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It's been in the works since late May, but I think I may have reached a point where I'm comfortable sharing some images with all of you of my current project in progress: Hampton Roads Executive Airport (KPVG ... not to be confused with IATA code PVG for Shanghai Pudong) in Norfolk, Virginia (well, it's technically located in Chesapeake, but...).
I moved to the Hampton Roads area last September, and since I rent a Citabria and a Skyhawk from an FBO at KPVG, I figured I'd might as well create some scenery in P3D for my newly adopted home base.
Thanks to the immense pool of knowledge and experience in these forums, I've been able to pick up most of the bits and pieces by reading through various threads and watching the occasional Youtube tutorial. I am a Sketchup pleb, but given the immense power of MCX, I've been surprisingly pleased how the results could turn out. Everything from the custom ground polygons to the buildings to the taxiway lights have been created in Sketchup then compiled using MCX.
This scenery is currently being developed in P3D4.5, but I may look towards compatibility with previous P3D versions as well as FSX if time permits. This airport underwent major reconstruction in 2018 (I think) where an entirely new Runway 10/28 was created, and the original runway was repurposed as a parallel taxiway. Thus, this project reflects the state of the airport as of May-June 2020, introducing these changes to the airport layout as well as changes to all the instrument approach procedures.
Currently completed items are:
-Photoreal (was it 30 or 60cm/px ... I forget...)
-Custom ground polygons
-3D buildings and associated dynamic floodlights
-Taxiway edge lights and runway edge lights, except REIL and green threshold lights
-AFCAD, including new instrument approach procedures
Items that I have yet to complete are:
-Taxiway signs
-REIL and green runway threshold lights
-3D models for some buildings on the airport property but do not interface with airside ops (e.g. fuel storage tanks)
-Filler objects (e.g. traffic cones, self-serve fuel pump, etc.)
-Vector data (to redefine the airport boundary)
-Autogen (I've got it partially, but not satisfied with it yet)
Items that I would like to complete, but aren't necessarily critical, are:
-3D grass
-Ambient sound effect (there are plenty of flora & fauna in the drainage ditches)
-3D models for surrounding car junkyards and water treatment center
Of course, the project timeline is a tricky subject. I do this on my free time after work (and this scenery will be freeware) but as I type, I'm preparing to leave for a 2-week business trip, so obviously progress on the project would pause during this period. Assuming I continue at the same "pace" as I have had since May, then I'd suppose I possibly could be finished with the "essential items" list above by September, but then who knows... but anyways I do hope to finish this sooner than later as this project is my first serious endeavor into scenery design beyond basic AFCAD work here and there in the past.
I moved to the Hampton Roads area last September, and since I rent a Citabria and a Skyhawk from an FBO at KPVG, I figured I'd might as well create some scenery in P3D for my newly adopted home base.
Thanks to the immense pool of knowledge and experience in these forums, I've been able to pick up most of the bits and pieces by reading through various threads and watching the occasional Youtube tutorial. I am a Sketchup pleb, but given the immense power of MCX, I've been surprisingly pleased how the results could turn out. Everything from the custom ground polygons to the buildings to the taxiway lights have been created in Sketchup then compiled using MCX.
This scenery is currently being developed in P3D4.5, but I may look towards compatibility with previous P3D versions as well as FSX if time permits. This airport underwent major reconstruction in 2018 (I think) where an entirely new Runway 10/28 was created, and the original runway was repurposed as a parallel taxiway. Thus, this project reflects the state of the airport as of May-June 2020, introducing these changes to the airport layout as well as changes to all the instrument approach procedures.
Currently completed items are:
-Photoreal (was it 30 or 60cm/px ... I forget...)
-Custom ground polygons
-3D buildings and associated dynamic floodlights
-Taxiway edge lights and runway edge lights, except REIL and green threshold lights
-AFCAD, including new instrument approach procedures
Items that I have yet to complete are:
-Taxiway signs
-REIL and green runway threshold lights
-3D models for some buildings on the airport property but do not interface with airside ops (e.g. fuel storage tanks)
-Filler objects (e.g. traffic cones, self-serve fuel pump, etc.)
-Vector data (to redefine the airport boundary)
-Autogen (I've got it partially, but not satisfied with it yet)
Items that I would like to complete, but aren't necessarily critical, are:
-3D grass
-Ambient sound effect (there are plenty of flora & fauna in the drainage ditches)
-3D models for surrounding car junkyards and water treatment center
Of course, the project timeline is a tricky subject. I do this on my free time after work (and this scenery will be freeware) but as I type, I'm preparing to leave for a 2-week business trip, so obviously progress on the project would pause during this period. Assuming I continue at the same "pace" as I have had since May, then I'd suppose I possibly could be finished with the "essential items" list above by September, but then who knows... but anyways I do hope to finish this sooner than later as this project is my first serious endeavor into scenery design beyond basic AFCAD work here and there in the past.
Eventually I learned Sketchup and Photoshop (not particularly difficult to do) in 2010, Sbuilder in 2013, and MCX in 2015. However, it wasn't until earlier this year when I finally learned how to (successfully) create custom ground polys, unlocking my 10-year-long wish to do away with the terrible default pavements in my projects.
