Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'lake tahoe'.
-
KTVL Lake Tahoe AirportCreated by ORBX SystemsReview By Ray AndersenIntroLake Tahoe Airport is a medium sizepublic airport located near the famous Lake Tahoe in El Dorado County,California and features an 8541 foot asphalt runway designated 18/36. Theairport opened in 1959 but it was not until 1963 that the airportstarted serving commercial airline flights. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_1634eb7a.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_244f1477.jpgThe airport is operated by The City of South Lake Tahoe and islocated in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with an elevation of6269 feet. The approach is rather tricky, especially in foggy, rainy orwindy weather conditions and it does challenge pilots and theirpilot skills greatly. The ICAO code is KTVL and the IATA and FAA LIDis TVL. This scenery is developed by Misha Cajic and features highperformance grass, seasonal options, ORBX Systems' famous PeopleFlow aswell as additional flow technologies and other unique options. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_20707e89.jpgGeneral Information And Airport SpecsAirport Name: Lake Tahoe AirportAirport Type: PublicOperator: The City of South Lake Tahoe, CaliforniaWeb site:http://www.cityofslt.us/index.aspx?nid=182ICAO: KTVLIATA / FAA: TVLFrequencies:Tower: 118.4 / 257.8Approach: 118.4 / 257.8Ground: 121.9Location: South Lake Tahoe, CaliforniaElevation: 6,269ft / 1,911mCoordinates: 38° 53'38"N 119° 59'43"WRunway: 18/36 asphalt 8,541ft / 2,603m /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_334af32c.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_34096b36.jpg Purchase, Download And InstallationI got this add-on directly from ORBX web site and used the FTXCentral v3 for the download and the installation. Using the FTXCentral v3 is a superb and extremely simple way to purchase, downloadand install an ORBX product. Log into the ORBX web site, add the scenery to your shopping basketand pay with a credit card by following the online guide. Hereafterthe scenery will be unlocked in the FTX Central and you have just asingle button to press. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_m5b39b0da.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_m5ef051d5.jpgThis button will start the download and automatically perform theinstallation process after the download has completed - downloadingand installing the KTVL Lake Tahoe scenery only took a couple ofminutes altogether even though the scenery is about 0.96 GB and thisdue to high speed internet server connection and no interruptions. The Lake Tahoe scenery is compatible with FSX, FSX Steam andwith Prepar3D v1, 2, 3 and also version 4 meaning that the scenery canbe used on both a 32-bit and 64-bit platform. The scenery tested andincluded in this review is version v1.1 and is one of ORBX's oldersceneries originally released in 2014 (if I remember correctly). /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_448d3ab0.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_4ef220af.jpgAs with most other ORBX sceneries I would recommend purchasing andinstalling the corresponding FTX region and in this case the region isthe FTX NA Northern California region. You can install and use thescenery without the FTX region however by installing the FTX regionthe KTVL Lake Tahoe scenery is perfectly integrated into thesurrounding terrain scenery. Also moving vehicle traffic is aligned perfectly with the roads andall houses in this region as well as trees has been modified toreplicate North American houses and trees creating a very realisticand fairly true to real life region. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_m7a5ecb3c.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_m7c659e1c.jpgThis scenery includes a variety of ORBX specific features such ascustom modeled buildings both inside the airport but also in thesurrounding scenery, various FLOW-technologies, seasons, 3D lighting,various animations and much more - see Key Feature list herebelow. Key features written by ORBX Systems: /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_mf9f0d98.jpgTools, Supporting Programs And CustomizationIncluded in this KTVL scenery pack is of course a User Guide. Thisuser guide is a 15 page PDF file containing various information suchas product requirements, installation guide, scenery coverage, airportinformation, aviation charts, information about the included ControlPanel and much more. The User Guide can be accessed through the FTX Central and is aneasy-to-read guide which I would recommend reading prior to using thescenery. The Control Panel, which can also be accessed through the FTXCentral, is a tool where you can to some extent customize the sceneryto fit your personal requirements as well as to optimize the sceneryto fit your computer's hardware to get the best possibleperformance. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_61005980.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_7c8c5118.jpgCustomizing the scenery using the Control Panel is very easy -there are several selections of various options which can be eitherenabled or disabled - when you close the Control Panel aftercompleting the customization, the selected settings are automaticallysaved. The options are e.g. various degrees of high performance grass,airport bushes, stones scattered around the airport, GSE clutter,StaticFlow, PeopleFlow, vehicles, etc. By enabling all, the scenery isfilled with an abundance of details and will get the most realisticenvironment. However, for low or medium size systems, this will impactthe frame rate performance. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_df214a8.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_mc3235f3.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_3c76e468.jpg The scenery closest around the airport is created with 30cm pixelswhereas the nearby surrounding scenery is 60cm and the east andwestern outskirts are 1m pixels. BuildingsJumping into the scenery and taking a look around, I quickly foundmyself in the middle of a very realistic and interesting airportenvironment. There are actually quite many buildings at the Lake TahoeAirport and I was pleasantly surprised to see the complexity anddiversity of the buildings created for this scenery. My first interestwas taking a closer look to the very distinctive terminal buildingwhich has been very well modeled with numerous specific details atboth the apron side as well as the entrance side. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_m25b53434.jpgThe terminal resembles the real world terminal very well with theunique A-shape or maybe more a flipped V-shape with integratedbuildings on each side. High quality modeling featuring superb andrealistic details such as the walk-way at the apron side which alsofeatures chairs and tables with people sitting there, banners fixed onthe walk-way fence, air vents on the roof top together with highquality multi-layer textures and great accuracy provides this buildingwith a superb realism. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_73a067f0.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_79d1cc8b.jpgMoving around the scenery I quickly saw that ORBX had once againset much focus on the quality and realism of the buildings. Thequality I saw of the terminal was also the same high quality for thevarious hangars and other airport buildings. E.g. also the tower isvery well created with great accuracy, high quality textures as wellas several superb details like the antennas, stairs, etc. I also found dirt of various shades and corrosion around the scenerywhich improves my impression of the scenery and which just addsgreatly to the atmosphere of a realistic airport scenery. I comparedthe scenery to images from Google Earth and the resemblance was reallygood with great accuracy in placing the buildings, etc. I also searchedthe internet for pictures from KTVL to compare to the scenery that Ifound myself in the middle of - again the resemblance wasremarkable. Actually I had to look very intensively to just find minor issues andjust found a few like e.g. the small light or what it is, that in thescenery is located at the tip of the terminal - this is not to befound at any of the real images that I found on the internet. Also thecolor of the terminal is in the scenery a darker variation of thecolor green than the color I saw in the real world images - tinydetails. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_6d58c5e.jpgThe Lake Tahoe Airport features several elevation changes and thisI am positive has been a great challenge for the design team. The team haveperformed excellently and I only found a very few tiny elevationissues which do not impact my overall impression of this greatscenery. Also the nearby Heavenly Mountain Resort is also included inthe scenery and features fully animated ski lifts - these lifts dohowever only function in the period of November to March meaning onlyduring winter time which is a great detail. The internal lights feature is a great effect and is of a goodquality with a soft, warm and realistic shine. Apron, Taxiways And RunwaysMoving my focus from the buildings and onto the apron, the taxiwayand the runway I found as I expected, high quality with great colors,shades and realistic details. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_bd317d5.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_ddcfb15.jpgThe apron on front of the terminal is created of huge blocks ofconcrete that are laid out. The colors of these block are light grayand very realistic with various cracks, holes and markings. The edgesare semi straight and do show a fair amount of wear and tear and oilstains, etc. The parking areas are also very detailed and it looks like thesurface is asphalt which does indeed show a great deal of wear andtear since the distinctive dark color of new laid asphalt is here veryfaded with several cracks and stains. The structure in the asphaltis very realistic and the cracks are randomly curved which also addsgreatly to the realism. There are various shades on the apron as well as the parking areaand the textures used are high quality and very realistic lookingtextures - this also up close. The ground textures used for the roadpassing the entrance of the terminal are fair quality but it seems tohave a lower resolution than the apron side of the terminal. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_ma2431d7.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_maf2028f.jpgGoing to the taxiway as well as the runway, then the surface forthe taxiway is aged concrete elements and for the runway aged asphaltwith nice rough and realistic edges and which also shows signs of wearand tear like color shades, various stains and cracks, etc. There issmall vegetation scattered around the scenery together with the highperformance 3D grass that all contributes to a very realisticenvironment. The markings on both the runway, the taxiway and the apron andparking areas is very authentic and accurate and is created with aneye for the details and features a fair amount of worn off paint,rough edges and a realistic look. Also included in the KTVL pack is the helipad at Burton MemorialHospital which is located to the west of the runway 18 approach. Thehelipad is created with the same high quality which is also found onthe apron and runway. The runway, taxi and apron lights are created beautifully andfeatures a soft and realistic shine and provides the scenery with anice detail when flying at dusk, night or dawn. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_m2bddfdfa.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_m2dce5467.jpgStatic/Dynamic Elements And FlowsThe entire airport environment at the Lake Tahoe Airport isexcellent and very beautifully created. ORBX has certainly kept theirfocus on creating a realistic atmosphere and a living environment andthey have succeeded nicely. The airport is filled with an abundance of eye candy, staticmaterials scattered around the airport, vehicles, signs, fences, andaircraft which are all of a good quality with multi-layertextures that are created to increase the realism when walking aroundthe airport. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_f91bfc6.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_mf1c69b9.jpgThe famous PeopleFlow is of course also a part of this scenery andit absolutely increases the atmosphere and the idea of a livingairport environment. The PeopleFlow is a technology created by ORBXSystems which is various animated people performing a variety of tasksin the scenery - the tasks could simply be walking around, talking toeach other with movements of arms or similar. It could also beperforming maintenance of aircraft, sweeping the apron, etc. ThisFlow-technology is absolutely something that lifts a scenery to thenext level and provides the simmer with an even better and morerealistic experience. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_m46a90b74.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_m359e4bbb.jpgThe static materials included are everything from pallets to drumsto traffic cones to parked vehicles like the fuel truck and evenparked aircraft. Everything contributes to an increase of theexperience using this airport and the quality is superb. The textures used are the same high quality multi-layer textures asalso found on the buildings, the runway, taxiway, and apron andparking areas. The textures used are created with a focus on thedetails and provides the static materials with a realistic andauthentic look. There are also a variety of signs in the scenery and these signsare good quality and very realistic - I have not verified all signsagainst pictures from the internet, but in general the signs are verytrue to what I would expect to find there in real life. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_m2e9c411c.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_m4edd8aa4.jpgThe fences that are included in the scenery are nicely created,very realistic and perfectly integrated into the scenery. I havesometimes had issues with fences in other sceneries (not ORBXsceneries) where the refresh-rate of the fence made the fence appearsemi-completed when viewed at a small distance - this however is notthe case with this scenery. ConclusionTo wrap up my experience of the KTVL Lake Tahoe Airport scenerycreated by ORBX Systems, then this is certainly a high qualityscenery, which of course I had expected even though this sceneryis not brand new. The buildings, the apron, the taxiway, the runway and the staticmaterials and flows are all of a very high quality and certainlymeet the standards of ORBX Systems. The scenery is created with agreat level of focus, an abundance of eye candy and with respect forthe atmosphere and realism. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_m4f4478e9.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_m5531c265.jpgORBX has yet again created a very authentic and living environmentwhich is most recommendable. Flying either bush planes, smaller GAaircraft or even corporate or medium sized jet airliners, then thisis a scenery that will support your every desire and is located within abeautiful region that is greatly improved by installing the FTX regionas well. I did find a few minor elevation issues and a few details that Icould not find on the images from the real airport from the internet,but these are all minor details. I also noticed a slight impact on mysystems performance when enabling everything in the control panel. In my opinion this rendition of the famous Lake Tahoe Airport isabsolutely awesome and very realistically created. The scenery scoreda beautiful 4.36 out of 5.00 and I would of course very much like tothank ORBX Systems as well as Misha Cajic and the team for creatingthis very beautiful rendition of KTVL. /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_m56d34c33.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktvl/t/orbxktvl_html_m56ebdcc5.jpg/images/reviews/orbxktvl/orbxktvl.jpgThanks and keep up the excellent work! Ray Andersen Rays Aviation Purchase Orbx - KTVL Lake Tahe Airport Review Computer SpecificationsWindows 10 (64-bit)FSX + Acceleration Pack installedIntel Core™ i7-4790K 4x4.00GHz (Turbo 4x4.40GHz)Asus Maximus VII Ranger (ROG-series)Antec Kuhler H20 650 Water CoolerKingston HyperX Beast-series 32Gb DDR3-2133 RAM500Gb Samsung 850 EVO SSD3Tb Seagate Barracura (7200rpm, 6Gb/s)Asus GeForce GTX 980 Strix OC 4Gb150/150Mbit Fiber Internet ConnectionREX Overdrive for FSX