Falcon Field Airport (IATA:MSC, ICAO: KFFZ), Located in the City of Mesa, AZ about 20 miles east of Phoenix and is one of the busiest General Aviation airfields in the USA in terms of movements. Falcon Field includes a total of 784 acres, there are currently more than 800 aircraft based at the airfield. This includes fixed-wing single- and multi-engine aircraft, turboprops, jets and helicopters. It is a perfect starting location for a flight to Sedona, or the Grand Canyon, and also very close to Apache Junction where the Apache Trail leads you to the Superstition Mountains.
Falcon Field Airport got it's start in 1941 to serve as a training field for British WWII Pilots. Falcon was to be named Thunderbird Field III and would train British pilots. However, the British said they would like the field to be named after one of their birds, and thus Falcon Field opened.
Eventually it became a civil airport and is now owned and operated by the City of Mesa. Falcon Airport is home to the largest flight school in the world, CAE Oxford Aviation Academy. Falcon is also home to one of the largest Commemorative Air Force units which operates a flying B-17G, and B25J "Maid in the Shade" among others.
With Falcon Field for Microsoft Flight Simulator I have recreated the airport to a high level of detail and accuracy. With extremely detailed airport buildings, hangars, and an up-to-date ground layout. I have also added the brand-new hangar facilities to the north side of the field which in real life are currently still being constructed.
In addition, the scenery comes with further details, such as animated hangar doors at the CAE Hangar, interior modelling of the Tower, Terminal Building, along with an animated advertizing board, functional windsocks, dynamic lighting and PBR-rendered materials. More recently I have added interior modelling at the Wings Of Flight Foundation Hangar, and the Commemorative Air Force Museum along with a selection of static aircraft models.
Features
- Highly detailed Falcon Field Airport scenery
- WWII photo wraps on the Control Tower, Hangars, Buildings, and even roadways which make this airport so unique.
- WWII monument, newly consructed located at the enterance to Mesa Hanagr development.
- Up-to-date ground layout of taxiways and aprons. Custom made fixed distance markers for runway 4R/22L which illuminate day & night.
- Over 150 handcrafted 3D objects custom made exclusively for Falcon Field
- 14 static aircraft varients including Piper Archer TX, B-17G, North American AT-6 Texan, Stearman, Super Stearman, Phantom F-4N, MIG-21, MIG-15, Douglas 26C Invader, Beech C-45, Beech T-34 Mentor, Nanchang CJ6, Schweizer TG-3A, & YAK-52.
- 7 static Helicopter varients including Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw, Sikorsky 64E Sky Crane, CH-47, MD-520N, AH-6, Apache, & V-22 Osprey.
- Falcon Field ATC Chatter sounds when you enter the modelled Control Tower interior.
- PBR Materials to build realistic surfaces for buildings and objects
- Detailed ground markings and new taxiway layouts, including both of the recently added taxiway exits to the north of runway 4L/22R. Custom centreline & edge lining to correct colouring and width.
- Custom made crack sealent textures on the aprons & runways
- Extremely detailed Control Tower, Terminal Building, and 5 Hangar interiors
- Detailed animated bi-folding hangar doors at the CAE Hangar facility (functions on a timer)
- Custom made windsocks which have been placed at correct locations around the airfield to match the real world.
- Animated Flags
- Traffic lights, & stationary traffic have been added to the road intersections on final approach to runways 4R & 22L
- Terraforming in the vicinity of the airport to correct the default scenery which had flooded road intersections, as this airport sits in a photogrammetry area.
- Runway starting points have been amended to begin at the holding points, this helps to reduce the amount of spawning on the runways.
- Realistic night time dynamic lighting
- Falcon District bridge modelled with recently added photo wraps in real life. This bridge is rarely used but was built to connect Boeing Helicopter Co. to Falcon Field and spans over E. McDowell Road.
Installation: Simply extract the file 'jeppeson2001-airport-kffz' into your community folder, then restart the sim.
Note: I have omitted the taxiway paths for AI traffic due to the unrealistic way that vehicles such as ramp cars, fork lift trucks enter the runway and ruin the immersion. As soon as there is a reliable solution by the MSFS SDK I will add this in future updates.
I might be wrong but the PAPIs angles seem off (I only tested the 22L). I did the calculation and the PAPI seem to be set at 3° (it should be 4° according to the chart supplement) :
RWY 04R: REIL. PAPI(P4L)—GA 4.0º TCH 42´. Road.
RWY 22L: REIL. PAPI(P4L)—GA 4.0º TCH 49´.
RWY 04L: REIL. PAPI(P2L)—GA 4.0º TCH 42´.
RWY 22R: REIL. PAPI(P2L)—GA 4.0º TCH 42´. Rgt tfc
Source : https://skyvector.com/files/tpp/2403/afdpdf/SW_67_21MAR2024.pdf
22 days ago
Teelve