Introduction
This was an add-on that has had me intrigued right from the
start: A fictitious airfield and air-park designed with
something for everyone, and one that would grow over time like a
real airfield. In some respects this might have been one of the
easiest airport sceneries that Aerosoft have done as they could
start with a blank canvas and put in whatever they wanted.
Usually they will have photos and maps from real world airports
to go on, and if they don’t get it spot on the product won’t
sell. On the other side of the coin however, it was probably one
of the hardest airport sceneries they have done to date. Unless
the add-on captures people’s imagination, it won’t sell and
Aerosoft will have a poor product on their hands.
What Is Andras
Field
Andras Field is a fictitious airfield located at the foot of the
Alps in Southern Bavaria, near the German/Swiss/Austrian border.
Within an hour you can be in Milan or Berlin. The airfield as a
5,000 foot runway which is suitable for heavier aircraft, a
6,000 foot water runway, helicopter landing sites and a long
grass strip for gliders.
As you can see, this add-on is
targeting all types of flying. Not only do you get the airfield
and the seaplane base, but Aerosoft have also included and
air-park. Air-Parks are communities specifically designed around
an airport where the residents each would own their own airplane
which they park in their hangar which is usually attached to
their home or integrated into their it.
Air-parks are quite rare
in Europe, but are quite common in America. The air-park is the
part of the project which has intrigued me most; rather than
fully populate it to start with, Aerosoft are offing up the
plots for sale to the public. Basically, you can own your own
plot of land at Andras Field Air-Park where you can park your
aircraft. You have to pay for the privilege,
but it's somewhere that you can call home; ideal for the
Air Haulers amongst us.
Download and
Installation
Andras Field can be purchased directly from the Aerosoft website
and comes as a small 180mb download (285mb installed). The
installation process is very simple: run the installer, enter
your serial number and the installer does it's work. Not only do
you get the airfield, seaplane base and air-park, but the
surrounding area has been populated with new buildings and lots
of animations. Aerosoft say that Andras Field is used by their
testers to try out new ideas and technologies, so expect to see
some new and different things as you explore the area.
Andras
Airfield
As previously mentioned, the airport can handle heavier aircraft
due to it's 5,000 foot runway. Aerosoft have created charts and
maps of the area for the different approaches (an ILS approach
is available) which can be downloaded from the website free of
charge. The airport features extensive and innovative animations
and sound effects, such as people arguing, cars driving around
and people just chilling out having a drink.
Even with the
scenery settings quite high I managed to achieve respectable
frame rates (see system spec at the end), and after applying the
suggested scenery settings from the manual the fps increased
even more. It's worth noting that to start with my FPS were not
getting above 2, after re-starting my PC this problem was
solved.
Andras Field
Seaplane Base
Whilst the seaplane base may not be an immediate attraction for
some, it's well worth exploring and trying to taxi up the ramps.
There is also a taxiway from the air-park leading down to the
water for people who have purchased a plot in the air-park.
Whilst I do not fly seaplanes too often, it was fun to practice
landing and manoeuvring around the seaplane base and taxing up
the ramps and onto dry land. A word of warning though, make sure
you apply plenty of throttle to get up the ramp! My poor PBY
Catalina got stranded half way up.
Andras Field
Airpark
The air-park is a great little homely area of the airfield. As
you move around you'll see rabbits crossing the taxiway, swings
moving in the play ground and also try to sneak a peak into
everyone's house. Not surprisingly Aerosoft have the biggest and
most impressive plot, but there are still some nice houses to
see and buy.
It would seem that the idea of having your own space at Andras Field Air-Park has caught the imagination of the
commercial FS developers as the likes of PC Pilot, Flight Sim
Labs and Sim Market already have plots there. Some of the plots
even have their own helicopter landing pad on the roof – should
be good challenge for the DoDo Sim owners.
Flying at
Andras Field
Due to it's location there are quite a lot of larger airports
nearby, as well as smaller airports and strips. It's quite
possible to be in Milan in just over an hour – not bad if you
want to take your VLJ and treat the missus to some shopping. The
scenery in the immediate vicinity has been changed to include
new objects and animations such as a working cable car at one
end of the runway (don't worry you should
be well above it by the time you get to it) and a working wind
farm just off the airport boundary.
I spent a lot of time just
flying circuits around the airfield, and nearly every time I
noticed something new. You will need to pay attention on
approach as there is a big hill at one end of the runway and the
cable cars at the other end. If you get a little low on approach
it could spell disaster.
Thankfully there are lots of visual
landmarks that you can use to make sure that you get the
approach right – don't forget that there are navaids to use too
if you get really lost. As there aren't any other airports in
the immediate area, it's not too hard to find your way to Andras
Field, it's certainly a lot of fun picking your way through the
mountains and flying a tight curving final approach.
The Future
All money raised by auctioning off the plots at Andras Airpark
is used to either pay the developer to maintain the scenery
files or to expand the project. This is not a project Aerosoft
considers important from a financial point of view, it is very
much an experiment. As far as I am aware this is the first time
a project like this has been attempted, and the initial
indications are that it is proving popular with the owners of
Andras Field. Already the Andras Field Flight School and Aviation Club have been formed by the members of the
community.
The Aviation Club has an aim of creating a warm and friendly
place for all the users of Andras Field to chat and have some
fun. Tasks will be posted on the board for people to try their
hand at, these are not compulsory and are just for fun.
The Andras Field Flight School has been set up to help people
gain virtual pilot licenses and to each people how to fly by
using the shared cockpit feature of FSX. The aircraft used are
mainly the default FSX aircraft, but special tuition is
available for the PBY Catalina and I-39 Albatros.
Andras Field users will also be eligible for discounts on other
Aerosoft titles in the future.
As you can see from all of the above, Aerosoft are really
looking after the FS Community with this product, I can only see
it gathering momentum and improving over time and becoming a
fantastic place to fly from in FSX.
Verdict
The simple conclusion is to say that I love
this add-on. Aerosoft have set about creating something new and
innovative and have pulled it off superbly. Only time will tell
how successful the project will be, but the early signs are all
good.
By following the set-up instructions in the manual the
impact on fps is minimal.
I like how the add-on has not just been cast aside after it's
release to the community, the product is being allowed to evolve
with the creation of a flight school and flying club.
Where else in FSX can
you have a commercial add-on with your name outside one of the
buildings? Aerosoft have once again developed and outstanding
product, which is why I am pleased to
award it a score of 10/10 and the Mutley's Hangar Award
For Excellence.
Rob Scott
Review machine Spec: Intel Core2 Quad 2.40ghz |
4gb DDR2 RAM |Nvidia GForce 880GTX |Windows 7 64bit Home Premium