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ENSH - Svolvaer AirportPublisher: AerosoftReview Author: Luke WebberSuggested Price: $15.99/images/fsc/wbicons/store-buy-now-button.png /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/Capture.jpg /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/Capture1.jpgOverviewAerosoft developers Jo Erlend Sund andSimen Nygaard have brought Svolvaer airport to life for both X-Plane 10and X-Plane 11 and as such I was eager to see if it lived up to itsproduct description. Svolvaer Airport Helle is a small regional airport located in theLofoten area in northern Norway. Its scenic location, surrounded byboth fjords and towering mountains, makes this airport a beautifuldestination, but due to its harsh winters, will also challenge yourskills as a pilot. The scenery features a highly detailed recreationof Svolvaer airport and its surroundings - including a sloped runwayand custom terrain model of the airport. /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/Red_buildings.jpg /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/Terminal_Entrance.jpgSystem requirementsX-Plane 11 or X-Plane 10Windows 7 / 8 / 10, Linux or Mac OS X 10.10Processor: Dual Core with mininum 3 GHz8 GB RAM (16 GB or more recommended)3D video card DirectX11 with minimum 1 GB (recommended DirectX12 with minimum 4 GB)Download size: 540 MB /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/carpark.jpg /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/carpark2.jpgFirst ImpressionsMy first flight into the airport was in the Flyjsim Dash 8 Q400from Bodo (WIF830), as I was trying to replicate a real world flight.I chose real world weather, and since the skies were clear, decided ona runway 19 visual approach. The turn onto final was highlyexhilarating, especially as you bank over the water and skim theterrain with your aircraft. The colorful orthographic imagery of theshore blending in with the land on short final was simply stunning.Using the PLASI runway lights, I kept myself on profile and sat thebird down on the worn asphalt. The detailing of the weathered runwayreally added to the atmosphere and was something I really liked. Thisdetailing goes as far as having new and worn asphalt next to eachother, which looks really neat! When I had slowed down enough, I turned around and began my wayback along the runway to join alpha taxi to the stand. During the wayI could not help but notice that the runway gradient was accuratelymodelled; this for me was a big plus point. I made the turn ontoalpha and saw the highly detailed terminal and the other maintenancebuildings come into view. /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/nightlighting.jpg /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/northern_lights.jpgAs I got closer, I noticed that there were many ground vehicles(and numerous pieces of ramp equipment) scattered around, which helpedbring the airport to life; something I always enjoy. A nice touch wasthe moving Wideroe flags in the wind, which made me feel welcomed as Ipulled up to the stand with the assistance of the marshaller. As I wanted to have a closer look around the airport, I shut theDash 8 down and decided to explore. My first stop was the car-parkwhich included some well placed vehicles (all in their correct markedspaces) and a nice Avinor sign at the entrance. As I walked around Icouldn't help but notice how detailed the surrounding buildings were.The tower especially included some great features, includingtransparent windows, ladders, railings and many other details that thetower has in real life. /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/other_buildings.jpg /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/ramplighting.jpgThinking that this was all there was to this small, yet impressivescenery package, I suddenly noticed some buildings in the distance.Was this part of the town of Svolvaer? I was pretty sure they weren'tdefault objects, so I decided to have a closer look. I borrowed aC172 (I don't think anybody noticed). As I got closer, I realised that it was indeed the town of Svolvaerand it included a few key visual references: the large ship hangars, arow of red buildings to the south of the town, plus some oil tanks.The actual placement of the residential buildings wasn't 100% accurate(like a few sceneries I have seen), but they were still pleasing tolook at. The town element of the scenery is not actually anadvertised feature, so it was nice of the developers to include it.Not only does it look great, but it adds to the package as a whole. /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/runway_markings.jpg /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/runway_slope.jpgAfter spending some time looking at the town, I decided to have alook at the night lighting effects. The ramp was well lit as itshould have been, with the lights doing their job well. The exteriorlighting of the terminal was excellent and looked really good. Upondiscovery, I also noticed the interior of the terminal was alsomodelled, and while not as impressively detailed as the exterior,still looked great. The interior lighting, both during the day andnight, looked very nice. As for the rest of the buildings situatedaround the airport, they were all suitably well lit. The runwaylighting was very impressive at night, and really brought out thesloped runway. The town also has night lighting which looks really nice whencruising over the town at low speeds. A unique feature of thisscenery is the northern lights effect. When the visibility is goodenough (the manual recommends 20+ SM of visibility) you can see thenorthern lights, which are animated. The animation (which can also bedisabled) is, in my opinion, a very nice feature and helps bringfurther immersion to the simulator. Not only that, but it also helpsto remind you of what a beautiful place of the world you are flyinginto/out of. /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/runwaylighting.jpg /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/ship_hangars_and_bridge.jpgThe airport also has seasonal textures that can be used with theseasonal plugin for X-Plane. I do not have the required plugininstalled at present, so I was unable to try this out. However, fromwhat I saw from the Aerosoft screen shots, the winter textures lookhighly detailed - again showing the dedication the developers have putinto this scenery. /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/ship_hangars_and_fuel_tank.jpg /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/terminal_entrance2.jpg Overall FeaturesPhotoreal ground textures cover the area of SvolvaerCompatible with XP10/11All airport buildings are highly detailedCustom runway lighting and PLASI lightsCustom northern lights/Aurora Borealis animationSeasonal textures (requires the seasons plug-in)Custom aircraft marshaller (requires the autogate plug-in)Custom windsock animationsCustom flag animationsRealistic runway slope/gradientTerminal interior /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/terminal_interior_day.jpg /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/terminal_interior_night.jpgPros And ConsProsExcellent runway lightingExcellent terminal lightingAdditional modelling of the townHigh runway detailGreat blend between land and the sea with the photoreal ground texturesGreat blend between default textures and the Svolvaer areaRamp elementsGreat terminal interiorGood incorporation of the autogate pluginSeasonal textures provide options for usersGreat windsock and flag animationsNorthern lights animations /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/tower.jpg /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/tower2.jpgConsPhotoreal ground textures could be of a slightly higher resolutionMore buildings in the town to match the photo overlaySome jagged mesh present in the townA higher mesh resolution would have helped with some elements of the scenery /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/town.jpg /images/reviews/svolvaer/t/townlighting.jpgOverallI was really struggling to find negative aspects to this scenery,which is always a positive sign in my book. The only concern I reallyhad was the resolution of the ground textures - a higher zoom level ofthe photographic imagery would have been the icing on the cake, but asit stands, it works acceptably well. For $15.99, whether you enjoy flying around the scenic country ofNorway or like challenging airports, I would highly recommend thisscenery. /images/notams/notams17/svol1026.jpgBy Luke Webber Purchase ENSH - Svolvaer Airport By Aerosoft