Test machine specs: MSI X670E, AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX, 48gb RAM
MSFS add-ons: FSLTL, GSX Pro, REX AccuSeason (which may misrepresent some colours in certain light conditions)
DETAIL
I already had a couple of Sim-wings airports — I find the detail a bit of a mixed bag, with a lot of stellar work, interrupted here and there by bits that look like they belong in a 10-year-old sim rather than a less-than-5-year-old one. Gran Canaria is no different.
The ground textures are reasonable by today’s standards, but showing their age. Ground markings are accurately placed and coloured but aren’t particularly clear. There’s a smattering of custom apron clutter but none of it animated, and most of it is done in fairly low-res. The terminal exterior looks fairly decent but some of the textures are a little bland and repetitive. Unusually, the roof is highly-detailed — it’s an area in which so many sceneries could do better and the argument that you never really see terminal roofs is perhaps an odd one, since we all approach airports from… the air! In this case, however, I’d have preferred this detail either uniformly, or in an area we’re more likely to view from close range. Unfortunately, the tower atop the terminal building looks like it’d be more at home in FSX, but it is at least modelled internally.
The terminal has a very basic interior, which looks reasonably convincing from the cockpit of a parked airliner. We get a sprinkling of static people too, though the models aren’t the best. A couple of these figures have made it out onto the apron but they’re certainly at a premium there! The landside is where things start to fall apart — there is some decent custom modelling to be seen (the bus parking area, for example) but the majority of the roadways and ramps look little better than default satellite imagery. A few custom signs help make it all look better but the trees are those 2D-type things that look awful unless you’re a mile away. Thankfully, all landside buildings look pretty good, with some featuring excellent texture-work.
The military facility on the airport’s east side, opposite the terminal, has been fully modelled but not quite to the standard of the west side. Sadly, the perimeter fence doesn’t encompass the whole airfield, which is a shame because it’s a good fence model. The omission of sections of perimeter fence is quite common in three-year-old scenery, though.
So far, it might seem that this is a very average scenery that’s perhaps justifiably avoided, but there are a few areas in which it truly excels. It’s greatest strength for me is its terraforming, which is outstanding across the board (landside included). RWY21R/03L is at a lower elevation than the main apron, and RWY21L/03R is lower still, making for some quite interesting out-the-window views when arriving and departing. The undulations require thrust adjustments when taxiing, which makes the terrain feel incredibly realistic.
The night-lighting is the usual Sim-Wings treat, with lots of red hazard lights (the emissive-style) on buildings and lightpoles. You’ll also find a handful of off-airport wind turbines feature their own custom lighting, which is white rather than red. Runway edge lighting is very good (again, emissive) but it does start to look a bit strange if you get too close. It’s fine from the flightdeck, though.
Finally, the accuracy of the runway and apron colouring is top-drawer, looking very much like the real airport.
PERFORMANCE
GCLP is the busiest airport in the Canary Islands, and one of the busiest in Spain. Even with pretty heavy FSLTL traffic, performance is flawless.
VERDICT
Sim-Wings’ Gran Canaria is a scenery that’s beginning to show its age but, to be honest, I have earlier airports of theirs that do some things better. The most disappointing aspect is the very low-res ground texturing landside, which looks pretty bad, especially when juxtaposed with neighbouring areas that are much better modelled. The terminal interior is rather rudimentary but fairly typical of scenery from mid-2022.
What elevates the experience to a point that you can likely forgive the flaws is the overall accuracy: the aprons, taxiways and runways are correctly coloured/weathered, and the terraforming is exceptional. The retouching of the satellite imagery further increases the authenticity, as does the quality of the night-lighting.
There’s only one option if you want Gran Canaria in your sim, and this is it. And while it could be better, it could also be a lot worse. When you take its age into account, this airport is well-made. It’s not the prettiest out there but it feels right… which is sometimes just as important as looking right.
One final thing to mention is that some FSLTL aircraft seem to park with their noses much further forward than they should be — I’m not sure if this is a Sim-Wings or FSLTL issue but it only appears to affect one or two airliners at any given time.
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