P3D v4 [Released] Chesapeake Regional [KCPK] for P3Dv4+

[Minivation]

A few months ago, while I was still working on the Hampton Roads project (KPVG), I dropped by another local airport - Chesapeake Regional (KCPK) - and snapped a bunch of photos with my cell phone. If anyone saw a weird guy in sweatpants wandering around the airport property with flip flops, that probably was me.

In this second installment of my personal quest to recreate in the simulator world some of the airports that have a significant place in my real-life flying, I hope to apply what I've learned in creating Hampton Roads Executive Airport and improve upon the workflow. During the last week I have visited the airport again (at night) to capture some nighttime textures, and have created photoreal, ground pavement, and new AFCAD for the airport.

(Testing photoreal and custom ground poly with original AFCAD still untouched)

(Custom ground poly after inclusion of pavement markings)

(Testing out updated instrument approaches [ILS5@IAF:ECG])

(Modeling the terminal building)

(Flying into the airport at night to collect some pictures)

 

[gaabne]

Which simulator ???
Gérard

 

[Minivation]

Which simulator ???
Gérard

Prepar3D v4, possibly v5, but I don't own v5 so I'm unable to test on that platform.

 

[gaabne]

Thanks - hopping for a V5 compatible...
Gérard

 

[Minivation]

A bit more progress on the main terminal building tonight.

 

[Ripcord]

Hey brother, I just got a chance to play around a bit at Hampton Roads Exec that you made, and I am here to say that you got skills. Great effort. I'll gladly take any further works you care to put out there for us - thank you for sharing.

 

[Minivation]

It's been a while, so that's my prompt to share some updated pictures. Work on this project had to be put on the backburner at the end of 2020 as I was undertaking more and more aircraft maintenance work. Now that I have more time on my hands, I've picked the project back up, and admittedly, I sort of had to relearn a thing or two about developing for P3D. But I think I've got the hang of it now, and I've also been able to pick up a few new things.

The self serve fuel pump received a lot of attention as I wanted to pursue something a bit more complex than the self serve pump at PVG (my previous project). It's still nowhere near the level of detail as some of the most experienced members of this community are able to output, but for me it was rewarding in of itself to be able to piece something together to a convincing level with almost no reference data other than a few blurry photos I had taken in passing.

All major structures are now complete (it's a small airport - really, the peak definition of "generic US GA airport"). All the apron needs is a bit of clutter, which I'm working on now.

I also spent some time trying to get the dynamic lights right. It's still not exactly where I'd like it (refer to photo of the Cherokee in my first post to see what it should look like) but it's getting closer.

The autogen annotator tool is pretty neat but I find it that it doesn't exactly honor the exact polygon boundaries I specify in the program. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong.

 

[Minivation]

Released! It's already up on the Avsim library, and should be up on the Flightsim library soon.

I learned a lot while working on this project. This airport builds upon and finetunes a lot of the techniques I employed on my previous projects. In particular

• Taxiway/runway lights no longer glare when viewed from further distances (e.g. 5+ nm)
• custom MALSR approach lights with sequenced flashers
• Specular map added to pavement markings to offer more believable reflection against sunlight
• Expanded use of dynamic lights in conjunction with emissive textures for night lighting. In particular, the approach lights give off their own dynamic lights which shine on the aircraft, close to what I've observed in my IRL flying.
• Improved technique/workflow for placing 3D objects more precisely and accurately
• Started an object library for stuff like traffic cones, chocks, taxi lights, vehicles, etc. All of the airport-specific items are carefully modelled to their original FAA specifications (e.g. FAA Order 6820.2B for approach light dimensions)
  The library currently has 40 items, but this will likely expand quickly in the future. I may consider uploading it as a standalone if anyone is interested in using it for their scenery projects.

If you're looking for a break from flying all the heavy metal in the sim and are itching for a little GA excursion, drop on by Chesapeake