in the taxiways which look realistic as you would expect.
So we are now lined up on RWY 28 L, and as with the taxiways, everything is crisp and clear to read. We roll down the runway and wave goodbye to the beautiful airport with looks so real in my virtual world, that it makes me want to go to California just to look at the airport!
Link:
Key for mp. (for those who already have asked me the key on previous occasions, this update is the same)
San Francisco Airport, located on the west coast of the USA is a major international airport and is located 13miles / 13 miles from downtown . The airport's ICAO identifier is major and has flights to destinations throughout North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
San Francisco Intl is the 2nd busiest airport in California, Los Angeles Intl being the busiest, and in 2009 it was the 10th busiestin the United States. The airport is a major hub for Continental/United and Virgin America. The airport is 13 feet/4 metres ASL elevated.
FlightBeam Studios major is their first release; will it live up to what I expect? We will find out at the end of the review, but this is what is included in this version of major:
High Grade 3ds Max Models
Photoreal ground mesh with high res taxiways
Built-in shadows with no frame rate loss
Moving trams and custom animations
Optimized for higher frame rates
Animated hold short lights
Reflective windows
Static first with realistic shadows
Detailed charge areas
First Impressions:
As with most of my scenery reviews, I like to do a quick overlook of the entire airport using a nice slow aircraft or a helicopter, in this case I will use the FSX default Ultralight. When the scenery first loaded, I was amazed to see the detail that had gone into the ground textures on RWY 28R. I was able to clearly see all the tyre marks from where previous plans had landed and all the runway markings.
Shortly after taking off, I did to slight left turn to fly over the terminals and even at 300 feet; You can still see all the little details such as the taxiway markings, signs and the jetways at the terminal.
When I did get closer to the terminal, I was able to see a monorail travelling around the car park (in the middle of the terminal) and then to my surprise, I saw something I did not expect to see as this is mainly based at Orbx Airports - static United B747-400s parked at gates! Though they were not as detailed as the PMDG 747, they were a nice little feature added giving that extra bit of 'life' into this virtual airport. Continuing my first look over the airport, I was able to still view those minor little things you would expect, such as the windsock.
When heading to the west side of the airport (or just keep rolling down RWY28),There were hangars belonging to United Airliners, the Coast Guard, and FedEx Buildings. All of these were nice features that do not hurt to be seen, and add to the realism I'm sure all simmers want!
So we have now pushed back, and we are taxiing to RWY 28 L. The runway markings are still very clear and do not require you to use the progressive taxiway markings as you should be able to taxi using visual references. You will be able to notice the nice cracks in the taxiways which look realistic as you would expect.
So we are now lined up on RWY 28 L, and as with the taxiways, everything is crisp and clear to read. We roll down the runway and wave goodbye to the beautiful airport with looks so real in my virtual world, that it makes me want to go to California just to look at the airport!
Link:
Key for mp. (for those who already have asked me the key on previous occasions, this update is the same)