Eagle Simulations' U.S. Marine Corps Mega Pack for FSX

By Bill Stack
20 May 2009


Screen shots by Eagle Simulations

Eagle Simulations has released scenery enhancements for FSX in a "mega pack" of four separate products.

Miramar Marine Corp Air Station (KNKX), California, U.S.A., where F-14 Tomcat pilots are trained.
Cherry Point Marine Corp Air Station (KNKT), North Carolina, U.S.A., where Harrier jump jets are housed and which serves as an alternate landing base for space shuttles when weather prevents landing at Cape Canaveral.
Beaufort Marine Corp Air Station (KNBC), South Carolina, U.S.A., is home to F/A-18 Hornets.
Hilton Head Airport (KHXD), South Carolina, U.S.A., is a civilian airport with regular commercial service by Delta Airlines and U.S. Airways.

"Take in the sights and listen to the sound of freedom," Eagle Simulations says in its product description, "as you venture from the bombing range of Cherry Point, to the flight line of Beaufort, and align yourself on the Special Operations Trainning Center of Miramar."

John Corsi, President and Chief Developer of Eagle Simulations, said he made these sceneries because "I spent a week at Cherry Point MCAS and was inspired to make it better for FSX. I ended up making Miramar because it is very widely known and Beaufort because I attended an airshow there in which LCDR Kevin Davis of the Blue Angels crashed."

These four airports were bundled together because three are Marine Corps Air Stations and the civilian airport is nearby. "Knowing that many flight simmers and flight sim enthusiast are active duty or former Marines," John Corsi said, "we figured it would be a popular package which it has been." The civilian Hilton Head Airport was included because it is nearby and Eagle Simulations didn't want to give people "just half of the package."

Eagle Sim	FSX
Beaufort (KNBC)
Eagle Sim	FSX
Cherry Point (KNKT)
Eagle Sim	FSX
Miramar (KNKX)
Eagle Sim	FSX
Hilton Head (KNBC)
Comparison of Eagle Simulations and FSX Sceneries Screen shots by Bill Stack

Major Features

Each airport is adorned with objects typically found at its real-world counterpart. The three Marine Corps stations have military equipment such as bombers, fighters, transports, and tanks. The Hilton Head Airport has civilian equipment such as a commercial jetliner, baggage carts, and fuel trucks. Cherry Point has the largest selection of objects including a couple of B-52 bombers, several F-14 Tomcats, various helicopters, many tanks, a variety of military buildings, and miscellaneous other items.

The package is available for instant downloading from the Flight Sim Pilot Shop, which is very convenient.



Eagle Simulations' Cherry Point Scenery Screen shots by Bill Stack

Nice Features

A bombing range replete with animated falling and exploding bombs followed by animated fires is included at the Cherry Point Station. These are the only animated objects in the package "to keep the frame hit as low as possible," Eagle Simulations said.

Naval vessels off shore are included with the Cherry Point and Miramar stations.

The inanimate objects include F/A-18 Hornets, EA-18 Growlers, USAF F-22As, SH-60 Seahawk and UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, M3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, several Striker APC's, and a few parked airliners. There are also hangars, security towers, fences, and lots of traffic cones.

Cherry Point has more objects than any of the other three airports because "it is the worlds largest Marine Corps Air Station and so obviously it should have the most aircraft and hangars," Eagle Simulations said.

These numerous scenery objects did not diminish my frame rates. In fact, I enjoyed frame rates in the 30s while exploring one of the airports.

An e-mail address for Eagle Simulations is available on the Flight Sim Pilot Shop's web page about this product.


Cherry Point

Hilton Head
Views of Eagle Sims MCAS Sceneries Screen shots by Bill Stack

Issues

I have no issues with any of these sceneries themselves.

Eagle Simulations said its airport enhancements were not meant to be realistic, "only to enhance the player's enjoyment of the game without requiring a loss in frame rates." Thus, we can assume that the placements of numerous objects are not precise and enjoy the sceneries regardless.

No installation program is included. Users must copy the four files into the correct scenery folder, and that's explained in a text file named "Installation and Legal." Copying files is easy for those who know how, but I know from reader feedback that some flight simmers don't know how to copy flight sim files. This package would be improved if an installation program were provided, or at least instructions on how to copy flight sim files. (I wrote a How-To article about Installing Enhancements in Microsoft Flight Simulator for FlightSim.Com in January 2008.)

Summary

These sceneries do add to the flight sim experience at each airport (more at some than others) without drastically diminishing frame rates, as intended by Eagle Simulations. A lot of research, planning, and creativity apparently went into making these sceneries. When you consider all you get with this Mega Pack and the retail prices of each of the four areas, $25 US is a bargain. The numerous objects alone are worth the price.

Bill Stack

Learn More About Eagle Sims' Marine Corps Mega Pack Sceneries