Owais Crawford
Microsoft Flight Simulator is a highly detailed, accurate replica of our planet, serving as a limitless sandbox for virtual aviators. The game features over 37,000 airports, ranging from small grass airstrips to top international hotspots. While most airports are automatically generated in the simulator, a select few have been handcrafted to look as realistic as possible. These handcrafted airports are created using satellite imagery and mapping data, with additional custom-made buildings and props to translate their full identity into the simulation. The level of detail and immersion in these handcrafted airports is significantly higher than that of the algorithmically generated designs.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of airports in Microsoft Flight Simulator | Over 37,000 |
| Number of handcrafted airports | 40 |
| Airports with custom models | Aspen/Pitkin County Airport, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, Bugalaga Airstrip, and more |
| Satellite imagery and mapping data | Down to the meter |
| Runway measures | Additional work to align with reality |
| World Updates | Free downloadable expansions for specific regions |
What You'll Learn
Hand-crafted airports
The number of hand-crafted airports available depends on the edition of the game purchased. The Standard Edition includes 30 hand-crafted airports, the Deluxe Edition includes 35, and the Premium Edition includes 40. Hand-crafted airports can be individually uninstalled from the content manager screen in-sim and replaced with the procedurally-generated versions to free up storage space. They can also be reinstalled for free through the same menu, including any newly-released airports from World Updates.
The following is a list of the hand-crafted airports included in the Standard Edition of the game:
- Aspen / Pitkin County Airport (USA)
- Bugalaga Airstrip (Indonesia)
- Chagual Airport (Peru)
- Courchevel Altiport (France)
- Cristiano Ronaldo Madeira International Airport (Portugal)
- Donegal Airport (Ireland)
- Entebbe International Airport (Uganda)
- Gibraltar International Airport (Gibraltar/UK)
- Gustaf III Airport (France/Saint Barthélemy)
- Haneda Airport (Japan)
- Innsbruck Airport (Austria)
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (USA)
- Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport (Dutch Saba)
- Los Angeles International Airport (USA)
- Mariscal Sucre International Airport (Ecuador)
- Nanwalek Airport (USA)
- Orlando International Airport (USA)
- Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (France)
- Paro International Airport (Bhutan)
- Queenstown Airport (New Zealand)
- Rio de Janeiro-Antonio Carlos Jobim/Galeão Int'l Airport (Brazil)
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (USA)
- Sedona Airport (USA)
- Sirena Aerodrome (Costa Rica)
- Stewart Airport (Canada)
- Sydney Airport (Australia)
- Telluride Regional Airport (USA)
- Tenzing-Hillary Airport (Nepal)
- Toncontin International Airport (Honduras)
- Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (Canada)
The Deluxe Edition includes all the airports from the Standard Edition, plus the following five additional airports:
- Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (Netherlands)
- Cairo International Airport (Egypt)
- Cape Town International Airport (South Africa)
- O'Hare International Airport (USA)
- Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (Spain)
The Premium Edition includes all the airports from the Deluxe and Standard Editions, plus these five additional airports:
- Denver International Airport (USA)
- Dubai International Airport (United Arab Emirates)
- Frankfurt Airport (Germany)
- Heathrow Airport (United Kingdom)
- San Francisco International Airport (USA)
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Satellite imagery
FSX developers can utilise tools like SBuilderX to incorporate satellite imagery into their designs. However, it is important to consider the quality and legality of the imagery source. Free satellite imagery sources, such as USGS maps, may be available but tend to be of low quality. Google Earth imagery, for instance, is copyrighted and cannot be distributed without proper attribution.
To ensure compliance with regulations and to maintain the quality of their designs, developers should explore alternative sources of satellite imagery. One suggestion is to check official websites of the areas being modelled, as some governments provide open data and GIS information. Additionally, paid imagery may be an option if the budget allows, ensuring better quality and reducing potential legal risks.
Overall, satellite imagery plays a crucial role in creating accurate airport designs for FSX. By leveraging the right tools and sources, developers can strike a balance between visual context and accuracy, resulting in immersive and compliant virtual environments.
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Runway representation
The dedicated tools used in the game allow developers to outline the site perimeter, runway footprint, orientation, and other properties. This approach also enables the flagging of artifacts and visual anomalies from a bird's-eye view, refining the input for the world-building algorithm. The result of this process feeds into Microsoft's artificial intelligence, which strings the environment together in the cloud and streams it to the player's PC in real-time.
The "hand-crafted airports" are top-level locations that receive a significant amount of creative input, far exceeding the level of detail found in the broader 37,000 airports. This includes recreating defining architecture, custom lighting models, and intricate mapping of areas to their real-life counterparts.
The Standard Edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator offers 30 modelled airports, the Deluxe Edition adds five more, and the Premium Deluxe Edition includes another five, bringing the total number of hand-crafted airports to 40. These hand-crafted airports are distributed across the globe, spanning multiple continents and countries.
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Top-level airports
Microsoft Flight Simulator has over 37,000 airports, ranging from small grass airstrips to top international hotspots. The simulator features handcrafted "top-level" airports, which are iconic and popular locations with substantial human input. These airports feature custom-made buildings and props, aiming to translate their full identity into the simulation.
The Standard Edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator offers 30 modelled airports, while the Deluxe Edition adds five more airports to the mix, and the Premium Deluxe Edition rounds out the list with another five.
- Aspen/Pitkin County Airport
- Bugalaga Airstrip (CAMA)
- Entebbe International Airport
- Cristiano Ronaldo Madeira International Airport
- Gibraltar International Airport
- Los Angeles International Airport
- Tenzing-Hillary Airport
- John F. Kennedy International Airport
- Orlando International Airport
- Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
- Paro International Airport
- Mariscal Sucre International Airport
- Rio de Janeiro-Antonio Carlos Jobim/Galeão Int'l Airport
- Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
- Telluride Regional Airport
- Toncontin International Airport
- Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport
- Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
- Cairo International Airport
- Cape Town International Airport
- O'Hare International Airport
- Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport
- Denver International Airport
- Dubai International Airport
- Frankfurt Airport
- Heathrow Airport
- San Francisco International Airport
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Airport editions
Microsoft Flight Simulator has over 37,000 airports, ranging from small grass airstrips to international hotspots. The Standard Edition of the game offers 30 modelled airports, while the Deluxe Edition adds five more airports to the mix, and the Premium Deluxe Edition includes another five. The airports included depend on which edition of the game you have.
The Standard Edition of Microsoft Flight Simulator comes with 20 planes and 30 airports. The Deluxe and Premium Deluxe Editions each add five new planes and airports respectively. The Premium Deluxe Edition promises the full package.
The Flight Simulator team has discussed the measures taken to represent each runway accurately. The dedicated tools allow developer Asobo Studio to outline the site perimeter, runway footprint, orientation, and other properties. This approach also allows Microsoft to flag anomalies from the bird's-eye view, clearing up the input for the world-building algorithm.
Microsoft has also introduced some changes to runways with this iteration, extending far beyond new visuals. The full aerodynamics overhaul also incorporates a new collision model, capable of handling static and dynamic friction, and simulating the relationship between tires and materials. That allowed the team to implement sloped runways, best demonstrated with infamous locations like the Courchevel Altiport, nestled in the French Alps.
The game automatically inserts ambient life based on the size of the location. Many of its flagship international hotspots also host vehicles and walking ground crew. Like Flight Simulator X, various services are also available upon request, such as fuel and power supplies or baggage and catering. These bring more complex animations, capturing the full airline experience.
- Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (USA)
- Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (Canada)
- Bugalaga Airstrip (CAMA) (Indonesia)
- Chagual Airport (Peru)
- Courchevel Altiport (France)
- Cristiano Ronaldo Madeira International Airport (Portugal)
- Donegal Airport (Ireland)
- Entebbe International Airport (Uganda)
- Gibraltar International Airport (Gibraltar/UK)
- Gustaf III Airport (France/Saint Barthélemy)
- Haneda Airport (Japan)
- Innsbruck Airport (Austria)
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (USA)
- Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport (Dutch Saba)
- Los Angeles International Airport (USA)
- Mariscal Sucre International Airport (Ecuador)
- Nanwalek Airport (USA)
- Orlando International Airport (USA)
- Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (France)
- Paro International Airport (Bhutan)
- Queenstown Airport (New Zealand)
- Rio de Janeiro-Antonio Carlos Jobim/Galeão Int'l Airport (Brazil)
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (USA)
- Sedona Airport (USA)
- Sirena Aerodrome (Costa Rica)
- Stewart Airport (Canada)
- Sydney Airport (Australia)
- Telluride Regional Airport (USA)
- Tenzing-Hillary Airport (Nepal)
- Toncontin International Airport (Honduras)
The Deluxe Edition includes the above airports, as well as the following:
- Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (Netherlands)
- Cairo International Airport (Egypt)
- Cape Town International Airport (South Africa)
- O'Hare International Airport (USA)
- Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (Spain)
The Premium Deluxe Edition includes all of the above airports, as well as the following:
- Denver International Airport (USA)
- Dubai International Airport (United Arab Emirates)
- Frankfurt Airport (Germany)
- Heathrow Airport (United Kingdom)
- San Francisco International Airport (USA)
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Frequently asked questions
Handcrafted airports are those "top-level" locations that have received additional attention and detail improvements by Asobo over the other 37,000 airports. This includes recreating various defining architecture, custom lighting models, and intricate mapping.
The initial release of Microsoft Flight Simulator included 40 handcrafted locations, with 30 in the Standard edition and 5 additional airports in each of the Deluxe and Premium editions. Since then, Microsoft has delivered regular "World Updates" with downloadable expansions that are free for all users, adding new handcrafted airports to the list.
Those without access to Deluxe and Premium Deluxe editions can still visit the exclusive airports. They will receive in-game models of airport buildings and furnishings, but with reduced visual fidelity, using generic airport assets.
Some handcrafted airports include Heathrow Airport in the UK, Aspen/Pitkin County Airport in the USA, Cristiano Ronaldo Madeira International Airport in Portugal, and O'Hare International Airport in the USA.
