Dublin Ireland Airport For FS2004 By Eiresim

By Bill Stack
19 January 2010


Screen shots by Eiresim

Dublin Airport (EIDW) is Ireland's busiest commercial airport with more than 23 million passengers using it annually. With fewer than 1 million domestic passengers, almost all its passenger traffic is international. It is about 5 nautical miles (10 kilometers) north of the City of Dublin. It is home base of Aer Lingus, which is Ireland's oldest airline, and Ryanair, which is Europe's largest no-frills airline. About 50 daily flights connect Dublin to all five of London's commercial airports, and about 30 daily flights link to other cities in England. Numerous international flights link to North American destinations. Photos I found on the Internet show the airport heavily populated with commercial aircraft of many sizes and types, including Boeing 747s.

This entire airport has been rendered from scratch by Eiresim to include the newest additions to this modern airport such as Pier D, Terminal 2.

Eiresim describes itself as follows: "The Eiresim team consists of Terry and Conor Smith, two brothers with a huge interest in aviation. Terry is 21 years of age, a recent college graduate with a honours engineering degree with a passion for 3D modeling. Conor is 17 years old and is still in school, hoping to study Multimedia in college next year. The 3D modeling lies in the capable and talented hands of Terry who with the most up-to-date methods designs efficient and high quality scenery. Textures and website development are handled by Conor."

The Dublin airport was chosen because it "has long been neglected by scenery developers," according to the product description. Eiresim further explains that they were disappointed with "the lack of modern scenery for this international airport."

Eiresim says an FSX version is available on its website. I reviewed the FS2004 version available from the Flight Sim Pilot Shop.

Dublin Airport Location

Screen shots by Bill Stack

Major Features

These are a few of the features of Dublin Airport touted by Eiresim:

Highly detailed virtual replica of the airport
Photo realistic day and night textures
Realistic ground markings
Impressive frame rates
Extensive manual with information about the airport

PURCHASE FEATURES
Instant download from the Pilot Shop	YES
Installation program	YES
License key required	YES
Copyright Acknowledgment Required	YES
Uninstall program included	YES
Manual included	YES
Instructions included	YES

Visual Features

EireSim says it produced Dublin Airport "to the highest standard using real world data and photography to achieve the most realistic product possible." This attention to accuracy and detail is obvious throughout the airport. The scenery enhancement is very realistic compared to Jeppesen Sim Charts and photos I found on the Internet.

All significant airport buildings are featured, such as terminals, hangars, and parking garages, and they all look accurate compared to real-world sources.
Airport grounds are much more realistic than the very basic FS2004 depictions. The asphalt and concrete surfaces of runways, taxiways, and aprons look more realistic. Runways have better tire-skid marks. Fences surround the airport, and runway-approach lights are on poles instead of laying on the ground.
Airport markings are better, too. Direction signs and lines on movement surfaces are clearer and more realistic than the default FS2004.
Night effects are good within the simulator's limits. Neither FSX nor FS2004 depict objects realistically at night. Many buildings look like plastic boxes illuminated from within, but scenery developers must work with the effects available to them, and flight simmers must accept those conditions. Lighting effects on ground surfaces around light poles is very realistic, as seen in my screen shots.
All enhancements in this package are on the airport grounds or in appropriate locations outside the perimeter fence. Runway-approach lights extend beyond the fences, as one example.

Eiresim	FS2004
Eiresim	FS2004
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Eiresim	FS2004
Comparisons
Screen shots by Bill Stack

Technical Features

The installation program deposits the files into a dedicated folder within the Addon Scenery folder, which is more useful than depositing them directly into the catch-all "Addon Scenery" folder. Users must activate the scenery themselves, however. They will benefit from reading the installation instructions fully.
All airport objects such as buildings, light poles, and signs are where they should be, and they all appear to be the correct shapes and sizes compared to Jeppesen Sim Charts and real-world photos I found in the Internet.
Frame rates are excellent. They were in the thirties and forties during most of my flight tests around this airport, and they dipped into the twenties infrequently and briefly.
The developer recommends adjusting display settings but doesn't specify what they should be. All scenery objects were displayed properly in my system under default FS2004 settings, however.

Parking Garage	Approach Light Poles
Runway Skid Marks	Perimeter Fence & Storage Buildings
Ground Signs & Markings	Ground Markings
Object Details
Screen shots by Bill Stack


Static & Animated Ramp Objects
Screen shots by Bill Stack

The Manual

A 12-page manual in Adobe Acrobat format explains system requirements, provides installation instructions, and explains how to use the gate-docking system. It also provides a history of Dublin Airport and a link for airport charts. Installation instructions include useful screen shots. The manual advises users to adjust display and AI traffic settings, but no specific settings are recommended.

Pages From the Manual

Screen shots by Bill Stack

Nice Features

Installation of files into a dedicated folder instead of a catch-all scenery folder is appreciated. Some addon sceneries are installed into common folders where other sceneries are stored, resulting in their files being indistinguishable from other scenery files.

The AI aircraft and ground traffic make using this airport even more realistic. We must be aware of airport vehicles moving about the airport while we're taxiing between gates and runways.

The multi-level parking garage is shown in three dimensions, but the cars parked within are in two dimensions instead of three. This depiction makes the garage look realistic from the air without providing excessive detail that diminishes frame rates.

Two jetways on Pier B are animated. They attach to aircraft parked at their gates upon user request, which is explained in the manual.

A visual guidance docking system is available at the same two Pier B gates as the animated jetways.

Ground textures are designed to appear and disappear as users approach and move from the airport to optimises frame rates. Indeed I saw these effects, and my frame rates were very good as a result.

The developer's prompt reply to my questions is a good sign for users who need assistance or offer comments.

Day & Night Scenes

Screen shots by Bill Stack

Night Lighting

Screen shots by Bill Stack

More Information

Information about Dublin International Airport (EIWD) can be found on Wikipedia.

Good satellite photos are available from Google Maps.

Screen Shots

My comparative screen shots were made with FS2004 display settings on default because no special settings were recommended. While Eiresim's scenery was active, I slewed to a good vantage point and snapped a shot, then I moved to another vantage point and/or airport and snapped another shot. After all the Eiresim shots were made, I deactivated the scenery and slewed to the exact vantage points and reshot the views with FS2004 default scenery. As a result, all screen shots are from the same viewpoints.

Summary

Eiresim's Dublin 2009 scenery for FS2004 is remarkable for its accuracy, detail, and performance. All buildings, all airport structures, and all static and animated airport objects are very realistic and accurate. Attention to details and accuracy is obvious. Night effects are very good. High frame rates are appreciated. Installation is easy. Frankly, I can't find anything bad to say about it. Anybody who wants a truly realistic experience at Dublin International Airport will enjoy this scenery package.

Bill Stack

Learn More About Eiresim's Dublin Ireland Airport 2009 Scenery

More Reviews By Bill Stack:

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Hawkeye Sim Midway Islands
CFB Cold Lake X From Team SDB
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Bill Stack is author of several books about flight simulation, a regular author in flight-sim magazines, and a contributor to Flight Sim Com. His website is www.topskills.com