Test machine specs: MSI X670E, AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX, 48gb RAM
Add-ons: FSLTL, GSX Pro, REX AccuSeason (which may misrepresent some colours in certain light conditions)
Also available for FS2024 (non-native).
DETAIL
I’d previously considered but subsequently overlooked a couple of this dev’s airports, either because they featured dreaded default jetways, or I suspected I wouldn’t really fly to them much. But having a good portion of the Loganair fleet (ATR 42/72, BN-2) and Burning Blue’s twin Orkney airports in my sim — and with FlightFX’s ERJ-145 on the way — I decided to take last-minute advantage of the Marketplace sale.
I’m very pleasantly surprised. We’re not quite at top-tier dev level here but what we are presented with is of a good standard. Ground textures/markings are decent (nothing exceptional) but I’ve compared them very closely with their real-world counterparts and the markings in particular are extremely accurate. The terminal looks fantastic and features virtually a full interior, crammed with detail (including static pax models). There’s a small amount of custom clutter out on the main apron (mobile airstairs, an ops vehicle, cones, signage), plus a few token default assets. Outside the fire station sit two custom fire tenders, which feature accurate HIA (Highlands & Islands Airports) logos.
The terminal landside is arguably the airport’s best feature and is as good as anything the best of 2025 can offer. Again, comparing with Bing Maps, the accuracy is impressive — we’re treated to more static people, custom-modelled entry/exit roads and car-parks (with markings), and various fixed objects such as a detailed sculpture, cabins, barriers and roadsigns. The parked cars are default examples but this isn’t unusual.
The airfield’s peripheries are less detailed but there’s still a bit to be seen, including the Loganair maintenance facility, military ramp and various outbuildings. The ATC tower is located just to the northeast of the terminal.
The roads around the airport are fully modelled, however the perimeter fence is not… at least not in its entirety. I really don’t know why devs choose to omit big chunks of it (it can’t be a big performance drain) but I guess they feel there’s no need if it’s quite a distance from moving aircraft? Still, I think it’s always better to have an all-encompassing perimeter fence, and I’d like to see a complete version in a future update.
Night-lighting is perhaps a little weaker than average, in 2025, but it’s acceptable — the only issue is that the terminal’s landside façade is very poorly lit (despite the car-park opposite being fine).
PERFORMANCE
Coming in at under 500mb to download, this scenery isn’t going to trouble anything but the oldest machines. It’s an isolated airport, away from any PG areas (although the surrounding terrain looks wonderful post-World Update 17, which concentrated on Scotland and Ireland), that sees daily flights often struggle to make doube figures.
VERDICT
If flying in Scotland’s Highlands appeals to you, Kirkwall makes an excellent base. There are ATR flights to both Edinburgh and Glasgow (among other destinations) and Loganair’s Islanders are semi-based here, operating to the extremities of the Orkneys. It’s a great partner for Burning Blue’s Westray and Papa Westray, along with Pyreegue’s two Scottish airports. But its location isn’t its only strength — while it might not be the best detailed airport it certainly offers enough to make flying here interesting, and is given a little boost by Asobo’s recent scenery enhancement for the area. As I like to say, it ticks all boxes to a satisfactory degree… despite doing no one thing exceptionally well (except perhaps that terminal landside).
Just before I wrap up, it’s worth pointing out one little anomaly with FSLTL traffic: I see ATRs landing perfectly normally but they’re taxiing to and parking on the military and Loganair maintenance ramps respectively, which isn’t realistic. I’ve reached out to the dev so hopefully they’ll remedy this. I’ve no development experience but I believe it’s a simple case of stands not having been set to the correct size — which also results in ATC/GSX being unable to allocate main apron parking for my own ATR. Additionally, there’s currently no GSX profile available.
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