Aircraft used: LVFR320, PMDG 738
Live weather: on
KPWM is apparently Aerodesigns’ first MSFS project.
DETAIL
Undeniably a lovely looking little airport, however the landside areas and the terminal interior could do with a little something more to make them look alive.
The terminal building is well modelled/textured and although the interior is fairly basic, it’s actually extremely well presented (especially at night when it’s subtly illuminated). The only issue is that there are no people, static or otherwise, which makes it feel a bit lifeless.
Airside, there’s a good amount of GSE clutter and LVFR’s static aircraft pack does a good job increasing immersion.
Landside looks okay but a bit sparse. There is some custom modelling but there’s also quite a bit of default stuff left in. The parked cars aren’t of a particularly high quality but that’s very much the norm at the moment. We don’t get much detail outside the perimeter fence or away from the main terminal but Aerodesigns have modelled a couple of hotels which, while not quite up to the standard of the terminal, are more than adequate. There are a couple of nice extras, such as the ‘wavy’ concrete wall adjacent to the taxiway leading to RWY18, and two basically modelled bridges under the approach to RWY29
Ground textures are generally pretty good but some details (stains, cracks, etc.) do look a little low-res/blurry when viewed up close.
PERFORMANCE
It’s always pleasing when the reasons for certain omissions are immediately apparent and KPWM strikes a great balance between detail and stability/performance. Sure, I’d liked to have seen a few static people populating the terminal but when an airport runs this well on console, it’s easy to overlook minor flaws. Stability and performance are superb and I’ve yet to suffer a stutter, black screens or a crash.
VERDICT
KPWM is an interesting little airport just a stone’s throw (in US terms) from East Coast hubs such as KBOS, KJFK and KEWR. It’s not the most detailed airport but what is here is aesthetically pleasing and some aspects of the terminal interior are impressive (i.e. the night lighting and the intricate wooden roof of the main concourse). The bridges on the final approach to RWY29 look like a bit of an afterthought but they are at least there, as are all structures located within the airfield’s boundaries.
Some decent photogrammetry on the USA’s north-eastern coast makes arriving and departing KPWM a pleasurable experience and if you’re looking for somewhere new to hop over to from some of the East Coast’s larger airports, you could do a lot worse than this scenery.
It’s not perfect and some areas of the field look/feel a bit bland but, generally, I’ve found Aerodesigns’ KPWM a solid little airport on Xbox. As already mentioned, LVFR’s statics pack does a great job here and goes some way towards making up for the lack of landside detail.
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