About This File
AUCKLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT v1.6 by kiwi_the_iwik
A while ago I started a topic on the .org site, aimed at bringing the community together to bring more realism to New Zealand.
For more information, go to the post found here: http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/forums/topic/106246-new-zealand-scenery/ and please show your support and encouragement where you can.
This is my contribution to the project - my first ever scenery package!
Donations are always welcome and hugely appreciated. Just click on the link below if it's something you'd like to do (and it might even convince my family that it was worthwhile spending literally months on this project - especially if it means that I can take them out for a meal as a “thank-you” from you all...)
HAERE MAI - WELCOME TO AUCKLAND!
The fourth busiest airport in Australasia (behind Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) and the largest in New Zealand, Auckland International Airport has the capacity to handle 45 flights per hour (International, Domestic, Cargo and Charter) on its single runway. It is also one of only two airports in the country able to accommodate either the Boeing 747 or Airbus A380. There are plans for greater expansion and capacity by building a second runway to the north of the International Terminal (to be completed @ 2020).
Auckland is a vibrant, cosmopolitan city straddling two natural harbours: The Waitemata (with the South Pacific Ocean to the east); and the Manukau (the Tasman Sea to the west) - with it’s narrowest land bridge between the two less than 1 mile across. The city has no less than 63 dormant volcanoes, with the most prominent being Rangitoto Island - just 2 miles off the east coast of Auckland. It’s also known as the “City of Sails” due to the majority of its population owning a boat and spending the weekend on the water.
Background:
For many years to fulfill my need to fly around my hometown, I’d used XPJets’ excellent Greater Auckland scenery (created by Reuben Horsley and Dhruv Kalra over a decade ago) and lately, the newer conversions that some members of the community had adapted to work with XP8-10.
Compared to other airports that were being released for X-Plane, Auckland needed a bit of modernisation. I therefore set about the task to update the International Terminal, as I thought that I could never tackle a complete package build. But before I knew it, what had initially started out as a small adaptation to a few buildings ended up turning into a major refurbish of the entire airport!
New Zealand has some fantastic HD mesh (thanks to alpilotx) and some amazing locations to visit. Antwob has already set about using his World2XPlane code to create a seamless OSM landscape (codenamed - NZ Ultimate), and some very talented developers have recently highlighted Australasia and the South Pacific by creating a number of excellent airports as well - making the region a great place to fly and explore.
Package Features:
- X-Plane 11 Compliant
- Updated apt.dat file
-
Accurately placed bespoke buildings, including:
- International Terminal and AutoGates
- New A380 Terminal
- Domestic Terminal with distinctive lighting towers
- Control Tower
- Novotel Hotel
- Lit Closed Runway signs
- Hovercraft and Rescue area
- DHL Cargo Facility
- ANZ Cargo
- ANZ Engineering Services
- Fire Training Facility
- Populated Car Parks
- Latest ArcGIS Orthophotos
- Gates and Fencelines
- Spill Lighting (HDR Required)
- Exclusion zones laid out for objects, facades, forests and roads
Installation:
Expand the downloaded package and drop it into your Custom Scenery folder in X-Plane. Be sure to set the order of the package in your Scenery.ini file to be above any mesh, Ortho or OSM files - and ESPECIALLY above the Global Airports folder!
Performance/Enhancements:
- Please turn HDR lighting ON for the best experience, as there are many spill lighting effects to enhance the airport and its environs.
- Don’t forget to set roads to High for realism!
- The scenery is designed to work alongside alpilotX’s HD Mesh, and photoscenery generated with Oscar Pilote’s incredible Ortho4XP.
This package is over 205MB uncompressed in size, and although I’ve tried to lower the poly count as much as feasibly possible, low-end machines may encounter lower frame-rates. I’ve tested this on my MacBook Pro 2.5 i7, and get between 20-50fps using the stock 1.5GB Intel Iris chip, and up to 60+fps using the 2GB Radeon card (HDR=on/FXAA x2/Texture=Extreme/Trees=Populated/Runway Detail=Extreme/Roads=Extreme/Objects=Extreme/Shadows=Low/Water Reflection=Low/Viewing Distance=Medium).
Required Libraries:
To get the most of this scenery, please be sure these libraries are in your Custom Scenery folder.
- OpenSceneryX http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/2226-opensceneryx/
- BS2001 Object Library http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/28045-bs2001-object-library/
- ruscenery http://ruscenery.x-air.ru
- CDB-Library http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/27907-cdb-library/
- MisterX Library http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/28167-misterx-library-and-static-aircraft-extension/
- Handy Objects Library http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/24261-the-handy-objects-library/
- Marginal’s AutoGate http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/5038-autogate-plugin/
- Flags of the World http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/17090-flags-of-the-world-real-flag-ii/
- FF Library extended LOD http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/12836-ff-library-extended-lod-version/
- RE Library http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/24722-re_library-airport-buildings-and-related-objects/
- World Models Master Library http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/files/file/32135-world-models-library/
Acknowledgements:
- I’m grateful to Reuben and Dhruv for the many years of enjoyment from their scenery, and for their permission to use some of their structures and to expand on them.
- Many thanks to all the developers who produced the libraries I’ve used (including Laminar Research, Cami De Bellis, MisterX6, Marginal, Scottish Wings, Chris Noe, aussi, FranknFly and all the folks at ruscenery).
- A huge thanks also goes to Alek (ar1001), who provided the original Domestic Terminal, closed runway signs, Car Park and amazing Novotel for me to tweak and add to this work - as well as his encouragement and valuable input throughout.
The biggest thank you though goes to Antwob:
Tony - you kept me sane during this process (although I’d imagine that I drove you mad with my incessant questions and constant pestering), and kept me on-track with your guidance, patience and support. You’re an extremely talented man who has given so freely and so inspirationally to the community, and especially to me. So, once more - thank you so much!
Happy flying, everyone!
Aaron.
PS - I should also take this opportunity to thank my lovely wife as well. She’s patiently sat there whilst I buried my head in my laptop night-after-night, engrossed in this project. No doubt I’ll be taking her out to dinner to make up for this…
What's New in Version 1.6 See changelog
Released
- Supplied XP10 and XP11 versions
- Added various objects (i.e. big New Zealand flag!)
- Texture repairs
- height adjustments to some objects
- Ground Service Vehicles added (XP11 only)
