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Review: Orbx Tacoma NarrowsBy Shawn Weigelt /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-01.jpgThe first step toward recovery isadmitting you have a problem, right? Confession time: I'm addicted toOrbx scenery. My shamelessly gushing reviews of their TrueEarth USWashington HD regional package and Darrington, Anacortes, and Israel'sFarm airports should leave no doubt that I'm a huge fan of their work.As a Washington State resident for the last decade and an avid X-Planeuser, I have been wonderfully spoiled with the opportunity to ownthese amazing scenery packages that make my adopted home state come tolife in exacting detail. Orbx's newest Washington Airport, KTIWTacoma Narrows, however, has redefined how I fly in X-Plane 11. Yousee, this is my home airport and my customary launching point fromalmost every flight I take in X-Plane 11. Those of you who have readmy airplane reviews will well know my predilection for conducting testflights from KTIW's runway. /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-02.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-03.jpgDespite its name and the fact that it services the greater Tacomaregion, KTIW is technically on the Gig Harbor side of the TacomaNarrows, the city I live in. Gig Harbor is a wonderful little city inwhich to live, and while it has grown significantly in the last twentyyears or so, it still has a small town feel despite its closeproximity to Tacoma, Washington's third most populous city. I frequent Tacoma Narrows Airport in the real world, not to fly,unfortunately, but to watch the traffic from the convenient publicobservation deck and to grab an occasional bite to eat at The Hubrestaurant with my family. I love all things General Aviation, andwith an average of 146 air operations per day (according toairnav.com), KTIW is a great place to spot airplanes from Piper Cubsto Gulfstreams. /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-04.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-05.jpgOrbx's KTIW Tacoma Narrows airport was released prior to theHoliday season, but the hectic nature of this time of year kept mefrom having much time with the product initially, despite myexcitement for it. Once the dust settled after Christmas, however, Iwas able to dive right in and get started on the review. With X-Plane 11.41 loaded up, and my current favorite airplane,Just Flight's Piper Tomahawk,ready to go, Tacoma Narrows Airport materialized on my computer screenand took my breath away. I was incredibly impressed with the screenshots I had perused prior to receiving my review copy of the file, butI was still not prepared for the visceral reaction this scenerypackage was about to give me. I believe that in order to fully,properly appreciate a custom scenery package, one must have been tothe real world place at least once. My intimate familiarity withTacoma Narrows Airport definitely worked in my favor when I firstbeheld the scenery package. The immediate sense of recognition camefrom the photo-realism and precise modeling of the building on thefield. I am not exaggerating when I tell you, dear reader that thebuildings at KTIW look perfect to my eye and are properly placed andproportionally accurate. As the primary fixed feature of any airport,the importance of accurately modeled and textured buildings shouldtake precedence when designing any custom scenery package. /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-06.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-07.jpgWith my trusty Piper Tomahawk parked on the ramp in front of TheHub restaurant, my giddy excitement got the better of me and I quicklyjabbed the "C" key on my iMac keyboard and began "hovering" over theairfield and drinking in the details in earnest. Starting frommidfield, I cruised north of the tower slightly and examined thepublic observation deck and picnic area. This was eerily well doneand immediately recognizable to me. One minor detail that the Orbxteam missed, however, is the complete lack of fencing on the westerlyside of the deck that prevents the public from just walking onto theramp. Also conspicuously missing was the car gate immediately betweenthe tower and observation/picnic area. Is this a big deal?Absolutely not. As someone who is fairly qualified to review thisproduct, however, I feel the need to be completely honest and open inmy review. I'll definitely highlight the good points, but I'll alsonot shy away from revealing areas of the product that could have beenbetter. /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-08.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-09.jpgContinuing north past the relatively newly rebuilt (in the realworld) Narrows Aviation hangar, I continued to examine the buildingswith a fine-toothed comb. Everything along my northerly route lookedamazing and I couldn't help but appreciate the impeccably texturedpavement (replete with what appeared to be seams from when the rampwas repaved in the real world) and precise lines and parking "T's"along the way. The two odd octagonal hangars looked picture perfectand are a huge improvement over the too tall, turn of the centurylooking redbrick textured monstrosities found in X-Plane 11's defaultKTIW. Eventually, through much drooling, "oh my goodness's," and, "holycow's," I made it to the gas pumps and Heli Track building, where afriend of mine actually works. Again, more impeccable modeling andexacting textures were to be found here. The fuel pump area is fullof small details and there are two helicopters (a Bell 206 and aRobinson R44) parked in front. Along the north ramp, I was impressedto find custom modeled and appropriately N-numbered light singles andbusiness jets parked on the tarmac. Some had vehicles parked nearbyand one Cessna even had a 3D modeled person posed as though he wereworking on his engine! These types of details are easily overlooked,but serve to bring a sense of life and plausibility to the scenery. /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-10.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-11.jpgContinuing north of the threshold of runway 17, I went looking forthe tunnel built under the approach lights along Stone Drive NW, but wasa little disappointed that it really wasn't modeled at all by the Orbxteam. I believe this was a bit of a missed opportunity to truly putthis scenery package over the top in terms of high fidelity, but Iunderstand also how this could've been an insurmountable obstacle anddeserving of more leniency on my part. The one consolation for mehere was that there are depressions where the openings of the tunnelwould be, and cars traveling along Stone Drive NW disappear and reappearin the appropriate places. /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-12.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-13.jpgI resumed my virtual tour of the Orbx Tacoma Narrows Airport bymoving over the runway and taxiway and really scrutinizing thepavement and grass textures, lines, and lettering on the taxiway. Thedetail of the pavement textures, as I've already touched on, is simplypristine and gives the impression that KTIW is a very well maintainedairport (as it truly is). The grass texture mesh has the appearancethat it is browning (which anyone familiar with the Pacific Northwestwill understand is part and parcel for the summer months here). The3D grass is beautifully modeled as well, but is patchy and gives theimpression that whomever is mowing the lawn has done a terrible job.To be perfectly honest, I've never really liked 3D grass at customdesigned X-Plane airports for this very reason. When I was creatingcustom scenery back in my misguided X-Plane 9 and 10 days, I initiallydabbled in 3D grass for its patchy appearance and frame rate-killingpropensity. Still, if you're going to have 3D grass at an X-Planeairport, the best looking ones I've seen come from the Orbx team. /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-14.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-15.jpgOnce satisfied with my examination of the runway, taxiway, andgrassy areas of Orbx's Tacoma Narrows Airport, I returned my attentionto the buildings and ramp area on the southern and mid point parts of thefield. Here I found more expertly constructed and textured buildingsand an airport that was alive with the lazy day-to-day routine of arelatively small American airport. The iconic blue PAVCO FlightCenter building looks amazingly realistic, as does the US Customsbuilding and The Hub. The Orbx team has also done a superb job with the modeling andproper placement of the trees surrounding the airport. The mainparking lot adjacent to The Hub is nearly picture perfect in how it islandscaped with small to medium sized deciduous trees. These are notX-Plane's default trees, but, rather, are custom modeled andappropriately heightened. All the surrounding landscape and woodedareas surrounding the property are properly placed and really enhancethe realism for the sim pilot. /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-16.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-17.jpgOnce I finally finished my virtual tour of Orbx's rendition ofKTIW, I took to the air in my Piper Tomahawk and did several takeoffsand landings as well as numerous low level over flights of the airportto see how it blended in with the surrounding TrueEarth US WashingtonHD scenery that was already installed on my machine. I wasexceedingly pleased to find that everything on the ground appearedabsolutely seamless and I could not tell where the TrueEarth sceneryended and KTIW began. I tested KTIW during both the daytime and at night and I wassurprised with how much I loved touring the airport at night. Thelighting from the overhead lamps on hangars and the backlit AVFUELsign looked incredibly realistic, and I loved that several of thewindowed buildings lit up at night. Unlit areas of the airport areominously cast in shadow and are only illuminated with the lights froman aircraft. /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-18.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-19.jpgFlying in and around Orbx's KTIW Tacoma Narrows Airport reveals itsbiggest flaw (if it can be called that): it is very demanding on thegraphical resources, especially with how I have my rendering settingsconfigured on my modest iMac. I found that by reducing some of thesesettings and decreasing the atmospheric visibility, I was able toincrease my frame rates some, but they were still relatively low.Sure, some of this comes from testing the package with a high fidelityaircraft, but overall, the impression that such gorgeous lookingscenery comes at a cost was not lost on me. /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-20.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-21.jpgIn conclusion, Orbx's KTIW Tacoma Narrows Airport is anotherabsolutely beautiful and incredibly realistic custom scenery packagecreated by true masters of their craft. The details are all here inspades and bring a very enjoyable element of plausibility to analready excellent corner of the world in which to fly in X-Plane 11.If I'm completely honest with myself, this is the scenery package thatI have been waiting for since I started flying in X-Plane about nineyears ago. Attractively priced at $24.25 over at the Orbx web site, Ibelieve that this scenery is easily worth every penny and not justbecause of my own personal experience with the real world airport. Ifanything, you should take my experience as a true testament to thedegree of accuracy the Orbx team dedicates to their products. Theyabsolutely nailed it with Tacoma Narrows! Don't hesitate, thisscenery package is money well spent as long as your machine can handlethe graphical demands inherent with a picture perfect scenery package.You will love it! I just can't guarantee you won't become an Orbxscenery addict like I have! /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-22.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-23.jpgShawn Weigelt Purchase Orbx - KTIW Tacoma Narrow /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-24.jpg /images/reviews/orbxktiw/t/orbx-tacoma-narrows-25.jpg

/images/notams/notams19/orbx1203/tacoma-1.jpgThe City of Destiny awaits - KTIW Tacoma Narrows for P3Dv4 / XP11. This is the exciting debut airport from our new UK in-house team ofyoung developers, with many of them recent graduates from variousuniversities in Great Britain and Europe. Be sure to check out theimpressively designed 3D modelling for FBOs including the narrowsAviation Air Centre and Pavco Flight Center. Tacoma Narrows Airport is a great product for those that appreciatethe finer details. /images/notams/notams19/orbx1203/tacoma-2.jpg /images/notams/notams19/orbx1203/tacoma-3.jpg /images/notams/notams19/orbx1203/tacoma-4.jpg /images/notams/notams19/orbx1203/tacoma-5.jpgPurchase Tacoma Narrows Facebook Source Forum Announcement