Development

When did you start developing for flight simulators and what got you interested in it?

I started developing scenery for X-Plane in the fall of 2012, so I am relatively new at it. When I first got X-Plane 9, X-Plane 10 was in development and nearly ready for release. What can I say, I showed up a little late to the party, I guess! Last fall I asked Brian Godwin, another scenery designer, if there was a chance one of his X-Plane 10 only scenery packages could be developed for those of us still using version 9. He graciously attempted to convert the scenery to version 9 on my behalf but went a step further. He asked me if I would be interested in developing an X-Plane 9 variant of the X-Plane 10 scenery he was working on. I hadn't really thought of developing scenery on my own before and Brian assured me that he would walk me through it. Brian had already drawn the taxiway, ramp, and placed the runway so all I would have to do is, essentially, place objects such as hangars, static airplanes, and various other buildings and vehicles. I was intimidated at first and had tons of questions. Brian was nothing but patient and helpful and quickly got me pointed in the right direction. He is the best scenery mentor a guy could ask for and is a fantastic designer, much more talented than I. With Brian's help, my first project, 1S0 Pierce County Thun Field (though the ICAO code is now KPLU) was well received by the community at x-plane.org.

Tell us about the nature of your designs and what you do?

General aviation is the kind of flying I enjoy the most in the sim so, naturally, all of my current scenery designs reflect this. A lot of folks are really into flying heavies in and out of the big international airports or regional hubs. That's fantastic...just not my style. There is also quite a bit more time and effort that goes into modeling a large airport like that. I could turn out several quality smaller sceneries in the time it would take me to model just one of the big ones. I am also of a somewhat biased opinion that small GA fields tend to have more character to them than the big ones. There's just something special about a small, country, home-town airport set in a scenic location. Those are my favorites!

What do you consider your best or most popular work?

I'm pretty confident that one of my most popular scenery packages was also one of my most recent; KHQM Bowerman Airport. It has proven to be popular and well received thus far so I'm pretty proud of that one. I did it for X-Plane 10 so everything I'm building now seems to look better. I attribute that more to the beauty of X-Plane 10 than to my skills improving!

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

This may seem obscure, but I find the most challenging aspect of a project to be attempting to bring the character of the real world airport into the simulator (if that makes sense). My goal for every scenery project I do is to make the user, "feel," as though they're really there. I think that can be really difficult to pull off sometimes without the benefit of being a 3D modeler and constructing very location specific objects for each project one does. We typically refer to that type of scenery as "payware!" I do not do any 3D modeling or have any plans to learn at this point, I'm just too busy with life outside of the simulator! I really strive to give every project the effort and attention to detail that I would want someone to give my home airport. I think I best achieve this through my work by making sure the objects I place in the scenery (buildings, static airplanes, pavement markings, forests, etc.) line up as closely as possible to the real world location. If one takes the time and effort to do this, one can achieve a level of believability with their scenery package beyond mere plausibility, even with limited stock or more generic objects.

What are some of the more unique or special aspects of what you create?

Like I've already stated, I endeavor to take my scenery beyond the level of "plausible reality." One thing I really enjoy doing with most of my recent scenery projects is to provide little details to make the simulator pilot feel as though the airport were their own, "home base." One of the ways in which I do this is to make start up locations inside of a hangar object. When one loads up the scenery in sim they can imagine they're sitting in their expensive airplane inside of their expensive hangar ready to go flying in a truly beautiful place! It's a nice touch I like to add whenever possible.

What have been your favorite projects?

One of my favorite scenery projects for sure was 7S3 Starks Twin Oaks. A buddy of mine requested it of me and explained that it was already a location in ORBX for FSX folks. My only modern flight sim experience has been with X-Plane so I really had no idea what ORBX was beyond occasionally running across it on YouTube! When I really looked at it I was floored and really didn't want to model 7S3 for X-Plane because I knew I could never live up to that. My buddy with the request encouraged me to do it anyway and insisted that he didn't care what it looked like. Being a type A personality really helps sometimes with scenery design, and I think that being particular and accurate with everything from drawing the pavement and lines to placing the buildings, I was able to make a decent version of a nice airport for X-Plane users to enjoy.

What software packages and tools do you use to develop?

I do all of my scenery design using WED (World Editor) 1.2. It is a fantastic and highly advanced design platform for X-Plane 10 that anyone can learn to use. I also utilize scenery objects from some wonderful scenery libraries such as OpensceneryX, and RuScenery, as well as from some of the folks who have generously contributed their work to x-plane.org community. The X-Plane community is a great group of people from all over the world who share a common interest. The fact that several of them share their hard work with the rest of the group is a huge part of the many things that make X-Plane great!

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

Definitely Brian Godwin, whom I mentioned earlier. He is a fantastic scenery designer in is own right and is a very patient person with a real gift for instruction. I really do not think I could have put up with someone like myself when I was first learning scenery design if I had been in his shoes! I still have questions from time to time and he is always willing to help. Check out Brian's amazing scenery work at x-plane.org or X-Pilot. He recently released a HUGE package, KDFW Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport, which is an easy 11 out of 10! GREAT stuff!

Do you develop payware/freeware or both and why?

I only develop freeware and have no plans to do otherwise. If I were a professionally trained 3D artist and custom built almost everything you see in a scenery package, then I'd probably charge money for it! I'm not anywhere near that caliber. I am simply an ordinary guy at home able to utilize an amazing building tool in World Editor 1.2. I simply draw runways, taxiways, ramps, and arrange objects that other talented folks have built, and combine them into a scenery package. No one should have to pay anything for something like that! There are a bunch of high quality, high fidelity custom scenery packages out there that are payware, and deservedly so. I'm just another private contributor to the community and make my work freely available to anyone who thinks it's worth a download.

The Team

How many people work with you or your team?

It's just me!

Real Life

Do you have any experience in real aviation?

My father is a private pilot and has been since before I was born. He just flies Cessna 172's for fun and loves it. He's an outstanding pilot and has an amazing feel for the airplane. Something you can't always teach. I would REALLY love to learn to fly someday but family responsibilities and the huge financial commitment prevent me from doing so at this time. Someday. I keep telling myself that...

What started your interest in aviation?

I was about three years old climbing up the wheel strut of a Cessna 172 to sit next to my hero...my dad. I have fond memories of flying with him and he often took our family to the Great State of Maine Airshow at Brunswick Naval Air Station. You could say that I grew up around airplanes and have been hooked ever since!

Any memorable flights in real life?

Nothing too exciting really. I just love to fly any chance I get, whether it's in the 172 with dad or on a 737 headed for Disneyland!

Would you like to share what you do in real life?

Nope. Sorry.

What other hobbies or things do you do for enjoyment?

I enjoy photography, birds and other wildlife mostly, though occasionally I'll stop by a local airport and take pictures of airplanes. I even have some of my work up at www.airliners.net. Just search my name and you'll find my photos. I also love to hunt, fish, camp, hike, pretty much anything outdoors!

Have you ever considered doing flight simulator development full-time?

It never crossed my mind. I'm not that good!

Future

How do you choose your next new design or project?

I always seem to have a few in the back of my mind, but I will occasionally get a request and don't mind those at all. I do tend to concentrate on places relatively close to where I live or am otherwise familiar with. I really like backcountry aviation and have some small backcountry strips in mind for possible future projects.

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

I have designed only for X-Plane 9 and 10. I have no plans to develop for any others.

In what ways do you see development changing in the future?

My hope is that more and more people become attracted to X-Plane and will want to develop their own projects and share them with the community. I used to be a "consumer" only and would check the download manager at x-plane.org hoping that today would be the day that someone developed...and fill in the blank. Now I have the ability to develop my own scenery, not only for myself, but to share with others.

Your Thoughts

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

I think the sites are doing a great job, actually. Just giving myself and X-Plane exposure on a fantastic site like this is a great way to support guys like me and the hobby in general. Keep it up!

How do you feel about the future of flight simulation in general?

I think the future of flight simulation is bright! Look at how gorgeous these current sceneries and airplanes are. I look at developers like Carenado and the amazing work they're doing and it absolutely floors me. Those airplanes look so realistic it's scary! When you really think about it, the technology has come a long way in a very short time and I think flight simulation will only continue to get better and better. Flight simulation is obviously a great, though not perfect, alternative to flying in the real world. For me it's my aviation fix since the high costs of real world flying is the primary factor preventing me, and others just like me, from doing it. The more authentic great flight sims like X-Plane get, the more aviation enthusiasts will be drawn to it, as well as real world pilots who often rely on the simulator as a low cost, any time training aid.

What would you like people to know about you or your team and work?

I would like people to know that I'm just an ordinary person who loves aviation like they do and have a great desire to contribute to the X-Plane community through scenery design. I know my work isn't the best out there by any means, but I want people to know that really anybody can get into this like I did. The more people like me who get into development, whether it is with scenery, airplanes, plugins, or other tools and utilities, the better and richer the sim will become for all of us. That is one of the things that make X-Plane great, in my opinion; many talented folks passionate about aviation and the simulator, and everyone contributing to make it better. All we need to do is lean on and support one another and we'll keep this awesome thing going!

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