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Papua New Guinea Freeware Review Part 1 - Highest Airstrips By Frank's MS Flight Sim In a new series of videos we will review most of the available freeware airstrips in Papua New Guinea (PNG). This part 1 video covers the first five highest airstrips. PNG is noted for its challenging bush/backcountry strips, high in mountains, low in valleys, often short and sloping with difficult approaches and limited or no go-arounds. Come see how I go in a Cessna 152 and then give them a go yourself. Hope you enjoy. Cheers. Frank's MS Flight Sim https://www.youtube.com/@FranksMSFlightSimulator About Frank's MS Flight Sim New channel begun in 2021. Visit notable airfields and areas in Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS). Themes so far include: WW2; Bush/Mt./Water/Outback strips; “Golden Oldie” strips; heritage/vintage strips; and aircraft accident investigations. More different themes to come. Expect a new video roughly each week. Provides brief, interesting information, often with history, geography, maps, pictures etc, and great places to fly in MSFS. Focus is on interesting content rather than production values.
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131 downloads
Here is Cherbourg airport created by Yves P. Cherbourg - Manche airport formerly Cherbourg-Maupertus is a civil airport, open to public air traffic, located in the municipalities of Maupertus-sur-Mer and Gonneville at 11 km east of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in Manche. It is used for air transport (national and international), public service missions (SP) of the 33F flotilla and for the practice of leisure and tourism activities (light aviation). The file is available for download on Simvol. -
198 downloads
Here is Bordeaux airport created by Fsfan50 and BeviJo33. Bordeaux-Mérignac airport is a French international airport located in the town of Mérignac, 12 km west of Bordeaux in the Gironde department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. The airport serves as a base for the airlines EasyJet, Ryanair and Volotea. It welcomed 7.7 million passengers in 2019, making it the 8th largest airport in France and the 6th outside the Paris region. However, since 2020, Nantes airport has tended to establish itself as the leading airport in western France, to the detriment of Bordeaux airport, which has demoted to the rank of 9th French airport (7th in the provinces) in number of passengers. It shares its runways with the 106 Bordeaux-Mérignac air base of the French Air Force. The file is available for download on Simvol. -
100 downloads
Here is Ajaccio airport created by Philippe Louvet. Ajaccio-Napoléon-Bonaparte international airport, still usually called by its former name Campo dell'Oro, is an airport in the Corse-du-Sud department, located in the east of the territory of the municipality of Ajaccio . The airport right-of-way is bordered to the south-east by the Gulf of Ajaccio. This aerodrome is open to national and international commercial traffic, regular or not, to private planes, instrument flight (IFR) and visual flight (VFR). It has a runway 2,407 meters long and 45 meters wide oriented NNE-SSO (02-20) and a short, disused, East-West oriented runway. The file is available for download on Simvol. -
67 downloads
Here is Chartres airport created by Roland_LFOR. Chartres Champhol aerodrome was completely redesigned in 2016 and 2017 after it almost disappeared. It was renamed on this occasion to Chartres-Métropole. Historically this is the location of the first air base in France built in 1909. The file is available for download on Simvol. -
50 downloads
Here is Colmar airport created by Phanou91. Colmar - Houssen airport is located in the town of Colmar (Haut-Rhin) in the center of the Alsace region. This aerodrome is open to national and international traffic, commercial, private aircraft, IFR and VFR. The airport is mainly used for business, tourism and school flights, as well as for transporting sports teams and personalities. The file is available for download on Simvol. -
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88 downloads
Here is Caen airport created by Captain Ivanov. Second Norman airport of Captain Ivanov, Caen Carpiquet airport (LFRK) is an airport located in the Calvados department in the Normandy region and mainly serves the city of Caen. This airport is open to national and international commercial traffic, whether scheduled or not, to private planes, IFRs and VFRs. Caen airport is the main airport in Normandy to date. The file is available for download on Simvol. -
97 downloads
Here is Rouen airport created by Yves P. Rouen Vallée de Seine airport, formerly Rouen Boos airport, is the airport of the Rouen Normandy metropolis, prefecture of the Normandy region. It is the property of a mixed syndicate, the Joint Management Syndicate of Rouen Val de Seine Airport (SMGARVS), of which the metropolis, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Rouen and Matmut are members. It is located in the town of Boos, located 9 km east of Rouen. Rouen is the third Norman airport in terms of passengers transported (far behind Caen and Deauville, respectively 1st and 2nd). The file is available for download on Simvol. -
73 downloads
Here is Gap Tallard created by Béralex. Gap - Tallard aerodrome is an aerodrome open to public air traffic, located in the town of Tallard 12 km south-south-west of Gap in the Hautes-Alpes. It is used for the practice of leisure and tourism activities (light aviation, glider, helicopter, parachuting and hot air ballooning). The file is available for download on Simvol. -
43 downloads
Here is Pontoise airport created by Cyril Real and Emmanuel Vélu. Pontoise - Cormeilles-en-Vexin airport is a civil airport, open to public air traffic, located on the territory of the municipalities of Cormeilles-en-Vexin, Boissy-l'Aillerie and Génicourt 7 km to the northwest of Cergy-Pontoise in the Val-d'Oise. It is used for national and international air transport and for the practice of leisure and tourism activities (light aviation, helicopter and Zeppelin airship in summer). It is managed by Groupe ADP. The file is available for download on Simvol. -
50 downloads
Here is Aurillac airport created by Claude Roure. Aurillac Airport is an airport open to public air traffic, located in the town of Aurillac in Cantal. With a 1,700 meter runway, this airport is open to domestic commercial traffic, private aircraft, instrument flight (IFR) or visual flight (VFR). The file is available for download on Simvol. -
35 downloads
Here is Saint-Étienne airport created by Dobro. Saint-Étienne-Loire airport is an airport in the Loire department located in the town of Andrézieux-Bouthéon, fifteen minutes from the center of Saint-Étienne. It is managed by a joint syndicate made up of local authorities and public establishments (Loire Departmental Council, Saint-Étienne Métropole, Loire Forez urban community, Forez-Est community of communes, CCI Lyon Métropole Saint-Étienne Roanne) after having been managed from its origin, with public co-financing, by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Saint-Étienne / Montbrison. It serves a catchment area of nearly of four million people (between Lyon and Clermont-Ferrand). It has access to the A72 freeway. This airport is open to national and international commercial traffic, scheduled or not, private aircraft or not, IFR and VFR. The file is available for download on Simvol. -
/images/notams/notams22/dino0116.jpgIn Italy we have a saying: "ogni promessa e debito" that is "everypromise is a debt". Last summer we have decided to withdraw our P3D / FSX products fromsales - one reason was that the sales numbers were extremely low, butthe main reason is that it was becoming too difficult for us toprovide a decent customer support for these platforms - and we thinkthat a good customer support is extremely important for paywareprojects. But we promised that we will re-release these products as freeware- as a small sign of gratitude for the support we have received fromthe FSX/P3D community. Here are the links for the first batch (sorryfor Eurofighter and F-35 fans... these will come at a slighly laterdate as we have to repack a couple of files). FREEWARE RELEASES FOR P3D / FSX Note that while these packages are now declared FREEWARE FOR NONCOMMERCIAL USE, they are still COPYRIGHTED. Any usage different than private / recreational use in MicrosoftFlight Simulator X or Lockheed Martin P3D is prohibited. In particular, it is PROHIBITED to: Reverse engineer the content of these add-ons and extract code or graphical assets for any purpose.Convert these package to other flght simulation platforms, games or any other application.Use these add-ons for professional training or in any commercial application.THESE PRODUCT ARE RELEASED "AS THEY ARE" - NO WARRANTY OF ANY KINDPROVIDED - NO SUPPORT OF ANY KIND PROVIDED. Source Shop IndiaFoxtEcho at the FlightSim.Com Store
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Flying Free in Microsoft Flight Simulator Part 4By Adrian McCormickHello again and welcome to my fourthFlying Free article. Last time around,I focused on freeware files for X-Plane, one of my favorite flightsimulators of all time. As a keen "X-Planer" for the last eight years,I have watched it grow and develop into a truly wonderful platform,and so can't wait for X-Plane 12 to be released. However, in this article I am back with the relative new boy intown, that being Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, or whatever name youwish to give it. For all its bugginess, there is no denying that it'san impressive looking beast, and as such, I have lost count of thedays I've spent flying around its virtual world (one of the joys ofbeing retired). So, with that said, what three files are we focusing on this timearound? Well, read on and find out... /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/p1.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/p2.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/p3.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/p4.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/p5.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/p6.jpgSandown PierOur first file on the list is Sandown Pier by the talented KeithHackett. If the author's name seems familiar to you, it's probably because Imentioned Keith in the very first Freeware Focus articleI wrote for FlightSim.Com, and this rendition of Sandown Pier is yetanother wonderful addition to the Flight Simulator world by Keith. Sandown Pier is located on the Isle of Wight, a small, ratherscenic island just south of Southampton, England. Plans for the pierwere drawn up in the 1860s with construction starting much later in1876. The first section of the pier measured 360 feet (110 m) and itwas opened in May 1878. Work to extend the pier to its full intendedlength began in 1894 but were badly damaged in a storm in January1895. Finally, in September 1895, the pier reopened followingmodifications which lengthened it by 545 feet (166 m) giving it atotal length overall of 870 feet (270 m). As you can see from the screen shots, Keith has yet again done afantastic job at bringing the pier to life in Microsoft FlightSimulator. Not only are the shops modeled at the front of the pier,but you also have a play area located at the far end. Night lightingis equally impressive and really sets the scene, and I'm sure that ifI had a few virtual pounds on me, I could have had even more fun (solong as I pass the age limit)! sandownpier.zip /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/b1.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/b2.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/b3.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/b4.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/b5.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/b6.jpgDornoch Firth BridgeOur second file on the list is the Dornoch Firth Bridge, modelledthis time by Christian Grimsel. Located in Scotland, the bridge spans the Dornoch Firth, a part ofScotland deemed a national scenic area. In fact, the Dornoch Firth isjust one of 40 designated national scenic areas (NSAs) in Scotland andfrom the video below, it's clear to see why. The Dornoch Firth Bridge has a total of 21 spans, with each onemeasuring around 44 meters (144 ft) in length. The bridge is made ofprestressed concrete instead of steel as this was considered thebetter option in terms of longevity. The bridge was opened by TheQueen Mother on Tuesday, 27 August 1991, and at the time, was one ofthe longest bridges in Europe. Being a road bridge, it connectstraffic (via the A9) from the nearby towns of Tain and Dornoch. As youcan see from the screen shots, Christian's rendition of the bridge isexceptionally well done, and provides a wonderful addition to an areaof Scotland I am sure many will enjoy. dornoch-firth-bridge-v1_0_0.zip /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/power1.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/power2.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/power3.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/power4.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/power5.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree4/t/power6.jpgPower Station Cooling Towers for the UKOur final file comes from Neil Birch, a developer known for his scenicWestwood Walksseries of airfields and scenery. In a slight departure to what we normally see from Neil, thispackage concentrates on a series of power station cooling towerslocated in England. These monstrous, looming behemoths of yesterday might not appeal tothose of a certain delicate nature, but to low and slow VFR flyers,they will be greatly appreciated. The cooling towers included in thepackage are as follows: Drax, Ferrybridge, Ratcliffe on Stour, and asa bonus, the Runcorn Bridge. On a clear day, these towers can be seenfor miles and so make wonderful navigational points. power.zip So, there you have it, three generously shared add-ons forMicrosoft Flight Simulator which I feel you will get a lot ofenjoyment from. There's Sandown Pier by Keith Hackett, just one of the wonderfulsites you'll see whilst flying around the Isle of Wight, then there'sthe Dornoch Firth Bridge by Christian Grimsel, a wonderful site to seewhen flying over the firth, and finally, the selection of forebodingcooling towers from Neil Birch. Happy flying! Adrian McCormick
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/images/reviews/flyfree3/title.jpgFlying Free in X-PlaneBy Adrian McCormickHello again and welcome to my thirdFlying Free article. Having spent the last two occasions focusing on Microsoft FlightSimulator, I have decided this time around to have a look at my other"favourite" flight sim, that being X-Plane 11. Ever since version 10, I've always enjoyed exploring the world inX-Plane, as it is a sim you can truly make your own, much like pastversions of Microsoft Flight Simulator, and P3D for that matter. Thereis no reliance on third party servers, no mandatory downloads...it'syours to update and mod as you desire. When it comes to freeware files, X-Plane has them by thebucketload, and many of them are of exceptionally high quality. Thenumber one reason for this, is down to the dedicated and highlyenthuastic community that supports the platform. Another factor arethe tools that come bundled with the sim. For example, for aircraftdesign you have Plane-Maker, and for scenery you have WED (WorldEditor). Unfortunately, I have yet to dabble in either of theseprograms due to work and family commitments, but they are on my to dolist. Luckily for us though, quite a few individuals have used thesetools to good effect, and in this short article, I will be looking atthree items which I feel are highly worthy of your time, and wellworth downloading from the file library. Boca Chica Texas SpaceX Launch SiteThe first file on our list is the Boca Chica Texas SpaceX LaunchSite by Milan Lisner. The SpaceX South Texas launch site, referred to by SpaceX asStarbase, and also known as the Boca Chica launch site, is a privaterocket production facility, test site, and spaceport constructed bySpaceX, located at Boca Chica approximately 32 km (20 mi) east ofBrownsville, Texas, on the US Gulf Coast. /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/boca-chica-01.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/boca-chica-02.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/boca-chica-03.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/boca-chica-04.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/boca-chica-05.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/boca-chica-06.jpgThe launch site was originally intended to support launches of theFalcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles as well as "a variety ofreusable suborbital launch vehicles", but in early 2018, SpaceXannounced a change of plans, stating that the launch site would beused exclusively for SpaceX's next-generation launch vehicle,Starship. Along with the launch site, Milan has also created an optionalphotographic tile of the surrounding area. This is a relatively largedownload at just over 2GB, but one I highly recommend as it reallydoes enhance the scenery and experience. Download airport_boca_chica_launch_site.zip SpaceX Starship SN15Our second file is again by Milan Lisner and is SpaceX's impressivelooking Starship SN15. The Starship system is a fully reusable, two-stage-to-orbit superheavy-lift launch vehicle under development by SpaceX and as of August2021, it is the world's tallest and most powerful rocket ever built,surpassing the Saturn V by having more than twice the thrust. /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/starship-01.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/starship-02.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/starship-03.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/starship-04.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/starship-05.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/starship-06.jpgThe system consists of a booster stage named Super Heavy and asecond stage, also called "Starship". Unlike a traditional launchvehicle second stage, the Starship second stage is being designed toalso serve as a long-duration cargo and passenger-carrying spacecraft,as well as a lander to transport cargo and crew to the surfaces ofbodies such as the Moon and Mars. On 5 May 2021, Starship SN15 (modelled here) flew to an altitude of10 km, landed, and was recovered successfully. Download mlk_spacex_starship_sn15.zip EGCW Welshpool AirportOur third and final file is a bit more down to Earth and is anexcellent recreation of Welshpool Airport by Trevor Guest (TDG).Having had the opportunity to visit this airport on several occasions,I just had to include it on my list of top freeware files for X-Plane. /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/welshpool-01.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/welshpool-02.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/welshpool-03.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/welshpool-04.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/welshpool-05.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree3/t/welshpool-06.jpgWelshpool Airport is located 2 NM south of Welshpool, Powys,Wales. It has a CAA Ordinary Licence that allows flights for thepublic transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorisedby the licensee. The aerodrome is licensed for night use and has asingle runway (04/22) which measures 3,346 ft _ 59 ft. Welshpoolairport is one of the bases used by the Wales Air Ambulance. Download egcw_tdg.zip SummarySo, there you have it, three fantastic X-Plane add-ons which I feelyou will get a great deal of enjoyment from (I know I did). For the adventurous flyers among you, there is the scenery of theBoca Chica Texas SpaceX Launch Site along with its associated file,Starship SN15. When used together, they really do make for anexceptional experience (I highly recommend you install the optionalphotographic element as it really does enhance the realism ataltitude). Then for those of you who like things slightly closer to home,there is the quiet scenery of Welshpool, which makes for a wonderfulstarting point in which to explore the wonders of the Welshcountryside. Happy flying! Adrian McCormick
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Flying Free in Microsoft Flight Simulator Part 2By Adrian McCormickHello again and welcome to anotherFlying Free article for Microsoft Flight Simulator. In this second piece, I am again sharing my thoughts on threesuperb items which I think you will thoroughly enjoy. Since my lastarticle here at FlightSim.Com, Microsoft Flight Simulator has beenthrough several changes, and I must say for the better. Like many inthe community, the updates were highly welcomed and gratefullyreceived. Not only was the world of Microsoft Flight Simulatorimproved upon, but performance was increased too. As with pastupdates, the latest features and enhancements installed without issueand worked faultlessly, so well done to the Asobo team for making thishappen. With that said, let's begin with the first of my recommendeddownloads. Bahamas Final by Art PooleOur first offering comes from Art Poole (no stranger to the worldof flight simulation) and is a wonderful collection of airportslocated in the Bahamas...a part of the world I have always wanted tovisit. /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/bahamas-01.jpg /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/bahamas-02.jpg /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/bahamas-03.jpg /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/bahamas-04.jpg /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/bahamas-05.jpg /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/bahamas-06.jpgThis package from Art includes Nassau's Lynden PindlingInternational Airport (MYNN) and all the other Bahamas airports servedby Bahamas Air. These include MYAB, MYAF, MYAK, MYAM, MYAN, MYAP,MYAT, MYBG, MYBS, MYCA, MYCB, MYCI, MYEF, MYEH, MYEM, MYER, MYGF,MYIG, MYLD, MYLS, MYMM and MYSM (that's some collection). Most of thecustom buildings in the scenery use objects from Art's previous FSXsceneries, but even though they are a few years old, they still workextremely well in the latest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator. msfs_bahamas-final.zip Cardiff Airport By Stewart Haworth /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/cardiff-01.jpgOur second add-on is Cardiff Airport by Stewart Haworth. If thename seems familiar to you, then it is probably because Stewart wasmentioned in my previous article, with his excellent rendition ofCaernarfon Airport. Contrary to its name, Cardiff Airport is not actually locatedwithin Cardiff, but several miles west, near the village of Rhoose inthe Vale of Glamorgan. In the early 1940s, the Air Ministry requisitioned land in therural Vale of Glamorgan to set up a wartime satellite aerodrome andtraining base, named RAF Rhoose, for Royal Air Force (RAF) Spitfirepilots. Construction started in 1941, and the airfield officiallybegan life on 7 April 1942 when it was taken over by No 53 OperationalTraining Unit. After WW2, the airfield fell into disuse and wasabandoned. The individual who would then decide that Rhoose could bethe site of a new airport was Lord Ogmore. /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/cardiff-02.jpg /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/cardiff-03.jpg /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/cardiff-04.jpg /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/cardiff-05.jpg /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/cardiff-06.jpg /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/cardiff-07.jpgOn inspecting the abandoned airfield, Ogmore found the location tobe in extremely poor condition. However, he considered Rhoose could besuitable for civil aviation if time and money were to be spent onit. The Government accepted his proposal, and the Ministry of Aviationpromptly began converting the abandoned airfield into a civilianairport. In October 1952, the new Rhoose Airport was opened with AerLingus offering flights to Dublin. Today the airport is the busiest airport in Wales, with the airporthandling 1.66 million passengers in 2019. cardifffs2020.zip Pevensey Castle By Christian GrimselOur final freeware offering comes by the way of Christian Grimseland is a wonderful recreation of Pevensey Castle. /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/pevensey-castle-01.jpg /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/pevensey-castle-02.jpgPevensey Castle is a medieval castle and former Roman Saxon Shorefort at Pevensey in the English county of East Sussex. Built around290 AD and known to the Romans as Anderitum, the fort appears to havebeen the base for a fleet called the Classis Anderidaensis. Anderitumfell into ruin following the end of the Roman occupation but wasreoccupied in 1066 by the Normans, for whom it became a key strategicbulwark. The castle was occupied more or less continuously until the 16thcentury, apart from a possible break in the early 13th century when itwas slighted during the First Barons' War. It had been abandoned againby the late 16th century and remained a crumbling, partly overgrownruin until it was acquired by the state in 1925. /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/pevensey-castle-03.jpg /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/pevensey-castle-04.jpg /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/pevensey-castle-05.jpg /images/reviews/frfocus2/t/pevensey-castle-06.jpgPevensey Castle was reoccupied between 1940 and 1945, during theSecond World War, when it was garrisoned by units from the Home Guard,the British and Canadian armies and the United States Army AirCorps. In 1945 the castle was returned to civilian control and is nowmanaged by English Heritage and is open to the public. pevensey-castle_v1_0_0.zip ConclusionSo, there you have it, three amazing add-ons for Microsoft FlightSimulator which I feel you will get a lot of enjoyment from. ArtPoole's incredible collection of airports allows you to discover thewonders of the Bahamas, Stewart Haworth's rendition of Cardiffprovides both GA and commercial opportunities in which to explore theUK, and Christian Grimsel's interpretation of Pevensey Castle justmakes for great sightseeing. It really does not get much better thanthis...especially when you consider it's all given for free! Happy flying! Adrian McCormick Flying Free in Microsoft Flight Simulator Part 1
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This is a really good page to check out addon aircraft. Hope it's ok I post it. It's from a different forum: https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/list-all-payware-freeware-aircraft-7-21-21/423989
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Flying Free in Microsoft Flight SimulatorBy Adrian McCormick /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-nc5.jpgOne of the things I have enjoyedseeing with the new Microsoft Flight Simulator, is the increasingamounts of freeware being made available to users. When a new flight simulator is launched, be it civil or military,there is always a question mark over how popular it will be with thecommunity, and this of course has a knock on effect on how muchfreeware is developed. Both FSX and X-Plane continue to be very popular with freewaredevelopers, but what about the new Microsoft Flight Simulator? Well, having explored the file library at FlightSim.Com, I can tellyou that even in these early days, things are looking pretty healthyin terms of freeware. At the time of writing, there is as follows: 83aircraft enhancements, 150 sceneries, and 37 misc items. Of course,as with most freeware, these vary in quality, but on the whole, mostare pretty good and generously offered. In this short article, I will list three items which I feel areworthy of your time and well worth downloading. /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-nc1.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-nc2.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-nc3.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-nc4.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-nc6.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-nc7.jpgCaernarfon AirportThe first add-on we will be looking at is Stewart Haworth's sceneryof Caenarfon Airport in Wales. One of the reasons why I chose thisparticular scenery, was due to its proximity to Snowdonia located offto the east. If you have never flown around Wales, then this area inparticular has to be one of the most beautiful locations on offer.With its stunning mountains and gorgeous valleys, Snowdonia really isa sight to behold. Caernarfon Airport, formerly RAF Llandwrog, is mainly used by smallfixed wing aircraft, helicopters and microlights. Several companiesare based at the airport that offer flight training. North WalesFlight Academy offers fixed wing training for the issue of a PPL (A)and other fixed wing qualifications. As you can see from the screen shots, Stewart has done an excellentjob at improving the area. The default airport, if I am brutallyhonest, really was not very good at all, but with this custom version,things are very much improved (even with the missing wind turbines).Yes, not all the objects are custom made, but the way they have beenlaid out, increases the authenticity no end. Download caenarfon.zip Download other Stewart Haworth scenery /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-p1.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-p2.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-p3.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-p4.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-p5.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-p6.jpgPaignton PierOur second scenery takes us down to Paignton, a rather scenic townon the Devonshire coast of England. The scenery in question is not ofthe actual town, but rather the 140 year old Paignton Pier. It was financed by Arthur Hyde Dendy, a local Paignton barristerand designed by George Soudon Bridgman. The 780 feet (240 m) pier,with its customary grand pavilion at the seaward end, was opened tothe public for the first time in June 1879. In 1919 the pier-head and its associated buildings were destroyedin a fire. These were never replaced and a period of declinefollowed. Sectioned as a defence measure in 1940, for fear of Germaninvasion, the damaged neck was eventually repaired once hostilitieshad ceased. In 1980 the fortunes of Paignton Pier took a turn for the betterwhen a major redevelopment project was undertaken. This included thewidening of the shoreward end to ensure a uniform neck, and theconstruction of the rather stylish pavilions that remain today. The author of this impressive scenery is Keith Hackett, andPaignton is just one of a series of piers he has created for MSFS.The amount of detail Keith has managed to include in his model isquite something. The pier not only includes authentic looking shops,but also kiddy rides at the far end, and when the sun sets, the pierlooks even more atmospheric with its night-time lighting effects. Download paigntonpier.zip Download other Keith Hackett scenery /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-mr1.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-mr2.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-mr3.jpg /images/reviews/flyfree/t/flying-free-mr4.jpgMount RushmoreHeading across the pond, we leave good old Blighty and take a lookat our third and final scenery, that being Mount Rushmore byBluntSmokeTrauma. Mount Rushmore National Memorial is centered on a colossalsculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore in the BlackHills in Keystone, South Dakota. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum created thesculpture's design and oversaw the project's execution from 1927 to1941 with the help of his son, Lincoln Borglum. The sculpture features the 60-foot (18 m) heads of PresidentsGeorge Washington (1732-1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), TheodoreRoosevelt (1858-1919) and Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), as recommendedby Borglum. The four presidents were chosen to represent the nation's birth,growth, development and preservation, respectively. The default landmark in MSFS is a low-resolution photographicoverlay with no 3D relief and doesn't do the historical landmark anyjustice whatsoever. However, all this changes when the new scenery isinstalled. Instead of a flat area devoid of any character, we nowhave a 3D model featuring all four presidents. Again, the screen shotsspeak for themselves. Download mountrushmore.zip SummarySo, there you have it, three add-ons which I feel are well worthdownloading and exploring. Caernarfon Airport provides you with astarting point to explore the wonders of Snowdonia, Paignton Pier isgreat fun when using the Icon A5, and Mount Rushmore is juststunning...at any time of the day! Happy flying! Adrian McCormick
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Freeware Focus: Coromandel New ZealandBy Joshua MooreCoromandel New Zealand is one of thoseplaces you don't hear much about in flight simulation, but no longer!A beautiful piece of freeware recently caught my eye in the FlightSim.Comlibrary, and with only 420 downloads, I consider this a hidden gem!This happens to be a former payware scenery by Godzone of theCoromandel region of New Zealand, with some enhancements for fourdifferent airports in the photo-real area. The result is a stunningpiece of scenery that you can explore in amazing detail! About The SceneryCoromandel was in a line of former payware sceneries developed byRobin Corn over at Godzone scenery design and later released asfreeware. As such it is of very high quality and I found no issuesregarding blurry textures that can often be found on some photo-realsceneries. The scenery itself covers around 800 square miles instandard 4.7 meter per pixel resolution with the autogen tiling addedby Ian Warren. The airport enhancements and other adjustments includedin the package were made by Lawrie Roache, Charl du Toit, and EphramMatheson. As mentioned above, the overall scenery is of very highquality with a good amount of autogen included and accuratelyplaced. The airports themselves are not custom made, but rather aremade up of the buildings and objects found in the installedlibraries. While they aren't perfect representations of their realworld counterparts, they do look very nice and add an extra level ofimmersion! InstallationInstallation is a simple process, though a little tedious and slowdue to the amount of add-on libraries needed for it. The readmeincluded in the Coromandel download will list all the required add-onlibraries which are available to download online. Once the requiredadd-on libraries are installed, simply copy the scenery into yourFlight Simulator 2004/Addon Scenery folder and activate both thePhoto-real and Airports in your Scenery.cfg. Quick tip - the scenery libraries can be installed into AddonScenery/Scenery and Texture UNLESS stated to avoid unnecessaryscenery.cfg entries. First ImpressionsI load up my aircraft, which for today's flight is the Carenado A33Bonanza with one of my own repaints, and start off at Coromandel(NZCX) in the northwest corner of New Zealand. I depart and fly southalong the coastline to Thames Aerodrome (NZTH) on the southwest sideof the scenery. This leg of the flight has some beautiful views of thewest coast into the Firth of Thames. The mountains come right up tothe waters edge and small towns are found along the coastline (it kindof has a Hawaii feeling to it). This leg showcases the full use ofthis photo-scenery with a good mesh, which in my case, is FSGlobal2010. There are several good freeware alternatives online however ifyou do not own FSGlobal. /images/reviews/coromand/t/coromandel-01.jpg /images/reviews/coromand/t/coromandel-08.jpg /images/reviews/coromand/t/coromandel-09.jpg /images/reviews/coromand/t/coromandel-10.jpgFor the second leg I depart Thames Aerodrome to the southeastbefore making a left turn to fly east to Pauanui Beach Aerodrome(NZUN). This leg takes us over the mountains and to the eastern shoresbordering the Pacific Ocean. /images/reviews/coromand/t/coromandel-02.jpg /images/reviews/coromand/t/coromandel-03.jpgAfter landing at Pauanui Beach, I depart and head back north up thecoast to Whitianaga (NZWT). Flying along the coastline takes me pastseveral beaches and cliffs ending in the ocean. Before landing, I flyover Whitianaga at altitude to see how the area looks in terms of thewater, as the small rivers feed into the bay right by the airport. Theresult the scenery achieved isn't perfect, but is a limitation of FS2004and looks very nice all the same! /images/reviews/coromand/t/coromandel-04.jpg /images/reviews/coromand/t/coromandel-05.jpg /images/reviews/coromand/t/coromandel-06.jpgThe last leg of the flight is a short hop back to Coromandel fromWhitianaga and there isn't too much to report for this leg, but theviews are just as stunning! /images/reviews/coromand/t/coromandel-07.jpgFor night flying you may be slightly disappointed, as there are nonight textures included so it does get very dark. The autogen helpslighten the towns up slightly but not that much. /images/reviews/coromand/t/coromandel-11.jpg /images/reviews/coromand/t/coromandel-12.jpgExtra Enhancements To Expand Your New Zealand FlyingAnother major component to enhance the experience is to add mesh,freeware or payware, and in my case FSGlobal 2010. The mesh took thescenery to the next level, allowing the rivers in the photo-real areasto be in their correct locations as in real life. This allowed them toflow through the valleys to the sea rather than on the sides or topsof the mountains that I found without a mesh. For this reason, and fora better overall experience, I highly recommend adding a mesh if youcan. If you are a simmer that enjoys flying airliners from largerairports, then there are a few good New Zealand airports Irecommend. One of these is Wellington Airport (also by Godzone), andAuckland Airport, both of which can be found in the file library atFlightSim.Com. Closing RemarksThis collection of sceneries allows you to explore a trulybeautiful part of this world. It is detailed, great for screen shots,and is a real joy to fly around in a small GA airplane! If you want totake a break from flying airliners, or just want to try something new,grab yourself a small airplane, and go and check out these amazingsceneries! Positives:High quality photoreal texturesAccurately placed 3D autogen and vegetationEnhanced airports with plenty of small eye candyAmazing FPS with no stuttersAuckland and Wellington close by.Negatives:Airport buildings are made up from generic objects (not custom made)No seasonal texturesNo night texturesRequires 25 add-on libraries for the full experienceMy FS2004 System:FS2004GTX1050tii7 2600k8GB DDR3 RAM WD 512GB SSDJoshua Moore Download Coromandel scenery compilation Download Auckland Airport Download Wellington
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Freeware Focus: MSFS Airports By FilbertFlies Welcome to this month's pick of the best free add-on airports for Microsoft Flight Simulator! If you have any suggestions for the next episode of Freeware Focus,drop a link in the comments and I'll take a look at them. Included Airports And Download Links KAVX Catalina Airport in the Sky (Ace Clearwater Airfield) SBCY Cuiabá Marechal Rondon Airport LGHI Chios Airport VIDP Delhi Indira Gandhi Airport YRED Redcliffe Aerodrome and Landmarks NZTL Lake Tekapo Airport System Specs i7 8700k processor 32 GB RAM GeForce GTX 1080Ti LG UltraWide 25UM58 25-inch Monitor Thrustmaster T16000.M flight stick FilbertFlies Youtube Channel
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/images/notams/notams20/orbx0825.jpgFairways Airport is the perfect general aviation base to sightseethe beautiful nature and historic cities of northern Oregon. Locatedjust 12 Nautical Miles south of Portland, and 35NM west of Oregon'stallest mountain Mt. Hood, it is a fantastic airport to start youradventures and exploration from. With it's two ~2.800ft grass runwaysand several hangars it is a place with plenty of life and like mindedpilots. The airport has been built from the ground up for the new MicrosoftFlight Simulator which results in beautiful graphics and excellentperformance. It is also just a stone's throw away from a beautifulPhotogrammetry Area which covers Portland and Oregon city in beautifuldetail. FeaturesDeveloped from scratch for Microsoft Flight SimulatorCustom high resolution PBR buildings30cm/pixel custom ortho imageryAccurately sloped runwaysDeveloped by Mark Silvester and Karl HoybyeFreewareSource Orbx Has Two More Releases For Microsoft Flight Simulator Orbx Release Four New Products For MSFS