[AeroDesigns] - KPWM Portland International Jetport

[Duvani5]

Hi Everyone,

It has been quite some time since you’ve received news from us at AeroDesigns. Upon the release of the latest version of Portland International Jetport for X-Plane 11 we decided to take some time and learn more about the SDK structure of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. After months of hard work we are now happy to announce our first project for the simulator, that being Portland International Jetport (KPWM)!

Originally, we were looking at doing a simple port over of assets such as objects and textures, but with the current capabilities of MSFS it went much further than that. We did a complete rework of the airport starting with the ground textures, markings, and taxi layout. This now includes the extension of taxiway Bravo, a reworking of taxiway Alpha, the new taxiway Hotel, the updated terminal apron that includes the new de-icing pads, and finally the rehabilitation of runway 29-11.

Besides the upgrades made to the ground layout, we also decided to completely retexture and improve the terminal building. It now utilizes multiple single-sheet textures which provides a much higher quality exterior and interior. Another big change was the enhancements made to the interior of the terminal which will bring it more to life with clutter and make it feel like the real counterpart. Enhancements like this have been made everywhere throughout the airport, whether it being ground dirt or more ground equipment, we wanted to take it beyond a simple port over.

Now in terms of a release date, we are hoping to release the airport for you in the next few weeks. We are still in the process of changing some items and optimizing it. We also don’t have a price set, but we will try to keep it in the same scope of other projects like us and the current MSFS airport market. For those who play on Xbox Series X/S, we will have an answer for you once we get past the optimization stage of the project.

In the mean-time, take a look at the previews below and we will get back to you soon with the release announcement!

AeroDesigns

[skypilotYTS]

Looks great!

[GarrisIiari]

KPWM is one of the ones I’ve been looking most forward to. Thank you!

[Duvani5]

Glad to hear!

[MATSC133]

Please check if those static GSE vehicles would collide or overlap with active GSX on parking gates or ramps? If yes, please give an option to disable or remove them!

And will it land at some stores like Orbx, Contrail, iniBuild?

[GarrisIiari]

Have you folks thought of cleaning up the nearby bridges and Portland waterfront, perhaps as a separate purchasable scenery?

[Duvani5]

Good that you mention it. I purchased GSX just now, so I will check that none of our ground equipment interferes with the GSX handling.

We are still deciding on where to sell, but this will of course be mentioned in the actual release announcement of KPWM.

[Duvani5]

We do have custom models in place for the two nearby bridges on approach to runway 29. It’s not perfect but at least it won’t look like a submerged bridge. As for the Portland Waterfront, we might work on this in a future update, but it is not scheduled for release.

[DrTrenchcoat219]

That looks lovely, this has been the airport I want most for years. Can’t wait

[SimPilot2450]

This is great news!!! I live in Maine and would be happy to photograph in detail any other airport in Maine for your design consideration.

KBGR Bangor International Airport would be great.KBGR - Bangor International Airport: KBGR is a joint civil-military public airport on the west side of the city of Bangor, in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The airport has a single runway measuring 11,440 by 200 ft (3,487 by 61 m). Formerly a military installation known as Dow Air Force Base, Bangor International Airport remains home to the 101st Air Refueling Wing of the Maine Air National Guard. It was designated by NASA as an emergency landing location for the Space Shuttle.[3] Bangor is the first major American airport encountered by airliners approaching the United States from the east and the last for airliners heading towards Europe.Transatlantic flights are sometimes diverted to Bangor when they have mechanical trouble, fuel, medical emergency.

Bar Harbor Airport: KBHB The most scenic mountainous / oceanic flying on the entire East coast of the Atlantic Ocean. During the summer months, the airport becomes one of Maine’s busiest, with significant private jet operations bringing visitors to the numerous summer colonies in Maine. Airport also offers glider and biplane scenic tours as well as scheduled passenger airline service.

OB2 - Brewer Airport: Small unique GA airport (grass strip) located directly under the flightpath of Bangor International airport RWY 33. Traffic pattern is 500AGL because of this. This is my home airport and where I learned to fly and hangered my 1940 C140. https://generalaviationnews.com/2021/07/18/the-little-airport-that-could/

KRKD - Knox County Regional Airport: The airport is located on the coast of Maine. It serves the residents of midcoast Maine with commercial and charter aviation services and scheduled airline service. It is also a major hub of freight and mail service to Maine’s island communities including Matinicus, North Haven and Vinalhaven. During the summer months, the airport is one of Maine’s busiest, with significant private jet operations bringing visitors to the numerous summer colonies in the Penobscot Bay region.

Owls Head Transportation Museum is also situated at the airport The museum includes antique autos, aircraft, and engines. During the summer special event gatherings are held for enthusiasts.

KOLD - GA airport Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base also known as Dewitt Field, is a public use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) northwest of the central business district of Old Town (Old Town Canoes) , in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The seaplane base is located on Marsh Island on the Penobscot River. Great base for the Beaver. Dewitt Field has two asphalt paved runways: 12/30 measuring 3,999 x 100 ft (1,219 x 30 m) and 4/22 measuring: 3,199 x 75 ft (975 x 23 m). It also has one seaplane landing area (17W/35W) measuring 8,400 x 100 ft (2,560 x 30 m).

ME 74 - Millers Field:

Miller’s Field (ME74), the home of Vintage Wings, is nestled in a bucolic green valley of Penobscot County in Newburgh, Maine. It is surrounded by farms and lush green pasture land in the summer. The private grass airstrip has a 2,400- x 50-foot runway and a large taxi and ramp area. The runway is situated in a north/south position in fields that were once pastures. There is a slight increase in elevation from the south to the north. Although it is pretty straight, it has a couple of small dips. It reminded me a bit of the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome runway in New York. The wooden hangars and other buildings on the west side of the airstripremind you of the old barnstormer turf aerodromes of the 1920s and early 1930s.

Appreciate the history of flight at Miller’s Field — General Aviation News

[Duvani5]

Great to hear!

[Duvani5]

Thanks for the help! If we need any more pictures or info we will definitely get back to you!

Maine could definitely do with some more 3rd party developers’ attention which will hopefully come in due time.

[GarrisIiari]

I’d love to see a good KBGR scenery. There is a terrible MSFS Scenerybuilders KBGR that has too much wrong to list that is barely an improvement over stock. They have an atrocious KBTV in Vermont as well that could use some love also.

I know OrbX has a Bar Harbor that is supposed to be pretty decent, however.

[ATC0616]

I believe Verticalsim is developing KBGR aimed for release at some point this year. All his other scenery is fantastic so it might be something to keep your eye on.

[GarrisIiari]

They are indeed great scenery developers, and it appears you are correct. This is from their facebook page:

It seems they are also doing KMHT, another busy New England airport that it’ll be nice to see represented in a high quality fashion.

That means at some point in the future we’ll have a great, high fidelity lineup for New England. KPWM, KBOS, KMHT, KBGR, Bar Harbor, Bradley, and Tweed New Haven. Only KPVD is kind of “meh” right now.

[ATC0616]

Verticalsim had a pretty good rendition of KPVD for Xplane so there’s a chance that they bring that over to MSFS at some point. Either way, having Portland in the sim will give another regional route to fly and I’m really looking forward to the release as the previews look great.

[GarrisIiari]

Absolutely, and Portland is a far more scenic and challenging approach than KPVD, and IMHO more useful for short flights to and from the major regional airports, while KPVD is a bit too close for those.

[SidedNine324401]

I work at the Portland jet if you need anything.

[SimPilot2450]

Thanks for the info. I didn’t know they were considering KBGR.

[LVPack]

I’m always glad to see some of the smaller airports developed by high quality developers like this. I spend most of my time these days flying the Fenix A320, and many of these smaller airports have real-world ops with the airbus. I’ll definitely be purchasing KPWM, KGEG, KMHT, KONT and KBGR when they become available. There is a really poor quality payware version of KBGR out there right now, but I’m sure these guys will do a much better job on theirs.