Test machine specs: MSI X670E, AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX, 48gb RAM
Version reviewed: FS2024
Add-ons: BATC, GSX Pro, GFX, Global Shipping '24
DETAIL
In my last review (for the same dev’s Puerto Madryn), I said it wouldn’t be long before I bought my next Simulación Extrema airport… and here it is: Bahia Blanca. My choice was heavily influenced by the apparent quality of their later airports (SAZB is their penultimate Argentine scenery), which look noticeably better than those they were churning out pre-2024. Another factor was that it’s less than an hour’s flying time from Sierrasim’s SABE, which has become my base of operations in Argentina.
If you’re a TL;DR kind of person, it’s at the same quality level as Madryn, but you’re getting a LOT more airport for your money (it’s literally a few pence/cents more than SAVY).
Just as with Madryn, the flight down from Aeroparque passed some pretty poor default terrain in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area but by the time I began my descent, the satellite imagery had improved significantly, being pretty pleasing around the city of Bahia Blanca. Of course there’s no PG in Argentina but it’s better than expected, given the location.
Upon landing, I immediately noticed the runway textures aren’t as nice as those at Madryn but this could well be a reflection of reality. They’re certainly not terrible, although RWY24/06’s surface is a little low-res (but at least uniquely weathered). The taxiway textures present a similar story, being more in line with the Scottish trio than the dev’s very latest work — however I have to say, the apron looks quite close to the quality of Madryn. Landing and taxiway edge lights are default but in this part of the world, I don’t consider this a great problem. The only real anomaly I spotted was a white arrow marking in the grass just before the RWY17L threshold, which is nowhere to be seen on Google Maps.
Arriving on stand 3 (the only one equipped with a jetway), I was struck by the abundance of custom GSE clutter. The variety isn’t stunning, comprising only a handful of pieces, but the quality is first-class and its random placement convincing. There is a sky-blue Aerolineas Argentinas GSE storage building right next to the terminal, which is fantastically weathered (including on its roof). There are also a couple of rampers going about their business — default assets only but good to see, nonetheless. The jetway didn’t make a perfect connection with my PMDG 737, stopping a few inches short of the door, but this is a minor complaint.
There’s some lovely terraforming between the apron edge and the terminal, with all sorts of little aesthetic details. The part of the terminal visible from a parked airliner has a large glass façade, through which the comings and goings inside can be seen. Like SAVY, the glass is nicely tinted and features dirt and grime build-up. The building’s internal development is limited to the airside section but aside from some not-entirely-convincing glass textures landside, you’ll happen across no ugly bits.
The landside is fully modelled but sadly, like all Simulación Extrema airports, it features nothing but Asobo default vehicles. A mild irritation and it definitely could be worse: i.e. they could litter the airside areas! There are a few static people hanging around the entrance/exit and there’s enough fixed clutter to satiate those of us who like our outdoor landside detail.
Moving into the airfield’s more peripheral areas is where things get rather interesting, because there’s a LOT of modelling away from the terminal, and most of it manages to maintain a very respectable degree of quality. This airport is a joint civil and military base, and there are several semi-hidden areas that boast some really exquisite detail. I won’t elaborate too much but there are some lovely static aircraft dotted around, including a handful on display at the on-site aviation museum (which is the second-best detailed area after the passenger terminal). Admittedly, a couple of the outlying buildings scattered across the airfield look a bit cartoonish (likely because their textures are oversaturated) but even the worst offenders are still reasonably weathered.
There really is a lot to explore here and I’m still struggling to understand the justification for charging (almost) the same for an airport a fraction of the size (with reference to Puerto Madryn). I don’t regret my previous purchase whatsoever but my curiosity has certainly been piqued…
Outside the perimeter fence (yup, it’s all encompassing), there’s not a lot. At Madryn, this lack of surrounding modelling was clearly due to the remote location but Bahia Blanca is in a more populated setting. This is more an observation than a complaint, and the custom-modelled main road leading away from the terminal does at least extend some way towards the city.
Like Madryn, the airport’s sparse schedule isn’t conducive to testing BATC functionality but I’ve had no issues with other Simulación Extrema airports (I’ll be sure to report back if I spot anything anomalous). The lack of a GSX profile is less concerning here due to the much larger apron, and I didn’t witness any conflicts between my aircraft and GSE.
Night lighting is typical FS2024 quality. Not outstanding but far from bad.
PERFORMANCE
Excellent for me, which is hardly surprising given there’s no PG till you get to Brazil! The airfield is fairly large but its areas of detail are spread out rather than being concentrated.
VERDICT
I think I made the right choice adding this airport after purchasing Puerto Madryn just before the weekend. SAZB is a stunning scenery with very few weaknesses (just the odd silly oversight the dev should be able to quickly and easily address). When taking into account the size of this airport, it’s hard to argue that Puerto Madryn is better, despite being a great little package in and of itself.
Simulación Extrema’s Bahia Blanca has really surprised me by packing an impressive level of detail into a very reasonably priced package. Even the marketing images and video don’t do it justice, in my opinion. Sure, it’s not perfect but these guys are the only ones making scenery for this part of the planet, and believe me, we could do a whole lot worse!
Future improvements I’d like to see include the removal of the misplaced directional arrow at RWY17L, use of custom vehicles in landside parking lots, and custom airfield lighting (the latter two of course apply to all Simulación Extrema airports, not just this one). I also think this dev’s projects would benefit from more surrounding modelling, which they already implemented in some of their earlier work.
If you’re looking to build up a domestic route network in Argentina, this simply HAS to be one of the first airports you buy (after Sierrasim’s SABE, of course, which is necessary for the whole operation). I really like Puerto Madryn — which in some ways is the better airport, being newer — however its value proposition falls well below that of Bahia Blanca. You’re just getting so much more for your money with Bahia. I will talk to the dev about potential improvements but honestly, it doesn’t get any better than this in South America. In fact, just as a caveat, this level of quality would actually be pretty respectable for Europe and the USA.
I’ll finish this review by saying… I suspect this won’t be the last Simulación Extrema scenery I buy this week… 
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