FlightSim.Com Reviews: Microsoft Caribbean

Microsoft Caribbean

by Nels Anderson

icrosoft Caribbean is another fine addition to the collection of available add-on scenery for Microsoft Flight Simulator (FS5). Like other scenery available from Microsoft this is done in the synthetic scenery style (versus the photo-realistic style found in some other scenery). Personally, I feel this style works best. Though it's never going to look exactly like the real world it does give you the feel of being there without the drawbacks inherent to photo-realistic scenery.

What's Included?

The Caribbean is a large area, spanning the world from southern Florida to northern Venezuela. In additional to the continental areas the islands of the Caribbean form roughly a semicircle going clockwise from Cuba just off Florida to Aruba just off Venezuela.

This entire area, roughly a 1200 mile square, is included in the scenery. There are literally hundreds of islands to visit, ranging from the large ones like Cuba to ones too small to even hold a runway. Because flying is one of the best ways to travel the area there are many runways, ranging from major international airports to runways so short you'll put your short field skills to the test.

How's The Scenery?

The scenery level is quite good, though not so dense that it will cause a serious problem for slower machines. Scenery is also well spread out. You won't find a highly detailed city surrounded by miles of empty coastline. There are even surprises to find, like cruise ships far out at sea and tiny islands with hotels on them.

There are certainly some highlights to visit. Some of the major cities have a lot to see. Miami has many skyscrapers, hotels along Miami Beach, two stadiums, bridges and more. Freeport in the Bahamas has all the scenery you'd expect in a resort plus some things you wouldn't expect, like a major oil refinery. You'll also find some unique features in the Caribbean such as radar balloons, ships, forts or the Aricebo radar telescope.

Even where there are no buildings there is lots of natural scenery to see. The coastlines are great to cruise along but there are also some very high mountains. The highest mountain in the Caribbean is over 10000' feet high and there are also some volcanos.

What's Bad?

Well, nothing's perfect. The biggest weakness is the documentation. The maps are too small and lacking in detail. Worse, you have to use two sets of maps to find you way around as one set has navaids and runways while a different set has island names. Getting some real world charts makes all the difference.

Bottom Line

So, to buy or not to buy? Bottom line is that the scenery is nicely done and it covers a very large area. The islands are close enough that you can easily island hop using the Cessna but the region is large enough that you can flying multi-hour flights in the Lear. If this region of the world holds any interest to you, Microsoft Caribbean is well worthwhile.

Sample Screen Capture

U.S. Virgin Islands from Microsoft Caribbean

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