Ponta Delgada Joao Paolo II : hot test

FS9 and FSX. Tropical Sim strikes back with a gorgeous airport. The first scenery of Azores #2. The whole island designed.

PONTA DELGADA LPPD  ** HOT TEST **

Installation : easy but user needs to install manually the folder in FSX.
Version tested : LPPD V.1 for FSX. tested on one screen of 1280 x 1024 x 32.
File size : FSX (80 mb), FS9 (54 mb).
Framerate : very friendly. More than 14 fps on an "old" core quad 2,33 Ghz + ATI HD 5850.

Ponta Delgada airport, in Sao Miguel island, Azores. Hit me if i am wrong, but i thing this is the very first time a payware designer make this airport for MSFS. The good news here is that i have found back the designer i liked in Bilbao. High definition textures in and around the airport are great. This time, the whole island is depicted and that will guarantee hours of fly around. The island has a custom coastline with interesting reliefs and a high definition photoreal ground around the airport on approximately 7 square miles. Plus, you will find rain effect on the runway.

The airport itself is pretty large, with several aprons for liners, general aviation and some cargos. Obviosly, this place is growing. Tropical Sim also put a custom road traffic around the platform and in the center city of Ponta Delgada. I just had to set my car traffic to 60 % in order to see a normal activity.

This airport is also located 785 nm from Lisbon, 520 nm from Madeira and 280 nm from Corvo. If you add Pico and Porto, there is a good bunch of possible flights from/toward this location.

The bad :

* The designer still uses unorthodox method to built the hill on runway 30 side (but, fortunately, we don't see anything).

* Some gorgeous places in the island could had been better texturized. Some details or static objects

could had been added.

* Tropical Sim could have add some typical static aircrafts.

The good :

* Great textures around the airport and city.

* The airport : high definition textures everywhere, rain effect on runway.

* Airport + City + island : A huge work. Hours of flight over the island and toward other airports in Azores.

 

Sao Miguel length is around 60 km.

The island still shows its past volcanic history.

Very nice ground textures

(screenshot from an ATI HD 5850 with quality settings at max)

Even the terminal's roof has great textures with small rusty trails.

Car traffic around the airport.

The bay of Ponta Delgada. High definition textures and an effective vision

of the real place. Only some static boats are missing here.

The amazing threshold of the runway 30

Fogo lake. Nice but surroundings could have been texturized.

Custom photoreal textures in some cities along the coast.

Ponta Delgada at night

Ponta Delgada at dusk

The main apron for liners

Hot test copyrighted Airdailyx August 2011