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Scenery Review : Torres del Paine National Park by Frank Dainese & Fabio Bellini


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Torres del Paine National Park_Header.jpg

 

Scenery Review : Torres del Paine National Park by Frank Dainese & Fabio Bellini

 

Early in 2019 Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini released 3D Cerro Torre "Los Glaciares" National Park that was situated in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina in an area known as Patagonia, A fabled world of Ice, snow and extreme peaks of mountain ranges.

 

After the extensive journey through the European Dolomites, we are now back in this same Southern tip of South American area but lower in Chile with another Patagonia scenery called the Torres del Paine National Park.

 

This Torres del Paine area is set just south of the earlier "Los Glaciares" National Park, and in reality Torres del Paine can easily be a companion scenery to it's slightly northern area as both can be flown together within a hour or so of each other.

 

S America.jpgTorres del Paine National Park Map 1.jpg

Torres del Paine National Park Map 2.jpg

 

The park is located 112 km (70 mi) north of Puerto Natales and 312 km (194 mi) north of Punta Arenas in Chile. The park borders Bernardo O'Higgins National Park to the west and the Los Glaciares National Park as noted just to the north in Argentine territory. Paine means "blue" in the native Tehuelche (Aonikenk) language and is pronounced PIE-nay, while Torres means "Towers".

 

The national park is one of the 11 protected areas of the Magallanes Region and Chilean Antarctica (together with four national parks, three national reserves, and three national monuments). Together, the protected forested areas comprise about 51% of the land of the region (6,728,744 hectares).

 

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There is not per-se any townships or settlements in this scenery, but a lot of custom placed buildings, mostly hotels and campsites over the 800 sq. Km scenery. The main focus point is an (fictional) airfield on the east side of Lake Pehoe. XLCT is noted as "Torres del Paine" of which I will call "Pehoe Airfield".

 

There is only one Looong grass runway 13/31 at XLCT, and a few reception buildings (noting the building as a terminal is a bit too over the top) and a rusted out hangar. Both 13/31 approaches are quite difficult, speed and skill is required here, but the long runway does help.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Pehoe 3.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Pehoe 4.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Pehoe 5.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Pehoe 6.jpg

 

The look and feel of the airfield is very Dainese and Bellini in style and well done, the Chilean flag is nicely animated...  There is a H-Pad situated here but it has no ICAO code and is not listed in X-Plane, but it is still a good pad for airfield use.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Pehoe 7.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Pehoe 8.jpg

 

Almost directly across from the airfield is the real "Hosteria Pehoe", a very touristy hotel (they all complain here of the average bathrooms!)

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Pehoe 9.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Pehoe 10.jpg

 

There is a H-Pad here (Paine Pehoe Helipad) HPHE, and a well done long over water connecting walkway.

 

Note...  the water in most lake areas in the scenery has been adjusted to be more Aqua, and you may notice the stark differences with what is Rock flour, or glacial flour coloured water... but the colour differences are really like that here (note the map above), the water colour changes has not affected however the X-Plane wave system, so water still flows and waves adjust normally, which is very well done.

 

There is another very small village just south of the airfield is Estancia Pudeto, the restaurant here is known for the excellent Torres del Paine views and tough steaks, but watch out for the Armadillos! Further south is another touristy area with several hotels and a couple of jetties.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Pehoe 11.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Pehoe 12.jpg

 

Torres del Paine

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 1.jpg

 

We are going to do a simple loop around the Torres del Paine range from Pehoe Airfield, my trusty transport is the excellent Thranda PC-6 Turbo Porter. note on the X-Plane local map the three other designated H-Pads in HPAINE, HPAN and HPAH.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight map 1.jpg

 

Even from the airfield the Torres del Paine range dominates the view, so it is not hidden or do you need to do any flying in finding the core points of the scenery, it is right there in view front and central.... magnificent!

 

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Takeoff is via RWY 13, and once clear of the ground you need to swing a little left, and then climb...

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 4.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 5.jpg

 

The Paine massif, which is an eastern spur of the Andes is located on the east side of the Grey Glacier, and it rises dramatically above the Patagonian steppe. To the left is the Cerro Paine Grande and to the right is the main attraction of the Cordillera Paine, and between the two is the Valle del Francés (French Valley)...  fronting the range south is the magnificent Nordenskjold Lake.

 

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The striking "horns" peaks of the Cordillera Paine are Cuerno Principal (2,600m)-(Main Horn), Cuerno del Paine Norte (2,400m)-(North Horn) and Cuerno del Paine Este (2,200m)-(East Horn).

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 6.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 7.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 8.jpg

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 9.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 10.jpg

 

These sceneries are immensely hard to do as the ranges are positioned on 4 degrees, which makes it difficult to position the3D models and their associated polygons/textures...  the results here though are stupendous. 

 

Now up to 4,200ft and I want to get close, but not to close as it feels dangerous with the lower peaks...

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 11.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 12.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 13.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 14.jpg

 

.... although they look in a way like the same formations of the Dolomites, the Torres del Paine yellowish granite underlain by a grey gabbro-diorite laccolith and the sedimentary rocks it intrudes and deeply eroded by glaciers. The steep, light colored faces are eroded from the tougher, vertically jointed granitic rocks, while the foothills and dark cap rocks are the sedimentary country rock, in this case flysch deposited in the Cretaceous period and later folded. Still you can get to see some though the gaps of the amazing views of the three Towers of Paine situated in the very north, and also dominating the background to the east is the massive Monte Almirante Nieto (2697m) formation.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 15.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 16.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 17.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 18.jpg

 

At the far eastern point around Monte Almirante Nieto you flip north around along the Rio Ascencio valley... there are three entrances into the park as noted as the W trails, the Rio Ascencio valley is the far eastern one to reach the highlights of the scenery.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 19.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 20.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 21.jpg

 

On the northern aspect is a spine of mountains set around a high glacier in a valley called..  Valle del Silencio or Silence Valley. And again they look extremely dolomiti....  these are the principal peaks of the region from the Terro Nido de Cóndor (2209m) (darker peak) to the three spikes of the "Towers of Paine" with the highest Torre del Paine Central (2460m), Torre del Paine Norte (2260m) and the Torre del Paine Sur (2500) to the right.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 22.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 23.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 24.jpg

 

At Lago (Lake) Paine you follow west the Río (River) Paine to the still Argentinan and Chile disputed glacial waters of Lago Dickson.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 26.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 27.jpg

 

Look south or left out of the aircraft and there are two significant peaks, this is the Cerro Fortaleza Formation with Cerro Fortaleza (2681m)-(The Fortress) and Cerro Escudo (2521m).

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 28.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 29.jpg

 

Smaller northern ranges including Cerro La Paloma, but all are dominated in the background by the highest in the Torres del Paine groups of the Paine Grande (2,884m).... 

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 31.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 30.jpg

 

...   my altitude now is a high 8,600ft, and yet I don't actually feel that high, as such is the elevation below me.

 

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As we reach the western point of the scenery then the Grey lake is to the south and opening out to the north is the famous Grey Glacier...

 

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Grey Glacier is a glacier that is part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. It flows southward into the lake of the same name, before dividing in two at its front end. The glacier is 6 kilometers wide and over 30 meters high and it occupies a total area of 270 km2 (100 sq mi) and a length of 28 km (17 mi)

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 35.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 36.jpg

 

The Grey Glacier has been done really well here by Dainese and Bellini, and there are visible cracks and floating ice flows on the Grey Lake.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 37.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 38.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 39.jpg

 

The Paine Grande is a monolith of a mountain, and very well reproduced here...  note the really well done lower formations in the rock face.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 40.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 41.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 42.jpg

 

From this height the Torres del Paine lake system is very spectacular and well done...  although the focus is on the Torres del Paine scenery, the view away from the custom area is still pretty good, as X-Plane's default mesh works very well in not allowing the custom scenery and yourself to feel not at all disconnected from your surroundings.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 43.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 44.jpg

 

With a now completes complete circle around the Torres del Paine, it was time to have a look at the internal aspects, and so now you fly up the French Valley and into the central basin and another of the W trail entrances. With horns to your right and Cerro Fortaleza directly ahead, as with many mountain areas it all looks very "off world" and Alien more than life on planet Earth.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 45.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 46.jpg

 

There is a reason to fly around the basin, because besides some brilliant views...

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 47.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 48.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 49.jpg

 

...   two rock walls are significant here, not in height but in climbing difficulty and both renowned...  one is to the left in Cerro Cota 2000 and the other mid-picture is Cerro (Cathedral) Catedral because the face looks like a Cathedral facade...  Cerro Cota 2000 is named for its elevation; as its highest contour line is about 2,000 m (6,562 ft) high.

 

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Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 52.jpg

 

Internally in the aircraft you feel overwhelmed by all the tall peaks all around you...  but deep inside the basin, you are just a blip in the landscape...

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 53.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 54.jpg

 

....  there is however a long way down now to descend, I'm at 6,500 ft, so I start the descent even though I am not yet out of the valley.

 

With one last look at the three horns, and then I am then dropping down through the air like the Space Shuttle.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 55.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 56.jpg

 

I simply wizzz fast past my landing site, still falling and still losing altitude, then finally I can loop back around to Pehoe Airfield..

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 57.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 58.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 59.jpg

 

...  and you have to admit, that is a spectacular backdrop to any landing...  The right aircraft has to flown around here, and STOL requirements are also a prerequisite...  getting your speed as low as you possibly can is also a prerequisite, as here 50 knts is at an almost stall speed is what is required to do a good clean approach.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 60.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 61.jpg

 

It is a very tricky landing at XLCT, but still do-able because of the length of the runway...  wow that was a scenic flight and a half.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Flight 62.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Flight 63.jpg

 

Lighting is not being covered in this review, because basically there isn't any? Only the houses and hotels have lit windows.

 

ICAO Noted Airports and H Pads

There is One airport and 4 H Pads in the scenery, and provided are:

 

  • XLCT - AIRPORT  TORRES DEL PAINE
  • HPHE HELIPAD - PAINE PEHOE 
  • HPAH HELIPAD - PAINE SOUTH
  • HPAN HELIPAD - PAINE NORTH
  • HPAINE HELIPAD - PAINE PARK

 

XLCT - AIRPORT  TORRES DEL PAINE

As noted in the review, There is only one grass strip airport set on the eastern bank of Lake Pehoe, and the approaches are quite difficult, and the only grass runway 13/31, is looong. Note there is also a blank H pad situated here.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_Pehoe 3.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_Pehoe 4.jpg

 

HPHE HELIPAD - PAINE PEHOE

Set out in front of the "Hosteria Pehoe" also on Lake Pehoe next to the airport, The H-Pad is a very picturesque landing position with an amazing view of the Torres del Paine, and you also land amongst the buildings of the Hosteria.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_HPad Lake Pehoe 1.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_HPad Lake Pehoe 2.jpg

 

HPAH HELIPAD - PAINE SOUTH

Set on the left arm of the Lago el Toro, the clearing is far south of the Torres del Paine airfield...   A clearing says it all, it is a tight space to land in, but worthwhile. There is a hotel here called the "Cruce a Hotel Lago Grey".

 

Torres del Paine National Park_HPad Lake El Toro 1.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_HPad Lake El Toro 2.jpg

 

HPAN HELIPAD - PAINE NORTH

Not really north but more west and situated at the bottom of the Grey Lake with great views of the Grey Glacier. Basically a campsite with amazing views, it is well worth the visit.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_HPad Lake Grey 1.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_HPad Lake Grey 2.jpg

 

HPAINE HELIPAD - PAINE PARK

Situated at the southeast area of Monte Almirante Nieto. This is a hotel with cabins that is called the "Hotel Las Torres Patagonia". Again the area is well worth the visit as it is at the entrance to Rio Ascencio valley.

 

Torres del Paine National Park_HPad Paine 1.jpgTorres del Paine National Park_HPad Paine 2.jpg

______________________

Summary

After a long set of five sceneries for the Dolomites. Frank Dainese and Fabio Belliniare back at the southern tip of the South America with another Patagonia scenery called Torres del Paine National Park. This scenery is a companion scenery to the earlier release of 3D Cerro Torre "Los Glaciares" National Park that is situated just to the north of the just as famous Torres del Paine mountain vistas on the spine of lower Chile.

 

All the significant peaks are included here, including the striking "horns" peaks of the Cordillera Paine, Monte Almirante Nieto, the principal peaks of the region of the three spikes of the "Towers of Paine". The Cerro Fortaleza Formation with Cerro Fortaleza (The Fortress) and Cerro Escudo are also well represented. The largest formation Paine Grande as are the two other famous climbing peaks in the Cerro Cota 2000 and the Cerro (Cathedral) Catedral which are part of its massive formation.

 

The famous (creeping) Glacier of the Grey Glacier is really well represented as well as the Grey Lake it flows into, and all the lakes and waterways are colour changed to match the real Rock flour (aqua) colourisation.

 

There is one (fictional) airport and four H-Pads included with a vast array of small housing and tourist campsites throughout the scenery that covers an area of 800 sq. km area.

 

Difficult to do, These excellent representations of iconic mountain areas of the world are for exploration, sightseeing or just plain exploring...  and you could throw in a bit of geography as well. All are very highly detailed of the areas they represent and the mountain ranges are of course the stars and the focal point of the scenery packages.

 

Hugely popular and yes I seriously love these amazing and hugely detailed and now extensive sceneries that can change your perspective of iconic mountain areas and allow them to come to life in your simulation world...   Highly recommended.

____________________________________________

 

X-Plane Store logo sm.jpg

 

Yes! Torres del Paine National Park by Frank Dainese & Fabio Bellini is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here :

 

Torres del Paine National Park UHD

 

Price Is US$22.95

 

Features:  

  • 800 sq. Km of beautiful mountains in Ultra-High Resolution
  • 1 small airfield, with considerable difficulties in landing and take-off.
  • 4 Helipad located near the tourist centers.
  • Region located at the confluence of 4 degrees
  • Airfield(XLCT) with 4 Heliports in strategic sites. 
  • Many villages, tourist centers
  • All  3D models Torres groups with textures  in 4K resolution
  • All the vegetation mapped
  • Recolored the lakes, maintaining the water effect 
  • Inserted hundreds of polygons / textures to reproduce the photo-realistic terra

 

 

WT3/Traffic Global: Your joking of course! no, you are on your own here

 

Requirements

X-Plane 11 

Windows, Mac or Linux
4GB VRAM Minimum - 8GB+ VRAM Recommended
Download Size: 400MB
Release and Review version 1.0 (14th October 2020)
 
Installation
Download scenery file size is download 400mb and with the full installation installed in your custom scenery folder as there are three install folders in the order below in the .INI File...  the mesh has to be set below the main "3D_Paine_Park" folder.
 
  • 3D_Paine_Park (511.5mb)
  • Mesh_Paine_Park (250mb)
  • PaineTower_lib (107.7mb)

 

Total scenery installation (Torres del Paine) : 869.20mb

 

Documents

One manual with notes

______________________________________________________________________

  

Scenery Review by Stephen Dutton

16th October 2020

Copyright©2020 : 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)

 

Review System Specifications:

Computer System: Windows  - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD 

Software:   - Windows 10 - X-Plane v11.50r3

Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose  Soundlink Mini 

Plugins: None

Scenery or Aircraft

-  Bell 407 XP11 by Dreamfoil (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$35.00

-  Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter - DGS Series by Thranda (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$34.95

 

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