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Scenery Review : KRSW - Southwest Florida International Airport by Skytitude


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Scenery Review : KRSW - Southwest Florida International Airport by Skytitude

 

This particular Southwest Florida airport has been a big part of my reviewing life. Early years reviewing were based around KLAL-Lakeland, a great airport with wide runways to experiment with the different types of aircraft you journey through. For a test flight, then KRSW was only and perfectly 100 nm away to the south of Lakeland, far enough to get the feel and flow of the aircraft, but not too far away in wasting flying time, plus KRSW was a very nice medium sized, it's a sort of regional hub airport, but can also cater for bigger aircraft if required. In time most of my reviewing moved to KRSW completely away from Lakeland, the main reason was it was more perfect for reviewing not only for General Aviation aircraft, but Private jets and the standard single aisle airliner. Circuits are excellent here, if you go counter-clockwise to the airport. As most arrival circuits are to the south to Rwy 06, so you can keep clear of the heavy traffic, but still have a dynamic background of a working busy airport, it has nice visual elements as well with the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Naples-Marco Island, and Punta Gorda metropolitan areas...  in other words KRSW is perfect.

 

The original reviewing Southwest Florida International Airport scenery was Aerosoft's, with the original release in November 2015, with an update in February 2016. It was for the time a sensational scenery, obviously because why I used it so much, but that is now eight years ago, and time and quality has moved on. And over the last few years without attention, the Aerosoft's KRSW has been feeling a tired, oldish... it still stands up, but here is Skytitudes release of KRSW, and it in many ways created a dilemma, stick with the trusted and known, or upgrade the scenery to the newer version? That is what this review is setting out to achieve.

 

Skytitude is quite prolific and focuses totally on US Florida State scenery, his recent releases are Jacksonville (KJAX) and Tallahassee (KTLH), and both got very high marks for the detail and quality at a value price, so Southwest Florida fits in quite nicely in to that same context.

 

As airports go RSW is not an old airport as it was only conceived in 1973, when it was clear that the existing airport in Page Field would be too small (They were certainly right there). So the government of Lee County selected a site near Interstate 75, which was then under construction. The airport's groundbreaking was done in 1980, and Southwest Florida Regional Airport was opened on schedule, May 14, 1983, with a single 8400-ft runway. Delta Air Lines operated the first flight. The original terminal was located on the north side of the runway at the end of Chamberlin Parkway.
 

The airport was renamed Southwest Florida International Airport in 1993, though it had hosted international flights since 1984 and U.S. Customs since 1987, mainly for flights to and from Germany. The name change coincided with the completion of a 55,000 square foot Federal Inspection facility annexed to the original terminal's Concourse A. The single runway was also lengthened to 12,000 ft (3,658 m) at the same time to better accommodate international service (making it the fourth-longest runway in Florida). The airport has hosted Boeing 747s (including Air Force One), but as of 2009 the largest aircraft scheduled to RSW are the Airbus A330-200s on Air Berlin's now discontinued non-stop flights to Düsseldorf and seasonally the airport attracts a lot of charter and winter visitors chasing the sunshine.

 

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Southwest Florida International Airport

IATA: RSW - ICAO: KRSW - FAA LID: RSW

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06/24 - 12,000 ft (3,658m) Asphalt

Elevation AMSL30 ft / 9 m

 

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First impressions of the Skytitude Southwest Florida scenery, was it didn't seem that different from the Aerosoft version, same visual look and feel...  good for that, but there are a lot changes here at RSW, as we shall see.

 

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First is the aspect change from X-Plane 11 to 12, but there is more to it than that. As the high resolution ground textures are much more detailed and have a far more realistic (even modern) texture about them, they look excellent. Areas now look more filled in, certainly the landside detailing, as it makes the Aerosoft look quite barren compared, but to note you need your "Rendering Distance" set at Maximum, as Skytitude does not do a heavy POV distance to save framerate, but you can easily see the 10 year gap in advancement in scenery detail between the two KRSWs. Landside is excellent in fill and with the well crowded Car-Rental zones and large carparks.

 

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Rather that just being a model, the short-term carpark here is far better defined, with an entrance way and the excellent fauna and tropical trees filling and surrounding the area, it looks finished here and all the better for it.

 

KRSW has only one large terminal with three concourses D, C and B. There are no A area gates (used earlier in the older demolished terminal).

 

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The same concourse design is done thought-out the terminal complex. And the detail is top-notch here, with the right weathered concrete textures and very good window/glass look and feel, all very well done and very XP12 in quality, and the small detail of stairs, antennas and Air-Con units also show a great attention to detail 

 

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All three concourses are excellent, and the ground clutter is well done, no branding, but still quality airport vehicles, service equipment and a lot of ramp container trolleys.

 

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Skytitude uses the built in default "Ground Handling" system, which is now the better airbridge system, easy to use, it works very well here.

 

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In every area then the Skytitude RSW is far better than the original Aerosoft version...  and yet, there is something missing?

 

That missing aspect is the animations of vehicles, that swirled fast around the Aerosoft RSW. So the Skytitude scenery is not as dynamic as the Aerosoft one, and you do really miss them (or avoid them) and you also feel that static difference?

 

RSW's terminal is buried between the concourses and the short-term carpark, but the external detail on show is very good, there are no interior details for either the terminal or the concourses. Car rental area is excellent, with a lot of fine detail and loads of 3d cars.

 

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The exposed carparks are also really well done with high quality 3d X-Plane 12 trees and fauna that are well placed and look very authentically tropical Florida, highlight here is the RV park, a nice detail... 

 

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...   but visually missing on all the entrance roads are the road and airport signage, there is a huge amount of signage here at RSW as shown below, but all the signage is missing in the Skytitude scenery?  It's a small detail, but an important missing one.

 

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Biggest change between the two RSW sceneries is the latest addition of a new state-of-the-art facility control tower and FIA Administration. The facility replaces the older tower, and is part of a broader expansion project at the airport, the tower became operational in January 2022.

 

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Sensationally detailed, the tower and surrounds shows great attention to detail, no internal detail, and the (T) X-Plane Tower view is on the floor near Concourse B. But this area shows that Skytitude is becoming a premier developer in detail.

 

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The Lee County Station 92, serves as the RSW Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) facility, which is placed next to the Control Tower. It was in a basic form included in the Aerosoft version, but here it is fully realised and detailed, including a Basketball hoop to while away your waiting time.

 

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Also added in this area to the north is a communications site with well done and detailed multiple cell and microwave towers. This newly filled in area gives you a very nice filled in visual area on departure or arrival.

 

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Other new details include the construction of the Swissaport Facility, FedEx dropoff depot, Long-Term carpark entrance, and the construction site of the new Concourse E on the west side of the Terminal complex. All these items add in to the fill of the airport environs.

 

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The north side is a very familiar area...

 

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... northwest is a small Cargo facility, with UPS and FedEx sharing the space. There are two small 1-2 parking stands and four larger 3-6 parking stands. Detailing and clutter is excellent, with all the cargo and vehicles branded and detailed. It's perfect for regional (Cessna Caravan) or freighter cargo services...  an area to use.

 

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There is no name on the central ramp, but used you could say it is the "PrivateSky Aviation Services" ramp. This area is my main reviewing platform, it is a perfect place to do this with the movement action going on in the background, and the ease to runway access.

 

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The area is very nicely upgraded from the Aerosoft version. The PrivateSky logos and text is now not so lo-res, the ramps feel more full with with the few static aircraft as well, and the FBO building modeling and surrounding detail is all quite a few steps above the earlier layout. I am going to enjoy it on here...  To the east there is a Delta United Cargo receiving facility, and a large Jet Aircraft Maintenance Inc (Jet Group) hangar, which is really nicely weather worn detailed.

 

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Central to the north of the field is the now decommissioned old control tower, taller than the newer version, it is well sited for runway approaches. Oddly this tower's internal area is well detailed?

 

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Staff and spare carparking is set out behind the old tower complex, again well detailed and defined.

 

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The "North Ramp" was in the Aerosoft RSW, but you barely ever took notice of it. Here in the Skytitude version the ramps are far better detailed, as is the placement of seven UPS stored aircraft. So it brings the area alive and in so making it also usable, of which it wasn't in the past. The Airport's Fuel Depot is situated further east by the threshold of runway 24.

 

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There are two areas off the airfield that have custom infrastructure. To the west is Global Parkway, an industrial site, but the very distinctive Holiday Inn Express hotel sited here on the o6 Approach is missing? and the Entertainment Manufacturing Group (EMG) facility, a leading manufacturer specializing in custom metal and cabling products for the entertainment industry is also reproduced here.

 

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Textures

Skytitude seems to be experimenting with ideas when it comes to surfaces and textures. RSW has a lot of varied and different runway and taxiway surfaces, and that has required a specialized approach in replicating them. The results are quite spectacular, as the surfaces here are all excellent across the myriad of different surfaces, including asphalt and concrete variations with stone, cracks and grooves were required. Grunge, dirt, wear is also perfect as are all the markings and signage.

 

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X-Plane 12 dynamics are of course developed into the textures. PBR reflections and normal maps are dynamic with burnt-in ambient occlusion which are all active...  I don't really expect Chicago whiteout conditions this far down in Florida, but I do expect tropical thunder storms effects to be really good.

 

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Jacksonville had a strange rolling grass, which didn't quite work, here experimentation has created a better grass solution, no rolls, nice grass, and areas where the thinning grass comes through creating a patchwork of lawned or differential terrain...  it is all very good.

 

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Using the X-Plane 12 translucency, Skytitude has used it to create a lot of integrated water areas and drainage canals, again really well done and very visual around the airport field.

 

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Lighting

Runway 06/24 is lit to the current ICAO standard, and 06 approach has a ILS (111.50 IRSW) and RAIL guidance lighting.

 

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Terminal and Landside areas are two-tone, with the brighter white on the ramps...  there is a huge amount of downlighting very effectively used here to create light in normal dark spaces like with the terminal, glass night lighting is also well done...

 

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A darker orange tone is used on the Landside. The Arrival terminal area could be more brighter, it feels dark for a busy area? The carpark lighting is very comprehensive and well lit.

 

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The hero again is the new control tower, very candy pop, but effective. Fire Station complex is also well detailed in building and surround lighting.

 

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The "Private Sky" ramp is well signed, but the ramp itself is dark, again the drop-down lighting is well used.

 

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Cargo is brightly, nicely lit, you can easily do night work and the flying from down here.

 

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Field navigation signage is perfectly realised and nicely lit, but the signs come with no ground reflections.

 

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I couldn't resist a circuit flight to see the scenery from the air...  I like it, I like this Skytitude RSW a lot.

 

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Summary

Aerosoft released a Southwest Florida International Airport scenery in November 2015, with an update in February 2016. It became a reviewing stablemate for me and for X-PlaneReviews, because of its position and in being quality scenery. But that last update is now over 8 years ago, and so here is another KRSW Southwest Florida released from Skytitude for X-Plane 12.

 

It would take a lot for me to replace the original Southwest Florida scenery, but admittedly it is showing it's age. Thankfully this Skytitude version is overwhelmingly good. Skytitude has had an upward quality and detailing journey this year with already Jacksonville (KJAX) and Tallahassee (KTLH) in both being excellent.

 

Modeling and building textures at RSW are excellent, but the overwhelming detail here is just that in fill detail, and it is done everywhere. Certainly in the tropical trees, fauna and grass in using X-Plane 12 native tools, but here expertly arranged to create a really realistic environment. New Control Tower is the highlight, well detailed in the day, candy coloured at night, it springs life into the scenery, and all new developments or current developments are all included as is the excellent Fire Station and communications area. Great wildly varied textures are excellent, and the edited DSF tile has a 25 Sq Miles of hand-inserted detailed area, with intergrated water and the drainage canals also use the dynamic X-Plane water and dynamic grass and are all first rate. All textures are PBR with burnt-in ambient occlusion are also all active. The scenery uses the X-Plane 12 "Ground Handling" system for the animated airbridges, and easy to use. Lighting is also really good and heavily down lighting detailed.

 

Notable though is the missing animated ground traffic that is in the Aerosoft version, making the ramp areas feel a little static in comparison, also missing is the entrance road and parking signage, unfortunately it is highly noticeable, and the Holiday Inn Express hotel is also missing on the 06 Approach... all minor stuff, but doesn't takeaway the overall quality of the scenery presented here.

 

It has been an upward journey for Skytitude. But this Southwest Florida International Airport scenery is levels above his other releases, it shows a maturity, but more so an attention to detail that delivers a professional quality scenery, it is also very good with all the latest X-Plane 12 effects and details...  more so, for me it delivers a new palette to deliver excellent reviews. It is to the credit of the developer that they now have moved now into that upper echelon of pre-eminence of quality scenery at a value price...    Highly Recommended!

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The KRSW - Southwest Florida International Airport by Skytitude is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store

 

KRSW - Southwest Florida International Airport

Priced at US$19.95

 

Requirements

X-Plane 12 (not for XP11)
Windows, Mac or Linux
Download Size: 1.1 GB
Current version : 1.0  - September 26th  2024
 

Installation

Installation of KRSW - Southwest Florida International Airport is done via a download of 1.07 Gb...

 

There are three folders to install

  • skytitude-krsw-swflorida-xp-airport
  • skytitude-krsw-swflorida-xp-terrain
  • skytitude-krsw-swflorida-xp-beaches

With a total installation size of 1.41Gb.

 

Documents

There is a single installation manual provided by Skytitude, it documents how to, or not to use Ortho4XP textures.

 

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Review System Specifications

Windows  - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD.

Software:   - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.1.2

Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00

Scenery or Aircraft

- none-

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Scenery Review by Stephen Dutton

1st October 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

 

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