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Sim-Wings Anchorage ProPublisher: AerosoftReview Author: Alex DickinsonSuggested Price: $29.95/images/fsc/wbicons/store-buy-now-button.png /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-01.jpg /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-02.jpgIntroductionTed Stevens Anchorage InternationalAirport is a major airport in the U.S. state of Alaska, located 5miles southwest of downtown Anchorage. The airport is named for TedStevens, a U.S. senator from Alaska in office from 1968 to 2009. Built in 1951, the airport was served in the 1950s by AlaskaAirlines, Northwest Orient, Pacific Northern Airlines and ReeveAleutian Airways, using aircraft ranging from Douglas DC-3s to Boeing377s, and was also a refuelling stop for Canadian Pacific Air Linesservice to the Far East. From 1955 to 2011, the eastern end of theairport's southernmost runway connected to the Kulis Air NationalGuard Base. By the mid-1980s the airport's nickname was "Crossroads of theWorld". Anchorage was a common stopover for passengers flying betweenEurope and East Asia, because airspace in China, the Soviet Union andEastern Bloc countries were off-limits and because the firstgeneration of jets and widebody airliners did not have the range tofly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the airport was briefly the busiestin the United States due to sustained volume of cargo flights throughAlaska while passenger travel sharply decreased in other Americanairports. /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-03.jpg /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-04.jpg /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-05.jpg /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-06.jpgFlying around Alaska and taking in the incredible scenery issomething I really enjoy doing in P3D. One of the reasons being isthat due to its vastness, it can make you feel small, especially withits impressive mountain ranges and vast open landscapes. AirportMy first stop was the two main terminal buildings at theairport. The South Terminal (domestic) serves Air Canada, AlaskaAirlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Condor, Delta Air Lines,Frontier Airlines, Sun Country, and United Airlines. All regionalintrastate carriers also use the South Terminal. The South terminalcontains three concourses: Concourse A, Concourse B, and ConcourseC. The area of what is today Concourse C is where the original airportterminal from the 1950s was located. The North Terminal (international) serves Condor, Japan Airlines,Korean Air, Yakutia Airlines, all international seasonal charterflights, and military flights. Both terminals were modelled well and displayed the correct scaleand proportions. However, compared to other sceneries created bySim-Wings, I thought the textures weren't quite up to their normalstandards. Along with the main terminal buildings, this section of theairport also contained numerous maintenance facilities and supportbuildings. These also included ground clutter in appropriate areas,thus providing a busy bustling feel to the airport. /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-07.jpg /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-08.jpg /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-09.jpg /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-10.jpgJet bridges are included, but I found the quality of them to berather poor in quality. SODE jet bridges are available, and despitenot actually using them, I would recommend these over the defaultversions. Cargo OperationsAs mentioned in the introduction, cargo traffic plays an importantpart at Ted Stevens, so it's no wonder that you have the likes of DHL,UPS, FedEx, and more stationed here. Numerous smaller buildings arealso located in this area, and whilst these still displayed the samestandard of texturing as the main terminals, I found them to beaccurately placed and well modelled. Lake HoodNext door to the main airport is Lake Hood, an extremely largegeneral aviation complex. I have to say this location was a realsurprise, as I didn't expect Sim-Wings to go into so much detail here. There were so many buildings located in this section of thescenery, along with an abundant array of static aircraft. Yes, a lotof them do look quite basic, but taken as a whole, this area of thescenery is incredibly atmospheric. Another great feature is that the lake is actually frozen duringthe winter months, so you won't be able to use your floatplane. However, during the summer, the lake returns to water, and youcan...highly realistic and something I really appreciated! /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-11.jpg /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-12.jpg /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-13.jpg /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-14.jpgTaxiways, Ramps And Runway TexturesBoth runways and taxiways have been modelled accurately and withgreat care. The concrete textures especially are worthy of highpraise. Not only were the textures clear when viewed close up, butthey also showed signs of weathering (rubber marks, cracks, etc.). The same quality and accuracy was visible in the ramp areas, with alot of the stands having a white texture around them. Airport signageand markings were also done to a good standard and again, accuratelyplaced. Night LightingThe lighting effects at Ted Stevens were excellent. Runways andtaxiways are lit to great effect as are the numerous hangars andmaintenance facilities. Flying into the airport at night is reallyquite something. DocumentationAs well as the usual English/German installation guide typical ofAerosoft products, there are also charts which can be viewed online. PerformanceConsidering the number of objects used in the scenery, performancewas outstanding. I've had the pleasure of using sceneries by Sim-Wingsin the past and they have always performed well, and Ted Stevens is noexception. Total VRAM usage when running on my preferred graphicssettings was a mere 2.6 GB, with frame rates holding steady at a locked30 FPS. /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-15.jpg /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-16.jpg /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-17.jpg /images/reviews/anchpro/t/aerosoft-anchorage-pro-18.jpgConclusionIn summing up, I have to say that I enjoyed my time at Ted Stevens,even more so at Lake Hood. The main airport is well laid out with goodmodelling of the terminal buildings and associated maintenancefacilities. The only downside was the quality of the textures used, asthey felt more akin to FSX than P3D. If you're happy to live withthat, then I think you'll really enjoy the scenery. However, ifyou're looking for photorealism, then you'll probably going to comeaway disappointed. At the end of the day, Aerosoft's Ted Stevensmakes for a great starting point in which to explore Alaska. All youhave to do is decide on which direction to go... /images/reviews/anchpro/title3.jpgAlex Dickinson Purchase Aerosoft - Anchorage Pro for Prepar3D See other Sim-wings scenery for Prepar3D
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Airport AnchoragePublisher: AerosoftReview Author: Patrick PutlendSuggested Price: $24.99/images/fsc/wbicons/store-buy-now-button.png /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage01.jpgTed Stevens Anchorage InternationalAirport is a major airport in the U.S. state of Alaska, located 5miles southwest of downtown Anchorage. The airport is named for TedStevens, a U.S. senator from Alaska in office from 1968 to 2009. Built in 1951, the airport was served in the 1950s by AlaskaAirlines, Northwest Orient, Pacific Northern Airlines and ReeveAleutian Airways, using aircraft ranging from Douglas DC-3s to Boeing377s, and was also a refuelling stop for Canadian Pacific AirLines. Anchorage was a common stopover for passengers flying to East Asiauntil the late 1980s because airspace in China, Soviet Union andEastern Bloc countries were off-limits and because the firstgeneration of jets and widebody airliners did not have the range tofly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean. Anchorage is the second scenery from Aerosoft I have reviewed (theother beingPullman-Moscow Regional Airport),and I have to say, I was very excited to see what they had managed tocreate. /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage02.jpg /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage03.jpgThis scenery was originally created for X-Plane 10, but even thoughit's an older scenery, it still features the following: Complete scenery of Anchorage Ted Stevens Airport including all facilities and buildings (International Terminal, National Terminal, cargo areas, maintenance areas, Kulis Air National Guard Base, South Airpark...)Photorealistic ground textures based on aerial imagery (15 cm/pixel)Detailed rendition of Lake Hood (LHD), the world's largest seaplane base including lots of static aircraftLanding strip Z41Complete taxiway and runway signsStunning X-Plane 10 night effectsOptimized for good frame rateComprehensive manual in German and EnglishLIDO chartsThe minimum system requirements are: X-Plane 10/11Windows XP (SP3)/Vista/7/8, Mac, Linux2.6 GHz Dual Core 2 Processor2 GB RAMGraphics card with at least 512 MB (1024 MB recommended) /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage06.jpg /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage07.jpg /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage08.jpg /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage09.jpg First LookFor the sake of this review, all three packages included in thescenery download link will be reviewed as a whole. Compared to some more recent releases from Aerosoft, it's clearthat this scenery is starting to show its age in some areas; mainly inregards to the clarity of certain textures. Even with my graphicalsettings set to maximum, I still found them to be not as sharp asothers I have observed of late. This is most noticeable when observing the groundtextures. However, while they did lack a bit of detail, they stillmanaged to look good. Moving on to the 3D buildings, I enjoyed the fact that each one ofthem was a custom model and reflected its real life counterpartreasonably well. Again though, I noticed that the textures used werenot HD, and so when viewed up close, they did exhibit a degree ofblurriness. When you consider that this scenery was originallyreleased back in 2013 (on less powerful computers that today), you canallow for a bit of leeway. /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage10.jpg /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage11.jpg /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage12.jpg /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage13.jpgIf I had to compare them with another scenery, I would say the bestcomparison is to the building textures of the default KSEA, which isshipped with X-Plane. Looking past the main airfield complex, I saw the vegetation usedby the developers wasn't as pronounced as what I would have expectedit to be. I have a feeling that in the real location (judging byimages I have seen), that it is a lot more overgrown. I would haveappreciated it, if the developers had spent a little more timedeveloping the surrounding vegetation. Overall: 7.5/10. Terrain MeshHaving explored the scenery with both 'Runways follow contours' ONand OFF (ON being advised by the developers in the manual), I noticedthat there were a few noticeable mesh issues. Even though I usedefault scenery (mesh included), I noticed a few dramatic elevationissues around Lake Hood. For the most part though, the scenery workswell with the surrounding default terrain and no conflicts between theterrain and objects were observed. Overall 7/10. /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage14.jpg /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage15.jpgGround TexturesDuring my time exploring the scenery, I spent a lot of time lookingat the ground textures in and around the airport. As mentioned inAerosoft's own description, they are 15 cm orthophotos, coupled withsemi-translucent taxiways so as to provide greater detail. My overallopinion of this particular area of the scenery is that for 2013, whenAerosoft first released it, they were fantastic. However, time doesnot stand still, so looking at the textures today, they come across asgood, rather than exceptional. The taxilines used in the scenery are from the default X-Planelibrary, so I would recommend installing a third party replacement inwhich to make the default lines look better. By doing just this simpleupgrade, you will drastically make the ground textures look better. One particular feature of the taxiways I really enjoyed, was thefact that you could still see small ground details underneath (due tothe taxiways being semi-translucent). This made the textures here lookhighly realistic and also unique. Overall 7.5/10. /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage18.jpg /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage19.jpg Modelling QualityThe details surrounding the primary cargo hub, plus the mainpassenger terminal are what you would expect from an olderscenery. They are very faithful to their real life counterparts, butlack the HD textures seen in more recent releases. From afar, thebuildings really do look amazing, but as you get nearer, you can seewhere the textures start to lose some of their clarity. When it comes to the 3D modelling of the buildings, I think it'sfair to say that they are functional, rather than modelled in extremedetail. In other words, they are basic, but still faithfully mirrorwhat is there in real life. To be honest, I am more than happy withthe results (good frame rates), but would perhaps appreciate it if thedevelopers could put a little bit more time into the development ofthe objects. Overall: 7.5/10. Night AmbienceThe night lighting exhibited at Aerosoft's Anchorage scenery, isnothing short of fantastic! Flying into the scenery is simply amazing,and goes to show you just how good X-Plane is in thisdepartment. Every ramp is lit up, as are most of the buildings andtaxi signs, and when used with X-Plane's wonderful HDR rendering, theresults are phenomenal. Considering the age of this scenery, the nightambience stacks up to the most modern of scenery development. Overall:9/10. /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage16.jpg /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage17.jpg /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage20.jpg /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage21.jpgAdditional BuildingsIn addition to the main scenery element of PANC, Aerosoft have alsoincluded the much smaller Lake Hood (both water strips and the worldrenowned gravel GA strip). Having explored Lake Hood on my tour, I wasvery happy to see that both of these extra locations were modelled atthe same quality. Flying in and out of this GA port is a lot of fun,but I was disappointed to see that no urban development from the cityof Anchorage had been included. Overall 8/10. Pros:Very faithful reproduction of Lake Hood and PANCMany aspects reflect that of the real world with great accuracyNight lighting is amazingAccurate static aircraftUnique ground texturesFPS friendlyCons:Low texture resolution in certain areasMinor mesh problems (running default X-Plane mesh)Lack of vegetation in some areas /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage04.jpg /images/reviews/aeropanc/t/Aerosoft-Anchorage05.jpgConclusionHaving explored the scenery thoroughly, I would seriously recommendpurchasing this scenery package. Even with it being over five yearsold, it is still a smart buy. One of the great things about it being an older package, is that itruns great on both low and high end systems. When you consider thatmost frame rate hits occur when either arriving at, or departing froman airport, this is a considerable plus. If you're a GA pilot, love bush flying, or simply enjoy flying highin the big commercial jets of today, Anchorage from Aerosoft is anairport which I feel you should consider purchasing. Overall:7.75/10. /images/reviews/aeropanc/ASD-002-airport-anchorage.jpgPatrick Putlend Purchase Aerosoft - Airport Anchorage for X-Plane
