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HelgolandPublisher: AerosoftReview Author: Paul MortSuggested Price: $26.99/images/fsc/wbicons/pilot-shop-buy.png /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/Lighthouse.jpgWelcome to my review of what could be described as a slightlyunconventional scenery by Aerosoft. A Brief HistoryHelgoland (also spelled Heligoland,but for the purpose of this review referred to as Helgoland) is asmall German archipelago in the North Sea. The islands were at onetime Danish and later British possessions. The islands are located inthe Helgoland Bight (part of the German Bight) in the south-easterncorner of the North Sea. At the time of the German Empire in the 20thcentury, the islands became a major naval base, and during the FirstWorld War the civilian population was evacuated to the mainland. Thefirst naval engagement of the war, the Battle of Helgoland Bight, wasfought nearby in the first month of the war. The islanders returned in1918, but during the Nazi era the naval base was reactivated. /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/Cessna_172SP_2.jpg /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/Cessna_172SP_3.jpgIn more modern times, Helgoland has become a holiday resort andenjoys a tax-exempt status, and perhaps most fascinating ofall... received its first police car on 17 January 2006. Up until thatpoint, the island's policemen had travelled by bicycle! Area CoveredThe airport featured in this package (Helgoland Dune EDXH) is onlya small proportion of the total area covered, as the whole archipelagois presented. /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/People.jpg /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/TUCKER_11.jpgOverviewIf you have been following my previous reviews here atFlightSim.Com, you will be aware of my preference for smallerairports, and luckily for me, this scenery offers just that... /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/TUCKER_18.jpg /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/TUCKER_19.jpg InstallationAs per norm, this Aerosoft package was really simple toinstall. After purchasing the scenery, you are presented with a singlezip file to download. With this done and the file extracted, you areleft with a new folder containing two additional folders within. Oneis for the main airport scenery, and the other is the base mesh.Both of these must be placed into your X-Plane 11 Custom Sceneryfolder. /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/Cessna_172SP_4.jpg /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/Cessna_172SP_5.jpgAt this point I always remind new X-Plane pilots to go and read upabout how X-Plane organises its different scenery files - namely the'scenery_packs.ini' file. Like the sceneries it arranges, this too islocated in X-Plane's Custom Scenery folder. You can learn morehere. WalkaboutOur first stop is the smaller of the two islands, and this islargely taken up by the airport, sand dunes and a few colorfulbuildings. /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/TUCKER_14.jpg /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/TUCKER_16.jpgThe airport buildings on the whole are rather good and featuresuitable texturing. There is (due to their proximity to the sea) afair amount of weathering on the buildings, and this I reallyliked. Creating textures that mimic their environments is hard to do,so well done Aerosoft; however, I would have liked to have seenslightly higher resolution textures used. When viewed close up, theybegin to lose their clarity rather rapidly. The 3D modelling of thebuildings is also good, especially on the main airport building.Situated close by are other smaller looking buildings, such ashangars, and these too are nicely done. One aspect of the scenery I really liked (and also highlywelcomed), was the inclusion of 3D people! As many of you will know,one of my pet hates is the complete lack of life found in many paywaresceneries (the other pet hate is coming soon), so to see people aroundthe airport, was a nice surprise. It's not just the airport in whichyou'll find people either; as one of the nicest views on offer, wasthe young family playing on the beach! This was really nicely done andbrought a smile to my face! /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/Children_Playing.jpgHowever...(here comes pet hate number two), I must talk about thephotographic ortho on the small island. Having just installed a largeamount of photographic scenery on my computer courtesy of Orth4XP, Iwas highly disappointed by the quality of the texture used. Comparedto the other quality elements used in this scenery, it was a big letdown - come on Aerosoft, you can do better than this! /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/Poor_Textures.jpg Main IslandMoving on to the main island, and things improve dramatically interms of photographic scenery. When viewed from above, the mainisland of Helgoland is far more pleasing to look at. The difference inquality between them is quite striking in terms of ground texturing,which is a shame, considering the quality of the other elements. /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/Cessna_172SP_6.jpg /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/Cessna_172SP_7.jpgPlaced on this superior ortho are numerous houses, a church, theHelgoland lighthouse, radio mast, plus a detailed animated ferryterminal. Individually they would all look good, but collectively andwhen used in conjunction with a high quality mesh and ortho, they lookfantastic! I must say, Aerosoft (in regards to X-Plane sceneries),have really got their act together in terms of 3D building textures,and this scenery represents a big improvement on some of theirprevious releases. /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/TUCKER_7.jpg /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/TUCKER_8.jpgPerformanceAt no time during the testing of this package did I experience anystuttering or simulator lock ups - everything worked as it should, andframe rates remained high. /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/TUCKER_12.jpg /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/TUCKER_13.jpgOverall EvaluationIn summing up, I'd have to say that there is a lot to like aboutthis scenery: the location of the archipelago and size of the airport,the 3D modelling and textures of the numerous buildings, andAerosoft's adoption (finally) of 3D people, all work really well. Interms of negative points...well, I'm going to have to mention thequality of the photographic ortho found on the smaller of the twoislands. It really isn't up to the same standard set by the otherelements of the package, and because of this, prevents this sceneryfrom being outstanding. As it stands, Aerosoft's Helgoland is a goodscenery, with some wonderful aspects. Do I recommend it?Yes...because even in its current state, it offers the simmer awonderful chance of exploring something different! /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/Cessna_172SP_8.jpg /images/reviews/helgolnd/t/TUCKER_9.jpgTest SystemIntel Core i5 3350PProcessor 3.1 GHz16 GB RAMNVIDIA Ge Force GTX750 Ti /images/notams/notams18/aero0608/aero0608.jpgPaul Mort Purchase Aerosoft - Helgoland for X-Plane
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/images/notams/notams18/aero0608/aero0608.jpgHelgoland XP is a scenery for X-Plane 11 that recreates Germany'sonly island in the open sea at a high level of detail and with manythrilling new options. Forces of nature have reshaped the east coast of the side islet"Dune" over time. Runway 21 was previously blocked by a high sand dunethat is now entirely gone. The southern end of the airport, however,is now a place where waves break around the tip of the runway. Tenyears ago this has been surrounded by a large beach and constructionteams are hard at work to prevent further loss of sediments. In the wake of "green energy" Helgoland is currently becoming animportant maintenance hub for nearby offshore wind farms. The existingmilitary SAR base has been extended by a offshore maintenance helipadwith its own hangar. From here you can fly your chopper to transformerstations out in the sea. All of them have their own helipad and makefor a thrilling experience when approaching when waves are high. /images/notams/notams18/aero0608/helgoland-1.jpgFor the wealthier visitors several airlines started to fly regularroutes to Helgoland. Airlines serving the airport all useBN2-Islanders, the only multiple passenger aircraft that is allowed toland on the extremely short runways. FeaturesUp-to-date, detailed aerial images1 meter mesh resolution so you see the smallest dunes near the airportHelgoland-Dune airfield with extremely short runwaysCurrent airport buildings with restaurant terrace and transparent tower windowsSAR helicopter of the German NavyGerman Navy frigate (landable)Custom vegetationVery good performanceAnimated ship and ferry trafficMany 3D peopleAnimated ground traffic and more animationsOffshore Southern harbour of energy group (landable)4 Offshore wind farms with 4 platforms with their own helipads (landable) Purchase Aerosoft - Helgoland XP for X-Plane 11 /images/notams/notams18/aero0608/helgoland-2.jpg
