Test machine specs: MSI X670E, AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD Radeon RX 7900XTX, 48gb RAM
Version reviewed: 1.3.1
Add-ons: BATC, GSX Pro, GFX, Global Shipping '24
My first scenery by V Pilot. For lesser-covered areas of the world, I tend to lower my expectations, so let’s see if their FS2024-native El Dorado is worth its premium price tag…
DETAIL
I must start by mentioning the terrible terrain around the city of Bogota (which of course isn’t V Pilot’s fault): 2D, baked-on clouds sitting atop mountains, blurry, pixelated peaks… but thankfully, the city itself looks a bit better. It’s a shame as the approaches are certainly interesting, with their numerous altitude constraints (the city sits at an elevation of over 8,000ft).
After a sightseeing trip across the local mountain range, I was down on RWY14L, getting my first look at V Plot’s work. Runway textures are decent — probably about average for a 2024-native scenery — but the taxiways and ramps look superb, featuring convincing wear-and-tear and crisp markings that have a ‘used’ feel.
The main terminal’s exterior looks great and, like its real-world counterpart, is comprised of a number of large, glass façades, affording virtual pilots an extensive view of the activity inside. The practically complete interior has some pretty cool animations (I shan’t spoil the surprise) and a few areas of high detail but it’s otherwise unremarkable for an airport released in 2025 (there’s noticeable repetition and many of the shops/restaurants are simple 2D overlays). That said, it contains people and does look good from the cockpit of a parked airliner (due in no small part to the realistic glass opacity) so it serves its purpose competently. The building’s outdoor landside — along with its entire internal road system — has been custom-modelled but there are no people and all cars (with the exception of a few taxis) are default assets.
The focus has clearly been on the terminal building’s exterior, and the ramps in the immediate vicinity. The weathering is brilliant across the board, from the custom jetways to the metal frames surrounding each apron floodlight. Many textures don’t hold up too well under close scrutiny but they’re more than good enough when viewed from typical operational distances (these lower-res areas are likely to help with performance as SKBO is a big airport — the second-busiest in Latin America). There are more animations to discover out on the apron, plus an abundance of GSE clutter and even a few animated rampers. The GSE is slightly repetitive but no big deal since its placement appears pretty random. Add in some AI traffic and the place certainly feels alive.
I saw one review slating the cargo area but, while there’s no doubt it’s not done to the same standard as the terminal, I didn’t find it worthy of fierce criticism. Its weathering looks good, all company logos are featured, and there’s a smidge of GSE to ensure it doesn’t feel completely lifeless. There’s also a fair bit of detail at its landside, including a few trucks with their amber service lights flashing (an effect better appreciated at night). I guess if you only haul freight it might be a touch disappointing but many payware airports focus primarily on pax ops, and SKBO wouldn’t be the first airport to slightly neglect a cargo area.
Moving into the airside’s peripheries, there is a marginal drop in detail but the quality of the modelling remains consistent. There are a few static aircraft dotted around, including a couple of choppers and a Colombian AF 737 on the government/exec ramp. Again, their textures aren’t the highest resolution but as objects to glimpse while taxiing, they serve their purpose. The tower is in a bit of an out-of-the-way place but it’s modelled very nicely and features a basic interior. My only real complaint is that there are a few smaller buildings left to default satellite imagery but, unlike much airport scenery for under-represented countries, they don’t stick out like sore thumbs.
Surroundings-wise, the dev hasn’t gone to a lot of trouble to include anything of note. If you consider the terminal landside ‘surroundings’, I guess there’s quite a bit to nosy at; but I didn’t see much outside the airport’s (default) perimeter fence that isn’t autogen.
Night-lighting is stunning, frankly — both inside the terminal and outside on the ramps — however there are a lot of Asobo ‘globes’ floating around landside, that a scenery of this quality shouldn’t exhibit. Worse, there are a couple airside, although admittedly they’re far enough out of the way to not be a nuisance. These default interlopers don’t detract too much from the overall quality of the night-lighting but they’re irritating, nonetheless.
Finally, AI traffic compatibility, which seems largely fine to me. I say “largely” because I did experience a couple of traffic bottlenecks (using BATC) but they soon sorted themselves out. Whether the situation could get uglier, I don’t know, but things seemed to flow nicely once the issue had resolved itself. No problems with arrivals and departures.
PERFORMANCE
SKBO is a big and busy airport, that fortunately runs very well on my system. I experienced a few minor stutters when zooming around with the drone cam but I think that’s pretty normal for most of us. I experienced no issues on very short finals/rollout or while taxiing. Your mileage may of course vary…
VERDICT
At around £20 at most stores, SKBO has the price tag of a premium product — and apart from a few oversights, it’s exactly that. The default surroundings may look ugly but the airport scenery itself is very good, and you can always add Samscene’s Bogota city to improve the area’s visuals. As Latin American airports go, it’s one of the best. I can only think of Dreamflight, Flyt, Paulo Ricardo and PKSim who offer anything better, and none of them have (yet) tackled an airport the size of El Dorado. But I would like to make a couple of recommendations: add people to the outdoor landside areas, and remove (or at least thin out) those unsightly Asobo globes. I also think an airport of this quality ought to have custom airfield lighting but I’m not going to push that one too hard as V Pilot are far from the only guilty party when it comes to using default stock.
So, is it worth its high price tag? I actually think it is — and for the next few days, you can bag it for less in the Contrail Halloween sale.
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