Orbx West Yellowstone part 2 : Review

This is a fake photo, a montage !

FSX/P3D. West Yellowstone KWYS is the third airport scenery for Central Rockies Mountains. Located near the famous Yellowstone National Park and Orbx Jackson Hole - Grand Teton.

 

 

ORBX WEST YELLOWSTONE KWYS (FOR CRM)

 

REVIEW

Version tested : FSX V.1.0
File size : 507 MB
Installation : Very easy / all automatic (FTX Central must be set North America).
! Don't forget to install Graham Eccleston FTX North American GA AI Traffic 1.00.

Manual : 25 pages in english (charts included !).
Utilitie(s) : Yes. Orbx control panel (to activate wildfire, PeopleFlow, grass etc..).
Framerate :
GA aviation aircrafts : no problem : framerate limitation can be required.
PMDG NGX : More than 22 fps on average graphic card settings and mid-core processor :
Configuration tested is I5 / ATI HD 6570 / 3,44 Ghz / Windows 7 64 bits
REX installed / FSX all sliders as explained in Orbx manual.



The bad :

* I would like animals in this nature !

* A second airfield (a small one) would have been great. But of course, it's easy to ask more !

The good :

* The perfect location near Y.National Park and Jackson Hole.

* The new wildfires.

* The gorgeous landscapes in winter and frozen lake.


 
 West Yellowstone is the closest airport to the vast national park of the same name. And the park has been enhanced by FTX Central Rockies Mountains. So this was the right choice to do.  Another interest of this northern region is that seasons are quite different each others. The scenery developed by Tim Harris and Alex Goff (they signed some other Orbx sceneries already : Israel's farm, Swanson airfield etc...) includes the airport and the areas around the Hebgen Lake.

 

 

 

In spring and summer, it's the perfect place for caravans and campers. It shows a few of these caravans villages. But it's still a large secluded place. Very few traces of civilization, a few cities. And desert roads (well there is road traffic but pretty faint unless you push the slider to 100 %). And i am not even speaking of winter. When the snow recovers these landscapes, tourist are already gone. And the airport itself is a void place, without PeopleFlow. A desert. But what a wonderful postcard.

 

 

 

 

 

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About the landscapes, i was surprised to see that KWYS is seamlessly integrated in FTX Central Rockies Mountains. It's quite logical since they are designed from the same editor but, technically, it is not always easy. In Longview Ranch for instance, you can see the border line. Not here.
Different type of trees, small lakes, oxbow rivers provide a great diversity of views. Photoreal grounds show multiple traces of erosion, soil erosion, tracks of cars etc. Here, in this true nature, i would have liked some encounters with wood animals (bear ?) or horses of CreatureFlow.

 

* * * * * THE AIRPORT * * * * *

 

What ever is your taste, you can fly almost everything here. In summer, if you have set your Ai traffic to at east 50-100 %, some fire-fighting aircrafts like the P3 Tanker. A liner, even a Boeing 747 can land there on this 8,500 feets runway. But the main apron also accept many propellers.
2nd generation PeopleFlow are there, a few ones. And for the first time, i have met an ederly woman.
Just don't expect a dense airport like in Jackson Hole. You are 5-10 minutes from the marvels of the Yellowstone park here. That was the purpose of choosing this place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 I wanted to compare some seasons from the main apron. First point to note is that this tree here on the left, is using LeavesFlow. The branches are moving under the wind. The first screenshot shows april if i remember. The summer season is still not opened. On the second one, that's it. PeopleFlow are waiting in line for some taxi air to the Yellowstone National Park. The third one does not need any explanation. And the airport is really empty.

 

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I am still astonished by the quality of static aircrafts. And these statics are usually shadowing on the ground textures and apron.

 

  

 

Wonderful siniuous rivers around the airport. Here, my REX V.2 settings are not perfectly fitting with the river, though.

 

 

 

These are the new north-american type aircrafts added by Graham Eccleston.

There are also a a whole fleet of general aviation aircrafts. It's only the stage 1. I think the small models can still be improved, visually.

 

 

The small terminal of KWYS at dusk. Very well enlighted. Other huts near the terminal have charming red lights at night.

 

 

This is a view at the airport in summer. Full staffed.

 

 

 

 

* * * * * FIRE ! * * * *

 

 

 

Fire alert. A P3 tanker is taking off from KWYS.

 

 

From an old Grumman Goose, you are approaching the fire.

 

 

 

Worst than i expected !

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three fires have been placed on NA Gold Central Rockies Mountains and in the vicinity of West Yellowstone scenery. Note that they are not technically dynamic. They will not move with wind.

According to Orbx forum, some utilities might work sooner or later on these fires. Tim and Alex, the developers, are open to updates if possible. Obviously, a lot of people would like such a feature.

FS Blaze can display real fires in  North America using NOAA datas.

There are also some water bombers in common aircrafts libraries.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

Orbx fans have already bought this little marvel, that, for shure. Will you resist ? If you buy NA Gold and West Yellowstone, you will get a whole new world to explore. And that it is still expanding. Orbx has more plans, more airfields in this region. And  KWYS is a good stop for liners flying US coast to coast.

My only regret here is about animals. Oh there is this awful dog at the airport. But i would like to meet mooses, cows, horses. Maybe someday, Orbx could launch a new kind of addons with fire missions or animals (i say "or" ).

As in Longview Ranch, this new scenery includes a lot of features : an airport, a large area to explore, wildfires... If this is a new trend in Orbx policy, i applaude.

 

 

 

 

Thanks !

 

 

AirdailyX November 2012

Dom Mason