Review: Aerosoft – Mega Airport Brussels v1.0.4 for MSFS

Review by Rick Desjardins

Brussels Airport, ICAO: EBBR is an international airport located approximately 8 miles northeast of Brussels in Belgium. In 2019 more than 26 million passengers passed through its facilities making it the 26^th busiest airport in Europe.

The airport can trace its origins back to 1940 when the German occupying forces claimed 1500 acres of land in reserve as a back-up airfield. It was on this site that the Luftwaffe established Fliegerhorst Melsbroek and constructed three runways in the shape of a triangle; runways 02/20, 07L/25R (both of which are still in use today) and runway 12/30. Runway 02/20 is now designated as 01/19. The current three runways are: 01/19 @ 9,800ft, 07R/25L @ 10,535ft and 07L/25R @ 11,936ft. With the liberation by the British in 1944 the Belgian authorities decided to use the aerodrome as a new national airport. In 1948 a new terminal building was constructed, runways were lengthened and the new civil aerodrome of Melsbroek was officially opened on 20 July 1948. From 1948 to 1956 numerous buildings and facilities were constructed and in 1956 the third runway 07R/25L was added. The building boom continued throughout the 1960s and 70s when they added several large hangars and the cargo terminal. In 1994 a new passenger terminal was built adjacent to the old building and with that the old piers were torn down and modern ones built. The newest pier was built in 2002. They are now designated as piers A and B with A being the newest.

Installation

After purchasing the product you will be prompted to download the Aerosoft one app, a pdf document is provided to explain how the app functions. It is through this application that the scenery installation will take place. In order to install the product you will also be required to create an Aerosoft account if you do not already have one. After doing this the installation process can be started, you will enter the product serial number and then choose the directory location and allow the operation to complete. It is via this means that you can easily access the product manual, perform any scenery updates or uninstall the product.

Unlike most scenery products I’ve encountered for MSFS this one does come with the pdf manuals and charts which is something I still appreciate. Also as this product does include a VGDS module there is also a pdf document to accompany that scenery enhancement. Something I found useful as I was not familiar with how it operated and was not aware that this module required a key sequence to activate it.

Visuals

Ground Textures

High resolution, high quality, realistic and very detailed sums up how I feel about the ground textures and this held true throughout the entire scenery area. To enhance these already outstanding textures they have added many 3d features that became especially noticeable while taxiing. The most impressive being the very detailed ground lights with their raised concrete bases and weeds and grasses growing up from the crevices and cracks.

There is a roadway that connects the north apron to apron 51 which is in the central area of the airport. What makes this special is that it crosses the airfield by going underneath runway 07L. This was modelled in 3dimensions to include the sloping roadway at either end as well as the open areas that are below ground level.

Structures

Main terminal

This is a part of the scenery I always find interesting. Each airport has its own distinctive look and as is usually the case with most large airports the main passenger terminal complex is the visual focal point. Here at Brussels Airport the main building looks like a number of smaller individual buildings have been joined together to create this large multi-faceted structure with the two very different looking passenger piers jutting out from it into the main apron area. The structure has allowed the developer to show off their hard work. I was very impressed with how they managed to capture the way it looks; the individuality of the different conjoined buildings is easily distinguished and their features can be appreciated. This was made possible by their use of crisp high definition textures, realistic colouring techniques and lots of extra detailing throughout.  I would also like to mention that only the piers include interior modelling however where there were windows the quality of the textures provided the illusion of transparency and depth so overall the visuals were not compromised.

Moving on to the piers; the north pier 1 which is the newer of the two has a curved almost oblong silhouette if viewed from the end and floor to ceiling glass over a large portion of the exterior walls; these are fully transparent with the interior details clearly visible. To further enhance the structure’s realism they’ve added lots of extra details such as indented doorways, light fixtures, roof top A/C units to name just a few of them. Also for this newer pier they have included the external structural ribbing that goes from the base to the roof. The second older pier 2 is more of a traditional rectangular design but it too has been recreated in great detail with all the extras visual features to make it as realistic looking as is possible.

Jet ways are a great way for a developer to show off what they can do because they are inherently complex and here the developers have gone above and beyond in my opinion. The level of detail is amazing and as you can see in some of the screenshots they are ultra realistic. Something I have not seen in other airports is the inclusion of a jet way operator. A little extra touch to amp up the immersion factor.

Other structures

In addition to the main terminal there are several dozen other structures ranging from the small to the very large. They include the large multi-level parking facility next to the passenger terminal, the control tower, cargo terminal, several large commercial hangars, GA terminal, fire station, some smaller hangars, waste water treatment tanks and various other structures. Brussels Airport also has a small military apron near runway 25R that has several hangars.

All buildings and notable structures were faithfully recreated using the same quality techniques I mentioned in my description of the passenger terminal complex.  A number of the structures included commercial logos and signage. The large multi-level parking facility is another great place to see how they modelled 3dimensional roadways.

Interior Modelling

They’ve modelled the interiors of the main terminal complex, several of the large hangars plus the control tower. As you can see in the screenshots they put a great deal of effort into this aspect. Part of the scenery experience that can be quite enjoyable if you choose to explore it. As was the case with the passenger pier exteriors their interiors were impressively recreated. Whether I was looking through the glass walls out onto the apron or looking down the pier seeing people waiting at their gate to board their flight or admiring all of the various architectural details and terminal amenities it was like I was there.  As another little added bonus for those of you who enjoy this part of the scenery those long moving sidewalks actually move.

The control tower is one place I always take the time to explore and it was also very detailed. I enjoy it because it is a great vantage point to get an overall appreciation of an airport.

Several of the large hangars such as the TUI and Lufthansa also included modelled interiors.

Objects

There is a definite emphasis on providing a high degree of detail in all aspects of this scenery and when it came to the quality and variety of objects that was certainly evident. There was a definite emphasis on making the airport look and feel like the busy place that it is and I think that they certainly accomplished that. They’ve populated all of the different areas with the appropriate types of objects one would expect to find. I won’t get into listing them but I will say that I didn’t come across any areas that seemed to be lacking in anything. This goes for objects that you’d expect to find in support of airport operations as well as a myriad of other items that have been added to enhance the overall ambience.

Animations

This part of the scenery also deserves some mention as they do include a number of animations that I think serve to give this scenery that bit of extra that makes it more than simply a beautifully rendered airport. As outlined in the accompanying product manual they’ve incorporated several animations that you will come across as you navigate the airport grounds. Some of the more common ones are passengers moving about the terminal and also various airport service vehicles moving on the apron roadways. But they’ve gone beyond those and included the following: apron warning system lights with three different colours that illuminate based on various weather conditions, there are two hangars, TUI and Lufthansa, who’s doors open when approaching in an aircraft and finally there are two ramp gates, one at Taxiway N4 and the other next to the Sabena Aerospace Hangar that also open or close when approaching in your aircraft.  

VGDS

Another additional feature is the inclusion of the Visual Guidance Docking System or VGDS. This also has its own manual that explains how to activate it and also how it functions. I found it to be a great tool when parking at any of the gates that were serviced by this system. My only negative comment would be that you must activate it and choose the specific gate you want to use it at otherwise it does not work.  

Night

Night time flights yielded an experience just as realistic feeling and as satisfying as any daytime flights. The types of lighting, intensity of lighting, the coverage areas all played a key role in making this a reality.

Flying in and out of Brussels Airport

I made multiple flights with Brussels as my destination and utilized each of the six runways. It was my experience that the navigational aids and approach lighting worked as expected each and every time.  

Performance

The airport itself did not present any noticeable deterioration in system performance so I was able to get consistent fluid flights while using the PMDG 737. This is a large and busy airport so when I chose to include FSLTL AI traffic I did notice some stuttering. The ability to exclude certain scenery features such as interior modelling might be an avenue towards reducing the chances of that happening.  

Final Thoughts

This is a beautifully rendered airport that continues the tradition of Aerosoft turning out high quality products. I have no doubt that anyone who purchases the airport will be very pleased.

Review by Rick Desjardins