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Airport Freeware : LJPZ - Portorož Airport by Aerobridge Studios Tucked up high in the Adriatic Sea by Trieste is Portorož Airport in Piran, Slovenia. LJPZ is the latest release from Aerobridge Studios of this small General Aviation and very light commuter airport. It is the third largest airport in Slovenia. But it is really small by most standards. There has been two releases from Aerobridge Studios and both are well worth the download, KCGX - Meigs field was the first and now this one LJPZ. To be honest both of these freeware sceneries are demo versions of skills and ideas sought and implemented before creating a full sized airport (for payware) in what has been announced as VHHH or Hong Kong International. That is not to say that LJPZ is a average scenery, as in fact the opposite is true... it is first rate scenery with some really great detailing and excellent execution. In scenery, small airports like these come off better in context than a very large airport. The detailing can be really detailed right down to rubbish bins and cones and various what-nots. Portorož Airport is in this case excellent. Best of all though is the texture work, a sort of signature feature that Aerobridge has spent time in perfecting and the results are simply outstanding. All surfaces are outstanding. From the runways to the taxiways you can feel the lines and grooves with the dark oil stains. They are highly realistic is showing the lighter side dirt to the darker centre rough used areas on the runway. The taxiway and runway markings are also first rate. Same with the main terminal textures. The walls are worn and tired and the concrete looks like concrete. For detailing just look at the (red) benches sited along the front of the terminal. very worn and used. The brightly striped awnings are well covered with old fabric that highlights the the building. Glass and the windows are perfect and all the various elements look very realistic. The overall highlights though is if you like a spot of gardening. You could easily get stuck in here with your lawnmower and do a fair bit of weeding, nice rows of tropical plants fill also out the scene. Overall all the greenery is excellent and very well done The front of the terminal is well done as well with great tired concrete and very good signage with advertising adoring the building. Details include Air-conditioning units, cones and pallets of wood. A rotating view from the stumpy tower is excellent with a great view of the ramp and view above the terminal building over to the highway. The road cuts close on to the airport and the layout between the custom scenery and the default scenery is well... faultless. To the side there are a set of hangars, and some with open doors. Detailing is again first rate with the inside of the hangers looking as good as the outside. There are few static aircraft and one with a twirling propeller? Night lighting is as good. The ramp is well lit if only from one lighting tower. As in the day the bright building signage is well lit and so are the glass areas with just the right amount of shading in and brightness to convey the inner-building. The smaller detail lighting is just as good with wall downlighting and the restaurant overhead spot lights, and really clever authentic carpark lighting. Overall the lighting effects from a distance are excellent and the runway and taxiway lighting and notable is the taxiway signage. Any downside? Only one. On the beta version the runway textures disappeared as you went a certain distance away from the airport, The runway markings disappeared under your aircraft as well, The runway markings are fixed and are now excellent. But the disappearing runway still exists. From the air the area turns green, It is better than the beta version and usually you can fix it if you up the "world distance detail" but doing that takes a lot of your frame-rate away. It usually wouldn't be something to worry about, but coming around the headland it is very hard to see the right angle of the runway if it is not there and it makes lining the aircraft up to the correct landing angle annoyingly hard. It does pop up eventually. But it also takes away the completeness of the scenery if the runway is missing and it is always popping off and on your screen as fly around the area. So without doubt LJPZ - Portorož Airport by Aerobridge Studios is a great success in scenery. And it is free for Xplane10 and Xplane9 (the effects don't run in XP9) and so well worth the download. If VHHH Hong Kong is as good then it will be certainly an airport well worth adding to your collection. Aerobridge is a studio to watch. Stephen Dutton You can download LJPZ - Portorož Airport here : Aerobridge Studios (Xplane-Aviators) Installation : Size is 220.30 (.zip) and 231.00mb installed. The scenery comes with a manual and recommended setup guide (but it is Xplane9). Framerate is fine unless you max out the "world distance detail" and use the heavy HDR settings. 30th January 2014 ©copyright2014 : X-Plane Reviews