Custom sceneries

[Ricardo Rementer�­a Tron]

[Ricardo Rementer�­a Tron]

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These are my steps in the process of making a new scenery airport:

 

1. I choose a real active airport. It doesn’t matter if it is “large”, “small” or an “airstrip”, or if it has one or more runways, or it has many or none buildings.

 

2. I look for so much possible information about the real airport, in the official airport databases, photos, I use the maps of Google and Bing, I use Google Earth and I collect the information from the national aeronautic authority (for example, in Chile I use IFIS, Internet Flight Information Service, also known as AIP). The most used airport databases are those of World Aero Data, Our Airports, Great Circle Mapper, Airport Nav Finder, The Airport Guide, SkyVector, Landings.com and Airport Calculator. There are always interesting facts in the history of the area of the scenery. I put this information with URL’s. I make the first docomeent for the scenery, the “ReadMe.txt” with the most important information. This docomeent will be the basis for making the scenery.

My idea is: I am not so young anymore. This information can be used in the future by other people to continue this work.

I know the most “developers” and “designers” do not do that. Maybe because they want to “protect” their work…

My work can be used and continued by everyone, it’s free and always available.

 

3. I make the airport using World Editor (WED). I make the runway(s), apron(s) and the taxiways using the maps of Google Earth and Bing, and according to the data from the airports databases. I add the radio frequencies for the ATC, the windsock(s), the airport boundary, the airport beacon and the tower viewpoint.

 

4. I check if another people has built this airport for FS9 or FSX. If so, I convert the old scenery with FS2XPlane and I take a look at the buildings and objects used there.

If there are nice buildings and/or objects like in the photos of the real airport I’ve found, I contact the author and I ask his/her authorisation to use those buildings and/or objects. You see, I do not make 3D buildings or objects, I just want to make an operational airport for X-Plane.

 

5. I look for hangars, towers, fuel stations, gates and other buildings and objects in the libraries of X-Plane, to use them if needed. Otherwise, I look at the libraries of OpenSceneryX or I search in my own collection of stand alone objects. Anyway, I always try to make a scenery without elements extern to X-Plane. I think the best scenery is one that ONLY needs the standard X-Plane, without other libraries, plugins or objects. I use WED and OverlayEditor to put objects in the new scenery, OverlayEditor is very handy when you want to move, rotate, etc. objects imported from FS9 or FSX converted sceneries.

 

6. I add airport flows for each runway (wind, time and runway use), and I make the ATC taxi routes needed for departures and arrivals. I define the parking places (gates, aprons, etc.) for the different types aircrafts. This information is always available, mostly from the national aeronautic authority, and I put it as URL’s in my “ReadMe.txt”.

 

7. I test the working of the airport flows and the ATC taxi routes, until everything is working “como Dios manda” (like it has to).

 

8. I add the taxi signs, the lines and lights, the navaids (ILS, VOR, NDB, etc.), and… very often… some trees (I love some green/gr[Mod - Happy Thoughts] in my sceneries).

 

9. With X-Publish I control the generated scenery and I make a zip-archive.

 

10. Finally, I publish my sceneries using a Google-map (“Chile: X-Plane 10 sceneries”). I only publish them, new sceneries and updates, there, at one location, because in the meantime I’ve made more than hundred sceneries and I do not want to update them one by one in several locations like the X-Plane.org, FlightSim.com, forums of VATSIM, IVAO, FS Argentina, X-Plane.es, FS Economy, etc., etc. I do not really need advertising. Something like this is enough.

Edited March 13, 2014 at 11:32 PM by Guest

[Svilen Vassilev]

Ricardo, that's a lot of work and dedication. Thank you for making the X-Plane world bigger and for your open and transparent approach! I'm sure many virtual pilots will gratefully use your work and discover the beauties of South America.

[Charan Kumar]

Wow, that is some serious dedication and a very methodical approach. Thanks for sharing this!!