KPDX Portland Int’l

The Little Airport With a Big History

Among all the small Pacific Northwest airports that are loaded with character, Pearson Field stands out. For one thing, it predates them all; KVUO is officially the oldest continuously operating airport in the region, and one of the two oldest operational fields in the US. Even well before the dawn of aviation, the site was a hub of activity, as evidenced by the 19th-century Hudson’s Bay Company fort and trading post just off the threshold of runway 8. In its life so far, the tiny airport has hosted the first crossing of the Columbia River by airship in 1905, been a stopover on the US Army’s first round-the-world flight, and made Russian aviation history as the landing spot for the Chkalov Trans-Polar Flight in 1937.

Today, it’s a popular field for GA pilots and history buffs and occupies a prime piece of real estate along the banks of the Columbia in the flight path of KPDX’s runway 10L. We’ve worked hard to replicate the feel of this busy suburban field using hundreds of photos taken on-site. Many of the unique landmarks are represented, including the I-5 bridge between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington, the railroad bridge just downstream, the busy shopping area of Jantzen Beach on nearby Hayden Island, and a faithful reproduction of downtown Vancouver. If you’re a fan of our Pacific Northwest airports, this one is a must-have.

IN SEARCH OF THE 100 DOLLAR BURGER

There’s more to flying than screaming through the stratosphere in an airborne bus. This series celebrates those intrepid fliers who put their credit cards on the line every weekend to bore holes in the sky. They’re looking for a little relaxation, a spot of adventure, and a dash of sightseeing. They gather for pancake feeds in drafty hangars, tell lies to one another around the avgas pump, and spend their children’s inheritance in search of the perfect cheeseburger at airport diners.

That’s what this series is all about: small airports that are loaded with character, as individual as the pilots who call them home.

TWO CLASSIC NEW ENGLAND AIRPORTS

In this release you get not one, but two Massachusetts airports; Plum Island Airport (2B2) in Newburyport, and Minute Man Air Field in Stow.

Such atmospheric locations for both the eyes and ears, a joy to explore… Wonderful 10/10!

– BrianV (comment on AirDailyX)

Plum Island is a re-working of our original hit from years back, updated with new 3D grass and vegetation, a new enhanced ground poly (with extra features for P3Dv3 and P3Dv4), a new colorization of the photoreal terrain to better match surroundings, and a bunch of new objects and static AI aircraft.

Minute Man Field is a fantastic GA airport that we’ve been wanting to create for years. It’s loaded with the character you’d expect from a Hundred Dollar Burger airport, and has some new features that we think will delight you, such as pilot-controlled runway lighting and animated T-hangar doors that open when you’re within range of them so you can have your own covered parking. And of course, all the other SODE goodies like seasonal object support and dynamic custom windsocks.

New England’s Summer Playground

Nantucket sits just off the coast of the US state of Massachusetts, below the long arm of Cape Cod. It’s an island steeped in history dating back to the colonial days, and is best known as the center of US whaling in the 19th century. These days, the primary industry is tourism. From a quiet, isolated enclave of around 10,000 in the winter, the population explodes to around five times that in summer. Looking for the most expensive real estate in the country? Forget Manhattan, Oahu, or San Francisco. You’ll find it right here.

Nantucket Memorial Airport (KACK) is the island’s air-link to the rest of the world. As you’ll find everywhere on Nantucket, its architecture features heavy use of characteristic unpainted wood-shingled buildings and is loaded with New England charm.

Features:

• More than 100 square miles of photo terrain in full 5-seasons
• Nuanced 1-meter terrain mesh from high-detail LIDAR data
• Detailed Nantucket waterfront modeling
• Many local VFR landmarks included
• Full autogen houses and vegetation
• Detailed, accurate rendition of Nantucket Memorial Airport based on extensive on-site photography
• Enhanced airport ground poly in Prepar3D v.3 including specular and bump mapping and rain effects
• 3D grass, shrubbery, and other custom vegetation
• Static aircraft commonly seen on the ramp
• Custom dynamic, animated windsocks
• Seasonal models, driven by the Viva engine
• All models optimized for high performance

New Features in version 1.02 for Prepar3D v3 & 4:

• Viva Replaced by SODE for Dynamic Functionality
• New Grass Textures
• Enhanced Ground Textures
• Added Detail in Open Hangar
• Static GA & Bizjet Aircraft
• Dynamic Night Lighting on Ramp (P3Dv4 only)

Your Own Private Island

For FSX, FSX:Steam Edition, Prepar3D v.3 & Prepar3D v.4

You know you’ve always wanted this. It’s your own island, jutting out into the wild Atlantic, far away from the crowds. There’s just enough space for you, your cabin, and your trusty bush plane.

This is no patch of smooth asphalt. No sir, you’ll need fat tires to land on the undulating dirt strip that bisects the island. Then again, if you wanted the easy life, you wouldn’t have picked a spot in the icy reaches of Maine, would you?

And just to spice things up, there’s a float base down the hill from the cabin. It’s not fancy, but there’s covered parking and a dock if you decide to have some friends tie up. The fishing is pretty good, too.

If all this sounds good to you, then you’ll be pleased to know that the price for this little bit of paradise is surprisingly affordable. To get your free download, use the link above.

For several years, iBlueYonder’s Bill Womack created several detailed GA airports that were published under the Orbx brand. All are still available on OrbxDirect. You might be familiar with some of these:

Siletz Bay State Airport (S45)

No trip to Oregon is complete without a visit to the rocky coast, and coastal fliers will find a great place to tie down, camp, and sight-see in Siletz Bay State Airport (S45). This small airport is packed with color and character. It’s nestled into a swath of forest running along the coast range, just across the street from lovely Glen Eden Beach and right down the road from the tourist destination of Lincoln City. The location makes it a great day trip from other PNW airports such as Stark’s Twin Oaks, Creswell, or Walter Sutton’s place.

The airport features high-resolution 4cm/pixel ground polys, hyper-accurate buildings and details, loads of NatureFlow grasses and trees, StaticFlow aircraft, PeopleFlow 2 humans, and is one of the debut airports for our new CreatureFlow technology, featuring butterflies, mosquitoes, and man’s best friend!

Cushman Meadows & Bear Gulch (KCMW)

These airports were the culmination of a daydreaming session – a sort of “what if” brainstorm of where we’d like to have an airport if we could put one anywhere. The result was one of the most popular of the Orbx series; a small GA field nestled alongside the shore of Lake Cushman in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state. It’s a great spot for flying and sightseeing, and near to a number of other popular Orbx destination fields. As a bonus, the package contains a reworked version of Bear Gulch airport, a tiny bush strip at the far end of the lake that first debuted as an included scenery for the RealAir Scout aircraft package.

Stark’s Twin Oaks Airpark (7S3)

Nestled into the rolling farmland of the fertile Willamette Valley near Portland, Oregon, Stark’s Twin Oaks Airpark is ideally located for sightseeing in the Pacific Northwest. The rural location makes for less traffic and a relaxed atmosphere, while providing an easy jumping-off point for flights to either the coast to the west, or the rugged peaks of the Cascade range to the east.

The scenery includes a large area of 30cm/pixel aerial photoreal terrain, featuring the various orchards, alpaca ranches, and small farms in the area. One special point of interest in the areas is the massive Glacier rock quarry, located a few miles to the southeast of the field. And what is possibly a first for an FS airport: multiple elevations. Twin Oaks is carved from the side of a gentle slope, and as a result, the Stark’s house, garage, and two of the hangars are on a hill overlooking the rest of the field. Lead developer Bill Womack obsessively researched and photographed the airport over the last few years, with the enthusiastic support of owners Bob and Betty Stark. We’re prod to offer the definitive rendition of one of Oregon’s aviation jewels.

Tongass Fjords X

Buy Tongass X Here

This addition to Microsoft’s Flight Simulator X renders a large part of Southeast Alaska and northwestern British Columbia (some 80,000 square kilometers) in the glorious natural beauty this area is known for. You get a flying environment that puts you in the pilot seat flying around some of the most stunning landscapes you’ll find anywhere on Earth.

You not only get the accurate coast lines, lakes, islands, roads, rivers and glaciers, but in a wide variety of airports and seaports to explore in this rugged area of fjords, mountains, lakes and sea. You may visit many of the US Forestry Service cabins used by hunters, fishermen and hikers hidden near the many lakes and fjords. And what is Alaska without shipping? We have added moving ships and boats, created by Mitsuya Hamaguchi and Larry Silsbee in many different locations, not just in harbors. Spot and then follow them with your Beaver!

And then there are the many scenery additions by Bill Womack who recreated Sitka and Petersburg airports as well as landmark objects of Sitka and along the Sitka and Petersburg harbor front.

Hawaii Dillingham X

Situated on the sparsely-populated North Shore of O’ahu, Dillingham is a former military airfield that’s been converted for civilian use. Remnants of its former use are still evident today in the long, wide runway, abandoned revetments, and the ruins of several aircraft maintenance hangars from the 1940’s. Today, this is a thriving field serving Hawaii’s general aviation community and tourist flights. Several skydiving companies have their base here, and it’s a popular glider port as well.

If your knowledge of O’ahu only extends to the tourist mecca of Waikiki, you’ll be surprised at how quiet and rural the area around Dillingham is. The airport is served by one road, a long drive from Honolulu through cane fields and past long stretches of pristine beach. Fans of the TV series LOST will recognize this area as one of the show’s principal filming locations. In fact, if you look around Dillingham, you’ll spot a length of Oceanic Airlines’ flight 815 fuselage, which is stored on the field in real life.