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I have Orbx Global Base Scenery and now I have finally added Orbx Global Vector as well. The improvements that they make to my FSX world airborne tourism is wonderful.
Today I installed Orbx FTX Blue Pacific Northwest regional scenery package and also Canada/Alaska Open LC package. My simulator flying is now vastly more enjoyable. I am very pleased with it all.
I have flown all over the world in the Various Microsoft Flight Sims. since they came out. I enjoyed the flying in the original Default scenery but with all of this ORBX product installed its a whole new world.
I now cannot imagine not having Orbx. I will be doing a lot more flying now because its just so enjoyable and realistic.
Tomorrow I will install the FTX Skagit Regional Airport in Washington State. I have flown extensively out of that airport for several years and It will be a real treat to have a fully detailed and realistic version of it in FSX. It even includes my favorite FBO!
I thought I would mention all of this in case some of you are considering adding ORBX to your FSX . I am sure that those of you who already have Orbx installed will wonder what took me so long!

I agree, I got FTX Global and Vector in the sale a couple of days ago and I can't believe what I've been missing out on.

Flying anywhere is now a total pleasure.

Dave

Yes, OrbX are currently the scenery masters in the FSX/P3D world.
I own some regions, including PNW of course. I also bought Concrete Muni and Darrington Muni, they make the aera perfect for short test flights with small GA airplanes, perfect for low and slow flights

Funny thing is: I actually fell in love with that area thanks to a freeware. Back in my FS9 days, there was a pretty famous freeware scenery called "North Cascades" or something like that. It was a landclass to enrich all of the area around Concrete, and it quickly became my "home" aiport in the sim. And that scenery was made by.... Holger Sandmann, which is now part of OrbX
So when PNW appeared on the market, I didn't hesitate so much to buy it. And Concrete was the VERY first airfiled I tested after install. Needless to say, it looked much better than in FS9 And it was a great pleasure to fly all of my usual routes in the new sim.

Welcome to the club Flacke, and Dave.


The excitement of any of the flight sims, like FSX, is both in the aircraft, and the fact that it's a "real" 3D world that we can explore.

However, after we fly around any area that we know well, we become disappointed in the scenery. Still, flying planes that we'd never be able to fly in real life is GREAT!


I was skeptical about Orbx/FTX at first. I'd made too many scenery purchases that turned out to be only so-so, with a very few that were actually good.

Now, if it weren't for Orbx, I'd probably be doing something else.


The Global Base and Vector are both required, and essential, for anything that comes afterwards.

And what comes afterwards is absolutely GREAT!

These two pictures were made using ONLY Global Base, Vector, openLC North America (Canada/Alaska), and NOTHING ELSE.







Going from openLC to the "regions", such as Pacific Northwest, or Northern Rockies, is very good, but less impressive because openLC is so good.

But below the "regions" and into the sub-regions/airports you get another BIG jump in realistic detail.

3W5


KEGE


For a comparison, here's the old FSX version of KEGE

The thing is: when you buy an airport, the whole area around that airport gets replaced by pure satellite/aerial photo scenery, with seasonal and night textures, and extremely precise autogen on top of it (plus specific scenery objects, of course).
For example, in 3W5 Concrete Muni, as well as Darrington (1S2 if I remember correctly), the whole town is modelled very precisely, including the main stores. You can drive a car through the town and get quite a realistic view

For "old" sceneries like Concrete, the area covered by the addon is much smaller than their most recent airports. Jackson Hole for example, covers several thousands of km² !! The photoscenery covers all of the valley and surrounding mountains

PS - I'd recommend Orbx - FTX: Trees HD (on sale for $15 plus US/Canadian) for anyone who likes to fly low & slow.

It's not really essential, and frankly, after a while you'll forget about it. But every now and again you'll notice how good the high def trees look, and smile.

Great shots OAM.Love the winter one.
Yes I am out of Hospital finally.Hope it stays that way.
Nearly karking it on a few occasions was scary.



Anthin.

Good to hear, Anthin. Keep the wheels up, and the prop spinning.

Dave87 wrote:I agree, I got FTX Global and Vector in the sale a couple of days ago and I can't believe what I've been missing out on.

Flying anywhere is now a total pleasure.

Dave

LOL, you and I think alike, I only buy on the SALES, like we both just did. By the way, Orbx Global Vector HAS A BUILT IN TOOL that you use to automatically test your entire setup to see if there are any elevation problems [ like the runways that are either deep in crevasses or high up above the surrounding ground]. If VECTOR finds any problems it just FIXES them with no input from you. How great is that!

I also installed the FTX Blue Pacific Northwest and then Skagit Airport. WOW

I hope you continue to enjoy your flights as I do.

Daube wrote:I own some regions, including PNW of course. I also bought Concrete Muni and Darrington Muni, they make the aera perfect for short test flights with small GA airplanes, perfect for low and slow flights

.

I do the same thing in areas like Concrete and Skagit Washington areas etc. Its now so nice to take a Piper J-3 or any other "low and slow" airplane and tour around at low altitude to view the area.

I also enjoy touring around both of those areas in Airplanes, Helicopters, and automobiles in real life as well. They are really beautiful in summer and Mount Baker is really special to view by Helicopter at any time of the year. Its nice to see all the Skiers and Hikers happily waving at the Helo. as you fly above them on a bright sunny day.

Hi OldAirMail. Thanks for your input on the ORBX-FTX trees. I was wondering about them so I will probably install trees one of these days. They do look great.

The truly amazing thing is that none of these addons have affected my frame-rates. My fps is about the same and I am pleased about that.

Hello ANTHIN, great to hear that you are recovering. I know what serious health issues are like so I can empathize with you. Keep flying and healing <S>.

Thank you for your kind words Flacke.Much appreciated.

I hope I never have to go through a year like that again.

BTW.FTX Vector is a great program for solving elevations problems.

Still thinking of those Spitfire picts.

Regards. Anthin.

Anthindelahunt wrote:Thank you for your kind words Flacke.Much appreciated.

I hope I never have to go through a year like that again.

BTW.FTX Vector is a great program for solving elevations problems.

Still thinking of those Spitfire picts.

Regards. Anthin.

Yes, I hope you never have another year like that as well. Just keep improving and healing my friend.
I wish more people knew about the Global Vector elevation tool. You do have to find the tool and run it. And it then finds and fixes any problems, thats as good as it gets.
The Spitfire is my all-time favorite aircraft.. period! I could just see myself flying one of the Spits in those photos. They are so clear, detailed, and colorful.

Blessing to you Anthin sorry to hear of your illness, please keep us posted on your progress. My thoughts and prayers are with you. homeboy