Orbx has recently released their rendition of Rockhampton Airport (YBRK) for Microsoft Flight Simulator, a major Australian regional airport serving the city of Rockhampton. It’s the 17th busiest airport in the country, with a yearly average of 634,913 passengers (as of 2014-2015).

The airport opened in March 1930 as Rockhampton Aero Club flying field after many years of collective effort to find a suitable site in the city to build an aerodrome. It was built on top of a former racecourse, Connor Park, acquired by some aspiring aviators and adapted for airplanes. The first passenger aircraft to touch Rockhampton’s runway was a Fokker monoplane during the opening ceremony. 

Between 1938 and 2021, Rockhampton Airport hosted a meteorological office providing proper weather observation for airplanes and general purposes. It was closed two years ago after generating a lot of discussion between the locals.

The airport saw its first upgrades during World War 2, with its total land size doubling, and a new 1,250-yard bitumen runway was built to reduce the dust being stirred up by the propellers and causing discomfort to passengers and interfering with the meteorological station. The Australian Royal Air Force moved in shortly after, establishing an Aeradio station that survived until 1992. 

Due to its proximity to the Fitzroy River, the airport is prone to closures when the river floods, which caused it to close many times over in 1954, 1991, 2011, and 2017, which eventually prompted a proposal to relocate the airport. 

Rockhampton was redeveloped in 2008 at the cost of 8 million Australian dollars, which included a complete renovation of the terminal, removing an old viewing deck, a new café/restaurant, relocation of offices and check-in counters, and a customs screening point for international flights, along with new air conditioning equipment and improved lighting. 

Recently, the airport saw a new upgrade, with a 41 million dollar refurbishment that included new body scanners and body screening equipment, private airline lounges, a FIFO hub, additional retail and hospitality businesses, and a slight update on existing amenities. Work progressed further than expected because it coincided with the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

It’s currently served by four airlines: Bonza (Sunshine Coast, Townsville), QantasLink (Brisbane, Cairns, Mackay, Townsville), Skytrans Airlines (Cairns and Proserpine), and Virgin Australia (Brisbane).

The scenery features a detailed rendition of Rockhampton Airport with ultra-high-resolution textures, custom groundpoly, taxiway lighting, military and GA static aircraft, interior terminal modeling of the departure area, terraformed runways, drainage channels, taxiways, and aprons, and crisp 15cm aerial imagery.

It’s available on OrbxDirect for roughly $16.39, requiring at least 1.17 GB of free hard disk space to install.

Stay tuned to Threshold for more flight simulation news!

‍