Aircraft used: Default/LVFR 320, ATR, PMDG 738
Live weather: on
DETAIL
What we’ve typically come to expect from IniBuilds. The terminal is beautifully modelled, inside and out; airside and landside. It looks particularly nice at night with some lovely custom lighting effects. On the apron we have custom GSE and all ground textures/markings are excellent. The whole area has been the subject of extensive terraforming since the undulating nature of airports and runways built on volcanic islands tends to be quite striking. The cliffs atop which the runway sits have been totally redone and look amazing, as does the manmade plateau at the 30 end (which menacingly dominates the western part of the town of Ponta Delgada). At the runway 12 end there’s a small road bridge, precariously perched above a pretty sheer drop.
Ini have gone beyond the airport boundary with their custom modelling and have included the tree-lined perimeter road, which runs from the terminal downhill into town. The big, decorative roundabout where this road meets the edge of town has been painstakingly recreated (although without people, as seen in the PC version), as have a couple of buildings in the immediate vicinity. Further towards the centre we see an old fort, some sort of factory (with giant chimney stacks that look pretty good on approach to RWY30!) and the main harbour, populated with vessels ranging from small yachts to huge cruise liners.
Add-ons worth considering to enhance the product include LVFR’s static aircraft pack (does a good job here) and Seafront Sim’s Global Shipping and corresponding Vessels: Azores pack (I don’t currently own the latter but intend to pick up in a future sale).
PERFORMANCE
Very good but not perfect. Slightly disappointing since Ini have been spot on with their Xbox optimisation lately, but don’t let that put you off — I’ve only had black screens once or twice and it’s never crashed on me. Framerates are great but I guess that’s to be expected for a pretty small airport (albeit with a very long runway!).
VERDICT
Another great Ini product but, in my opinion, not quite as impressive as their more recent Southampton. Still, it’s aesthetically very nice and the excellent terraforming really captures the uniqueness of this Atlantic island airport. It’s a fun place to fly and makes a nice addition to the Azores, which have also seen some love from Asobo (with their hand-crafted Pico, included in the Spain/Portugal WU) and MM Sims (Horta).
While the stability might not be what we’ve become accustomed to recently with IniBuilds, it runs pretty well and you’re only going to encounter any kind of trouble if you tank around with the drone excessively. It’s an airport best enjoyed using a variety of external views while on finals and I’m pleased to say this doesn’t seem to trouble it too much — but as always with any airport that’s not quite 100% stable, it’s all about moderation.
Highly recommended, especially with LVFR’s statics pack and Seafront’s dedicated Vessels: Azores add-on.
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