For anyone looking to fly to a major destination in the Caribbean Imagine Simulation have modelled Nassau’s, MYNN, Lynden Pindling International Airport. Â Formerly known as Nassau International Airport it is the largest airport in the Bahamas. Geographically it is located on the western side of New Providence Island near the city of Nassau. The airport has two runways; 14/32@3358 meters and 09/27@2537 meters. A busy airport it saw approximately 3 million passengers in 2008.
Imagine Simulation – Nassau Lynden Pindling Intl V2 Bahamas
Installation
The scenery file is small at only 14Mb with the completed installation occupying approximately 70 Mb of hard drive space. The installation process was very simple. Once you execute the installer you are taken through a few screens where you must provide your registration code, accept the terms of licence and then confirm the path to FSX, from this point the installer takes over and completes the process. The next time you start FSX the airport will be ready for you to use.
Configuration
There was no configuration necessary with this airport addon. There are however questions in the FAQ that users may find useful should they wish to modify different aspects of the scenery such as removing specific objects like the static aircraft. File names and locations are included.
Documentation
The 14 page manual that comes with the scenery is in the familiar PDF format.
In the first part of the manual they touch on system requirements, how to get support, tips on optimizing your PC and product features. There is a paragraph on enabling the approach and runway lighting via frequency selection which is good for those low visibility approaches during daylight hours.
The manual mentions the aircraft marshallers who assist in parking your aircraft at the gates. After trying to get this to work I emailed support and was told the feature was removed from the FSX+SP2 product. In light of this they should have removed the information from the manual.
The last few pages of the manual are FAQs, frequently asked questions and as the name implies it is a compilation of the types of questions you may ask yourself as you use the scenery. If you run into any issues this is a good place to start as the only other support is via email. Over the course of my testing I did have occasion to contact them and each time they were very prompt and helpful in their replies.
As for charts, the only one included is a single airport diagram. If you need additional charts they can be found by searching on the internet which I managed to do with minimal effort.
Scenery
This was my first exposure to any of the Imagine Simulation products so I was anxious to have a look.
This scenery addon is for the airport only and does not extend beyond it’s perimeter.
Looking at the comparison screenshots it is easy to see that there is a difference between the two however the coverage area of both is basically the same.
They have tried to enhance this small yet busy airport by adding accurately placed buildings, parked aircraft, both moving and stationary airport vehicles and a large number of objects spread throughout the grounds. Although all of this did create a much more realistic airport environment as I took a closer look I found that there were some problems.
Runways, taxiways, aprons
The best part of the scenery I thought were the runways, taxiways and aprons. The textures were sharp and realistic in appearance, both in the colouring and the weathering. Up close you could see the imperfections in the surfaces of the asphalt and concrete. The touchdown zones clearly show the results of the many landings that take place here and the aircraft parking locations are soiled and dirty just as you’d expect.
The painted markings I thought were also well done; they showed good detail with realistic colouring and visible signs of wear and tear.
Ground textures
One word immediately comes to mind when describing the ground textures that they use as the base for the airport and that word is blurry. It wasn’t as obvious where you had grassy areas but it was immediately noticeable wherever there were roads or parking lots. The main parking lot near the terminal building is probably the most obvious example of this due to it’s size but this problem can be seen throughout the entire scenery.
Buildings
In general I found that from a distance the buildings looked ok but up close they suffered from a number of issues. The textures tended to be blurred and I would have liked to have seen more discrete detailing. Most wall details were generally part of a flat graphic image and were not 3 dimensional. This lack of 3d detailing took away from the realism I look for when I am at ground level. This can be seen on many different buildings throughout the airport.
There were of course exceptions and some did have a more realistic look. Take for example the largest of the terminal buildings. Around the perimeter there are pillars that support the roof; this is a nice detail that helped break up that flat exterior. Flying over the terminal complex you can see differences in the roof tops based on variations in height and texture. Another example would be the elevated walkways that extend out to the jet ways, these also have support pillars and there are different textures and some weathering effects.
Objects
Objects and airport vehicles can be seen all over the airport and are a very important part of any scenery package. They include both static and animated airport vehicles. The quality of the vehicles again varies; I saw some good quality models such as the large passenger buses and fuel trucks and others like the baggage tractors and carts that were not. The inclusion of animated vehicle traffic in and around the apron area is effective in adding some activity that enhances your airport experience while on the ground.
The documentation states that there are thousands of objects and I agree there are definitely lots of them. Unfortunately I felt many of them suffered from looking too simplistic and low resolution. Most objects also lacked any weathering. I’ve included several screenshot examples to show what I mean. I had the impression that they may have been ported over from FS2004.
There were a few objects that I thought were very good and deserved to be acknowledged as such. I found the PAPI, approach and runway/taxiway lighting to be very well done. Â I just wish they had taken the same care with the other airport objects as they did with these.
Night
Night time brings in a different dimension to the flying experience and how you see an airport. After experiencing the scenery at night I came away with the same mixed feelings I had with my daytime flying. Again there were aspects I thought were well done while others I felt were not.
The lighting for the runways, taxiways and approaches were really good with realistic colours and intensity. On the ground or in the air I was pleased with how these features looked.
The apron lighting and the lighting around many of the buildings I thought were too intense and in most areas there was no visible light source.
The buildings at night were so so. There was some variety in the interior lighting that helped to give the impression that there might be activity but I found the exterior textures had that same flat appearance that was there in the daytime textures. On the walls that had exterior light fixtures you could see that the area was being lit up because of the difference in intensity but there were no fixtures. Some buildings seemed to glow in the dark; they were a whitish colour surrounded by darkness. The tower clearly shows this.
Final Thoughts
This airport left me with mixed feelings. Certain aspects of it were well done while others were not. Generally speaking from a distance the airport looks good but unfortunately when you get in close you begin to see where it falls short. Imagine Simulations does offer demo versions of their airports for anyone wanting to check them out before making a purchase. This is a nice option that I wish more developers would subscribe to. I suggest that if you have any doubts you go that route before making any decisions.
My Ratings
Installer: Excellent. Simple to use.
Documentation: Good manual, but some errors in content. No charts.
Modelling: Mixed feelings here as the quality varies throughout the scenery.
Extras: Some animated vehicle traffic at the airport, static aircraft also included. You have the option of trying the scenery out as a fully working demo before making your purchase decision.
Download Size: FSX 14MB
Price: EUR 18.50
Link: http://secure.simmarket.com/imagine-sim-nassau-lynden-pindling-intl-v2-bahamas-mynn-fsx.phtml
Test System:
Intel i7 920 OC @ 3.8 Ghz, 6 Gb RAM, ASUS 480GTX w/1.5Gb video, Win 7 Ultimate 64, FSX w/acceleration, Ultimate traffic 2, REX overdrive, UTX Europe, AES 2.08
Richard Desjardins