Intro
The third in my mini-series of reviews of Orbx System's sceneries is
YCNK Cessnock Airport. To a "Pommie" like myself,
the name Cessnock
didn't ring any bells so I wondered what could be so special
about this place? It didn't take much investigation
both on the net and by looking at the airfield signs that
Cessnock is the gateway to the Hunter Valley, now you are
talking my language! Vineyards, loads of them in the
oldest wine-growing region in Australia.
For seasoned FTX users, you probably know that this airport
falls within the AU Gold region of the subtropical east. It is
quite close to 2 other FTX airports, YWVA Warnervale and YPEC
Aeropelican, all within 30 minutes of Cessnock in GA aircraft so
you can really get immersed in this scenery from the beginning
to the end of your flight.
The scenery includes 120sq km 60cm photo-real textures that
seamlessly blends in with the AU Gold region pack. This
includes the township of Cessnock to the south. If you roll your
mouse over the picture below you can see the effect these
textures have.
Airport history
Cessnock airport (Elev 211ft - 64m) was built out of necessity
by the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942 as part of a network
of aerodromes throughout New South Wales. Then being known as
RAAF station Pokolbin, it originally had 2 x 5000ft (1500m),
160ft (49m) wide,
parallel runways but now only one remains, 17/35, which is
officially listed as 3600 x 60ft (1097 x 18 meters).
There are no precision approach facilities here so a true GA
airfield, of course GPS will direct you here but you have to
line her up and land!
The airport is a popular flight training centre being home to
the Hunter Valley Aviation training school, so expect a lot of
circuit work and touch and goes happening even if it isn't liked
by the locals! Other notable local aviation activity
are ultra-light,
helicopter and hot air balloon scenery flights.
So we are looking at a true busy rural airfield at the centre of
the community.
The Orbx touch
I have grown accustomed to the quality and attention to detail
from Orbx, there always appears to be an innovation in every
release so let look at the advertised features.
FTX AU YCNK
Cessnock was the first SP3 certified airfield which means you
are going to get better ground textures thanks to the
FTX Aero tool
(Detail bump mapping, Runway 18 textures taxiway markings and
Texture_Max_Load tool).
Also, sound enhancements, HD quality
textures on airfield buildings and 15cm textures within the
airfield boundaries.
Like other SP3 airfields the Control Panel is included
where you can adjust the complexity settings whilst seeing any
FPS cost. For more details on both the Aero tool and
control panel have a peek at my
Tamworth review.
Delivery & Installation
My copy came from the
flightSim Store
by download, FSS remain
the biggest distributor of this product. FSS also offer
the airport on a
DVD for those that prefer a hard copy.
As with all detailed simulations this scenery will demand a
chunk of your HD but the download is quite modest by current day
standards, only weighing in at only 508Mb. This will result in a
disc cost of about the same amount.
Be aware that this product requires Microsoft .NET Framework
v2.0 to be installed. A lot of people assume that if they
have 3.5 installed that will do but this is not the case. If you
do not have v2.0 installed then it can be obtained from
Microsoft
The included "Readme" advises "it is
included on this disk in the dotnet folder" Not the case, I
could not find it but had it already installed (You probably
have too).
Once installed and after a quick test flight, it is always
advisable to check you have your display options set for optimum
performance by checking out suggestions in the manual. The
manual will explain quite clearly the best combination of
display settings as well as introducing the sound options along
with a map of where the hotspots are. As
ever it is not a one for all solution so you may have to do some
experimentation.
The level of detail will depend on your willingness to tweak the settings but it's well worth it. | |
Click image for full size view |
Click image for full size view |
The airport and
its environs.
There are two main airport scenery areas either side of the
runway, by car they would be accessed by different roads but by
air the taxiways connect the two. The main airport terminal area is accessed off the main
road. There are some nicely detailed signs for both the
airport and its facilities. In the background you can hear the
traffic passing by, this is thanks to a new innovation in FTX
airfields of sound hot-spots where various audio samples are
scattered around the airfield so you will hear things like a
Kookaburra in the trees or a Cessna starting up on the apron.
Passing a large cafe and information centre you arrive at the
apron, here, there is another sound hotspot of cars parking. You
are surrounded by HD imagery, including the ground textures if
you have set them up in Aero. These are very noticeable in
the signs on the apron fence and the Balloon Aloft lorry. Once onto the apron
you get industrial manufacturing noises from the nicely modelled warehouse on
the left.
Walking past the low-key terminal on the right you pass what
looks to be semi-residential buildings on the other side of the
fence and an aviation company based in surroundings you would
want to work in! In front or the building and the low barbed-wire fence is the main parking area for Hunter Valley
Aviation. Further on is the fuel farm and a very nicely
detailed, animated windsock which has a brother at the
other end of the airfield.
Passing across the threshold of runway 17 to the hangars on the other side
of the airfield the taxiway here
is reminiscent of an old runway, so it is possible it could be
that other WWII parallel runway but I am only guessing.
More bird noises here and who is he "laughing" at!
There is a large tarmac apron home to a few hangars and what
looks almost to be an aero club with a ranch fence and
transmitter on top of the building. Scattered around there are some static
aircraft with at least one without its wings. Further
along are 8 more hangars accessed by a grass taxiway.
At the northernmost end of the taxiway is an industrial area
with a couple of maintenance hangars and vintage aviation
business. Most of the taxiway borders and grassed areas have the
Orbx "trademark" 3D wild grass adding that extra dimension at
ground level.
On the western side beyond the fence are grape vines introducing the
winery theme nicely. Nearby are many bespoke modelled trees and
in the distance a high mountainous region just outside the
boundary of this scenery. Floating in the near and far
distance are balloons, these are static so be careful at night.
Is it real or is it FTX? | |
Click image for full size view |
Click image for full size view |
From here on in we take to the air. Be
aware of those balloons, once you have a fix on them you will be
OK as they do not drift, there is one close by but it will not
affect your approach or take off from the field. There are
pretty specific rules about where you can go, there is noise
abatement procedures in place as well.
The runway runs roughly north / south. Centreline, edge and
threshold lighting is about all you get with an airfield of this
class, the runway texture is suitably worn looking taking
advantage of the bump-mapping if enabled.
To the south I passed a superbly detailed golf course with many
lakes, distinctive grey/white
buildings and inter-joining roads, it looks like a nice
place to visit. Carrying on the extended runway course I came across the many wine houses and their vineyards.
There are some very distinctive shaped buildings which, if you
check with Google Earth actually exists in those locations.
In fact this is not an unfair comparison, you will be blown away
by how accurate it is (With a little artistic licence!) The
specifications state that every tree and house plus rivers are
annotated.
The detailing of the roads, lamp posts and buildings is just
phenomenal. From high up you can see a patchwork of green, gold
and subtle red colours reaching into the distance so there's no
mistake what this region is famous for. The airfield with it's
adjoining vineyard is quite well camouflaged from the air so is
not that easy to find unless you know the area have a GPS or
good radio nav skills.
So after flying over the vineyards and ranches we turn north
towards the township of Cessnock. There are hundreds if
not thousands of small domestic households with multi-coloured
roofs that emanate from the town centre. The roads and
roundabouts (Circles) can be clearly seen from the air.
The main road is lined with familiar and famous named traders
and detail such as graffiti can be seen on the rear of the
premises. Also included are the big warehouse type retail
outlets and a showground.
Apron detail |
Terminal area |
GA hangars and businesses |
Down-town Cessnock |
Beautiful vineyards everywhere |
Sun up over Cessnock |
The township is quite near the southern
boundary of the airport pack but luckily for me AU Gold takes
over to well past the horizon! There are many more vistas
to discover, every time you go flying you notice something new.
Night lighting
In the rural areas, 3D points of light emanate
from remote households and vineyards. Some settlements,
where a collection of buildings form a pattern of light, come in
useful for navigation and familiarisation. The street lights are less common
until you reach the main urban areas were you would expect to
see them and you
won't be disappointed. Most main roads are lined with
street lamps. The showground has a bright white oval shaped ring of
lights which makes a great point of reference from the distance.
You can see the affect of the night lighting by rolling your
mouse over the image below.
Cutting corners a bit here but the same rules apply here as it does with the Tamworth scenery. Take note of the hints and tips in the manual, they do work. I believe I got slightly better performance here then in Tamworth, with my set up pegged at 24FPS (Using FPS Limiter) my flights were smooth and pleasurable.
The high frame rate is quite (pleasantly) surprising given the detail, Orbx have taken care to produce very efficient textures.
Verdict
You will probably want to hang around Cessnock for a long while
as there is so much to discover.
Superbly crafted scenery ideal for low and slow
flying, a high quality and high performance product that
will keep you going back for more, it doesn't get much
better than that!
My score? another 9/10 for
John and the team and very well deserved.
/Joe Lawford
System Requirements
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