Stephen Posted August 4 Report Posted August 4 Scenery Review - HECA Cairo International, Egypt XP12 by TaiModels I have a list! and I have held that list for over the decade or so that I have being flying in the X-Plane Simulator and doing reviews... I'm very happy to say that over the corresponding years, a lot of my intended destinations have been covered or have been filled in for me from that list to fulfill my ambitions of traveling to the far, far corners of the X-Plane planet. I admit, a lot of the received scenery has broadened my horizons and giving me much pleasure, the list was part of my motto "Building my X-Plane world one airport at a time"... but back to that list. As the decade wore on, as noted the list got shorter... but one airport scenery absolutely and stubbornly refused to fill in, or to give me a strategic central hub for a network that covers the Middle-East and Africa, that Airport was HECA or Cairo International, in Eygpt. Why? drove me nuts, again why was there no decent quality HECA in X-Plane? and so I waited and waited, and to a point I actually gave up on the idea a few years ago. Yes there was a few freeware HECA's developed, but in reality they were really all quite crappy, not worth the flight to Eygpt to experience them, so for all my time in the X-Plane Simulator, I have never visited Cairo... never been there. So when TaiModels released their HECA Cairo International for the other mob (MSFS2020), I was quite jealous, now they had a HECA and X-Plane didn't... I looked at the pretty video forlornly, I was not a happy bunny.... but, but, if TaiModel's had done a MFSF version, then just, just maybe then they would do an X-Plane 12 version, and yes they now have done that, and released HECA Cairo International for X-Plane 12! The X-Plane Simulator now finally has a Cairo International African destination to choose from. First impressions show to a point why developers have shunned HECA, it is a sprawling disconnected and complex layout, surrounded by the high density districts of Masr El Gedida and El Nozha in the Eastern Area. One side of the airport is in the Nile Valley, the other is in the Eastern Desert. During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) built John Payne Field Air Force Base to serve the Allied Forces, rather than take over the existing Almaza Airport located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) away. Payne Field was a major Air Transport Command air cargo and passenger hub, connecting westwards through Benghazi Airport (during the war known as Soluch Airfield) to Algiers airport on the North African route to Dakar Airport, in French West Africa. When American forces left the base at the end of the war, the Civil Aviation Authority took over the facility and began using it for international civil aviation. In 1963, Cairo International Airport replaced the old Heliopolis Airport, which had been located at the Hike-Step area in the east of Cairo. In reality HECA can currently be divided between the old Terminal 1 in the north and the newer Terminal 2 and 3 complex in the South. Cairo International Airport مطار القاهرة الدولي Maṭār El Qāhira El Dawli IATA: CAI - ICAO: HECA 05L/23R - 3,300m (10,830ft) Asphalt 05C/23C - 4,000m (13,120ft) Asphalt 05R/23L - 4,000m (13,123ft) Asphalt Elevation AMSL382 ft / 116 m Terminal 1 is the oldest terminal currently in operation, having been inaugurated on 18 March 1963 by President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Over the years, the terminal witnessed several expansion projects; a second hall was constructed between 1977–79 and a third one was completed in 1980. In the early 2000s, work commenced on the renovation of the ground floor, along with the addition of an expanded departure hall containing a mezzanine floor, thereby allowing more natural light into the terminal, the old exterior was also recladded. All phases of the project were completed by the end of 2003. I love old terminals, and was expecting a part of the "Old" Cairo Airport to part of the scenery, but as noted the area has been since renovated, not the usual being torn down and rebuilt, but actually recladding the old building with a modern facade. In the TaiModels version it comes across a bit like a modern hospital, clean, plainly cladded and even a bit emptyish. Front and centre there is a globe that represents Cairo’s strategic location as a hub connecting Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.This iconic structure is not only a landmark for the airport, but also a symbol of Egypt’s historical and contemporary significance in global travel and trade. The Terminal 1 arrival hall facade was very significant in design, it's still sort of still there in shape, but now also newly recovered and clad externally. It looks good, but I miss the old style design buried under there. TaiModels does interiors, here it is only the front T1 departure lounge, which is dominated by a huge Egyptian boat which are deeply embedded in Egyptian mythology. There are no concourses or satellite terminals here, just three stand areas with the parking range of 1 to 30, so you have a bit of the old Cairo feel here in front of the Terminal, which is enhanced by the huge old lighting towers from the 60's Each "Hall" at Terminal does a different operation. Hall 1 (the main one) is the Departure Hall, Hall 2 is an Arrival Hall, Hall 3 is a Domestic Flight terminal and Hall 4 is a VIP reception building. Hall 2 is well modeled internally, with the arrival baggage claim areas, and the matrix roof structure is skillfully done. This VIP separate building is reserved for VIPs, dignitaries and special services, and it offers a more private and luxurious experience, with dedicated check-in, security, and lounge facilities. Behind landside there are also more eminent structures from the old days, the significant Obelisk is a well-known landmark that travelers often notice when arriving at or departing from the CAl airport. Also the large mosque which is really well done. The central Landside area is well filled in, but... around Terminal 1 it all feels a bit empty. The objects are mostly just placed on the Lo-Res textures and then have had palm trees added. Airside is wide and open, and again the large areas feels sterile. There are a few (very few) animated service vehicles, and little clutters of Cargo Containers, but mostly it is all just this open space around a busy area? Both areas needed (needs) far more detailed clutter and fill to be authentic, and to create that buzzy feel of this important area historic area... TaiModels have done this impressive work in the past (Sydney YSSY), but it is lacking here. Linking the "Old" to the "New" in Terminal areas is an animated Cairo Airport Automated People Mover, which is the first of its kind in the Middle East, it is totally driverless on a route length of 1857 meters. The Capacity of the train is 2000 Passengers per hour per direction. The APM is modeled and animated here between T1 and T3. Terminal 2 was inaugurated in 1986 with 7 boarding gates (image above). It then primarily served European, Gulf and East Asian airlines. The terminal was closed in April 2010 for complete and extensive renovations starting in 2012 and lasting 36 months. The architecture of the building limited the opportunities for further expansion, which necessitated the entire building to be closed for major structural overhaul at an estimated cost of approximately $400 million, The renovated terminal 3 is operating jointly now with the newer Terminal 2 as one integrated terminal via an air bridge, thus, reinforcing the role of Cairo International Airport as a major regional hub. The detail of T2 is exceptionally good by TaiModels, I will admit, this sort of lattice work is their major strength, and it is very complex and well done in the arrival area, certainly notable is the fine roof. Internally T2 is very detailed, if a bit human empty, but certainly worthy of a look around. Although the arrival entrance is in one section, you access the gates via another terminal and concourse opposite (via an underground walkway). Internally it is all very well detailed with the main hall and the concourses are all shown, there is a very nice Arabic feel to this side of the terminal.... E1 to E14 covers 12 airbridges and connecting towers, which are very similar to the arrangements at German (Frankfurt/Munich) airports Stand E11 can cater an Airbus A380/B748 (Code F) with three airbridges provided... All airbridges are very well designed here and are all SAM (Scenery Animation Manager) powered. But as we know SAM has been abandoned by it's developers. You can use OpenSAM as a replacement, its not perfect, but it does work. The ramp towers are impressive, as is the excellent facade motif and glass panel detail. Terminal 3 - given the projected growth, and the limited ability to expand Terminal 2, the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation began construction of Terminal 3 in 2004. The terminal was officially inaugurated on 18 December 2008 and opened for commercial operations on 27 April 2009. The facility is twice as large as the current two terminal buildings combined, with the capacity to handle 11 million passengers annually (6 million international and 5 million domestic) once the first phase is completed. It is adjacent to Terminal 2, and the two terminals are initially connected by a bridge. The feel and design of Terminal 3 is very different, with a more coloured earthy Stucco textured facade as part of the usual glass and steel, the arrival entrance however is a massive matrix of support beams, stupendously done here by TaiModels, and must have taken ages to do all this complex detail. Designed by Dar Al-Handasah (Shair and Partners), this structural arrival zone is certainly the highlight of the HECA scenery. The detail continues internally... with an arrivals hall fully decorated and detailed in an Eygptian feel and theme, including centre the prominent statue of the ancient Egyptian deity Horus. Behind up a level, the check-in areas are also well defined with rows and rows of check-in desks, mostly Eithad branded. Connecting rear to the two concourses is a large atrium, here also it has been modeled, but not to the extent of the arrivals area... Externally the graphic facade has porthole windows, with 3d graphics for ultimate realism. the walkway bridges are also excellent with both the textured Stucco and the steel/glass walkways, it is really well conceived. The Stucco motif design continues into both Concourses A and B, with Gates A1 to A23 and Gates B1 to B24 covering both arms. The (animated SAM) airbridge detail is excellent, and all the bridges being Commercial International Bank (CIB) branded for authenticity In the mix there are two more Class F A380 gates on each pier in G5 and F5, and overall the gate detail is very good, but not with much detailed ground clutter. Internally the concourses are also detailed, all with some great Eygptian advertising detail. With its hub at the airport centered on T3, EgyptAir's operations were overhauled with the full transfer of its operations (international and domestic) into the new terminal between 27 April and 15 June 2009. To implement the Star Alliance "Move Under One Roof" concept, all Alliance members serving the airport were relocated to the terminal by the first of August 2009. Seasonal Flights Terminal - on 20 September 2011, Prime Minister Sharaf inaugurated the new Seasonal Flights Terminal (ST), located west of Terminal 3. During the start-up phase EgyptAir operates its daily flight to Medina from the new Terminal. All Hajj traffic of EgyptAir will move to the ST while Saudia's Hajj flights will still operate from Terminal 1. The ST terminal has an annual capacity of 3.2 million passengers with 27 check-in counters and 7 gates with a common gate and single security concept, the first in Cairo. It is designed to handle 1,200 passengers per hour. Passengers will be bussed to remote aircraft stands around Terminal 3. Its purpose is to ease operational strains on the existing terminals during pilgrim seasons. Terminal 4 ST is done in the same earthy Stucco style as T3, so it blends in well with the area, there is a very nice blast fence on the apron that covers stands 305 to 312. There is also a nice clutter area of ramp service vehicles and equipment set between The ST and Terminal 3 areas, one of the few in the scenery. Cairo Cargo City is the primary cargo facility at Cairo Airport, equipped with state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure. It includes multiple terminals operated by different entities, such as EgyptAir Cargo, which is the cargo division of EgyptAir. The cargo facility is set east, mid-way between the old and new terminal areas. Note the Old (right) and new (left) control towers HECA processes about 300,000 to 400,000 tons of cargo annually. This figure includes both international and domestic cargo, with a mix of freight carried by dedicated cargo flights. Most freight is perishables (fruits, vegetables, and flowers), pharmaceuticals, textiles, machinery, and electronics. The Cargo facility is good, but in areas it feels a little empty (for a busy cargo hub) that needed a bit more (a lot more) clutter detailing. CAI has actually three control towers. The Main Control Tower (the new one). Approach and Departure Control (the old one) and the original tower on top of Terminal 1 to cover the northeast ramps. The main control tower at Cairo International Airport is approximately 56 meters (183 feet) tall. It was built and officially opened in 2009, and is part of the newer extensive development and modernisation efforts at HECA, which included the construction of Terminal 3. It's main job is to oversee these Terminal 2 and 3 zones plus the runways 05C/23C and 05R/23L. The design is very Arabic, tall and slim, and includes a modeled control room interior at the top with an animated radar on the roof. There is Integrated Communication, as the three towers are linked together by a sophisticated communication network that allows the controllers to coordinate their activities seamlessly. The central tower (original) is noted as the "Supplementary Tower" and used for Arrival and Departure, and the (North/East Tower) the "Secondary Control Tower" over the northeast aprons and runway 05L/23R. There is a lot of excellent detail on the Sec Tower, with mobile cell and standard aerials, and again an animated rotating radar. Centre of the landside area is the main CAI radar that has a radius of about 60-80 nautical miles around the airport. Nicely well modeled here, and with again the large red animated receiver that can be seen from any part of the airport. Infrastructure is very good, with the EygptAir's main headquarters being situated here. The ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization ) have a regional office here and the building is represented, also there is the "Aero Sport Halls”, refers to sports and recreational facilities managed by EgyptAir. These facilities are part of the EgyptAir Sporting Club for employees and their families. There is a Le Méridien Cairo Hotel, which is directly connected to T3... ... and the Le Passage Cairo and Novotel Cairo Airport hotels, both here are very basic in 3d and wrap textures. Note, the old Operations centre under the Sup tower is now used as the EgyptAir Training Academy, as seen far left here. As you can see here in the images, the modeling has been placed on the textures, but little ground detail was added to fill or clutter the visual aspect, there are trees and fauna, but still to little of that aspect. EygptAir Maintenance. Being the main hub for Eygpt's premier airline. EygptAir has had a Dedicated Maintenance Division at CAI since the 1970s, EgyptAir had to formally established its maintenance and engineering division as a separate entity within the company to service its increasingly complex fleet. Here the complex maintenance base is set around both sides of taxiway J, with the earlier base on the western central section, and the newer section to the east. The oldest drive-through hangar is still here, and glorious it is in EygptAir's logos of Horus, the ancient Egyptian sky god. Horus is traditionally represented as a falcon in the design. There are a few more large maintenance hangers on the eastern side, these designs are more modern and have nice arabic motifs set in the doors, mostly though this area is just collections of various buildings and other facilities with a few hangars thrown in. Both Terminal area entrances are good, with nice advertising on the T1 approach and a sign arch on the T2/T3 entrance. Cairo Pyramids. By now your asking if the famous Eygptian Pyramids of Giza, dated from 2560 BCE are part of the TaiModels scenery? well they are not sadly, but that doesn't say you should not have them as part of the experience.... there is a freeware download by Chris Noe "Egyptian Pyramids & the Sphinx on the Giza plateau", and they are quite recent in design. The track is west of HECA, heading to the Nile Valley and Cairo City. The autogen works for you in creating the mass of the Cairo urban sprawl, it looks almost realistic in arrivals from the west. TaiModels have noted in refining the autogen around HECA, to create that urban feel around the airport, and that aspect it is quite successful here. Ground Textures. Outwardly the textures look a little flat, but up close (in say taxi mode) they are not that bad, the bright sunlight here can wash out the detail as well. So they are quite knobbly and grooved with detail, with a fair bit of light grunge on closer inspection. Noticeable however though are the hard straight edges that are not at all realistic? If you are willing to explore and look at the detail, there is a lot of nice faded and worn areas and lineage in here... PBR reflective (wet) active textures and burnt-in ambient occlusion are active as the scenery is X-Plane 12 only, but not really a main feature element in Egypt, so you will get no snow or ice here, no flowers either, as being out in the desert the areas can look a a little bland to the eye, as X-Plane never did desert scenarios very well. Lighting. HEAC Cairo in the dusk is actually very nice... all runways are ICAO standard illumination quality in X-Plane 12 Again Terminal 1 feels like a hospital in the dark, but the overall apron lighting is an unusual yellowly-greenish tinge... which looks very good, are and very say "old Eygptian", the lighting towers are again a highlight. The arrival area of T1 is excellent, as are all the Halls here, and the EygptAir Headquarters stands out as well. Internally inside the Halls it is nicely brightly lit, very rare, and it works well. The CAI Control Tower is visible from all the approaches, in a shimmy blue feature, as it overlooks the T2 and T3 complexes. A highlight is the awning structure at the T2 arrivals area, brilliantly done, looks amazing... the internally T2 is not as brightly lit as T1, so feels a little duller. Around the T2 concourses it again has that yellowish tinge lighting, in most bays the lighting is good, but the towers are a bit dull as is the lighting around the parking areas that need a bit more lighting detail to bring it alive... where it is done, mostly via the floor detail, it looks very good. You are expecting T3 to be well done with it's lighting, and your not disappointed here... Internally the lighting is the same brightness as T1, so it works well in all areas from the external view and from the inside. The Le Méridien Cairo Hotel looks nicer at night, with the nicely lit connecting covered walkway to T3. Mid apron storage areas are also nicely lit. Navigation lighting is good, clear, and abundant, but with no ground reflections. At least there is some fade in the signs for realism. Welcome to Egypt! Summary This Cairo International Airport HECA by TaiModels is the very first payware scenery for the X-Plane Simulator... "Why did we have to wait so long?". To a point you can see why nobody wanted to develop the most important hub in Africa/Middle East. As CAI is a sprawling disconnected area full of hundreds of objects. It has three different styles of terminals and Halls, three control towers, headquarters of EgyptAir and big Cargo and Maintenance facilities. Originally a WW2 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) base, CAI it has been a commercial airport since 1963. TalModels modeling and design is excellent, certainly with the very complex Terminal 2 and T3... Terminal 1 however which was recladded and not rebuilt, so here it comes across a bit too plain and clean, more a hospital than a terminal... however all the four Halls and VIP terminal have been included, including also the entrance Obelisk and mosque. All three control towers are well done, with internal detail and animated radars, as there is highly internal detail in every terminal building. Ground textures are good and have active PBR reflections, burnt-in ambient occlusion. But the straight hard side lines against the bland desert are very visible. Night lighting is overall very good, but apron areas and bays need a bit more detailed side lighting, internally though the lighting is bright and the T2 and T2 arrival areas are spectacular highlights. This scenery is X-Plane 12 only The question here though is the TaiModels approach, as we have seen before. Central important areas like the Terminals and basics are very highly developed, the internal areas here especially so. But outside and boundary features are always lacking. At CAI the aprons and ramps feel very empty and desolate, some areas are not even finished with the lack of clutter and detail.And there is not even provided the expected Egyptian Pyramids to compliment the scenery, small things, but important. The note is this internal detailing is all very nice, but it is on the ramps and at the terminal bays is where we mostly interact with airport scenery, and it is here in those areas that I find it all a bit lacking. Overall though it is a great Cairo Airport to use and enjoy.... and CAI has finally arrived on X-Plane. __________________________ The HECA Cairo International, Egypt XP12 by Taimodels is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store HECA Cairo International, Egypt Priced at US$27.49 Requirements X-Plane 12 (not for XP11) Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 2 GB Current version : 1.0 Released July 29 2024 Installation Installation of HECA Cairo International, Egypt is done via download of 1.87 Gb... There is just one folder to install HECA_Cairo_Iternational_Airport_Taimodels With a total installation size of 3.31Gb. SAM Plugin - Scenery Animation Manager - Suite 3.0 or higher is required for this scenery, or use OpenSAM as a replacement There are no Documents provided by TaiModels ____________________________ Review System Specifications Windows - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.07r1 (This is a Release Candidate review). Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 Scenery or Aircraft -Egyptian Pyramids & the Sphinx on the Giza plateau by Chris Noe -Free- ____________________________ Scenery Review by Stephen Dutton 4th August 2024 Copyright©2024: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved Kiwiflyer and DrishalMAC2 1 1 Quote
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