Finally - NZNI OrbX - Impressions of a Local!

[FlyingKiwi]

Having waited patiently for some months now for OrbX to release NZNI so I could install it concurrently with NZSI I've got them both up and running - still some tweaks to make here and there but overall I'm over the moon with it - I've done a couple of flights so far exploring my local area and its amazing how good the scenery is, overall I would say it's no less accurate than the Vector Landclass I was using previously in terms of the terrain layout, but it looks much smoother and more "natural".

For this flight I took the RNZAF Dauntless for a scenic flight around Auckland city, originating from Ardmore airport and back to Ardmore. I've done this route many, many times in real life in quite a variety of aircraft so my goal was basically to see how it stacks up the default scenery for NZ (which is terrible) and how it looks compared to real life. So this thread is a combination of some hopefully pleasing screenshots and also my observations of the scenery. Enjoy!

Taxiing at Ardmore, which is the biggest GA airfield in Auckland. The building in front is the Auckland Aero Club where I work. Of course it isn't supposed to look photoreal, and it doesn't, but it's the correct size and shape. The grass area in front of it is a slightly raised hill in real life. The taxiways are all the correct size and correctly marked.


Airborne on runway 21 - all those hangars are in the correct position and the corn fields at the end of the runway are depicted correctly - from left to right, the three on the left are Helisika (agricultural helicopter operation), the middle building is the old Massey University flying school and is now used as offices by the Department of Conservation, and the large hangar on the right is Flightline Aviation who are an aircraft maintenance and importing business.


Ardmore viewed from the downwind - from here it looks pretty darn accurate! Keep in mind the default scenery consists of just a sealed runway and a grass runway - no taxiways, let alone any buildings! This is light-years ahead of the default scenery in every respect.


Heading east down the Clevedon Valley, this is Clevedon town which is depicted accurately. We make a left here to cut across the Brookby Valley towards the city. (Ardmore is south of the main urban area of Auckland)


The Brookby Forest. The rocky looking area is a quarry which is true to life. The forest has numerous clearings in real life which are used by helicopter training organisations at Ardmore for practicing landings in confined spaces. These aren't in NZNI but I wouldn't expect them to be as they aren't officially published anyway nor are they visible on satellite images.


Heading along the east coast, the suburb of Howick on the left. The big open fields under the left wing are the sports grounds at MacLeans College which have seen a couple of successful aircraft forced landings over the years, most recently a Glasair which ran out of fuel and landed safely, albeit gear up, on the fields a couple of years ago.


Heading up the harbour towards the Harbour Bridge. The hill below the right wing is North Head which is an old military installation and the Devonport Naval Base is depicted reasonably accurately just to the left of the nose.


The city and port - these are both a big improvement over the default scenery in which the port was generic and not laid out like it is in real life.


Making a turn over the Harbour Bridge to make a left hand orbit around the SkyTower at 2,000ft. The Harbour Bridge is again a big improvement on the default scenery in which it looked reasonably undistinguished. (in pre-FSX versions of MSFS it didn't even exist in the sim!)


This area of highway is known as "Spaghetti Junction". You can see why in this shot! The roads are laid out very accurately and even the overpasses are depicted quite accurately.


Another lot of shots coming up in the reply.

[FlyingKiwi]

Second lot.

Having finished our quick orbit around the CBD we're heading out over the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. This is Rangitoto, the distinctive volcano visible from most parts of the city. This is depicted very accurately in NZNI - the ground itself is black and rocky, but it is covered in green scrubby trees.


This is Motuihe, which is probably one of the less accurate depictions of islands in the gulf purely because it looks a bit sandier and drier in real life and less green. There's also a distinctive row of pine trees along the narrow stretch.


For comparison, here's a shot I took from the T-6 last year (in formation no less, for your viewing pleasure!). You can see the shape and elevation in the sim is accurate, the terrain is semi-accurate but not perfect.


Arriving over Waiheke Island, the largest and most heavily populated island in the inner Gulf. This looks very accurate in NZNI - the only thing missing is the ferry terminal in the bay to the right of the nose, but that's a minor omission.


Waiheke Island airfield. This is again a generally very accurate depiction. The runway is just grass in real life without that dirt strip down the middle, but otherwise this looks pretty much perfect. One massive improvement in NZNI is sloping runways - most runways in New Zealand have some degree of slope, and many are dramatically sloped, which is something the default scenery can't show. I've flown a Super Cub out of this airfield in real life - it's perfect for taildraggers as it is nice and wide!


Over Ponui Island, a medium-sized and mostly uninhabited island. There are a few farm buildings dotted around, but no large settlements. The NZNI depiction is very accurate, there's a field just next to that little pond which I use for giving my students practice forced landings and it even shows up in NZNI, although probably unintentionally.


Over Pakihi Island. This is the only "mistake" I've found in NZNI so far - in real life the little rocky patch to the left of the main island is actually a separate island, although I believe originally it was connected to Pakihi many years ago. The mudflats depicted in NZNI around the island are actually underwater permanently in real life, even at low tide. Otherwise though the island looks good with the eastern half forested and the western half a big open field fringed by tree lines.


Heading back into the Clevedon Valley towards Ardmore. Kawakawa Bay in the background, this all looks very accurate.


On final at Ardmore. Those big power pylons are an annoying obstacle when practicing engine failures after takeoff on runway 03 (reciprocal direction to this shot) but at least they give the student something to think about!


Touchdown back at Ardmore, just a slight crosswind this evening which meant I couldn't do my planned circuits lesson with one of my students earlier today - just enough crosswind to make it too challenging for an introductory circuit lesson. It doesn't get much more immersive than being able to go home and fly the sim in the same weather conditions you've just been watching!


So that concludes this post, hopefully it was enjoyable, as I said at the start I'm thrilled overall with this scenery and you can expect a whole lot more posts from me in the near future visiting various places around the country!

[mallcott]

Delicious shots and a fantastic review! Thanks Leo.

[Vecter]

Fantastic, thanks for the tour. Orbx just keeps on delivering. They are one of the many helping to keep FSX alive and thriving.

Cheers, Vecter.

[azzaro]

It's already an impressive scenery package, getting a local expert's stamp-of-approval makes it even better!
Thanks for the tour and your commentary Leo. I'll be seeing you 'round the neighbourhood. — Bob

[aircav1970]

Leo,great shots of "home",I am getting ready to purchase both packages together and your tour and commentary on the accuracy of the scenery just makes me want to get it installed and running soon even more!

[alexf]

Great write up. As the man said above, ORBx keeps the FSX hobby going.

[jfwright]

Outstanding tour, shots, and commentary!

[FlyingKiwi]

Thanks everyone, I'm going to do a few more "local" flights and routes I've done in real life to compare (even where it isn't 100% true to life it's so much better than the default scenery that I can forgive it) but I'm also looking forward to being able to do things I can't do in real life. (such as flying a Dauntless...)

[lifejogger]

Great post Leo..... Good comentary make everything more life like.