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Found 8 results

  1. Scenery Upgrade : Alps UHD XP12 by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini Over my long decade, and more of my journey in X-Plane I have encountered many adventures. But a series by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini stands out head and shoulders above the rest. These two renowned developers have created a series of sceneries dedicated to their greatest love, Mountain Climbing. They have covered, or recreated mostly all of the greatest mountain challenges on the planet Earth for the X-Plane Simulator. Everest, K2 - Karakorum, Banff National Park, Machu Picchu National Park and Torres del Paine National Park (Chile). Two masterpieces are closer to their hearts, the magnificent Brenta Dolomites (Coming soon to X-Plane 12), and this newly released upgraded package "Alps UHD XP12". Yes they are scenery packages. But they are more than that in context. Basically these unique areas are exceptional for exploring, because of their unique high quality detailing of the landscape and their regional areas. More so is the reproduction in high (or here Ultra) detail of the most famous peaks in the world. Not only can you see these peaks in realistic detail, but also learn about their position and placement geographically. It is an X-Plane classroom of sorts, a learning realistic geographic location. Besides the huge educational values there is another great bonus. Flying high, these magnificent sceneries can be seen enroute (certainly with these particular Alps/Dolomite releases) from the aircraft at altitude, so they not only give you great geographical vistas, they make X-Plane visually more even ultra realistic. So by now you have gathered I am a huge fan of the Series. Only two notes. Obviously the sceneries in packages are large downloads (Alps is 3.3 GB, expanded to 8.9 GB installed), and setting them out in the right scenery order is crucial to get the correct layouts. So you will need a lot of storage and memory storage, but they won't hog the computer down, which is amazing with these huge file sizes. This is also only a X-Plane 12 Scenery package (so not compatible with X-Plane 11). Customers who own the X-Plane 11 versions of this previous mountain package can get this new Scenery for 40% off. Please find your coupon code in the original invoice. Eligible packages include: AOSTA+Matterhorn, Mont Blanc and Eiger for XP11 This "Alps" release is noted as an "Upgrade", and the upgrade is for use in the X-Plane 12 Simulator, along with it's unique effects. With winter effects, Seasons and that real Alpine feel, X-Plane 12 lighting are also all included.. Yes you have to pay... but one is that four of the original European Alpine sceneries have now been collated into the one package, the "Alps", which consists of; Eiger Park Matterhorn park Aosta Mont Blanc and main peaks of the Alps'' The price is US$59.95 (Currently 17% off), but if you have already purchased (even the separate packages), you can get the Alp's scenery for 40% off. Please find your coupon code in the original invoice. Eligible packages: AOSTA+Matterhorn, Mont Blanc and Eiger for XP11 The scenery also includes improvements and additions in each part (Parks). In addition a large area added both from French side (Megeve, Sallanches,Meribel, Courchevel...) and from Swiss side (Interlaken,Thun, Meiringen, Raron, Reichenbach...), it also includes from Italian side all the VAl d'Aosta bringing the complete scenery over 8000 sq km. Notes include; "In order to achieve the seasonal effects , some attributes were changed to the 3D objects, also in order to include the 3D models of the mountains, the terrain meshes were changed, a forced choice that resulted in the loss of some bathymetric depth data, useless data for mountain lakes. However the lakes have been reconstructed in 2D with specular characteristics with a good visual effect of realism but without water effects (waves ...)". A nice Christmas present, well you can certainly explore X-Plane 12's unique WinterWonderland here, so what is not to like.... Highly Recommended! Images are courtesy of Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini __________________ Yes!... Alps UHD XP12 by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini is now Available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Alps UHD XP12 Price is (Currently) $49.95 Retail Price:$59.95 You Save:$10.00(17%) Requirements X-Plane 12 (not compatible with X-Plane 11) Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM - 8 GB+ VRAM Highly Recommended Download Size: 3.3 GB Customers who own of of this previous mountain package can get this new Scenery for 40% off. Please find your coupon code in the original invoice. Eligible packages: AOSTA+Matterhorn, Mont Blanc and Eiger for XP11 ___________________________ News! by Stephen Dutton 3rd Dec 2022 Copyright©2022: 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
  2. News! - Scenery release : Machu Picchu National Park UHD by Dainese and Bellini Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini have now released another epic scenery and this one is totally different again... Machu Picchu National Park in Peru. Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel, located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru, on a 2,430-metre (7,970 ft) mountain ridge. It is located in the Machupicchu District within Urubamba Province above the Sacred Valley, which is 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Cuzco. The Urubamba River flows past it, cutting through the Cordillera and creating a canyon with a tropical mountain climate. Yes an Instagrammers dream destination... The location is universally known for its impressive and original ruins, and it is the third largest archaeological site in the world. Features: included in the degree -14 -073. The whole territory was reconstructed on a photographic basis. The village (Aguas Calientes,S.Teresa) are reproduced with typical buildings, hotels, residences ... All the vegetation has been mapped and reproduced in 3D. 1 Airport grass-runways in S.Teresa distreect 3 heliports at the respective tourist sites and archaeological site. Reconstructed with 3D models the area archaeological (INKAS) with 4K textures processed from photos. This scenery is only suitable for VFR flight, only with a "visual flight". ICAO codes: XLPMH MachuPicchu Aiport HLPMH [H] Machu_Picchu Heliport HLMPC [H] Machu_Picchu Area archeologica HLPAC [H] Aguas Calientes There is as noted one Airfield and three H-Pads included with this scenery. Images are courtesy of Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini _________________________ Yes! the Machu Picchu National Park UHD by Dainese and Bellini is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Machu Picchu National Park UHD Price is US$19.95 (US$3 off) Requirements: X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4GB VRAM Minimum - 8GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 174 MB Version 1.0 (Feb 2021) (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.
  3. Scenery Review : Banff National Park UHD by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini Some people never seem to go to bed... just weeks after their amazing K2 - Karakorum 3D, Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini have now released another epic scenery that covers the Banff National Park in Western Canada. Banff National Park (French: Parc national Banff) is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885. And is located in Alberta's Rocky Mountains, and situated 110–180 kilometres (68–112 mi) west of Calgary, Banff encompasses 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 sq mi) of mountainous terrain, with many glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forest, and alpine landscapes. The Icefields Parkway extends from Lake Louise, connecting to Jasper National Park in the north. Provincial forests and Yoho National Park are neighbours to the west, while Kootenay National Park is located to the south and Kananaskis Country to the southeast. The main commercial centre of the park is the town of Banff, in the Bow River valley. In this latest scenery from Dainese and Bellini we focus on the Jasper National Park area and in particular the iconic Lake Louise and the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise Hotel, as the area is also a declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Another focus is on a secondary lake called Lake Moraine to the south with the Valley of the Ten Peaks. In scale this is not a particularly large scenery by Dainese and Bellini at around 800 sq. km, but it is quite dense in detail. The famous Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise hotel was first conceived by the railway at the end of the 19th century, as a vacation destination to lure moneyed travelers into taking trains and heading West. The Fairmont has two other sister properties developed in the same style, the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, and the Château Frontenac in Quebec . The hotel's wooden Rattenbury Wing was destroyed by fire on 3 July 1924, and was replaced by the current Barrot Wing one year later. The original Painter Wing was built in 1913, and is the oldest existing portion of the hotel. The Mount Temple Wing, opened in 2004, is the most recent wing and features modern function facilities; these include the Mount Temple Ballroom. The well known Dainese and Bellini design style is very much on show here, basically photo images on a model, but in saying that it looks very nice in this setting, and there is a lot of detail including the main original hotel, the new Mount Temple Wing, and other Canadian style lodging accommodation... so the effect overall works very well, but don't go looking for an ultra detailed model and high quality textures. The Lake Louise hamlet is also reproduced a little east from the hotel. Initially settled in 1884 as an outpost for the Canadian Pacific Railway, Lake Louise sits at an elevation of 1,600 m (5,200 ft), making it Canada's highest community, and the hamlet has a population 691. Thankfully the buildings are not of a regular alpine design, but Canadian lodge in feel. highlight is the custom log cabin style historic Lake Louise CPR railroad station, which is also currently as a restaurant, and the concept is well done and authentic. Other established areas are also represented, including the Lake Louise Ski Resort (with ski lift) and the Paradise Lodge & Bungalows resort. Lake Louise Lake Louise (also named named "Ho-run-num-nay" or "Lake of the Little Fishes" by the Stoney Nakota First Nations people), is a glacial lake that It is located 5 km (3.1 mi) west of the Hamlet of Lake Louise and the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1). The unique turquoise colour of the water comes from rock flour carried into the lake by melt-water from the glaciers that overlook the lake. The lake has a surface of 0.8 km2 (0.31 sq mi) and is drained through the 3 km long Louise Creek into the Bow River. The lake version here is really well done, certainly the turquoise water effect is excellent, there are a set sequence of buoys to set out a runway, but the buoys are quite large and out of scale to the water? in the distance is the Victoria Glacier. To the left is Fairview Mountain with its very nice exposed rocky facade, and behind is Mount Aberdeen... ... oddly the view on the right of Lake Louise is not the bast aspect of the mountains... although the peaks of Mount Whyte (2,983m) and Mount Niblock (2,976m) can be seen, and the challenge here is the Devils Thumb ascent, but this more hiking country than serious rock climbing. The other side of the range is more exciting visually and highly detailed. Mt St. Piran (2649m) is more prominent peak here as is the Little Beehive. Popes Peak (3,163m) and Collier Peak (2,769m) and northside is Narao Peak (2974m) and all are part of the highly rated and noted "Plain of the Six Glaciers Trail" that is a 14.6 kilometer circular trek around Lake Louise. The most significant mountain in the scenery is Mount Victoria, (3,464m) and the mountain is sited on the border between British Columbia and Alberta, there is the Bow Ridge and another peak in the range called the Mount Victoria North peak. Behind Mt. Victoria is Mount Huber (3328m). All these 3D models are derived from DEM (digital elevation model) and transformed into 3D Objects as if they were buildings, with hundreds of thousands of triangles. The textures here are all in 4K resolution, and obtained from high definition photos were then applied. The positioning on the modified meshes is very accurate, respecting the elevations and the main morphological characteristics of the terrain. A further difficulty due to the presence of 4 degrees right in the center of 3D models. Lake Louise to Lake Moraine Route That covers the Lake Louise valley, the route to Lake Lake Moraine is a tricky, but a highly panoramic flight... ... you could really cheat and go via the Bow River Valley, but that would be too easy. Start point is the excellent Lake Louise Boathouse. I'm flying the excellent Thranda Beaver DHC-2 with 450 hp (340 kW), but to be honest it struggles a little with this route, so I do recommend a more powerful float aircraft. You need as much momentum as you can get. So with a few runs I found that a swing at speed into the marked water-lane was the best way to get the maximum movement to attempt a takeoff... ... there are not a lot of options here, and with no wind in your face, it is pretty hard to get right. Flaps at Takeoff (I did try full flap and even no Flap, with pretty horrendous results)... ... but the Beaver simply refuses to build speed and become unstuck from the water... ... full power, a bounce from the yoke and holding your breath, and the DHC-2 finally grips the air... Yay, I'm up... once clear of the water drag I'm flying but my problems are not over yet... I now have to climb and climb hard, as there is the need to get from 5,300ft to 8,000ft as quickly as possible, in the Beaver that is very tricky but doable, it just needs the perfect balance between using the weak engine power and your vertical speed, not stalling is the key... Flaps stay at the climb position. Your aim is an almost very tight and high valley called "Abbot Pass" on the left at the join between between the bases of Mount Lefroy and Mount Victoria. It is damn hard to climb enough to clear the ridge, worse is that as the towering face of Mt. Victoria overwhelms you, the aircraft drifts left, and you will need a lot of skill and a lot of right rudder to keep the aircraft straight, balanced and to get through the tight gap. Even when through the pass, you are still climbing, so level off at just over 8,000ft. To your immediate left is the bulk of Mount Temple (3,544m) the highest peak in the Lake Louise area and the mountain looks from certain angles like a smaller Mount Everest... ... behind the bulk are the smaller peaks of Pinnacle Mountain (3,070m) and Eiffel Peak (3,077m). Pinnacle Mountain is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods. It was formed in shallow seas, as this sedimentary rock was pushed east and over the top of younger rock during the Laramide orogeny. The Grand Sentinel is the largest of the pinnacles located on the mountain. This quartzite tower rises 120 metres above the screen slopes on the Paradise Valley side of Sentinel Pass. On your right is the Hungabee Mountain, (3,492m) also known as "chieftain". The basin here is called Horseshoe Glacier. Ringrose Peak (3278m) is an extension of ridge formed by Mount Hungabee, and were the ridge drops and joins to Wastach Mountain is another passage between the valleys, this is the only time period you have to actually pause to have a look at the outstanding view as you pass over Lake Horseshoe. The gap is again quite high and you will need 8,300ft to clear it, but once over the ridge your are then in the famous... ... "Valley of the Ten Peaks", The famous formation is made up (of course) of ten peaks, in order left to right, Mount Fay (3,235m), Mount Little (3,088m), Mount Bowlen (3,072m), Tonsa (3,057m), Mount Perren (3,051m), Mount Allen (3,310m), Mount Tuzo (3,246m), Deltaform Mountain (3,424m), Neptuak Mountain (3,233m) and finally Wenkchemna Peak (3,170m). The mountain face detail of the range by Dainese and Bellini here of the of ten peaks is very good and provide some very highly detail rock faces... But in reality you don't have the time to look at all the brilliant scenery in front of you, Lake Moraine is down there and only a short distance away, and you have to lose now 3,000ft in quick time, throttle back and use your big Flap area as airbrakes, so full Flap... ... it takes a fair bit of flying skill to get this approach to the lake just right, you must keep as far to the right and as close to the Ten Peaks in order to get the best possible curve in approach to the lake. So use as much space as you can before the final turn in to the lake, like at Lake Louise there are sets of large buoys, all set out as a landing area, but they are set to short and too far to the left to be really of any use, I am to the right of the right row of buoys and it gives you a longer water landing area, there are a few boats sitting in your way, but you need the longer landing run... ... the really, really hard part of this approach is the transition from falling fast to finding your correct flare point, your power is off completely in the descent, but if you don't get the power volume back on again, and correct on the leveling off point, you will simply stall or fly over the lake too fast... tricky, but again doable. ... get the procedure right and you can slowly lower the aircraft back onto the water... ... sometimes if your speed is too fast the float noses might dig in, but a lot of nerve is required to get the approach right, and flare perfect. I took about three approaches to get the water landing perfect, so there is the need to practice the long and falling procedure to the landing sequence to get it absolutely right. Once down and floating, I headed for the landing stage which is very similar to the one at Lake Louise. Lake Moraine Moraine Lake is another glacial lake in this Banff National Park, It is situated in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, at an elevation of approximately 1,884 metres (6,181 ft). The lake has a surface area of 50 hectares (120 acres) that is fed from the Fay Glacier. There is only one commercial facility here and that is the Moraine Lake Lodge... ... a local will greet you and give you a big hug, a bear hug... the bear actually very well done. Staying at the lodge is not cheap at around $1,000 a night, but you get breakfast thrown in for that... but it is an experience and even worth the cash for a night or two. As a recreation of the lodge it is very well done and authentic (cheaper as well). The lake shore is well done and all is nicely detailed as well, with signs (bears again), huts, boats and signage... ... but overall, they mostly come to Moraine Lake for the explosive Ten Peak view. Nightlighting In most cases lighting is not a big focus on these mountain packages. but here there is a few more significant buildings here than the usual villages of the Alps and Dolomites. Basically there are only three areas to cover, the Fairmont Hotel, Moraine Lake Lodge and the Lake Louise hamlet. The Fairmont Hotel looks excellent at night with just the right amount of lighting to make it realistic. Entrance roads and carparks are also well lit, overall it looks amazing in the right lighting conditions. The Moraine Lake Lodge feels more remote and rustic in the twilight, it is good, but not flashy, note the lit H-Pad. The Lake Louise hamlet is also very good and feels very much like a Canadian wilderness outpost, the lighting design is very Dainese and Bellini in look and feel, but it works well here. Highlight is again the Railway Station. ICAO Noted Airports and H Pads There are two water runways and two H Pads in the scenery, and provided are: LCLLW – water runway - Lake Louise LCLM - water runway - Lake Moraine Canada HLML - Helipad Lake Moraine XCYCHLL – Helipad Lake Louise LCLLW – water runway - Lake Louise Set directly in front of the Hotel boathouse, the water runway is long and wide, but you have to kink left on departure west. LCLM - water runway - Lake Moraine Canada Pretty useless as a takeoff or landing zone because the layout is intefered by the land jutting out into the course, I use the long left (looking west) set of pylons to get the best full run down the lake, takeoff area is short as well. HLML - Helipad Lake Moraine Set directly in front of the Moraine Lake Lodge, this nice H-PAD is set up on a mound, so you landings have to be quite exact, is so not to side down the sides, but a great approach into the H-Pad is guaranteed from over the Lake. XCYCHLL – Helipad Lake Louise Set directly opposite the Railway station in central Lake Louise Hamlet, this is another great landing zone, but watch out for the towering lamp post on arrival. I was disappointed there was no H-Pad at the Fairmont Hotel? There are several areas you could have used, and the carpark to the north of the hotel, even if fictional is perfect as a landing zone. _________________ Summary Another unique mountain package from the duo X-Plane mountain specialists of Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini, and this epic scenery covers the area of the Banff National Park in Western Canada. The package covers specifically the Jasper National Park area and in particular Lake Louise and the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise Hotel, Lake Moraine with the featured vista of the Valley of the Ten Peaks. Lake Louise Hamlet and various other tourist areas (Skiing) and lodges are also represented. All scenery is 3D with DEM data (digital elevation model) and further elaborated with many structural details. The textures are all based on 4K (4096x4096) extreme quality images. Extremely 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, in this case the Banff and Jasper National Park region, it comes... Highly recommended. ____________________________________________ Yes! The Banff National Park UHD by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Banff National Park UHD Price Is US$22.95 Features: Covers over 800 sq km. included in the degree + 51 ° -117 °. From the valley of ten peaks, Lake Moraine to Lake Louise with the near village. The whole territory was reconstructed on a photographic basis. The tourist areas of the lakes are reproduced with typical buildings, hotels, residences ... All the vegetation has been mapped and faithfully reproduced in 3D. 2 “water runways” have been prepared for the flight from lake to lake with seaplanes. 2 heliports at the respective tourist sites. Reconstructed with 3D models the mountain groups with 4K textures processed from photos. Ten peaks and the homonymous valley, Mont Temple, Mont Lefroy, Mont Hungabee, Moraine lake, Louise Lake... This scenery is only suitable for VFR flight, only with a "visual flight". ICAO codes: LCLLW (Lake_Louise Canada) LCLM (Lake_Moraine Canada) HLML (Helipad Lake Moraine) XCYCHLL (Hlipad - village near Lake Louise WT3/Traffic Global: Your joking of course! no, you are on your own out here Requirements X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 267 MB Release and Review version 1.0 (6th January 2021) Installation Download scenery file size is download 267mb and with the full installation installed in your custom scenery folder as there are five install folders, that need to set in the order below in the provided .INI File... the mesh has to be set below the main scenery folders. Banff_CableWay LakeMoraine_Louise TenPeaks_Banff trees_Banff_lib XMESH_BANFF Total scenery installation (Banff National Park) : 305.13mb Documents One manual with notes ______________________________________________________________________   Scenery Review by Stephen Dutton 16th January 2021 Copyright©2021 : 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 v11.51 Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini  Plugins: None Scenery or Aircraft - DHC-2 Beaver DGS Series by Thranda Design (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$34.95
  4. Scenery Review : Brenta Dolomites 3D by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini This is the fifth and final of the five sceneries that will cover the Dolomite Mountain Ranges in the eastern north of Italy. This new area covers the Brenta Group which is set southwest of the four other packages including the Drei Zinnen National Park, Cortina - Cadore, Belluno and the Western Dolomite areas. Here are the five regions... with the new Brenta Group which is in Green... Drei Zinnen National Park in red, Cortina-Cadore in yellow, Belluno in purple and the Western Dolomites is in Orange. This scenery is unusual in that it does not adjoin or over-lap any other of the preceding sceneries, and actually stands alone. You can of course easily just fly across the Casies Valley from the Val Gardena Valley and you are right in there, so the new Brenta range is not what you would call separated, separated, but just does not also either actually require the other packages to work overall. The Brenta Group or Brenta Dolomites (Italian: Dolomiti di Brenta) is a mountain range, and a subrange of the Rhaetian Alps in the Southern Limestone Alps mountain group. They are located in the Province of Trentino, in northeastern Italy. It is the only dolomitic group west of river Adige. Sometimes called the "Western Dolomites". As part of the Dolomites, the Brenta Group has been officially recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site under the World Heritage Convention. Our route takes us around the base (or valleys) around the Brenta Group, Starts in Pinzolo and ends at the Rifugio Dos Sabion, the orange line represents the point that the custom scenery stops in the package at the northern aspect. There is only one airport XLIPN (Grass) at Pinzolo in the scenery, so we will start there. Pinzolo is situated in the Rendena Valley, Italy and the airfield is set central of the township. The grass runway is extremely long (over 3000m) but a good one... Elevation is a high MSL 2395 ft and that is in the valley. The grass strip airport is quite basic with a few reception/terminal buildings and two large rusting hangars, the airport is sort of fictional as a grass airfield was built in Pinzolo to facilitate VFR flight with a runway of 700 meters, but there is a real helipad at the Madonna Di Campiglio - Pinzolo Helipad (see below) Not noted or assigned a ICAO is a H-Pad at the airport and it is just set past the reception buildings. I am back in the Bell 407 for this section after a sound (engine) fix, which is a much lighter and smaller aircraft than the heavier B412 and more suited to the area. The main central part of Pinzolo is set to the north of the airstrip... Custom objects and there are thousands (or tons of thousands throughout the whole five packages) are excellent, the reference to the local alpine context is very good, the all (important) Italianate churches references are also well done including the Church of San Vigilio and the Church of Saint Vigilius of Trent that stands in the town. Notable are the industrial buildings as well, as these valleys do have quite a lot of industrial aspects, football (soccer) fields are also very well represented thoughout the scenery. Also reproduced are all the main lifts (cable) in each of the tourist areas throughout the scenery, it can turn into a game in listing and finding them all... Madonna di Campiglio and Pinzolo are the main tourist centres with the biggest lift networks. Heading south you pass over the Palu sports fields and then the tail end of Pinzolo. Vilages of Bocenago, Spiazzo, Vigo Rendena and Porte di Rendena are all placed down the Rendena Valley are all spread out in front of you... At the southern most point of the scenery you break into a huge Y shaped valley and commune of Tione di Trento peaks into view and the commune is well known for production of being a specialist of divine candles (the long ones in churches). The candle factory is there, as well as a large hospital in the Tione Hospital (a H-Pad HELTI is located at the hospital), and a lovely football ground. We turn east and up the Giudicarie valley these villages and communes here were combined to create the Comune di Tre Ville.... with Preore and Ragoli at the centre. "Giudicarie", means "judicial districts" and the name goes back to legal traditions of the Middle Age. The one thing I found in spending hours following valleys around the significant areas of these packages are surprises that can come around the next bend, in this case it is Stenico and it's famous Stenico Castle. I decide to take a loop back around to get a closer look at the commune and the castle... If you do go back to Dainese and Fabio Bellini's Eiger 3D package, I was not too keen on the base valley textures as they were quite basic. There has been a significant effort throughout the whole Dolomite series to give the valleys a more realistic look and feel, and they are certainly far more detailed and convincing. With each new package there seems to be more fill and as became more focused on these aspects and here quite noticeably in the Brenta package again there is far more detailing and more realistic elements added in, and I am going to guess here and say that they are vineyards. First a swoop over Stenico and the Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Vigilio church. The Stenico Castle is a fort on a steep hill, surrounded by the Brenta Dolomites and is situated at the foot of the Paganella Plateau. It is a seat of power built on a spur overlooking the roads of communication towards the Valli Giudicarie, and the Castello di Stenico dates back to more than 2000 years, and was first built as a refuge for the Stoni - a proud Alpine population exterminated by the Romans - from which the town takes its name.The beauty of the castle is due to its multi-layer style, because of all the changes and additions which took place throughout the centuries. Heading northeast from the Comano Valley and next up is San Lorenzo Dorsino and at the entrance of the Val d'Ambiez... at the end of the valley you get your first glimpse of the Brenta Group, and the peak of Cima Tosa from the south... but it is only fleeting at this low height unless you go up the valley closer to the range. San Lorenzo Dorsino is set high on the left... On past San Lorenzo Dorsino and the next experience is the huge Lake Molveno. The lake marks the boundary between the Group of the Brenta Dolomites (Campanile Basso, Croz dell'Altissimo, Sfulmini, Cima Tosa) to the west and the Paganella - Mount Gazza formations to the south east). In 1952, the lake was drained to allow the construction of collectors and conduits to feed the power plant of S. Massenza. On this occasion a petrified forest submerged at the time of the lake's formation was found on the bed of the lake. The analysis with radiocarbon carried out in the laboratory of nuclear geology of the University of Pisa has established that the formation of Lake Molveno dates back to the early Iron Age. (about 3000 years ago). Note the excellent X-Plane reflections, with Vulkan v11.50 now working you can finally get access to the feature and it is well worth the effort, it brings these mountain lakes alive. Top end (north) of the lake is Molveno. With a population of 1,138, Molveno is a resort town is a hikers and mountaineers, destination. Again the Brenta Group of mountains show in the background. In reality Molveno is the boundary on the east side of the scenery, but you can still head north and as can connect up with the Casies Valley. You do lose the custom ground textures past Molveno and the custom objects as you are now going back into X-Plane default territory, but I have ShortFinal's Global plugin working and the Italian autogen continues on the communes and villages of the valley, the transition actually works out quite well, certainly nowhere as good as the custom placed objects obviously, but it does work well in context. Andalo, Maso Milano are the first points going north, and just past Maso Milano there is a valley connecting to the right and this is the only route through from the Casies Valley... The point of this exercise is that if you want to approach the important aspect of the Brenta scenery from the north from the other Dolomite packages then this is the only route you would or can take, and you would go north and follow the communes of Denno, Pavillo until you reach the Lago di Santa Giustina. You then are going to flip around the northern end of the Brenta Group range to go down the western Val di Sole (Sole Valley)... ... The Sole Valley is not bland or boring at all, but again the ShortFinal's Global plugin does make a significant difference here. At Dimaro there is a tight spur valley to the left, it is extremely hard not to fly straight on and miss it.... .... the valley is lush but also tightens up as the elevation gets higher, so you have to go up and climb over... but you are on the right route. At near the top of the elevation is Campo Carlo Magno, and you notice that the custom scenery is again in vogue, and high to the left are now again the peaks of the Brenta Group. Over the ridge and below is Madonna di Campiglio, which is a major ski resort. Madonna is the main point of access to the Brenta Dolomites, with its famous via ferrata, with the ski lift to the Passo Groste taking one directly to the northern end of the via ferrata network. The ski area around Madonna has 57 lifts and 150 km (93 mi) of ski runs, with a capacity of more than 31,000 people per hour, rises to 2,600 m (8,530 ft), has 50,000 m2 (12 acres) of snow park. Once past Madonna di Campiglio then to the left you get the full breakout view of the Brenta Group. Brenta Group The Brenta Group consists of three sectors in the Southern Sector, comprising the Tosa massif, the Ambiez chain and the subgroups of Vallon, Fracingli, Ghez. The Central Sector, comprising the Sfulmini chain and the Cima Brenta massif as well as the subgroups of Monte Daino, Gaiarda/Altissimo and Grostè. And the Northern Sector comprising the Northern chain and the subgroup of La Campa. Southern Sector Significant peaks right to left is Cima d’Ambiéz (3102m) the range set behind, Cima Tosa (1,521m) and the Crozzon di Brenta (3,135m) are all presented here. The face of the Crozzon di Brenta is the highlight of this scenery package... and it is extremely well done. For the construction of these expensive 3D models of Dolomites then DEM data were used and further corrected with 3D graphics programs. Subsequently the High-Definition textures were applied in 4K resolution, obtained from high definition photos. The positioning on the modified meshes is very accurate, respecting the dimensions and main morphological characteristics of terrain. Central Sector The central sector has the Sfulmini chain, Campanile Basso (2,883m), Cima Brenta Alta (2960m), Campanile Alto (2936m) and the Torre di Brenta (3,014m) that make up the most Dolomiti style formations of the Brenta Group, all are tall needle or tower shaped rocks, they are also the most inviting to climb. Northern Sector The Northern Group is really two groups or main (west) and the smaller La Campa (northwest). First group consists of Cima Mandron (3040m), Cima Brenta (3,150m), Bocca del Tuckett (2648m) and Cima Sella (2919m). La Campa has La Cima Falkner (2999m) in the center; on its left is Cima Grostè (2,901m). Directly in front of the Brenta Group is our final destination in the HELDS H-Pad at the Refuge Dos Sabion. The start back at Pinzolo is now just slightly south further down the Rendena Valley. Lighting Overall lighting is not the main aspect of these sceneries... there is lighting of course, but it is mainly just housing (window) and the odd street lamps to create an alpine village feel, but in this package there quite a bit of it, so every major valley is lit... Overall it looks quite authentic at night and works very nicely in recreating the valley effect, odd buildings or the main significant custom scenery objects and the many football (Soccer) fields are also well lit in the scenery. ICAO Noted Airports and H Pads There is one airport and 6 H Pads in the scenery, and provided are: XLIPN - Airport - 46.1412447 010.7634422 – PINZOLO HELMV – HELIPAD - 46.1387412 010.9631447 – MOLVENO HELTI – HELIPAD - 46.0437433 010.7252189 – HOSPITAL TIONE HELCA – HELIPORT - 46.2193837 010.8221709 – MADONNA CAMPIGLIO HELN – HELIPAD - 46.2229214 010.8471456 – MONTE SPINALE HELDS – HELIPAD - 46.1670591 010.8078064 – DOS SABION HBRT – HELIPAD - 46.1725133 010.8758617 – REF.BRENTEI XLIPN - Airport - PINZOLO As noted in the review, XLIPN is central of Pinzolo, but the approaches are quite clean, and the grass runway is looong. HELMV – H - Heliport - MOLVENO Situated right on the lake it is a very pleasant place to have a break and take a look around at the lake and scenery behind. Approaches are very good. HELTI – H - Heliport - HOSPITAL TIONE H Pad is situated by the Hospital at Tione. Well done and the approaches are nice and clean, the feature wall is well done as well. HELCA H - Heliport - MADONNA CAMPIGLIO An odd looking structure at Madonna di Campiglio, but an interesting place to land... the full name is also interesting "Vigili del Fuoco Volontari Madonna di Campiglio".... and it is a real structure and the main destination for helicopter transfers in the Brenta area. HELN – H- Heliport - MONTE SPINALE A Pad set at altitude on Monte Spinale, set just to the north of the Brenta Group. There are a lot of ski lift cables on the north approach to be careful of... HELDS – H - Pad - DOS SABION Situated directly in front of the Southern Sector of the Brenta Group, it is a great destination pad at the Rifugio, it is well done as well. Watch out for the high winds though, they can make hovering tricky in the open at this altitude. HBRT – H - Helipad - REF.BRENTEI Situated deep in the valley between in front of the Crozzon di Brenta and Sfulmini chain, then the Rifugio Brentei (2182m) can be hard to find, but the experience is worth it with a nice stone memorial to look at. _________________________________ Summary This is the fifth and final of five sceneries from Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini that cover the Dolomite Mountain Ranges in the eastern north of Italy. This new area covers the western, western area in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region of the Brenta Group of mountains, this scenery unlike the other packages in Western Dolomites, Belluno- Southern Dolomites and the Cortina - Cadore region packages and the first package of the Drei Zinnen National Park has certainly become an enormous project of a scale not seen before in X-Plane before Areas recreated in this Brenta package includes 800 sq. Km, with the villages/communes of Madonna Campiglio, Pinzolo, Caderzone, Tione, Molveno, Stenico, Comano with over 14,000 custom buildings positioned. All the Brenta Group ranges include 3D models of Crozzon di Brenta, Cima Tosa, Campanile basso, Sfulmini, Brenta Alta, Cima Mandron, Cima Brenta , Bocca del Tuckett and Cima Sella. All the numerous mountains and glaciers are all very highly created mesh from DEM data 3D graphics programs, and the Hi-Res textures are all in 4K resolution. The focus mountains are simply excellent in their 3D reproductions and the highlights are Cima d’Ambiéz, Cima Tosa, Cima Brenta Alta, Campanile Alto, Cima Falkner and the sensational Crozzon di Brenta. A note is that the other packages in this series are not required to run this scenery and it could be regarded as a standalone 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. Over the first half of 2020 I have explored through these amazing Dolomite packages a world renowned. It is over the five reviews it became a really huge signicant area to explore and experience, for me it has been a huge experience just cover the project in it's full and sheer size Hugely popular and yes I 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, so all done and Dolomite explored! ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! Brenta Dolomites 3D by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Brenta Dolomites 3D Price Is US$22.95 Customer who already own Dolomites 3D - Drei Zinnen Park, Cortina, Belluno, Western can get this new scenery for $5 off. Please go to the original invoice for coupon code Features 800 sq. Km Pinzolo Airfield(XLIPN) with14 Heliports in strategic sites. Many villages: Madonna Campiglio, Pinzolo, Caderzone, Tione, Molveno, Stenico, Comano.. Over 14,000 buildings positioned, with many buildings rebuilt. All 3D models Brenta groups: Crozzon, Cima Tosa, Campanile basso, Sfulmini, Brenta Alta ... All the vegetation mapped Inserted hundreds of polygons / textures to reproduce the photo-realistic terrain Reproduced the main lift-plants, in particular the Madonna di Campiglio... Reproduced all the main refuges in the area: Brentei, Tuckett, Alimonta, Agostini, Pedrotti, Grostè. ... The fifth part isn't connect with others parts of Dolomites. 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: 630MB Release and Review version 1.0 (4th September 2020) Installation Download scenery file size is download 630mb and with the full installation installed in your custom scenery folder as there are Twenty One install folders in the order below in the .INI File (included and the listing below also includes the Drei Zinnen/Cortina/Belluno/Western packs). The "Dolomiti2_lib" library is not required if you already have it installed. SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1A_DOLOMITI_3D_Part1/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1B_AIRPORT_LIVD/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1C_CableWay_Dolomitti1/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1D_PUSTERIA_Comelico/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1E_MISURINA/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1F_AURONZO/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2A_DOLOMITI_3d_Part2/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2B_AIPORT_LIDI/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2C_CableWay_Dolomiti2/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2D_CORTINA/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2E_CADORE/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2F_CRODALAGO/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D3A_DOLOMITI_3D_Part3/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D3B_CableWay_Dolomiti3/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D3C_AGORDO_ALLEGHE/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D3D_BELLUNO_Piave/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D3E_VAL_CORDEVOLE/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D3F_VALLE_PRIMIERO/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D3G_Zoldana_Fiorentina/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D4A_DOLOMITI_3D_Part4/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D4B_CableWay_Dolomiti4/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D4C_VAL_BADIA/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D4D_ALPE_SIUSI/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D4E_FASSA/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D4F_GARDENA/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D4G_SMARTINO/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D4H_VAL_CEMBRA/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D4I_VAL_FIEMME/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D4J_VAL_FUNES/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D4K_RENON/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D4L_VAL_DEGA/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D4M_LocherAirfield/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1G_Exclusions/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2G_Exclusions/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D3H_Exclusions/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D4N_Exclusions/ D5D_MOLVENO_STENICO D5B_CableWay_Dolomiti5 D5C_PINZOLO_CAMPIGLIO D5A_DOLOMITI_3D_Part5 SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Dolomiti2_lib/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/MESH_DOLOMITI1/ Total scenery installation (Brenta) : 646mb The ShortFinal Global SFD plugin is highly recommended with this scenery. Documents One manual with notes ______________________________________________________________________   Scenery Review by Stephen Dutton 12th September 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 11.41 and tested in v11.50b15 (fine) Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini  Plugins: Global SFD plugin US$30.00 Scenery or Aircraft - Bell 407 XP11 by Dreamfoil (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$35.00
  5. Scenery Review : Belluno-Southern Dolomites by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini This is the third of five sceneries that will cover the Dolomite Mountain Ranges in the eastern north of Italy. This new area covers the Belluno- Piave River Valley and Val Agordina areas, that are positioned directly south and west of the Drei Zinnen National Park, and then the Cortina - Cadore region. Here are the three regions... Each region backs on to the other with the Drei Zinnen (red) top east, then Cortina - Cadore (yellow) and now this new Belluno (Purple) zone, so in areas there is an overlap of one over the other, obviously you need them all in the three packages to get the whole set of overlapping views seen here in this review. Belluno Belluno is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is located about 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites region. With its roughly 36,000 inhabitants, it is the largest populated area of Valbelluna. It is one of the 15 municipalities of the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park. These very extensive Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini sceneries are not super detailed in a perfect reproduction of a township, the main focus is usually on the landscapes and the highly detailed mountains, but in this particular Belluno package the main focus is on the township of Belluno and the general area around it and the Piave River Valley and Val Agordina areas. All the objects in Dainese and Bellini sceneries are custom made, but are mostly generic, however there are a few items like the The Duomo (Cathedral, 16th century), with the 18th-century bell tower designed by Filippo Juvarra that are custom for this scenery as is the Belluno Railway Station. So there is a very Italian feel to the whole thing, and from a flying perspective the whole scenario does work very well. Perched high over Belluno is Schiara (2,565m) - (Italian: Monte Schiara) and the most visible of the southern Dolimites and reproduced here in great detail and is part of the National Park of the Belluno Dolomites. Far west of Belluno and the only other peak visible from the Piave River Valley is the Piz di Sagron (2486m) and close to the famous Cereda Pass. LIBD: There is only one airfield (Grass) in the Belluno scenery and that is Belluno Airport, the airport is also known as Arturo Dell'Oro Airport. There is a genuine Italiano feel to the airport, if you could call it that, as in reality it is just a collection of motley old hangers. But the signage and detail is very good. There is one grass runway 05/23 - 812m (2664ft) Grass at an altitude of 1,240 ft / 378 m ASML. HLIBD: To the east is a H Pad in front of a huge storage/maintenance hangar... Belluno - Pieve di Cadore There are several routes out of Belluno, the first one we will look at is too the northeast to Pieve di Cadore, Pieve di Cadore is part of the Cortina - Cadore scenery so of course a lot of the views shown here include that package. Also I have jumped ship to the X-Trident Bell - 512 from the Bell 407, as the 407's sound doesn't work here in v11.50 (DreamEngine). We are still in the Piave River (also known as Fiume Sacro alla Patria or the "Sacred River of the Homeland"), but now becoming a deep valley going northeast... Once above the valley floor you can see the volume and huge range of the custom objects throughout this scenery package... there are altogether 14,000 buildings positioned manually and reconstructed as in real, Churches, public buildings, soccer stadiums, hospital and even cemeteries over an area of 1200 sq. Km. The Piave River is very well represented along the valley floor, the detail is far better than earlier more basic valley floors which I didn't think were realistic enough for such high-grade scenery, but this is now really good and an excellent step forward. Looking ahead you can easily see the deeper Dolomite mountain chains with Drei Zinnen now poking up, but as you go in deeper and the valley closes in around you they disappear again. All the river side villages and comunes are represented including... Pian di Vedoia, Soverzene, Fortogna, Desedan and Provagna.... as you reach Longarone, look right as if you blink you will miss it.... the infamous Vajont Dam. The Vajont Dam was completed in 1959 in the valley of the Vajont River under Monte Toc. On 9 October 1963, during initial filling, a landslide caused a megatsunami in the lake in which 50 million cubic metres of water overtopped the dam in a wave of 250 metres (820 ft), leading to the complete destruction of several villages and towns below, and in the disaster created 1,917 deaths. The flooding in the Piave valley from the huge wave destroyed the villages of Longarone, Pirago, Rivalta, Villanova and Faè and turned the land below the dam into a flat plain of mud. the Vajont Dam is now disused. Note the village of Casso up to right of the dam, Casso has been reproduced in the scenery for the pretty village it is. The Zoldana Valley off west from Longarone is also represented in detail... Past Castellavazzo the Piave valley around Termine di Cadore and Ospitale di Cadore then the route narrows considerably, and you start to swing the chopper around though the tighter valley sides, and it is fun flying if you can hack it as the width of the valley gets narrower and more bendy after twisty bend. Snaky, snaky as you twist through the valleys, then around Rivalgo it gets really tight as the Sass de Mezzodì (2036m) towers above you ... ... finally around Perarolo di Cadore it opens out and around one final bend there is Y junction with the Monte Zucco directly ahead... ... look left in a glance and there is Pieve di Cadore with the towering Monte Antelao (3263m) behind, this is a short cut valley to Pieve di Cadore, but I am going right, it is tighter (in fact extremely tight) but it brings you out on the reservoir by Corte Longo and Domegge... .... follow the reservoir forward and it takes you up the Auronzo Valley (Drei Zinnen) and here you are now in Cortina - Cadore territory as Pieve di Cadore is left up on the hill. Note from Pieve di Cadore is now looking south it is a different perspective because the view has now been filled in and notably the Piz di Sagron, other major points from the Cadore Valley like Monte Civetta and Monte Pelmo are also very different with the adjoining Belluno package now in position. Belluno - Alleghe The main thrust into the Belluno mountain areas is via the La Valle Agordina, but there are two routes in, the main one of which we will follow through the La Valle Agordina and another route that still joins up at Agordo, the second entrance is via lago del Mis a short way east. Both entrances are framed by the Schiara and Piz di Sagron that we have already noted. Depature is again from Belluno Airport and we head west over the township of Bellluno itself... ... then you turn sharp north. The entrance into the La Valle Agordina is quite hard to see, a hint is that it is the valley without the water. It gets tight very quickly in the La Valle Agordina and you are very soon twisting and snaking between the steep walls... Not far into the valley and to your right up high is a side view of the Schiara, but your eyes need to be forward if you don't want to fly into the valley walls... ... a last turn and up and high to the left is the Pala Group of the Dolomites located near the village of Agordo which is represented on the valley floor. Note to your very far left as you come into the wide Agordo valley is another view of Piz di Sagron. Pala group and is known locally as Il Pizzòn, meaning Great Peak, And included in the ranges are some significant peaks including: Vezzana, (3,192m), Cimon della Pala, (3,184m), Cima dei Bureloni, (3,130m), Cima di Focobon, (3,054m) and the Pala di San Martino, (2,982) and Monte Agnèr (2,872m). The range also includes a large plateau (altopiano delle Pale), spanning for some 50 km² between 2,500 and 2,800 m and is an empty rocky extent. There are a few valleys to explore right around the Pala Group, but we will do that later. Directly opposite and to the east of Agordo is the San Sebastiano chain that includes San Sebastiano (2488m), Monte Tamer (2547m) and Moschesin - Moschesin Castle (2499m)... ... behind Monte Tamer further east is again Monte Antelao in the Cortina - Cadore package. Notably in Agordo is another of the significant amount of Football (Soccer) fields, and the original headquaters (now in Milan) of the Luxottica Group S.p.A. which is represented here. The Luxottica Group is an Italian eyewear conglomerate and the world's largest company in the eyewear industry with brands including Ray-Ban, Persol, and Oakley. Leaving north from Agordo there is a choice of valleys to pick from? The one to the west takes you past the base of Monte Agnèr... but fly on north and... .... up again to your right is Monte Civetta (3,220m) which is a prominent and major mountain range of the Dolomites and the north-west face can be viewed from the Taibon Agordino valley, and is classed as one of the symbols of the Dolomites. But first up high to your left is Lastìa del Framónt This is not the best view of Monte Civetta as that is from our destination at Alleghe, So it is more tunnel valleys and complex route choices north... ... until you reach Alleghe, which is situated by a picturesque lake. Note the brilliant X-Plane v11.50 reflections on the lake! There is a H Pad here HEALL at Alleghe... ... and the backdrop of the sheer north-west face of Monte Civetta while landing is astounding. Certainly one of the highlights of the Belluno package, you can only see the excellent detail in the Civetta range with the Moiazza area as the group of summits just South and East of the Civetta peak. Note in the background Monte Pelmo and again Monte Antelao in the Cortina - Cadore package, and you can see like at Pieve di Cadore the reverse view from the Cadore Valley the significance of the filling out of the view from both angles. Alleghe - Marmolada - Agordo This is a wide loop around Marmolada and the Pala Group which both represent the north and western boundaries of the Belluno scenery. Notable is that the western side of this area dips deep off the package, but I expect another of the last two of these Dolomite sceneries to cover this area of Bolzano, Departing north out of Alleghe there is an obstruction of a high set of power lines that are stretched right across the valley, so you have to gain altitude very, very quickly if not to fly through them, in fact there are loads of powerlines criss-crossing the valleys all through this scenery.... ... a lot of altitude is required anyway, as you can't stay low in the valley of where we are going to next. Not far north of Alleghe there is cross of valleys, we are going to go west along the Val Pettorina, which is a very tight left turn... ... turn right however into the Fiorentina Valley and it takes you right up to the base of Monte Pelmo (Cortina-Cadore), the valley in objects however has now been filled in and makes Pelmo now more accessable than from the east... the view of Monte Pelmo is very good as you can get far closer to the mountain... the village of Selva di Cadore is also well represented. All the villages along the Val Pettorina are represented, and the detail is very good, they include; Saviner di Laste, Rocca Pietore, Sottoguda-Palue and Malga Ciapela. But although the view is nice, you have a serious need to climb higher all along the Val Pettorina from 3,500ft to 6,500ft. Almost at the end of the Val Pettorina you have to take another hard turn left, but looming large in your windscreen is the magnificent Marmolada! Marmolada (3,343m) (Queen of the Dolomites) consists of a ridge running west to east and the highest peak in the Dolomites. Towards the south it breaks suddenly into sheer cliffs, forming a rock face several kilometres long. On the north side there is a comparatively flat glacier, and the only large glacier in the Dolomites (the Marmolada Glacier, Ghiacciaio della Marmolada). the ridge is composed of several summits, decreasing in altitude from west to east: Punta Penia (3,343m), Punta Rocca (3,309m), Punta Ombretta (3,230m)etres (10,600 ft), Monte Serauta (3,069m) and Pizzo Serauta (3,035m). The cross and memorial is represented at the summit as is the aerial tramway goes to the top of Punta Rocca. Views are sensational even by X-Plane standards as the Cortina and even the Drei Zinnen sceneries are all clearly visible, including the Fanes group and Fanes Plateau. The Lago di Fedaia is located at the foot of the Marmolada Glacier. You can of course fly around the full base of Marmolada, but in reality this is where the boundary of the scenery ends (until the next package)... You can still loop around the valleys as they are interesting and great for flying low(ish)... .... you can at Moena turn into the Passo di S. Pellegrino that will take still around the full circle base of Marmolada, but it also takes you directly back to Alleghe via the Val di Fassa. However I continued down to Predazzo and then a hard left and back into the Belluno scenery down the Val Paneveggio... the Pala Group now comes back into view but from the western aspect. Lago di Paneveggio is spectacular with the X-Plane v11.50 reflections (really loving the Vulkan reflection feature in this scenery?) But past the Lago there is really no easy pass or valley to slip though, so my choice was to get up close to the Pala Group and go up and over (it is the left turn here) to the Primiero valley ... ... from this angle the highest peak in the group, Cima della Vezzana is extremely impressive. A huge amount of work has gone into recreating these iconic Dolomite peaks, is as noted that the DEM data that is used and it is then further corrected with 3D graphics programs. Subsequently the textures were then applied in 4K resolution which are obtained from high definition photos. The positioning on the modified mesh is very accurate and respecting the dimensions and the main morphological characteristics of the terrain. And as the Dolomites are mountains with unique characteristics as they come with their large vertical and smooth walls. Heading south and on the western side of the Belluno package down the Primiero valley and next into view comes San Martino di Castrozza which is a major Dolomite ski resort... there is a H Pad located here: HSMC ... but it is time now to head back to Agordo, so bit further along the Primiero valley left turn at Fiera di Primiero puts you back in the La Valle Agordina. On the left you get another and more closer and significant visual aspect of Piz di Sagron from the Valle Agordina as the range is set to the south and close to the Piave River Valley. Further down the valley going west a familiar view opens up with San Sebastiano - Monte Tamer mountain groups as you arrive back at Agordo... Agordo has a H Pad HEAG by the Vigili del Fuoco (Fire Station), it is a tricky landing over a fence, but still doable. Lighting Overall lighting is not the main aspect of these sceneries... there is lighting of course, but it is mainly just housing (window) and the odd street lamps to create an alpine village feel, but in this package there quite a bit of it, so every major valley is lit... With Belluno being the largest township of any Dainese and Bellini sceneries there is of course far more here, and it looks quite authentic at night and works very nicely in recreating the valley effect, odd buildings or the main significant custom scenery objects and the many football (Soccer) fields are also well lit in the scenery. _________________________________ There is one airport and 11 H pads in the scenery, which is significantly more here than most other provided landing areas in Dainese and Bellini sceneries, provided are: LIDB - Airport - 46.1632024 012.2453913 – BELLUNO CITY HLIBD - HELIPAD - BELLUNO AIRPORT HELHB - HELIPAD – 46.13908690 012.2001516 –BELLUNO HOSPITAL HELLG - HELIPAD - 46.2721585 012.3034299 – LONGARONE HSMC - HELIPAD - 46.2631061 011.7960794 – S.MARTINO CASTROZZA HEPR - HELIPAD - 46.1694772 011.8224303 – VVF PRIMIERO HEAG - HELIPAD - 46.2789449 012.0309167- AGORDO HEALL – HELIPAD - 46.4119874 012.0159586 – ALLEGHE HEFL – HELIPAD - 46.3561542 011.8715286 – FALCADE HEAR – HELIPAD - 46.4957027 011.8718972 – ARABBA HERV – HELIPAD - 46.4159242 012.1566844 – Ref.VENEZIA HECFM – HELIPAD - 46.4369182 012.1221237 Ref.FIUME LIDB - Airport – BELLUNO CITY Set to the east of Belluno township is LIDB Airport. Unusually a real replication of an airport as most Dainese and Bellini airports are mostly fictional. Single grass runway 05/23 - 812m (2664ft) is complimented by some authentic designed hangars and mostly default objects. HLIBD - H Airport - BELLUNO AIRPORT Set on the eastern end of the Bellnuo Airport in front of a large service hanger HELHB - H BELLUNO HOSPITAL Great Medi helipad outside the Belluno Hospital, easily found and nice approaches. HELLG - H LONGARONE Placed next to the fancy Football Stadium and Sports Centre in Longarone, the approach is singular and difficult because of the trees and house. HSMC - H S.MARTINO CASTROZZA The most western H Pad in the shadow of Cima della Vezzana at San Martino di Castrozza in the Primiero valley. Approaches are very clean. HEPR - H VVF PRIMIERO This remote H Pad is in Primiero, which is directly in front of Pale di San Martino (Pala Group - Between Fiera di Primiero and Agordo). Approach is singlular down the valley but worth it. HEAG - H AGORDO H Pad is by the Vigili del Fuoco in Agordo, with a tricky fence and approach. HEALL – H ALLEGHE Right on the north edge of the lake, it is an extremely spectacular approach in from over the lake. HEFL – H FALCADE Deep central in the Val di Fassa between the ranges of Marmolada and Pala Group is Falcade, Trees and buildings on the approach from the west, but wide and open from the east. HEAR – H ARABBA At the northern foot of Marmolada, Arabba (Marmolada ski resort) it is the most furthest north position of the Belluno scenery, hard to find as it is in a lost valley called Cordevole valley. It is however a good place to go north or east into the Cortina - Cadrone areas. Slight incline but good approaches to the H Pad. HERV – H Ref.VENEZIA On the foothills of Monte Pelmo (southeast) this is a refuge H Pad. The H Pad is set out on an extreme slope, so it is extremely difficult to land or takeoff from. HECFM – H Ref.FIUME This Refuge is also on the foothills up the Fiorentina Valley of Monte Pelmo (northwest), this is another refuge H Pad. Note: if either HERV or HECFM Refuges don't appear, then remove the (D3H)_Exclusions folder? The folder is for x-europe or ortho4xp use. Most of all the refuges in the Belluno areas are represented, including: Coldai, Tissi, VII ° Alpini, Carestiato, Scarpa, City of Fiume, Venice Ref and more. _________________________________ Summary This is the third of five sceneries from Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini that cover the Dolomite Mountain Ranges in the eastern north of Italy. This new area covers the Belluno Valley and Val Agordina areas, that are positioned directly south and west of the Drei Zinnen National Park, and then the Cortina - Cadore region. Areas recreated in this scenery package include: Belluno city , Longarone + Vajont dam, all the many valleys including: Agordina, Fiorentina, Zoldana, Cordevole, Piave, Prmiero All the numerous mountains and glaciers are all very highly created mesh from DEM data 3D graphics programs, and the Hi-Res textures are all in 4K resolution. The focus mountains are simply excellent in their 3D reproductions and the highlights are Pale di San martino (Pala Group), Schiara, Marmolada, Civetta, Moiazza, San Sebastiano (Tamer), Sass Set, Sagron. 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 highly detailed of the areas they represent and the mountain ranges are of course the stars and the focal point. With this Belluno extension you do have a question that arises in that does it stand alone as a scenery by itself? That is big question to now answer unlike the former Drie Zinnen/Cortana Packages. Personally I can't see this package fully working effectively without the Cortina-Cadore extension as part of the same landscape, as the two Cortina/Belluno do heavily intertwine together at many points and boundaries, and the visual aspects from both sides of each scenery are duly both affected, together there quite outstanding in many viewpoints, and also now showing the truly huge landscape of the Dolomite area that is now visible. Hugely popular and yes I love these amazing and hugely detailed and now extensive sceneries that can change your perspective of an iconic area and allow them to come to life in your simulation world... Highly recommended, so three down and only two more Dolomites to go! ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! Dolomites 3D Belluno-Southern Dolomites by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Dolomites 3D - Belluno - Southern Dolomites Price Is US$24.95 Customer who already own Dolomites 3D- Drei Zinnen Park or Cortina can get this new scenery for $5 off. Please go to the original invoice for coupon code Features 1200 sq. Km of scenic Mountain Scenery Belluno Airport LIDB - Extremely detailed over 10 Heliports in strategic sites. Belluno city , Longarone + Vajont dam, many valleys: Agordina, Fiorentina, Zoldana, Cordevole, Piave, Prmiero ... Over 20,000 buildings positioned, with many buildings rebuilt. 10 3D models: Pale di San martino, Marmolada, Civetta, Moiazza, San Sebastiano (Tamer), Sass Set, Sagron ... All the vegetation mapped Inserted hundreds of polygons / textures to reproduce the photo-realistic terrain Reproduced the main skilift-plants, in particular the Marmolada with 3 sections. Reproduced all the main refuges in the area: Coldai, Tissi, VII ° Alpini, Carestiato, Scarpa,Città di iume, Venice Ref. ... 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: 600-950 Mb Release and Review version 1.0 (15th May 2020) Installation Download scenery file size is download 635.20mb and with the full installation installed in your custom scenery folder as there are Nine install folders in the order below in the .INI File (included and the listing below also includes the Drei Zinnen/Cortina packs):  SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1A_DOLOMITI_3D_Part1/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1B_AIRPORT_LIVD/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1C_CableWay_Dolomitti1/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1D_PUSTERIA_Comelico/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1E_MISURINA/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1F_AURONZO/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1G_Exclusions/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2A_DOLOMITI_3d_Part2/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2B_AIPORT_LIDI/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2C_CableWay_Dolomiti2/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2D_CORTINA/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2E_CADORE/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2F_CRODALAGO/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2G_Exclusions/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D3A_DOLOMITI_3D_Part3/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D3B_CableWay_Dolomiti3/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D3C_AGORDO_ALLEGHE/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D3D_BELLUNO_Piave/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D3E_VAL_CORDEVOLE/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D3F_VALLE_PRIMIERO/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D3G_Zoldana_Fiorentina/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D3H_Exclusions/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Dolomiti2_lib/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Dolomiti_SIRX_VEGETAZIONE/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/MESH_DOLOMITI1/ Total scenery installation (Belluno) : 2.05gb connector scenery (D2G_Exclusions- Highlighted) is IMPORTANT in its position in the scenery order .ini to make sure there is a perfect transition between the two packages. Documents One manual with notes ______________________________________________________________________   Scenery Review by Stephen Dutton 17th May 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 11.41 and tested in v11.50b6 and b9 Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini  Plugins: None Scenery or Aircraft - Bell 412 XP11 by X-Trident (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$35.95
  6. Scenery Review : Cortina - Cadore by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini This is the second of five sceneries that will cover the Dolomite Mountain Ranges in the eastern north of Italy. This new area covers the Cortina and Cadore Valley areas, that are positioned just to the south and west of the first release in the Drei Zinnen National Park, full review is here: Scenery Review : Drei Zinnen Natural Park by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini First of all you need to get a location of where you are in the Dolomites. It is harder than it looks in X-plane because in reality all the mountain ranges look exactly the same. The earlier Drei Zinnen National Park (marked in red) is just above and to the side of the wide u shaped valleys of the Ampezzo and Cadore. We will start in Cortina go west along the Fanes Group, come back and then work our way anti-clockwise around the wide U shaped valleys to the Auronzo Valley then come back again to Cortina, and then finally we will go north. Ampezzo Valley Cortina d'Ampezzo (Curtain of the Ampezzo Valley) sits at the heart or it is really the crossroads of the Dolomites and the town (commune) itself sits in a huge wide valley at the top of the Valle del Boite... Top two images are (left) South looking North, (right) North looking South... .... (left) West looking East and finally (right) East looking West. Cortina is a major winter sport resort renowned for its skiing trails, scenery, accommodation, shops and après-ski scene, and for its jet set Italian aristocratic crowd and atmosphere. These Dainese and Bellini sceneries are all about the mountain ranges or the significant peaks in the areas, they are created to be explored and to create a significant visual aspect to the X-Plane simulator... you could throw in a serious geography lesson in there as well. On each corner of the Cortina township there is a significant range... Northeast is the Croda Rossa (left image below, centre rear)... In front is the Pomagagnon (2450m) - (right above, second left) and the lovely Cristallo (3221m) group of peaks, d'Ampezzo, Cristallo di Mezzo and Monte Crisallo (far right)... .... Northwest there are four peaks (left to right) Tofana di Rozes (3225m), Tofana de Pomedes (2750m) and the largest in the Tofana di Mezzo (3244m) and the Tofana di Dentro (3238m)... the peaks can't really be seen from low down in Cortina, but the Mezzo as the highest peak in the area just pops into view. South(east) down the valley and visible is the Punta Sorapiss (3205m) and the Monte Antelao (3263m) of which we will look at closer soon. Southwest corner is the significant Croda da Lago (below), the range was popularised in the film Cliffhanger in 1993 (other scenes were shot on the Tofane cliffs opposite the Croda da Lago), but the intro images are the Croda da Lago.. ... the highest peak of the Lago group is the Cima d'Ambrizzola (2,71 m) Cortina In the Dainese and Bellini scenery the town is represented by the standard village objects that are situated thoughout all their sceneries, and these objects create a sort of generalisation of Cortina more than a pure replication of the township. Cortina has hosted the Winter Olympics back in 1956 and subsequently a number of world winter-sports events. And Cortina will again host the Winter Olympics for a second time when it co-hosts the 2026 Winter Olympics with Milan. A custom number of the original 1956 Olympic facilities are noted in the scenery. _____________________ Fanes Group and West We will now fly a loop anti-clockwise around the valleys. Our equipment is again the excellent Bell 407 by Dreamfoil. Before we head south though, we need to actually head west from Cortina and climb up high... directly in front of you is the Cinque Torri a small rock formation belonging to Nuvolao group, and it is extremely well modeled and detailed... The Cortina scenery package extends quite a way west, and the significant ranges are on your right past the Tofana di Rozes formations... First up is Lagazuoi (2,835m), the famous cross is visable, and the mountain range is well known for its wartime tunnels and First World War mine warfare. The views out here are excellent, and there is so much detail to absorb, the valleys below are a highlight. Sited behind Lagazuoi is the Cimi Di Fanes and P.ta South. The famous Cima Conturines (3064 m) or Conturines are also part of the Fanes Group and has two subpeaks called Taibun Spitze (2928 m) and Cunturines Zahn (2693 m). The boundary of the scenery is a circular range that looks almost volcanic that is still part of the Fanes group that rises out of the Fanes Plateau, it is totally spectacular, and the rim includes the Piz de Medesc (2709m), Piz di Zuber ((2718m), L'Ciaval (2907m), Piz dle Diesc (Sasso delle Dieci) - (3026m), Sas dles Nü (Cima Nove) - (2968m), but the only way to get the sheer scale of the Fanes group is to fly away a fair distance from the mountain range to get the right perspective. These 3D models are obtained from DEM (digital elevation model) and transformed into 3D objects as if they were buildings, with hundreds of thousands of triangles, the amount of work above is overwhelming in creating such realism and detail. ____________________________ We now head back east towards Cortina and the the Cinque Torri acts like a sentinel as you come back down into the Ampezzo Valley... And at the Cinque Torri then Averau (2,649m) directly in your sight on your right... and directly opposite is the Rifugio Averau (there is a H here that we will look at later) The southwest corner of Cortina d'Ampezzo is the Torrione Marcella ( 2345m) - (rear) and the Cima Ambrizzola (2715m) and the Croda da Lago on the entrance to the Cadore Valley. Cadore Valley On the left of the Cadore Valley now flying south is the huge wall of the Punta Sorapiss (3205m)... ... and the Monte Antelao (3263m) now is directly in front of you. It is known as the "King of the Dolomites". (Marmolada, the highest of all the Dolomites, is the "Queen" although composed mostly of limestone) Like many Dolomite peaks, Antelao is steep, rocky, and pointed; it also sits close to the edge of the Dolomite uplift and so has dramatic drops to the nearby valleys. Visually Antelao is one of the most dramatic mountains in this Cortina Scenery, and the township of San Vito di Cadore sits directly below in the valley. On your right directly opposite Antelao is Monte Pelmo which is also a significant mountain of the Dolomites, The mountain resembles a giant block which stands isolated from other peaks, so can be seen clearly from the neighbouring valleys and from nearby mountains such as Antelao and Monte Civetta. Three mountains actually make up the Pelmo formation, the main two are Monte Pelmo (3,168m) the centre formation, Pelmetto (meaning "Little Pelmo" in Italian), at 2,990m high and at the rear the Cime di Forca Rossa (2716m)... Monte Civetta (3,220 m) is located in the background... Its north-west face can be viewed from the Taibon Agordino valley, and is classed as one of the symbols of the Dolomites. Pieve di Cadore You are now coming into the bottom of the U shape of the Cadore Valley, with communes of Cancia then Vodo di Cadore which are both each end of the lake, Peaio commune is then further along until you arrive at Sottocastello (lower) and Pieve di Cadore (higher) which a hilltop strategic location and the town was a medieval stronghold with fortifications, called the "walled city of the Veneto." Below is the Vodo di Cadore which is an artificial reservoir obtained from the waters of the Boite river. The main sight in Pieve is the Palazzo della Magnifica Comunità ("Palace of the Magnificent Community"), built in 1447, and the "Giovanni Paolo II" Hospital which is represented, there is also a H Pad located here as well. Departing Pieve you fly over the reservoir and start up the east side of the curve, passing Calalzo, Valleslla then Domegge on the left up to the Lozzo di Cadore.... ... notable here are the hundreds and thousands of objects in this scenery, every valley and hillside is filled with objects to give you the full vista of the valleys. Further up is a big surprise around the corner as you follow the valley as it then into turns into the very familiar sight of the Auronzo Valley (see Scenery Review : Drei Zinnen Natural Park) ... ... with the spectacular Drei Zinnen National Park now on your right. You can follow the Auronzo Valley right around and straight back to Cortina, a note that you are deep into the Drei Zinnen territory of the scenery here with the Marmarole range and it's highest peak the Cimon del Froppa (2,932m) is on your left or to the south... The del Froppa is however rarely climbed, as it is somewhat overshadowed by its higher neighbours in the Antelao and Sorapiss. The southern boundary of the Marmarole range connects up the two packages of the Cortina and Drei Zinnen sceneries, so make sure you have the correct connector scenery (D2G_Exclusions) and it is also set correctly in the right .ini scenery order to make a perfect transition between the two packages, the scenery join comes out between the Marmarole and Punta Sorapiss formations so as you reach the spectacular Cadini Range of mountains on your right you are now back into the Cortina territory again.... The Cadini Range (below) has four significant peaks in the Cadin di San Lucano (2839m), Cima Eötvös (2825m), Cadin Nord Est (2788m) and Cadin della Neve (2757m)... .... note the Tre Cime di Lavaredo formation in the background behind the Cadini formations, and this range is also on the boundary of Cadini di Misurina (the lake also in the Drei Zinnen package). Flying on westward and it will soon bring you back to Cortina in coming in from the east and then in passing the Cristallo range on my right, with the now famliar Pomagagnon formations directly ahead... ... a look down to the left and there is Cortina sitting in the middle of its large basin bowl.. _____________________________ North The Cortina - Cadore scenery is far larger than the Drei Zinnen package, you could say it is an extension west as much as south over an area of about 1000 sq km in this eastern part of the Dolomitesto. Flying north from Cortina you will first see the only airport LIDI (noted later) in the scenery... ... then you take a right following the Strada Statale 51 di Alemagna into the Braies Valley which goes around another very significant and spectacular mountain in the Hohe Gaisl - Croda Rossa d'Ampezzo in Italian (3,146m). The Croda Rossa's summit has a pyramid shape and the detail is exceptional as the mountain's slopes glow in a deep red colour, it is a feature it has in common with many Dolomite peaks. The mountain is however rarely climbed as it is particularly prone to rockfall. It is more appreciated for its beauty as seen here. Opposite the Croda Rossa is the Dürrenstein or Picco di Vallandro (869m), it is an odd shape but quite spectacular up close or from a distance. It looks like the formation is still coming out of the surrounding landscape, and is being thrust into the sky... Slightly further north than the Picco di Vallandro is the Val Pusteria (Puster Valley), turn right and you go to Dobbiaco, which was the main airport (LIVD) focus of the Drei Zinnen scenery, turn left and into the Cortina - Cadore scenery as it now extends the scenery far further west out to Valdaora. Going west down the Val Pusteria on your left is the Seekofel-Croda del Becco (2,810m) and the Grosser Roskopf (2559m)... Familiar? well they should be because the same mountains that frame Braies lake "Lago di Braies" as in the Drei Zinnen scenery, only now the significant mountains around the lake have now been completed... this chain is also still part of the same formations of the extensive Fanes Group. There is a H Pad (LIBRH-Drei Zinnen) here as well. The Val Pusteria peters out around Valdaora which is the northwest boundary of the scenery, however if you are enterprising enough you could go out further west and then circle around back south to the Fanes Plateau and then complete the full circle back to Cortina. Valdaora is reconisable by the lake (above) - Lago di Valdaora. Lighting Overall lighting is not the main aspect of this scenery... there is lighting of course, but it is mainly just housing (window) lighting to create an alpine village feel... here at Cortina it works very nicely in recreating the effect, odd buildings and the many football (Soccer) fields are also well lit in the scenery. _________________________________ There is one airport and five H pads in the scenery, which is significantly less than most other provided landing areas in Dainese and Bellini sceneries, provided are: LIDI - Airport - 46.5829754 012.1119898 – CORTINA d’AMPEZZO HELCO- HELIPAD – 46.57413275 012.11549615 AIRPORT CORTINA HLICD - HELIPAD - 46.5567965 012.1314460 – CORTINA CODIVILLA HLCR - HELIPAD - 46.4858144 012.1059620 – CRODA DA LAGO HLHP - HELIPAD - 46.4321646 012.3760996 – PIEVE OSPEDALE HLNV - HELIPAD - 46.4952058 012.0461872 - Ref.NUVOLAU LIDI - Airport – CORTINA d’AMPEZZO There is actually an airport in the Ampezzo Valley, but it is a very odd looking facility? An extremely long runway that is threaded between a hangar and the apron areas... but the details here are actually correct, but at the real airport the runway is now discontinued (surprise, surprise), the aprons however only provide helicopter services. The airport was built for the 1956 Winter Olympics. It has remained closed to traffic since an accident involving a Cessna 206 on 31 May 1976. HELCO - H AIRPORT CORTINA On the southern part of the apron there is a H Pad, and it is a tricky one because the fencing gets in the way of the southern approach line. HLICD - H CORTINA CODIVILLA Very odd H pad that has a very angled slope in front of the Istituto Codivilla Putti Di Cortina SpA a sort of (expensive) health retreat. Extremely hard to takeoff and harder still to land on without tipping over? HLCR - H CRODA DA LAGO This H pad sits by the lake Federa right next to the Croda da Lago Refuge, the Croda Da Lago then towers above you... HLHP - H PIEVE OSPEDALE (Hospital) This H pad is situated behind the hospital on a platform, tricky because of the tall trees surrounding the H pad, but it is well done. HLNV - H Ref.NUVOLAU Refuge Nuvolau hut is one of the oldest ones in all Dolomites as it was founded in 1883 and keeps its original aspect in all of its parts. Situated on top of the orcella Nuvolau, it is also known as the Averau refuge. it sits at 2,413m Summary Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini create unique sceneries based on famous or iconic mountain ranges and their environs. This is the second of five sceneries that will cover the Dolomite Mountain Ranges in the eastern north of Italy. This new area D2 covers the Cortina and Cadore Valley areas, that are positioned just to the south and west of the first release in Drei Zinnen National Park This new Dolomite scenery dovetails into the first Drei Zinnen scenery, so in reality you will need both packages to get the full perspective of this growing Dolomite spectacular landscape... and brilliant it is. All the numerous mountains and glaciers are all very highly created mesh from DEM data 3D graphics programs, and the Hi-Res textures are all in 4K resolution. The focus mountains are simply excellent in their 3D reproductions highlights are Antelao, Tofane, Fanes Group and the Croda Rossa. This package is again extensive and covers the central point of Cortina itself, with all the landmark ranges surrounding it... represented is the Le Tofane, Pomagagnon, Cristallo, Lagazuoi, Huge Dolomiti di Fanes, Averau, Conturines, 5 Torri, Lagusela, Lastoni di Formin, Croda da Lago, Sorapis, Scoton and the spectacular Antelao and Croda Rossa. 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 highly detailed of the areas they represent, the mountain ranges are of course the stars and the focal point. Should these sceneries come with a warning? well yes, as you can get seriously lost exploring the valleys and huge areas now at your disposal, but I do recommend the Drei Zinnen package as well as the Cortina to complete the full flow and the perfect transition between the two areas. Hugely popular and yes I really love these amazing and hugely detailed sceneries that can change your perspective of an iconic area and in this case Cortina and it's spectacular surroundings and allow them to come to life in your simulation world... Highly recommended, so now two down and only three more Dolomites to go! ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! Dolomites 3D Cortina - Cadore by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Dolomites 3D Cortina - Cadore Price Is US$24.95 Customer who already own Dolomites 3D- Drei Zinnen Park can get this new scenery for $5 off. Please go to the original invoice for coupon code Features Included in degree + 46. + 012, territory of about 1000 sq km. 1 Cortina airport (LIDI) and several heliports in the most interesting points (Alpine refuges ...) 13 3D models of Dolomites with 4K textures All the tourist attractions of area with the queen of Dolomites: Cortina d'Ampezzo. Cortina reproduced for most part with all its ski lifts. All vegetation mapped and reproduced. Territory totally covered with polygons / textures that reproduce the real terrain. WT3: 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: 870Mb Release and Review version 1.0 (2nd April 2020) Installation Download scenery file size is download 870.20mb and with the full installation installed in your custom scenery folder as there are eight install folders in the order below in the .INI File (included and listing below also includes the Drei Zinnen packs):  SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1A_DOLOMITI_3D_Part1/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1B_AIRPORT_LIVD/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1C_CableWay_Dolomitti1/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1D_PUSTERIA_Comelico/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1E_MISURINA/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1F_AURONZO/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D1G_Exclusions/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2A_DOLOMITI_3d_Part2/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2B_AIPORT_LIDI/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2C_CableWay_Dolomiti2/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2D_CORTINA/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2E_CADORE/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2F_CRODALAGO/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/D2G_Exclusions/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/Dolomiti2_lib/ SCENERY_PACK Custom Scenery/MESH_DOLOMITI1/ Total scenery installation (Cortina) : 1.46gb connector scenery (D2G_Exclusions- Highlighted) is IMPORTANT in its position in the scenery order .ini to make sure there is a perfect transition between the two packages. Documents One manual with notes ______________________________________________________________________   Review by Stephen Dutton 4th April 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 11.31 Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini  Plugins: Environment Engine by xEnviro US$69.90 Scenery or Aircraft - Bell 407 XP11 by Dreamfoil (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$35.00
  7. Scenery Review : Drei Zinnen Natural Park by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini We are back into the mountains. After the excellent Mont Blanc 3D scenery only a few months ago, we shift our location now more eastwards to the Dolomite mountain ranges and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo - "Three Peaks of Lavaredo" or Drei Zinnen, set in the Sexten Dolomites of northeastern Italy. The Dolomites are not just one range but a set of ranges set out just behind Venice (Veneto) that also borders both the Italian and Austrian borders. To note that this scenery of Drei Zinnen is just one of five packages that will cover the extensive area of the Dolomites. This is also not the first scenery released of the Dolomite area either by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini, as their very first scenery was of a Dolomite package. That original version is now not available anymore, it was also very expensive and now not up to now the current standards that set out the reason to totally redo the Dolomite scenery with the latest tools and quality (the original version was also extremely heavy on your framerate). (Googlemaps) An overview of Drei Zinnen is first from the east looking westwards... .... and from the other side west looking eastwards and covers an area approx 1000 sq km. Unlike other sceneries in these packages the Dolomites are far harder to distinguish because the formations are more tighter and almost stalactite in forms, the peaks are not as pronounced either as many of the highest peaks are just the jutting upwards of their actual peaks from a higher mountain plateau elevation. Dobbiaco The main area of focus is Dobbiaco (Italian) or Toblach (German) which is in the South Tyrol in northern Italy. The Township sits in the long and wide Val Pusteria (Puster Valley), or the "green valley". There is only a grass strip at Dobbiaco - LIVD originally only a military airport, but the townships closeness to the areas main attraction of the "Three Peaks" does mean that from May to October the airport is also open for civilian traffic on weekends and holidays. The small military airfield has a 700m long and 50m wide grass runway and is managed by the Italian Air Force's Airport Detachment at Toblach. There is both a grass strip and a provided H pad, but if selecting LIVD, you are placed on the grass strip and not the H pad. There is one other grass runway at Val Casies (LICSS) which is one valley north, it is a basic strip, but it does have an alpine hangar at the east end. Braies lake Before we do the main clockwise circular route around Drei Zinnen, we will go west and to Braies lake "Lago di Braies". Our equipment is the excellent Bell 407 by Dreamfoil. All the townships and villages in the Puster Valley are represented, first up is Niederdorf... there is over 13,000 3D custom objects altogether placed in the scenery to fill out mostly all of the valleys. And at various points you do see the Dolomites in the background, soaring above you. Once past Niederdorf, you do a hard bank left into Untergasse, then a swing right at a branch valley that takes you down to Braies. If you swinging around these alpine valleys then you will have a great time in here... ... deep down the valley and finally to the left then Braies lake will appear. The Lake is closed in by the towering mountains around it, and it is quite spectacular... ... at Braies lake there is a church, large hotel and a very nice wooden jetty... the H pad is to the right of the jetty coming in from the lake approach. All the buildings and the lovely alpine style jetty are really well done, so the lake is well worth a visit. Sexten - Sesto Going east from Dobbiaco along the Puster Valley, you will see first Innichen, or San Candido... with Versciaco di Sotto in the distance, but you then take a south branch off the Puster Valley down the Sesto - Moso Valley towards Sexten - Sesto, which is a major ski resort. Opposite Sexten is the most northern formation of Gantkofel Cima Ganda (2697m), Rocca dei Baranci Haunold (2966m) and the Croda dei Baranci Birkenkofel (2922m)... .... and across a very picturesque valley called the Val Campo di Dentro is the Gselknoten Cima di Sesto (2870m) and the highest peak in this area the Drei-Schuster - Spitz (3152m). Padola Val Fiscalina a wide valley separates the main ranges to the south and this area is Cadore, so if you are flying southeast you have to climb over an elevation to get to Padola and then drop down into the alley of the Padola torrent..... The most significant mountain in this part of the range opposite Padola is the Croda dei Campo (2712m) with the Torrione Canal (2490m) set alongside... ... a complex group of three ranges that is that dominated to the right by the Punta Anna (2707m) set behind the Croda di Taco and Cima di Padola and forward is the Punta Lima (2612m). The middle group is the Selvaplana group, Campanile di Selvaplana (2741m), Sasso di Selvaplaa (2116m).... .... final far left group range is the tallest in the Monte Popera (3046m), Monte Giralba di Sopra (2994m), Monte Giralba di Sotto (2881m). The hub township of Padola that services these three ranges is also well represented in the scenery... There is H Pad (LIPDH) here at the southern part of the township, so you need to fly over and then return back to the pad. Auronzo Valley The Auronzo Valley with the characteristic lake and the Dolomiten crown is on the southern border of the scenery... ... the metal walkway bridge over the Lago di Santa Caterina is represented as is also the (Dam) diga di santa caterina. The H Pad (LIAUH) is positioned east of the bridge on the northern bank of the lake. Next is of a range that looks like the spine of a dinosour is the Colle dell'Agnello (2406m), (and not to be confused with the Col Agnel (Italian: Colle dell'Agnello) in the Cottian Alps), Punta dell'Agnello (2724), Cima d'Auronzo (2918m) and at the rear the famous tooth like Croda dei Toni (3095m). The Lago di Cengia is noted as well, set deep into the scenery with the Croda dei Toni towering above it... ... also deep into the spikes of formations is the largest spike of the Monte Paterno (2697m), it looks taller because it stands alone. Three Peaks of Lavaredo All these sensational ranges are not actually the highlight of the Drei Zinnen area, as they are called the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, or "Three Peaks of Lavaredo". The Three Peaks are set out quite high up on a plateau (in fact the whole area of Drei Zinnen is set on a plateau), and flying in and up from the Auronzo Valley, you have to gain quite a lot of altitude to get up there.... it is all climb, climb and climb to 7500ft ASL Your aim is for the Auronzo refuge, and it is perched on your horizon (arrowed).... ... and get up to the Auronzo refuge and you are faced with the tightest H Pad (LIRAH) square in the scenery, it's very small and you can't make a mistake here in any form on it's concrete steep sides. I'm on the pad, but I also needed a walk around the room to get my nerves to calm down. The three distinctive battlement-like peaks of Tre Cime di Lavaredo are probably one of the best-known mountain groups in the Alps. The three peaks, from east to west, are: Cima Piccola / Kleine Zinne ("little peak") - 2,857m (9,373 ft) Cima Grande / Große Zinne ("big peak") - 2,999m (9,839 ft) Cima Ovest / Westliche Zinne ("western peak") - 2,973m (9,754 ft). The most iconic view of the Three Peaks is however from the east from the Locatelli Refuge, with the Monte Paterno skyscraper as part of the viewpoint. A huge amount of work has gone into recreating these iconic peaks, is as noted the DEM data that is used and it is then further corrected with 3D graphics programs. Subsequently the textures were then applied in 4K resolution which are obtained from high definition photos. The positioning on the modified mesh is very accurate and respecting the dimensions and the main morphological characteristics of the terrain. And as the Dolomites are mountains with unique characteristics as they come with their large vertical and smooth walls. Of which in X-Plane with the traditional scenarios obtained only from ortho-photos are usually are washed out and blurred. So a lot of work is required to bring out all the rugged detail to make these peaks so authentic. The entrance (where you pay to go in) the Tre Cime Natural Park is also modeled on the Dobbiaco side of the range. There is another H Pad (LIRLH) Lavaredo Refuge that is set just along to the northeast from the Auronzo Refuge that situated at the base of the Cima Piccola - Little Peak. Other peaks in the area are also covered, and they include the Monte Piana (2324m), Monte Piano (2306m), Monte Rudo (2804m) and the Cime Passaporto (2697m). Misurina lake One other area to explore is the Misurina lake. This place has the best view of the Tre Cime from a lower angle, but it is partly obscoured. The route to the lake is tight flight down the Misurina valley and the entrance is the valley directly south from Dobbiaco. If you love swinging your machine though the tight valleys then you will love this one, but be careful as the more deeper down the valleys you go, the more of a labyrinth of valleys appear, so you have to work out your route, in fact it is good to note here that the whole scenery is riddled with the multiple labyrinth valleys and it is very easy to take a wrong turn and get lost. Again the entrance to the lake is the wrong way to land at the H Pad (LIMRH), situated on the northern shoreline, so you have to do a 180º turn back. I like the signs posted throughout the scenery and the "Welcome to Misurina" is one of the best. The Misurina lake resort is well done as there is about ten hotels with accommodation for around 500 people, if you can afford the tariffs... the Tre Cime vista is very good as well. A full list of available ICAO H Pads and Airports are: LIVD - grass Airfields - 46.72734142 012.22574365 - DOBBIACO LICSS - grass Airfields - 46.7662504 012.1609550- VAL CASIES LIRLC - HELIPAD 46.6367800 12.3102202 – RIF.LOCATELLI LICSH - HELIPAD 46.8343924 12.2397021 - CASIES LIAUH - HELIPAD 46.5442741 12.4554260 - AURONZO LIPDH - HELIPAD 46.5999123 12.4805672 – PADOLA COMELICO LIMRH- HELIPAD 46.5840457 12.2550331- MISURINA LIRAH - HELIPAD 46.6119826 12.2958200 – RIF.AURONZO LIRLH - HELIPAD 46.6179036 12.3118405 – RIF.LAVAREDO LIBRH - HELIPAD 46.6992351 12.0869121 – LAGO BRAIES Lighting Overall lighting is not the main aspect of this scenery... there is lighting of course, but it is mainly just housing (window) lighting to create an alpine village feel... .... there are a few areas that are highlighted with lighting, Football (Soccer) Fields, Churches and the airstrip hangars. The main townships of Dobbiaco and Auronzo with their huge amount of objects do create great nightime vistas as does the larger hotels around the lakes, but the real spectacular lighting is the onset of dawn and dusk, with those magnificent peaks framed against the fading light. Summary Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini create unique sceneries based on famous or iconic mountain ranges and their environs. Already we have had three sceneries in the Alps (Matterhorn, Eiger and Mont Blanc) and the Cerro Torre in Patagonia, South America. This is Drie Zinnen Natural Park scenery is actually a return to their first scenery, now revisited and refined and to be recreated in five packages with this first package including the famous Tre Cime di Lavaredo, or "Three Peaks of Lavaredo". All the numerous mountains and glaciers are all very highly created mesh from DEM data 3D graphics programs, and the Hi-Res textures are all in 4K resolution. The focus Tre Cime mountains are simply excellent in their 3D reproductions. This package is extensive and even a bit complex until you explore and work out all the different ranges and iconic mountains and their adjoining Ski resort townships of which Dobbiaco, Padola and Auronzo are all represented as is the lake resorts of Misurina lake and Braies lake. 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 highly detailed of the areas they represent, the mountain ranges are of course the stars and the focal point. Hugely popular and yes I love these amazing and hugely detailed sceneries that can change your perspective of an iconic area and allow them to come to life in your simulation world... Highly recommended, so one down and only four more Dolomites to go! ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! Drei Zinnen Natural Park by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Dolomites 3D - Drei Zinnen Natural Park Price Is US$24.95 Features of the Drei Zinnen Natural Park Area coverage of 1000 Sq km Eastern part of the Dolomites Ultra High Resolution 3D Mountains 2 budding airports, one in Dobbiaco (icao: LIVD) and the second at the beginning of the Val Casies (icao: LICSS) Heliport, several landing points have been included in the most important points. 15 3D models of the Dolomites with 4K textures. All tourist locations have been reproduced with over 100 types of custom 3D buildings. All vegetation mapped and reproduced. Total coverage of the territory with polygons / textures that reproduce the real terrain WT3: 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: 765Mb Release and Review version 1.0 (29th February 2020) Installation Download scenery file size is download 796.10mb and with the full installation installed in your custom scenery folder as there are nine install folders in order below (INI File included):  Dolomiti2_lib D1G_Exclusions D1F_AURONZO D1E_MISURINA D1D_PUSTERIA_Comelico D1B_AIRPORT_LIVD D1C_CableWay_Dolomitti1 D1A_DOLOMITI_3D_Part1 MESH_DOLOMITI1 Total scenery installation : 1.80gb The developers note you need to adjust the X-Plane "scenery_packs.INI" so the loading order is correct and the Mesh_DOLOMITI1 must be above the Global Airport folder. Documents One manual with notes ______________________________________________________________________   Review by Stephen Dutton 29th February 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 11.31 Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini  Plugins: Environment Engine by xEnviro US$69.90 Scenery or Aircraft - Bell 407 XP11 by Dreamfoil (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$35.00
  8. Scenery Review : Mont Blanc Group by Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini One scenery a year is expected, two is very nice, but three highly detailed and extensive sceneries at that in one year is incredible, and add in to the fact the type of sceneries that have been released then you simply wonder how it all can be done, but it has and here we go again in traversing another iconic mountain range with Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini's Mont Blanc Group 3D. This release is already after the hugely extensive Eiger Park 3D, and then the Cerro Torre 3D "Los Glaciares" and before that the Matterhorn Park 3D So with this scenery added to the Alpine series you now have a huge amount of the European Alps set out in a very High-Definition quality. The Matterhorn is clearly visible from the Mont Blanc area, as it is positioned in the same southern mountain Alpine chain, but the two sceneries don't over lap unlike with the earlier top and bottom Eiger Park 3D and Matterhorn scenery. Within the group of rendered mountains covered here is besides Mont Blanc 4,808.7m (15,777 ft) there is also, Mont Maudit, Mont Blanc du Tacul, Aiguille du Midi, Tour Rond, Aiguille Verte, Dente del Gigante and Les Grandes Jorasses. The townships of both Courmayeur (Italy) and Chamonix (France) anchor each side of the Mont Blanc range... Pre Saint Didier and La Thuille, are also represented even in a simplified form, but still well recognisable. These photo sceneries are not the usual airport with the surrounding photo textures to represent the general area. The photo textures are the scenery, or the reproduction of the typology of the represented mountain ranges, so yes they are very if extremely good to look at, but there is also a big adventure factor in that these extremely detailed sceneries are excellent to explore, learn the local geography and even make the simulator a higher quality if even flying low in VFR or even IFR in traversing the sceneries as you pass over enroute, in other words they look very nice from the high flying aircraft. My general simulation approach to these sceneries is to replicate a "joy" or "Sightseeing" flight around the scenery, and that is what I have done here. I am using the MilViz Turbo Otter as reviewed and is going to start the tour from a fictional grass runway airport provided in the package at Courmayeur - LICR, there is another very similar fictional grass strip over in Chamonix - LFCX. Courmayeur's grass runway is 09/27 runway is 700 m long and point north and you get a great view of the Mont Blanc range ahead, you are also already at a 4002 ft in elevation. Courmayeur is in the Aosta Valley on the Italian south side of the range... .... if you are familiar with Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini's sceneries then you will know with what you will get. Great detailed scenery with a very good if not extremely perfect layout of the area, but with a few custom buildings that are set into the scenery to represent the locale.... overall they are a great representation of an Alpine scene. One thing I noticed straight away was the valley base ground textures here are far better than in the Eigar 3D package, I didn't like them as they were very plain and not very realistic on the valley floors.... here that aspect has been fixed with a more mottled look that overcomes the starkness of the others and it blends now in far better with the overall scenery. Power up and let's show our passenger the exceptional scenery... you will need a STOL aircraft to get out of Courmayeur, then to climb steeply up to 12,000ft, so all that 750 HP of the PT6A-34 turbine will not go to waste here. You will need all of that 1200fpm climb rate (1600fpm is max) to clear the Aosta Valley, then a turn to the west and Mont Blanc and its spectacular Grand Pilier d'Angle buttress and accompanying Brenva Glacier fill your windscreen. The eastern valley is called the "Val Veny" and you will need all of it's length to climb up to the required 12,500 ft altitude... These mountains are real photos of the area, recreated over a 3D model according to the DEM (digital elevation model) and further elaborated with many structural details... the detail is excellent with the textures based on 4K (4096x4096) size, the detail is phenomenal and my texture settings is only set to the "High" setting here, so yes if you have the power you can get a lot of visual detail. Glaciers "du Freney" and "du brouillard" (fog) are highly visible to the peak of Mont Brouillard directly in front of the Mont Blanc peak. You sort of complete the climb to 12,500ft around the same time you can turn north and into France over the Miage Glacier... .... the custom scenery itself goes a little farther west to cover out the rest of the range. It is at this point over the Mont Blanc Glacier that you are now the closest to the peak... and the view is sensational. Next is the Aiguille de Bionnassay and the Bionnassay Glacier, at this point you turn east and Chamonix comes into view below... ... the view north into France is well blended into the custom scenery, so there are no break lines or different textures, the view is realistic and of course spectacular... ... as is the detail on the Bionnassay Glacier. Once over the Chamonix Valley you pass Mont Maudit and then the showstopping view of the Aiguille Verte and Les Droites is now front and centre... ... the primary mountains above Chamonix are the Aiguilles Rouges and most notably the Aiguille du Midi 3,842 m (12,605 ft) with it's spire and cable car station. Chamonix The commune of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc is made up of 16 villages and hamlets of which the central Chamonix township is the major focus and significant Alpine Ski/Tourist resort. Again 90% of Chamonix is made up of alpine objects, but the iconic Railway Station has been reproduced. And other VFR highlights include the E.N.S.A École Nationale de Ski et d'Alpinisme buildings and the Internes Hospital. The second fictional airport of LFCX-Chamonix is again grass, and this runway is a little over 800 meters long. Yes it is quite basic, but usable. Watching the peaks glidepast is great flying simulation, the massive Glacier des Pélerins, followed by the glacier de Blaitière and finally the glacier des Nantillons, and all three glaciers are framed by the peaks of Du Plan, de Blaitière and the Aiguille du Grépon. Once past the range and Chamonix the view forward is of the more range dividing Rhône valley and Switzerland, fly left to go to Lake Geneva or forward to Sion. Basically the custom scenery ends about here, so you turn south around the Mont Blanc range... .... the Aiguille du Chardonnet is the highlight around here, with the spectacular Saleina Glacier and the Aiguille d'Argentière is also framing the scenery. As you return to the Val Veny from the east it is now called the Val Ferret (valley names swap at Courmayeur), and if you think the show is over, then the best picturesque mountains are actually the last in this list... with the sharp cutter peak of the Dente del Gigante, "giant's tooth" 4,013 m (13,166 ft) and followed by the dramatic Les Grandes Jorasses 4,208 m (13,806 ft).... .... again both landscapes are beautifully recreated with the del Gigante and the Grandes Jorasses in infinite detail. This then covers the full aspect of the Mont Blanc range. They are in an area that is not as large as the other sceneries in this series, but it is the most detailed and spectacular. Now came the difficult bit... you have to drop that 5500ft back down to the Aosta Valley floor, and you will need to forward plan or use a valley to do the steep descent... the Val Veny is the most obvious and easiest choice but I decided to have a look at the other custom village of La Thuile, and the village of Pre Saint Didier is on the entrance of the valley, so I sort of went the long way around, but still you need a lot of distance to return to the lower altitude and without hitting anything.... .... there is not a lot of detail of La Thuile, and the village of Pre Saint Didier, but just some custom buildings and hotels at each location. Finding and lining up for the return to Courmayeur's grass runway 09 is far more harder than it looks... for one it can't be seen at all on the south approach, then when you do, you are usually too high or too west, the north RWY 27 approach is far easier... but never say never. So yes it can be done, but selecting the right aircraft to fly the terrain around here is very important. Helipads This would not be a Dainese and Bellini scenery without a profusion of helipads spread out all around the scenery.... two in Courmayeur and Chamonix are bases for GMH (Guidemonterosa Helicopter Services). LICYH - Courmayeur, This is an excellent headquarter place to base your heli services from, a great pad and even better realistic surroundings. There is another pad at LIDRH - Courmayeur which is the airport position. LFDZ - Chamonix, Another great pad position on the northern French side... LFCMBH - Argentière, This heliPad is the furthest east (east of Chamonix) and it is in a great position halfway up the mountain side. LISYH - Helbronner, Located directly in front of Mont Blanc on the top of the cable car station and it has great views, but watch the wind gusts. LFTRH - Refuge Tete Rousses, is a significant rescue hut that is located beside the Tete Rousse glacier at an altitude of 3,167 m. LFGTH - Refuge Gouter, known as the Goûter Hut is a futuristic mountain refuge located at a height of 3,835 metres (12,582 ft) on the Arete du Goûter It overlooks the Glacier de Bionnassay, and is the highest wardened mountain hut in France... it is positioned just above the Refuge Tete Rousse. LFTMB - Mt Blanc tunnel FR, Located at the French entrance to the Mont Blanc tunnel at Chamonix. LIPSD - Pré-Saint-Didier is located just up the Aosta Valley from Courmayeur, and is known as the "jewel shining in the heart of the Aosta Valley" hum, okay. The township as recreated here is very nice with churches and flashy spa hotels. LITUH - La Thuile, is located off in a branch valley just up the Aosta Valley from Pré-Saint-Didier. Thuile depends on tourism, in winter it is one of the main Italian Alpine ski resorts linked with La Rosière, the helipad is located right by the football (soccer) field. Skyway Monte Bianco Although X-Plane is a flying simulator, it is still also a great exploring tool to understand an area's geography, iconic buildings and other infrastructure. All of Dainese and Bellini's sceneries are focused on this aspect... the links between Courmayeur and Chamonix is a high point here, because of two infrastructure sites that join the two together, one is the Skyway Monte Bianco and the other is the Mont Blanc tunnel. If cable cars are your thing then you will have a coronary with this one... all the stations have been faithfully reproduced. The Skyway from Pontal d'Entréves ascends to the Mid-Way Pavillon Du Mont-Frety - Point Helbronner (Eagles Nest) at an altitude of 2,173 meters, through a half-way station... .... the peak Pavillon is also the place of the earlier helipad LISYH - Helbronner. At the Point Helbronner station you can then transfer to the older Vallée Blanche Cable Car, that connects to the Aiguille du Midi on the French side and it is known as the "peak-to-peak" over a distance of some 5 km (3.1 mi) through a mid-station at Gros Rognon, you travel over two glaciers with the Vallée Blanche and and then the Géant Glacier snow valleys directly below you and Mont Blanc to the west. At Aiguille du Midi there is another connection to the Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi cable car that then descends down to Chamonix... A glass skywalk called "Step into the Void" opened at the top of the Aiguille du Midi peak in 2013. The view is 1,035 m (3,396 ft) straight down, and one can see Mont Blanc to the south and the skywalk is represented here. Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi, was originally proposed around 1909, but did not come into operation until 1955 when it held the title of the world's highest cable car for about two decades. It still holds the record as the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world, from 1,035 to 3,842 m (3,396 to 12,605 ft). There are two sections: from Chamonix to Plan de l'Aiguille at 2,317 m (7,602 ft) and then directly, without any support pillar, to the upper station at 3,777 m. The full system is fully represented here in the scenery, so in effect you can follow the full over the Alp cable route from Entréves to Chamonix. Mont Blanc tunnel The second route is via the famous Mont Blanc tunnel which was was opened to traffic on 19 July 1965. The entrance is actually just behind the Entréves cable station... .... the tunnel is 11.611 km (7.215 mi) in length, 8.6 m (28 ft) in width, and 4.35 m (14.3 ft) in height. The passageway is not horizontal, but in a slightly inverted "V", which assists ventilation. The tunnel consists of a single gallery with a two-lane dual direction road. At the time of its construction, it was three times longer than any existing highway tunnel. There is also a huge amount of ski cable car systems throughout the scenery, and far to many cable systems even to count... ... so if you have a personal favorite ski lift route I am sure you will find it in here, for the rest of us, then "watch your rotors" Lighting This is not a night period scenery for flying. But you do get that after dark Alpine village lighting that is mostly produced by the objects and street lighting... .... important infrastructure areas are covered in lighting, but in reality this area is not the focus of the scenery. Summary With the sceneries from Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini comes one word in "Adventure". 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 highly detailed of the areas they represent, the mountain ranges are of course the stars and the focal point. Here it is the Mont Blanc massif on the western end of the European Alps, with the focus on the north and south townships of Courmayeur (Italy) and Chamonix (France). Beside Mont Blanc there is also represented the peaks of Mont Maudit, Mont Blanc du Tacul, Aiguille du Midi, Tour Rond, Aiguille Verte, Dente del Gigante and Les Grandes Jorasses in all of their glory and high quality photographic detail. The extensive Skyway Monte Bianco - Vallée Blanche - Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi cable car systems are also detailed in full, as are both entrances to the Mont Blanc Tunnel. Two fictional grass runway airports are also provided in the package at Courmayeur - LICR and Chamonix - LFCX, plus nine custom heliports are also included. Although the area in Mont Blanc 3D is not as extensive as the other packages, it is more highly detailed and visually more stunning, and quite challenging from a flying perspective. These Dainese and Bellini's sceneries are extremely popular and to a point it is hard not to see why, above all they give you a extremely detailed addition to the X-Plane simulator in both a useful and visual form, and they are a lot of fun as well... If you loved one then you have to have them all, and well may your collection grow... highly recommended. ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! Mont Blanc Group 3D by Frank Dainese & Fabio Bellini is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Mont Blanc Group 3D Price Is US$26.95 Features of the Mont Blanc Group Scenery Area coverage of over 900 sq.Km, located in Western Alps on border between Italy and France. Italian side with: Courmayeur, Entrèves, Pre Saint Didier and La Thuile French side with Chamonix, Les Houches, Argentière 9 groups of mountains (3D models) reconstructed and placed on meshes (modified) Over 10,000 houses located, of which many are customize (many buildings and other reproduced) + about 100 types of typical houses in the areas All the vegetation mapped and reproduced Reconstructed the "eighth wonder" ... the SKYWAY of Mont Blanc with the three detailed stations (Entreves,Pavillon,P.ta Helbronner). Positioned the main cable ways in both Courmayeur and Chamonix. All the Italian and French shelters reconstructed and positioned on the models /mesh including: Italian side: Bonatti, Boccalatte, Bertone, Elena, Elisabetta, Miage, Gervasutti, Monzino... French side: Nid d'Aigle, Tète Rousses, Gouter (normal route to the summit) ...Montenvers, Requin,Envers, Lognan... Two (virtual) airports with grassy runways in Courmayeur (Dolonne area) and Chamonix (golf course area) to increase and make easy exploratory flight. 3 official heliports, 1 in Courmayeur LICYH (near the Skyway base station) 1 in Chamonix (LFDZ) and Argentière (LFCMBH) Another 9 heliports located in areas of interest (shelters..) WT3: 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: 765Mb Release and Review version 1.0 (22nd November 2019) Installation Download scenery file size is download 727.30mb and with the full installation installed in your custom scenery folder as there are six install folders in order below (INI File included):  Scenery Pack_3D_Chamonix (560mb) Scenery Pack_3D_Courmayeur (558mb) Scenery Pack_3D_MontBlanc (192mb) Scenery Pack_3D_CableWayMB (11.5mb) Scenery Pack_Mesh_MBlanc (228mb) Scenery Pack_MBCC_lib (257mb) Total scenery installation : 1.76gb The developers note you need to adjust the X-Plane "scenery_packs.INI" so the loading order is correct and the Mesh_MBlanc must be above the Global Airport folder. Documents One manual with notes ______________________________________________________________________   Review by Stephen Dutton 22nd November 2019 Copyright©2019 : 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 - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 11.31 Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini  Plugins: Environment Engine by xEnviro US$69.90 : US$19.95 Scenery or Aircraft - DHC-3T Turbo Otter by MilViz (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$39.95
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