Drzewiecki Design is a long-standingfavorite in flight simulation. Since FS2004 they have been creatingairport and cityscape sceneries all around the virtual world and arenow the latest developer to arrive on Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Recently they released Washington Landmarks which covers the entireWashington DC area with custom hand-built buildings made to match thatof the real-world city.

Today we'll be looking at Washington Landmarks and see what it addsto Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Installation

Installation of Washington Landmarks is simple. When purchasingfrom the FlightSim.Com Store, you are provided with a zip file. Runthe installer, select your Community folder and it will do therest.

One benefit that Microsoft Flight Simulator has over itspredecessors is that it does not require you to adjust any scenerylibrary or other config files. As soon as you drag and drop,everything is done automatically, which is as simple as can be.

Included is a three-page PDF manual which explains the history ofWashington DC in some detail as well as information regarding thethree airports that the scenery pack enhances. It is well worth a readto anyone interested in history or who wants to know more about whatthis add-on includes!

Washington DC

Washington Landmarks covers the entire DC area with all-newhand-build buildings, monuments and other major facilities. Unlike theAzure AI-generated buildings, these are all made to look exactly liketheir real-world counterparts.

Landmarks such as the Capitol Building, Washington Monument andLincoln Memorial amongst others, are all present and fit the sceneperfectly. By default, the Washington Monument appears as a towerblock, which while humorous, perhaps doesn't look quiteright. Washington Landmarks fixes this with accurate renditions ofeach building.

Then there is the Pentagon, the home of the US Secret Service andother Federal departments. Using the simulator's Drone Cam, you canwalk around the perimeter road of the building and spot many of thememorials and details that exist in the real world that DrzewieckiDesign has painstakingly added.

The scenery doesn't also just cover buildings. It also includes theWMATA (Washington Metro) and Acela Express trains which populatebridges and surface track with accurate rolling stock that run onthese lines. It's these smaller details that make this scenery reallystand out.

Finally, we come to the White House. This is by far the most highlydetailed building included in the scenery and one which is well worthexploring. Both the modelling and texturing on offer here is at thevery highest level, and so it should be...for what is arguably, themost important building in the United States. The level of detail alsodoesn't stop on the outside either, as the entire Oval Office is alsomodelled. There are also detailed models of President Trump, the FirstLady, and also Vice President Pence.

The satellite imagery used in the package is also up to date, withthe Black Lives Matter Plaza appearing on 16th street just to thenorth side of the White House. This is only a recent addition, havingbeen painted in June, and which goes to show that the developers arekeen to make the scenery as current as possible.

Airports

As well as the city, Washington Landmarks adds extra details to thefollowing default airports: KADW Joint Base Andrews, KCGS CollegePark, KVKX Potomac Field and W32 Washington Executive Airport. Youalso have an additional 12 helipads situated at their real-worldlocations with the ability to take off and land from each.

While these added details may be small, they do enhance the packagequite a bit, especially in regards to the level of complexity. JointBase Andrews for example sees a VC-25A parked and prepped ready toserve as Air Force One.

The abundance of helipads also give you every opportunity toexplore more of Washington DC in close detail (all we need now are forthe helicopters to be added).

Washington Nightscape

Once the sun sets over the District of Columbia, the entire citylandscape changes. Monuments glow up and give you a surreal experienceover the entire city. Buildings and roads also light up with streetlighting dotted around the Washington landscape. It is also no longera busy bustling city, but certainly a lot more peaceful as everythingquiets down.

Each building lights up and looks good both from the ground and upin the air. A low cruise over the city is especially enjoyable atsunrise and dusk, something I would say is well worth trying foryourself!

Buildings such as the Pentagon, White House and Capitol all lookspectacular with their detailed lighting setup. Moving around in DroneCam, you can gain a feel for walking through the streets of thecity.

Opinions And Closing Remark

Overall, I do like what Washington Landmarks adds to the simulatorworld. It does more than what the title suggests, seeing largeportions of the city replaced with all-new hand-build structures.

The level of detail for major buildings and monuments too is great!The Lincoln Memorial looks like the Lincoln Memorial. WashingtonMonument is correctly stylised and sitting in the middle of the parkthat surrounds it. For those that have been to or live in WashingtonDC locally, you will recognise everything that you see and can findyourself completely taken aback by how much detail there is to lookat.

Drzewiecki Design is a long-time favorite in flight simulation, andwith this being only their second payware launch for MSFS, alongsidetheir freeware, Warsaw airports pack that launched on MSFS release dayand Moscow Landmarks, I am sure they will continue to be a favoritefor many years to come.

The Technical Bit:

Review PC Spec

• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• Windows 10 Professional
• 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 6700K Processor
• 16 GB RAM
• NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660

Coverage Area:

This image shows where the custom buildings are located.

Video Review

Michael Hayward

Purchase Drzewiecki Design Washington Landmarks MSFS

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