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Review: Orbx - EGCB Manchester City Airport and HeliportBy Stuart McGregor /images/reviews/barton/t/screenshot__2188_.jpgManchester...industrial powerhouse ofthe northwest of England and home to some half a million people,including the world famous City and United football teams, acclaimedbands such as Oasis and the Stone Roses, and wait for it...EGCBManchester City Airport and Heliport (Barton) from Orbx SimulationStudios! Barton is the second X-Plane 11 release from the Orbx teamand their first for the UK on the X-Plane platform. The airfield itself is located just west of the city and was theUK's first purpose built municipal airport in 1928; with the firstchartered passenger flights a couple of years later in 1930. It isquite unique, in that it has four grass runways as well as a heliportsupporting the local police and ambulance services; so as long as youare not hell bent on landing a 747 there, Barton has something tooffer a large selection of the sim community. /images/reviews/barton/t/screenshot__2186_.jpg /images/reviews/barton/t/screenshot__2189_.jpgPurchase, Download, Documentation And InstallationWith all Orbx sceneries you will need an account to be able topurchase their products, but it really is a two-minute job to set upif you already do not have one. Once set up, being a Windows user, Iwas able to use their FTX Central installer to download and installthe scenery. At this time, this is only for Windows, so myunderstanding is if you are on other platforms such as Linux or MacOS,for now, you will have to manually download and install the scenery,but that is really no different to the majority of other sceneries outthere. The whole download is quoted as being about 0.9 GB in size, so itwill take a little while to download, however when it is all done, youwill end up with 2 folders in your Custom Scenery folder. These arean overlay folder with buildings, vegetation, facades, etc., and themain airport scenery folder. This was my second experience of usingthe Orbx site, and in my opinion the provided installer really doesmake the whole installation process extremely easy. I do advise youcheck your scenery_packs.ini file once complete, just to ensureeverything is in the right order, as I found that when I started thesim, I had double objects in many places due to Global Scenery objectsbeing higher in the load list that the new scenery. A quick bit ofediting in the scenery_packs.ini file and all was fixed. /images/reviews/barton/t/screenshot__2190_.jpg /images/reviews/barton/t/screenshot__2191_.jpgFTX Central will also give you access to the User Guide and a meansof uninstalling the scenery if you so wish. The User Guide can alsobe found within the main scenery folder if you don't want to run thetool every time, which is handy. The user guide, although quite short, is well presented andprovides basic information on installation, graphical areas covered bythe scenery, where to get tech help if required, acknowledgements,license information etc., and I found the whole thingself-explanatory. Oh, and did I mention that the scenery pack retailsat just over US $25, or AUS $32.95. System PerformanceThis assessment of Barton was used with X-Plane 11.20b5 and thedefault Cessna 172. My current system consists of an Intel i7 5820K3.3 GHz CPU (overclocked to 4.0 GHz), GTX1080Ti 11 GB GPU and 32 GB ofKingston RAM at its core. My system settings are typically at thehigh end of the range with objects on max, HDR on, although shadowswere switched off. I also use SkymaxxPro, and this was on throughout,with a couple of layers of clouds and midday to late afternoontimeframe. /images/reviews/barton/t/screenshot__2192_.jpg /images/reviews/barton/t/screenshot__2187_.jpgThroughout the series of test flights, I was getting goodframe rates, generally in the high 20's to mid-30's range when taxiingaround the airfield, and the even better news was that when flyingover Manchester itself, my frame rate didn't actually take too much ofa hit, only dropping down to mid to high 20's, which was fabulous. Look And FeelOne thing that is clear right from the start, is the amazingattention to detail on show. The supporting documentation provides aninsight into the hours of research that have gone into creatingBarton, however it is only when you immerse yourself in the landscapethat you can get a feel for this. The development team's passion forcreating the remarkable is evident in every signpost, building, apronsurface and nook and cranny around the airfield. The quality of thetextures is truly excellent, and the level of detail offered,terrific. /images/reviews/barton/t/screenshot__2196_.jpg /images/reviews/barton/t/screenshot__2197_.jpgOne thing that appears to be a feature of Orbx's work, isthe fact they like to include features not just from the airfield, butalso from the surrounding area. This all adds to the overall realismand end user experience. In Barton's case, look out for the nearby AJBell Stadium and massive storage depot, and of course a little fartheraway, the famous home of the 'The Red Devils', Old Trafford. I justhope you are not a City fan... but if you are, now they are Championsof England again, maybe the Orbx team could be persuaded for an updatein v2... If things couldn't get any better, I absolutely loved the use ofOrbx's own autogen UK style houses and buildings. This is one thingthat slightly takes the edge off X-Plane in general for me,particularly as I do pretty much all my flying around the BritishIsles, so to be able to look down and see houses that I am familiarwith, really made my day. Hopefully one day this will be a featurethat Laminar Research introduces across its global portfolio, but inthe meantime, for this small corner of England, it really felt likehome. /images/reviews/barton/t/screenshot__2198_.jpg /images/reviews/barton/t/screenshot__2199_.jpgThere is no question that attention to detail is literallyeverywhere in Barton, so if you do decide to purchase the scenerypackage, I highly recommend taking some time to explore it at groundlevel before you set off skyward. I am a bit of a details junkie whenit comes to scenery and Barton therefore ticks many of my preferenceboxes. Although the view from 1000 feet is no less spectacular, you willmost likely miss what I believe are some of the scenery's bestfeatures, so I suggest you take your time to enjoy the details. Someof these include the fabulous control tower, fuelling areas,buildings, hangars, etc. During my tests one of the most pleasing things I found waspeople, ye ha! However, these may not be to all tastes, but is afeature I appreciate. In addition, there are oodles of wonderfullytextured buildings (derelict and in use), cars, aircraft of variousshapes and sizes, flora and fauna, signs, fences, lights and generalclutter...I really could go on and on. There are numerous startinglocations dotted around the airfield, so you'll never get bored, andfor those who enjoy the World Traffic add-on, I was able to createflights and ground routes with no issue. I also witnessed a number ofaircraft popping up at various parking spots awaiting departure, so Inever felt alone at any point. /images/reviews/barton/t/screenshot__2201_.jpg /images/reviews/barton/t/screenshot__2202_.jpgI think it is also safe to say, that these days there is a growingtrend in the use of orthophotos. Some people love them, others not somuch, however when used well, the effect can be stunning. As more andmore developers jump on the bandwagon to enhance their scenerypackages, I believe that the end user experience can only get betterand better. The Orbx team is clearly one of the groups leading thecharge, and Barton is a great example of how to get the best of mixingboth real and virtual elements. The way the Orbx team has seamlesslymerged the two worlds to provide a product that really shows off thepower of X-Plane 11, is a real testament to their technical andartistic skills. As I eluded to earlier, the majority of my tests were carried outduring daylight hours, just so I could see what I was looking at.However, I did stay late one evening and put in some overtime when thesun had gone down. Although the majority of the airfield is incomplete darkness after hours (as I imagine it would be in real life),parts of the airfield are beautifully illuminated. For example, thecontrol tower and heliport remain beacons in the darkness, which to behonest was quite reassuring. The warm glow of the building lights, incombination with the surrounding city and illuminated heavy traffic onthe adjacent M60 and M62 motorways, really brings to life one of thegreat features of X-Plane, nighttime lighting! I therefore really dobelieve that no matter what time of day you decide to fly in or out ofBarton, your experience will be a truly gratifying one. /images/reviews/barton/t/screenshot__2203_.jpg /images/reviews/barton/t/screenshot__2204_.jpgFinal ThoughtsAlthough I have never been to Barton in the real world, based onthe information I have been able to find through publicly availablephotographs, the comparison between this virtual rendition of Bartonand the real thing is truly remarkable in my opinion. When writing reviews, I do make a genuine effort to give creditwhere credit is due, as well as offering my thoughts and observationswhere I think things could perhaps be improved. In this case, man, Iwas truly stumped, and pretty much found Barton to be flawless inevery way. Even the flags were animated, which is a nice touch andnot always the case from my limited experience of Orbx sceneries. Soreally all I can say is hats off to the Orbx team for their fabulouswork, they really have created a scenery befitting of this famouscorner of the UK. /images/reviews/barton/t/screenshot__2193_.jpgSo, should you buy it? Honestly, if you are looking for a GA orrotary-wing based scenery in this part of the world, or you are justlooking for something that really shows off what X-Plane 11 and a topend scenery developer such as Orbx is all about, then you should giveBarton some very serious consideration. The competitive pricing andthe overall quality of the product makes EGCB Manchester City Airportand Heliport (Barton) 'a keeper' in my book! I really can't wait tosee what they release next... /images/reviews/barton/orbx-egcb.jpgStuart McGregor Purchase Orbx - EGCB Manchester City Airport and Heliport (Barton) for X-Plane 11
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/images/notams/notams18/orbx0419/orbx0419.jpgOrbx is pleased to announce its first original X-Plane release EGCBManchester City Airport and Heliport (Barton)! EGCB has been created in painstaking detail for X-Plane 11 with theutmost attention to detail and accuracy based on hundreds of photosand several on-site visits to the airport. The airfield is depicted asit was in late 2017 and includes a large area of photoreal imagery andour new autogen technology being developed for X-Plane. ManchesterCity Airport and Heliport (also known as Barton Aerodrome) is situatedjust 5NM from Manchester city centre and is a busy and popularairfield for GA traffic visiting the area. We welcome Tony to the Orbx family and look forward to excitingthings in X-Plane! /images/notams/notams18/orbx0419/egcb-1.jpgKey FeaturesLarge 30 km2 photoreal area aroundHigh resolution, hand drawn ground texturesAccurate buildings, static aircraft and signageFeatures UK autogenMany surrounding POIsOptimised for silky smooth performanceIncredible landside and airside detailBy Tony Wroblewski. /images/notams/notams18/orbx0419/egcb-2.jpgTo celebrate, we are also pleased to host some of Tony's previousfreeware releases: L52A Oceano County AirportENHA Hamar StafsbergENOV Orsta-Volda AirportBUY BARTON NOW FOR XP11!
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/images/notams/notams18/orbx0404.jpgWhilst we are very excited to bring you Orbx EU NetherlandsTrueEarth for FSX/P3D in April, we are also hard at work on many otherTrueEarth regions for FSX/P3D, AFS2 and X-Plane 11. This teaser trailer shows EGCB Barton Manchester Airport fullyintegrated into Orbx EU England TrueEarth, the first of our UK+IrelandTrueEarth series for X-Plane. When our company decided to commit to the X-Plane platform, wemeant business. EGCB is the first Orbx product we are releasing firstfor X-Plane. Expect dozens more X-Plane 11 products from us in 2018and even more in 2019! We commissioned renowned video producer Thomas Rasmussen to createthis teaser trailer, and I hope you enjoy it! Source
