Introduction

In this review I shall be looking atAerosoft Bratislava M. R. Stefanik Airport for P3D V5. First opened in1923, the airport now plays host to over 2 million passengers annually(pre-pandemic) and serves as the primary airport for Slovakia. Thelargest airline based here is Ryanair who serve 24 destinations, otherairlines that operate here include: Smartwings, Flydubai, andWizzair. This P3D V5 version includes animated vehicle traffic andpassengers, static aircraft, and a modelled city of Bratislava.

Installation

The installation process was quick and simple... no hassle at all,please bear in mind that an internet connection is required. Afterinstallation I recommend you fire up the config tool, as compared to theBen Gurion airport sceneryI recently reviewed, there was a surprising number of optionsavailable here for static aircraft and ground clutter.

Documentation

Included in this product is a manual available from the primaryfolder. The manual discusses what settings to use as well asnavigational information relevant to pilots flying in and out of theairport. Strangely, only approach charts were included which was a bitof a disappointment as I would have expected to see a whole host ofrelevant charts featured. Also please be mindful that (if your systemis on the low end of the spectrum), the recommended settings stated inthe manual are very high.

Terminal Area

Within the terminal area, there was plenty of airport clutter andanimated people, the textures for which could have been better, butoverall made the area feel alive and busy. Opaque glass was presentthroughout the terminal building and looked good, but this was offsetby some substandard textures. The result being that whilst themodelling was good, the terminal looked uneven in terms of texturingquality.

The stands in the apron area were modelled well and were accuratelymarked. The textures exhibited some nice weathering effects whichadded to the realism. There was also a wide variety of static aircraftto accompany this. Overall, very good attention to detail.

Apron Area

The hangar areas near the terminal also had plenty of detail. Forexample, I particularly liked how in this area (GA) you had an openhangar with aircraft inside. Again, another nice feature to enhancethe feeling that this is a busy airport. The static airplanes aroundhere were also extensive, one example being the couple of Airbus A320sparked in storage. I was really impressed with the modelling of thebusiness jets and smaller light aircraft. In fact, I felt these lookedbetter than some payware traffic add-ons I had experienced in thepast.

Runways And Taxiways

Bratislava Airport has four runways in a cross-runway layout. All inall, the runway and taxiway textures are labelled correctly with theappropriate signage and had accurate markings. The correct textureshad been used (concrete) and I also liked the weathering effects whichhad been accurately placed on both runways and taxiways.

A criticism that I do have, is that normally at Bratislava Airportyou can see some older airplanes parked up on taxiway 'D' betweenrunway '13' and '22'. However, in this scenery there was unfortunatelynone to be seen. I should also point out that if you enjoy seeing wetrunway textures, then I'm afraid you're out of luck. It is possiblewith editing, but for myself, it is beyond my expertise. Really thisis something I would like to have seen included as standard, but alas,it wasn't to be.

Cityscape

Included with the package is an enhanced rendition of the city ofBratislava. Here you will see a great number of custom made andaccurately placed objects in which to increase the realism andauthenticity of the area. I was quite surprised at how far out theseobjects went, and so flying around the city was highly enjoyable. Infact, my favourite time of day for viewing the city was during theevening and night, as the city looked incredibly impressive when litup. As a simmer, I really appreciate it when developers go that extramile. Having the city included adds so much to the experience offlying into and out of Bratislava.

Night Lighting And Performance

The included night lighting is very bright and looks good despitethe lack of dynamic lighting effects. When it comes to the opaqueterminal textures, I must say I found them to be really clear. Therunway lighting is also accurate, with the correct type of approachlights and colours being used.

As far as performance was concerned, I was surprised to discover(due to the complexity of the package) that the airport andsurrounding scenery ran very smoothly, with no lag, spikes or majorFPS loss during the day. However, when flying over or near theterminal building at night, my frame rates dropped from around 33 to26. The reason for this is probably due to my graphics card.

If you're using a lower-end graphics card like myself with only 6 GBof VRAM, then be mindful that you're likely to hit your VRAM limit ifyou're not careful with your settings. For example, when using therecommended settings, I was hitting between 4.0 - 4.7 GB when usingthis airport, so not much room for manoeuvre.

Conclusion

In summing up, I have to say that I did enjoy my time atBratislava, as there was a lot of detail on offer. The result being,is that the airport really did feel alive and busy. The modelling ofthe static airplanes was also good, as were the runway and taxiwayareas.

Yes, it's not perfect, as there are areas which could be improvedon. For example, I would like to see the developer add dynamiclighting as well as make some improvements to the terminal textures asI felt they were outdated in some areas. Overall though, a very nicelymade rendition of Bratislava and one I feel you would enjoy.

Alex Dickinson

Purchase Aerosoft - Bratislava M. R. Stefanik Airport for P3D v4/v5

See other Aerosoft add-ons for Prepar3D