Development

Dick, could I begin by asking about when you first started developing for flight simulators and what got you interested in it?

I first started flying a flight simulator around 1984. At that time I had a very slow old PC (don't remember much more about it now), but now I use a high-speed set-alone LG. My first attempt to do my own scenery development was around the late 1990s for my then main simulator, FS98. This was for adding parking to default airports, mostly military ones that had very little to no parking. I got into updating small airports mainly in the Midwest as I grew up in the area and was familiar with the airports. Most of them had very little to no parking or even buildings. I did all of the learning and development for my own pleasure. It was not until much later that I decided to upload my developments to FlightSim.Com.

Could you tell us a bit about the nature of your designs and what you do?

All of the updates that I do, are for default, small to medium sized, mostly private, but also military airports that have very little parking. On larger airports I may add some static vehicles and aircraft, but mostly I add the correct parking assignments for the airlines that service those airports. I also like to add scenery to the areas off the main airport because I find those lacking any kind of reality. For myself personally, I use quite a number of AI flight plans, with many aircraft flying into all kinds of airports, so airline parking becomes important. In general though, my work is left up to one's imagination, and the fun of flying into different airports and areas.

Dick, out of all the sceneries you have created, which one do you consider your best or most popular work?

I have found that my small Midwest airports along with my military airports seem to get most of the downloads. You can always tell my work, as there will be an American flag included, and also an old Ford (usually red or brown), plus some white pickups. This has become my trademark!

What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of a project?

Finding as much information as I can about the project I am undertaking is quite a challenge, however, much of that can now be found on the internet, so it has become easier. A lot of fiction is involved in my off-airport scenery, and getting it set up correctly so as to not override the off-airport default scenery is also quite a challenge. I have to find the area I want to add new scenery to first, place a large object at the spot, and then keep moving it until I have it placed in the correct location. As you can imagine, this takes a lot of time.

What have been your favorite projects to date?

I have several projects which are favorites, and as I get better, I am changing some of my first uploads and updating them to reflect my improvements in my development. To date: PAJN Juneau, KOFF Offutt AFB, KOMA, Eppley Airport, Omaha, NE (because of my off-scenery river work involved with both) and my most recent upload, KYKN Yankton (the river area with bridges and traffic I really enjoy). My new creation of KMCI Kansas City International Airport to reflect the future terminal that is at present, under construction is another favorite. The new airport will be a one terminal airport and is scheduled to be operational sometime in 2022. At present the airport is a three-terminal airport with two active terminals. The new airport will be constructed on the same site as the present one. My redesign is my own interpretation and not a true image of what the finished airport will look like.

Dick, what software packages and tools do you use to develop your airports?

The main tool that I use is Airport Design Editor (ADE), a fantastic program developed by Jon Masterson. I also make use of the fantastic libraries that FlightSim.Com and others provide to people like myself. I use references from many scenery add-ons for ideas, plus Google and AirNav as info sources.

Who would you consider to be your mentors or inspiration in the development world?

I really feel that Ray Smith inspired me to create as accurate a representation of my projects as I can. His work is simply outstanding! However, I also want to say there are a lot of other scenery developers who inspire me, and I refer to them when undertaking a new project. I take my hat off to all those contributors who enhance the FSX world with their creations.

Real Life

Do you have any experience in real aviation?

None. I joined the Air Force right out of high school but was not involved in any actual flying. I was of course at air bases and around aircraft and so became very interested if flight. I never had the time or money back then to learn to fly, so as time and age progressed, the closest thing I could do was get involved in flight simulation, and that has been very rewarding and relaxing.

In the USAF I was a Heavy Construction Equipment operator and as we all know, bulldozers do not fly "Ha". But being based at a SAC base and later in the Alaskan Air Command I did have the opportunity to be around a lot of different types of aircraft, with a lot of different mission operations.

Dick, would you like to share with the readers what you do or did in real life?

I have been retired since 2007, but when working I was with the federal government for many years, 40 plus which included four years in the military. I retired as a Senior Special Agent, Criminal Investigator (1811) from an IG and will not mention the agency.

When you're not developing sceneries, what other hobbies or things do you do like to do for enjoyment?

My main hobby is scenery development, but I also enjoy golfing. However, I'm now in my 70s, so it gets a little less of a hobby each year. I have an acreage and taking care of it does take up a lot of my time.

Future

Dick, how do you go about choosing your next new design or project?

I fly my simulator into different airports and find one I feel needs to be livened up and made more interesting. I only do airports in the USA, but might at a later date look into other countries. However, I am finding more than enough to keep me occupied at the moment. At present (9/2019) I am finishing up a group of airports in South Dakota and will be uploading them for distribution through FlightSim.Com.

What simulators do you design for now and which ones do you plan to develop for in the future?

I am only interested in designing/upgrading airports for FSX/FSX-SE at present. I do not know if my airports would work in the newer versions of P3D (perhaps some of you could let me know). I have given some thought to upgrading to P3D, but so far am enjoying my FSX-SE enough to keep me busy.

Dick, in what ways do you see development changing in the future?

The way programs are developing, the future should continue to offer a lot of new interesting challenges. I wish there was a way to be able to see the objects on the ground outside of the airport property in the default scenery. It would make adding additions to the surrounding area much less time consuming.

Your Thoughts

What can sites like FlightSim.Com do to support you and the hobby better?

I think you guys already do a fantastic job of providing a place for people like me to share our developments. Your site offers so many various types of freeware downloads, and makes it possible for anyone involved with the use of flight simulators, the opportunity to make it much more enjoyable than the default program offers.

Lastly Dick, what would you like people to know about you and your FSX/FSX-SE work?

My goal is that the people who download my work, get as much enjoyment from using these scenery items as I get from creating them. I want to thank FlightSim.Com for providing me with a chance to be somewhat involved with this wonderful site. As I continue with my development work, I hope to become much more efficient in the sceneries I create.

Dick Mohatt
Download Dick Mohatt's Scenery