LVK, Livermore, CA
Utilising the Scenery Designer Module from within FS4... Here, a couple of pine trees are going in the ground near LVK. On the fly scenery creation always gives you something else to do in FS4!
An F-117 Stealth fighter awaits clearance for take off at Livermore Muni Airport (LVK).
An F-117 Stealth fighter above Lawrence Livermore National Lab.
FS4 provides an excellent landing analysis after touchdown and full stop.
Cleo 2, an experimental aircraft (based on the F-20 TigerShark). Here FS4 is running with a custom 16 color palette set via a special utility.
Cleo 2, an experimental aircraft inside the Aircraft Designer Menu within FS4. FS4 allows the "on the fly" altering of many aspects of the flight model.
The Mode Menu provides many choices for the FS4 Pilot. Many more options than are available in the lastest issue of Flight Simulator.
A top down view of Cleo II while in low altitude flight over the Livermore Valley.
Here, a custom adventure file is running. When you fly near the Lawrence Livermore National Lab, you will receive a radio warning communication to keep clear.
Experimental Aircraft Octo-B2
Octo-4b Experimental A/C in flight above the northern Pacific coast, CA.
Aircraft Specs report on Octo-4b Experimental Aircraft. (Custom designers create the info for this screen).
Octo-4b on the Design Menu boards within the FS4 Aircraft Designer Module.
FS4 has some special options for panel and video displays depending on specific older video cards.
Octo-4b makes a visit the the secret base on Baffin Island.
Bodega Bay & Hayward, CA
Take off from the Bodega Bay Airport. What, there is no airport in Bodega Bay? Well, in FS4 there is with my custom SC1 scenery file...
Buzzing downtown Bodega Bay, CA with the Cessna 182. (Look at'em scram... the people are used to running from low flying things around here...)
A shot from the Airport looking west toward the town of Bodega Bay.
A nice looking farm on the eastern outskits of town near the airport in Bodega Bay.
A view of the town and airport at Bodega Bay while flying south towards San Francisco. (I have to go pick up this chick called Melanie Daniels and fly her back up here...)
Seems Miss Daniels wanted to be picked up over in the East Bay at Hayward Airport (HWD). Here I am on final approach after a 25 minute flight down from Bodega Bay.
What a perfect landing into Hayward. Just check out the rate of descent and the glide slope. No wonder Miss Daniels requested me specifically.
A view of the Hayward Field from the FS4 Map Screen enlarged to full screen size. The airport here is augmented with scenery that covers most of the Bay Area in a SC1 file.
Comparing this 2006 actual FAA diagram with Hayward within FS4, you can see the modeling is quite nice and still pretty accurate.
Taxing to park at Hayward Field. Miss Daniels told me she would meet my plane near the control tower.
Here is another shot of the Cessna 182 waiting at Hayward. Where is she... she's late!
Coming back north to Bodega Bay below us from Angels 9. Miss Daniels wanted to climb up high for a Bird's eye view!
Baffin Island, Secret Base
Using the EFIS "rectangular highway mode" on full ILS approach to Baffin Island Base.
The final seconds before landing at Baffin Island Base.
A bit of a pop/hop landing analysis for a Gates Lear Jet inbound at Baffin Island (this ship no doubt, filled with important scientists who have come to debunk the bogus global warming by carbon emissions myth).
A Gates Lear Jet bellies up to the fuel island for a drink at the secret Baffin Island base.
A 182 Cessna visits a secret base on Baffin Island.
Maui, Hawaii (MS-1 Scenery Disk)
Time for an eveing flight over beautiful Maui courtesy of the great scenery builders at MicroScene. Here we are near Kahului Airport on central Maui heading south (note the map).
And now, turning Northwest we as fly towards Kahului Harbor. MicroScene Hawaii (MS-1) scenery is rather dense and you can actually use a 486DX/2-66 for 486DX4-100 for excellent frame rates with multiple windows.
Leaving Kahului we head off for adventure following the north shore west.
Boy, looking at all those condos in the Honokowai beach area of western Maui near Kapulua West Maui Airport.
On final approach into Kapulua West Maui Airport. Time to go have a Mai Tai and relax island style.
Heading back to Kahului Airport after dark...
Misc. Grabs
A Lockheed Constellation on the ground at Meigs Field, Chicago.
Spec. Report on Ron Conklin's excellent Lockheed Constellation.
Approaching PVD, Rhode Island in the Cessna 182. Here, the Providence airport has been built out atop subLogic Scenery Disk 12.
A Cessna 182 Float Plane rendezvouses with a Type VII U-BOAT off Block Island, RI.
FS4 night lighting routines still blow away many newer sims with beautiful night lighting.
The giant rigid airship the Graf Zeppelin (LZ-127) glides slowly above Lake Michigan on its way north.
The Graf Zeppelin (LZ-127) as it transits the Chicago skyline within the default FS4 scenery.
Over the San Jaquin Delta area NE of the San Francisco Bay within FS4's F1 scenery. In the distance is my Livermore scenery area lighting up the hills.
SFZ, North Central Airport, Smithfield, RI
On the ground at North Central Airport (SFZ), in northwestern Rhode Island. Here we have a custom mode start up file (*.MOD) which loads my custom scenery file (*.SC1) for the area. It also loads an accompanying custom dynamic scenery file (*.DY1) which adds taxing planes, taking off aircraft, and a fuel truck pulling up. These dynamic scenery files are made directly within FS4 and are quite easy to do. This particular scenery file is also tweaked with the Scenery Enhancement Editor (SEE4)... In this shot you can see some brown 2 dimensional hills set in the distance to give the airport a bit of a backdrop (since the FS4 world is flat, unless you add mountains). My scenery file is built atop the subLogic Scenery Disk 12; which is much more detailed for the U.S. northeast area, as opposed to the default F1 file that comes with FS4. It should also be noted that when you build custom scenery files (*.SC1) on a the default F1 or other subLogic (*.SCN) file, the SC1 file is usually not interchangeable with another SCN files which may also cover the same area, as the coordinate systems are usually slightly different from file to file.
Taxing out to runway 05/23 at SFZ. Note in the distance is another custom scenery object created with the Scenery Enhancement Editor (SEE4) for FS4. This particular object is a little multidimensional tree stand of pines I was testing. It is directly added to the SC1 file within SEE4. SEE4 is an impressive and interesting product for use with FS4 and can provide many hours of fun for the more programming oriented FS4 scenery builder. Through a series of macros, many tasks can be accomplished with relative ease.
Rotation underway at North Central Airport. This airport has a fair amount of general aviation traffic and is the site of a pilot training school called: Skylanes.
Climbing out and looking a back at SFZ. You can see here how the background 2D SEE4 hill object I created adds to the visual appeal of the North Central scenery area. One of the unique aspects of FS4 *.SC1 files is that you can define the boundary of the particular scenery file as a radius around a point. As you fly into another SC1 area, that file becomes automatically active. In this way, you can create a "contain project" of scenery development.
Departing North Central Airport, RI we head northeast towards Boston. Here you can see FS4 running with 3 windows open. Two, 3D windows, and the map. If you look carefully at the map, you will see the SFZ area enclosed with a triangle. This triangle is in fact the three 2D hill objects, added to create a more defined horizon for the area within my *.SC1 file as detailed above.
Inbound to the Boston Metro area within subLogic Scenery Disk 12. There are a few nice additions to this metro area that scream Boston. In the distance you can see the distinctive shapes of the Prudential Tower, the Hancock Tower, the Charles River, and the general outlay of the Boston bay area. Oh, yeah... that's B-Town! Want more photo-realism; well just use the free flight simulator within Google Earth (ver. 4.2+). Or... for a for a more peaceful model of a VR world -- its FS4 baby...
Here we come down over the Charles River headed east towards the coast and Logan International Airport. The Charles River Bridge is a classic Boston image. You can also see the "Pru" tower building to the left.
Heading east towards Boston Harbor (locally pronounced as "Baaston HaaBaah") we pick up sight of a ship from yesteryear... Notice also how detailed the basic land features are modeled in SD-12 (far superior to what you will find in the default F1 scenery).
Lining up for a fly-by, we notice she is the famous American battleship from the Revolutionary War named the "Constitution", (a.k.a. Old Ironsides).
And her we go... a close pass by one of America's treasures. It's a pretty neat little model in the FS4 world as it gets a lot across with relatively few polygons used. It is amazing what you can do with just a few simple shapes and lines... (if you are as talented as the folks at subLogic were).
Nantucket to Block Island
Here we start our flight over downtown Nantucket as created by FS4 user Jim Ross and supplied to the masses within his zip package: MAAACK.ZIP (available in Download Lib 02). Often, scenery builders would not only supply the scenery file (*.SC1), but also a setup (*.MOD) file, as well as a help/info document.
This shot is the same as the above, except that the time has been changed to before dawn. What are those large Christmas bulbs you ask? FS4's scenery designer lets you place deciduous trees that turn colors in the fall. Unless processed with SEE4, these trees glow at night! Pretty wild, aye?
Whales frolic off Nantucket thanks to SEE4's libraries of custom objects. This scenery area has quite a few SEE4 enhancements...
Leaving Nantucket we fly westward. Notice in the active map (which acts much like a GPS screen), you can see how detailed the coastline was modeled in subLogic Scenery Disk 12.
Further on and off our right wing we can see the island of Martha's Vineyard and its nice airport (MVY) in the distance. Not much there... it is waiting for you to build whatever you like when you fly in... That's the beauty of FS4! Its your world, - build just a little piece and share it with others... And, see what others have made!
Landing Analysis of my flight into BID. Now that's a smooth touchdown. Seeing a great graph and the right numbers always give you a sense of accomplishment when landing in FS4.
Landed at Block Island Airport (BID) in SD-12. Its a pretty short runway here, and not much else showing... But - you are only a few menus away from building out the airport or area just the way YOU want and share it with others if you like... Looking to add realism to your build, well just bring up Google Earth or FlightAware.com for the area and pick some stuff that says Block Island to you... then add them in via the FS4 Scenery Designer. Do even more with the Scenery Enhancement Editor. If you have been to the Block Island Airport for real, and have a particular memory of something... here is your chance to add it. Next time you fly in via FS4, you can have a visit with your creation. It will be waiting for you... This type of user activity (fly n' build) seems to adds greatly to the FS4 world experiences and will make your flights to particular destinations more meaningful and memorable to you...
Off from Block Island we head NNE into Narragansett Bay... Here we are approaching the Newport Harbor area and the Newport Airport beyond is visible. There are a couple of scenery packages made for RI from FS4 users Dave Lang. They are quite nice and cover much of the state. These files: RIEAST.ZIP and RIWEST.ZIP are available in Downloads Library 02.
Finally, as we head up Narragansett Bay, we approach the connected: Mount Hope Bay, and the old industrial city of Fall River, Massachusetts - which lies beyond.
New York City
Taking a run by "Lady Liberty" within FS4's default (F1) scenery file. This model of the Statue of Liberty is pretty neat and shows you what can be done with just a few well placed lines and a couple of 2D polygons. Quite effective and cool...
Taking a gander at the gal before dawn; notice the flaming torch!
Now we head north from the Statue of Liberty and fly towards New York City within the F1 scenery. It is pretty sparse but the twin towers certainly do catch your attention, huh?
Yes, the World Trade Center lives again in FS4. Microsoft actually issued a patch to have it removed from some versions of the FS scenery (not FS4)... Me, personally - I like seeing them up again...
Beyond the towers towards Mid-Town, we see the Empire State Building in F1.
Right, now lets have another look at the area, but, within the subLogic scenery disk 12... you will see the improvement and why scenery disks were quite popular with FS4 users. Here we make our approach to NYC again, but this time with SD-12 active. Pretty huh?
A daylight view as we get a bit closer to Manhattan.
Heading up the East River, we see the three New York bridges (Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg).
Same shot near dawn is even prettier with bridge lights (string of pearls on).
Another view but in full night mode before dawn (note how building lights come on...)
Three famous NYC buildings. These models are quite nicely detailed and have minimal impact on performance with old systems. In this shot there is the Empire State Building, the distinctive Chrysler Building, and the Boring Wedge Building (okay, you caught me. Sorry, I don't know what that one is).
Turning north with the Empire State and Chrysler Building lite at night and with the Washington Bridge visible in the distance.
Another view, but here from the spot plane position with full exterior view selected. Is less more? I think so here... I quite like night flying in FS4, even in downtown NYC - I would not want to do this in the real world!
Another bridges view turning south: the Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Verrazano-Narrows in the distance.
A cool shot near the Chrysler Building; note in the distance there are lights on -inside- the towers of the World Trade Center.
Another view, turning through south and west over the "Big Apple".
An exterior spot plane view of the 182 Cessna banking to miss the Empire State Building, with the moon nicely positioned beyond. (Note in this shot the undercarriage of the Cessna 182 is retracted, I often fly with it down... see what happens in a bit.)
Time to land and head into the city for some "out on the town" fun! Here we are lining up for landing at LaGuardia International Airport (LGA) - runway 04/22.
Here we come, landing at LaGuardia... night taxiway and runway lights on full. I'll show these New Yorkers a thing or two about flying...
Ooops, guess who forgot to put the wheels down! It was a good descent too, damn it! Oh well... the greatest thing about any flight simulator is that after you crash, you can get up and go make yourself a cup of coffee in the kitchen!
SubLogic USA Scenery
Many FS4 users never got to experience FS4 with subLogic's USA Scenery Collections (East & West). Within this subLogic product, night flying is spectacular as seen above. The USA Scenery Collection added thousands of airports, nav aids, and many scenery details. As with other FS4 base scenery files, custom SC1 scenery files can be built atop subLogic USA Scenery Collection, but it requires a very careful usage of DOS memory to leave room.
Buzzing the field at Van Nuys Airport (VNY). Notice the fine detail to the taxiway light system. subLogic's USA Scenery Collection also came with an impressive collection of color maps, support programs, and provided tight integration into FS4; as well as ATP (Airline Transport Pilot).
Another Stunning shot over southern California within subLogic's USA Scenery Collection (West). Does night flying even in the most modern version of MS Flight Simulator come close to rivaling the beauty of this? The USA set requires a faster vintage system to perform well with FS4; at least a DX2-66 or DX4-100. When used within DOSBox on a modern platform, DOSBox will have to be adjusted upward to provide "less slowing"!
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