Version 4.
Scenery for FS2004.
Created by Nick Black.
Introduction
This is an updated version of Brize Norton v2 scenery which was released at the beginning of this year (2003) for FS2002. When transferring the file into FS2004 I noticed that the bay markings textures had lost their transparency. A quick mess with them resulted in the scenery being FS2004 compatible. I also decided to update some of the scenery to reflect an up to date Brize as follows:
> The pan now contains more static Tristars. The older version only had 3 of the 9 RAF Tristars parked up. This version has an additional 3 Tristars to reflect the return of the K1's from down route refuelling duties.
> A few more static objects have been added around the bays to add a bit more activity to the base.
> Terminal Textures fixed to stop them from dissapearing at long range at night.
> In case anyone is wondering what the extension on the front of the terminal is in this version, well it is an awning put up for when those killed in Iraq were flown into the base. It has become a somewhat permenant feature of the terminal so I thought I should include it.
> Coming soon will be AFCAD files to add gates and Taxiways once AFCAD version 2 for FS2004 is released by Lee Swordy and an updated AI package which wwill take full advantage of FS2004's Touch and Go facility. The AI and AFD files that were developed for this scenery in FS2002 will not work with FS2004. Look out for these later on this year. Ill be doing them ASAP because I want to use them myself.
> Thanks to all those who pointed this out, but it seems I was wrongly informed when told there was no ILS at the real Brize Norton. This has been corrected and this version of the scenery holds ILS on both runways. I havent yet tested it in FS2004 but I know that this new ILS frequency actually cured a major problem with the stock Brize scenery in FS2002. Frequencies as follows:
*********I will stress right now that in no part of this file is there any classified information on the Royal Air Force's Operations or any information that would be seen as secretive. I have made a great effort to recreate Brize as specifically and realistically as possible while at the same time safeguarding the Official Secrets Act.**********
The taxiway light macros used on this scenery are available as a seperate download and are published on www.SurClaro and www.simviation.com. These macros are available for anyone to use in their scenery projects.
Unzip this file either to your favourite zip folder, (usually C:/unzipped) and then drag the folder Brize Norton to the scenery folder in FS2004 or unzip directly to your FS scenery folder. The file is set up so that you don't need to mess around with it. Once you've put it in your scenery folder you don't need to do anything with it.
To enable the scenery area go to the scenery library, select "add" and then select the path of the folder "Brize Norton FS2004" in your scenery folder. The scenery is split into 2 bgls, one of the base itself and one of the static aircraft. There are also bgls for trees, and fencelines around the base. These do have a major impact on framerates but I thought that due to increasing PC power I would leave them as standard in this release. If you do encounter drastic drops in framerates then you can always remove these files, put them in a folder called "unused bgls". I run the scenery on FS2004 on a 2.4 GHz Pentium 4 with 256 MB of RAM and I generally get 25 to 30 Frames Per Second (with the target rate set at 30 FPS) around the perimeter of the base. The only drops I get is on the main apron Northside as it is densely populated. However I usually get 7 to 15 FPS here. You could also delete the static aircraft by removing "aircraft FS2004.bgl" and "aircraft FS2004_exc1.bgl" if you wish. These files are seperate from the base layout and will not affect the overall look if deleted, the only affect will be that the pan is empty (and that just aint Brize Norton).
If you experience any problems with this add on please drop me an e-mail and let me know what the problem is. I will be more than happy to tweak the scenery files for individuals who want to use the scenery but cant because it runs slowly on their PC. I know how annoying it is when PC's cant handle large graphics programs so would be glad to help anyone.
On some occassions the textures for this scenery have not been recognised when installed. If you see some textures missing when running FS and white patches appear, simply copy all the textures from the Brize Norton FS2004 "texture" folder to the main Flight Simulator 9 "texture" folder. This should cure the problem.
>>>>>>>>>>>Compatability with British Airports by JustFlight/Gary Summons<<<<<<<<<<<
As identified by various people with the first version of this scenery, when it was published for FS2002, It causes problems when used in conjunction with British Airports pack 'Central Region'. To cure this problem and allow this scenery to be run alongside the rest of the airports in the central region pack do the following.
# Install both sceneries
# Go to the "C:/Microsoft Games/Flight Simulator 9/SceneryDB/BrApt/Central/Scenery"
# This folder hold all the .bgl scenery files all carrying the four letter ICAO codes for the particular airport plus what the file contains.
# create a new folder called "JustFlight EGVN"
# find the five files which start with 'egvn' these are
The creation of this scenery package has spanned 6 months of hard work, which has seen various different versions of the finished product come to light. The original idea came from my experiments with a very early version of FSSC in which I created a fictional military airfield in my hometown of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. That was a while ago and I was then using FS2000. Having just converted from FS98.
After I joined the Royal Air Force in the winter of 2001 I was posted to Brize as a Movements Operator and at the time this goes out (early 2003) am working in the Air Terminal at Brize.
I decided that with such a bad attempt being made by Microsoft to model Brize Norton and due to the lack of decent add-ons that I've seen to replace the default, I should give it a go.
The largest RAF Station in the UK, Brize Norton is the nerve centre of the RAF's air transport capabilities. Opened in 1937, the Station was used to train airborne forces, before being handed over to the USAF in 1950. Strategic Air Command based B-29 and B-47 bombers at Brize, before the RAF reclaimed the Station for use as a tanker and transport base. Currently based at Brize Norton are the 11 VC10 C1Ks of 10 Squadron, the 8 VC10 K3 and K4s of 101 Squadron, the 8 Tristar C2, K1 and KC1s of 216 Squadron, the 4 C-17A Globemasters of 99 Squadron and No 2624 (County of Oxford) Royal Auxiliary Air Force Regiment Field Squadron and sister Squadron, No. 4624 RAuxAF Movements Squadron. Also based at Brize Norton is No 1 Parachute Training School, which includes the RAF Parachute Display Team, the Falcons and, of course, most importantly, Brize Norton Air Movements Squadron and the RAF Movements School.
Brize Norton has also been named as the future home for all the RAF's Air Transport Fleet. This will include the RAF's Hercules fleet when RAF Lyneham closes and the Airbus A400M Future Large Aircraft and the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft if and when these projects go ahead.
Brize Norton's Military Operations are quite complex with the number of different aircraft types based there and that visit the base regularly. The best way to make these understandable is to go through each aircraft type and bay individually, that way those of you who want to recreate Brize's operations can have a guide to what goes where. See the attached file "Bay Map" also for locations of all the bays at Brize Norton.
AIRCRAFT
VC10 C1K
The VC10's of 10 Squadron are primarily transport aircraft used to fly passengers and freight around the world. They generally operate from the North side of the Airfield from the bays closest to the Air Terminal. These aircraft will therefore use bays 2,3,4,5,6,14 and 15 as standard when they are carrying passengers on a trooping flight. They will generally use bays 10,11,12 and 13 if carrying Cargo, as the pallets do not therefore need to be taken far from the Air Cargo Hanger to the aircraft. VC10's will often also be operated from bays 23 and 24. 10 Sqn VC10s that are not being used or are flying tanker operations are housed on the southside bays.
VC10 K3 and K4
101 Squadrons VC10 tankers operate exclusively from the southside of the airfield from bays 42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49 and 50. Even when they are carrying passengers they will park over on these bays, as the standard operating procedure for RAF Brize Norton states that Aircraft with less than 20 passengers onboard do not have to park near the terminal. 101 Squadron's HQ building is located on the southside also. As always there are exceptions and K3s and K4s have been known to occasionally operate from the north side of the base.
Tristar C2, K1 and KC1
The Tristars of 216 Squadron operate exclusively from the north side of the base as they are primarily passenger aircraft and due to the fact that 216 Sqn's HQ building is the hangar next to the air terminal. The Aircraft operate from Bays 2,3,4,5,6,10,11,12 and 13. The C2's always operate from Bays 4,5 or 6 when they are carrying passengers as standard operating procedures state that passengers can only be walked out to bays 4,5,6,7,8 and 15 and must be taken by bus to all others, for safety reasons. K1s and KC1s operate from the rest of the bays KC1s being moved to bays 4,5 and 6 if travelling on a trooping run in place of a C2.
C-17A Globemaster
The C17s of 99 Squadron operate from bays 16,17,19 and 20 and no other aircraft parks there as it is now considered to be the "Budda's Lair". (The C17 is affectionately known as the "Budda" because it's big and fat and everyone worships it.) Occasionally the C17 may park on bays 23,24 or 25. The aircraft sometimes park between bays 16 and 20, referred to as bay 16A or between bays 17 and 19, referred to as bay 17A when they are armed with their self defence flares, as these intermediate bays allow full safety clearance.
BAYS
Bay 1
Bay 1 is used for visiting light aircraft, RAF fighter Aircraft, Private Business jets and Helicopters. Any Aircraft that fits into this category will be parked across bay 1 facing either North or South. The bay can therefore accommodate a number of small aircraft at once. This bay is referred to as Cross 1 or X1.
Bays 2,3,4,5 and 6
These bays are only used by the RAFs Tristars and VC10s and are usually reserved for passenger carrying variants. Since these bays require a pushback to get out of civil aircraft cannot be operated from them. The bay markers light up at night if they are to be used by an incoming aircraft and they also operate an automated parking system used by Tristar crews.
Note: In the Scenery Bay 3 is set up to operate the Tristar C2 with steps and Pushback tug set at the correct positions for this Aircraft. Bay 6 is set up likewise to operate the VC10. Not really that important but a VC10 will look silly on bay 3 with high steps next to it. and likewise the steps on Bay6 wont reach the Tristar's doors. Just a little pointer for added realism.
Bays 7,8,9 and 9a
These are transit bays and are only used by aircraft that are staying at the airfield for a short time merely to either drop off or pick up passengers. Bay 7 is the most commonly used bay on the base, It is used by civilian charters, visiting VIP aircraft and transiting aircraft as it is close to the air terminal. Bays 8 and 9 will be used only when parking an aircraft on bay 7 would cause bays 5 and 6 to be blocked for an inbound or outbound aircraft. Bay 9 is used when Bay 7 is occupied. Bay 9a is used primarily by RAF Hercules Aircraft to pick up paratroopers from No.1 Parachute Training School which is located in the centre large Hangar or is it sometimes used for large Cargo Aircraft such as DC-10s. Use Bay 7 for any aircraft not indigenous to Brize Norton that is either dropping off or picking up passengers and then departing again. One of the more spectacular users of Bay 7 is Concorde, which diverts to Brize Norton if it is delayed arriving at Heathrow, as it cannot land in London after 23:30 due to the noise. No one cares about the residents of Carterton obviously.
Bays 10,11,12,13,14 and 15
These bays are used by relatively all types of aircraft that use Brize Norton. Bay 10 is generally used by visiting aircraft that are staying at the base, such as Canadian Hercules. Bays 11, 12 and 13 are used by both Tristars and VC10s. Bay 15 is no longer used by Tristars but only by VC-10s of 10 Sqn.
Bays 16,17,19,20,16a and 17a
99 Squadron operate this area of the base as their own. The 4 C17 Globemasters operate from this ramp, generally parking on bays 16,17,19 and 20. The aircraft are normally parked around the bays in an anti-clockwise direction with the aircraft on bays 19 and 20 parked facing left as seen from the Air Terminal and the aircraft on bays 16 and 17 parked facing right. Since the C17 is used as a tactical aircraft it is equipped with self-defence flare dispensers in the aft behind the wheel wells. When the aircraft arrives at its bay after a flight it is de-armed immediately. The lines of red cones on one of the static C17s is placed out to warn people of the fact that the aircraft is armed.
Bays 21 and 22
These bays opposite base hanger are used for aircraft waiting to undergo maintenance in Base Hanger. Aircraft are also sometimes parked at the end of the strip outside the hangar next to bay 21. These Bays are used by all aircraft types stationed at Brize Norton though generally you will only see VC-10s here as it saves having to take them all the way from southside of the airfield.
Bays 23,24 and 25
Used mostly by cargo aircraft including visiting Antonov AN124, C17, VC10, Tristar and really any aircraft imaginable.
Bays 26 to 32 and 38 to 41
Generally not used at all but can handle any aircraft type. These bays are sometimes used to park aircraft that are staying at the base for long periods.
Bays 33,34,35,36 and 37
These bays are classed as the Dangerous Cargo loading Bays. Used by all Brize Norton's aircraft Tristars, VC10s and C17s, which are carrying Dangerous Cargo such as explosives or hazardous materials.
Bays 42 to 50
101 Squadrons bays used to operate VC10 tankers from both 101 and 10 Sqns.
Brize Norton Is Host to a great deal of different visiting Aircraft types. During this year (2003) you can name virtually any aircraft type in the world and one will have visited Brize at some time or another. During Op Telic the base saw chartered aircraft including all the Boeing models 747,757,767,707 etc and All Airbus variants A300,310,320,330,and 340 as well as DC-9 and DC-10 freighters.
Helicopters
A number of helicopters including Chinook, Merlin, Puma, Commando, Gazelle and a number of civilian helicopters frequently visit Brize Norton. Helicopters that are visiting the base for a stop over will park on bay 1 after approaching like a fixed wing aircraft, stopping at the centre of the runway and taxying or hovering to park up. British Military Helicopters are generally visiting JATEU (Joint Air Transport Evaluation unit) which is the 2 large hangers at south side of the threshold of runway 26. The helicopters generally park up on the grass by the tarmaced area near JATEU.
Derek Leung: for creating a superb scenery design program without which all this would not be possible of course.
Matthias Bruckner: for Easy Object Designer without which this list would be a mile long thanking everyone for their building macros etc. With this program I learnt to make my own.
Trevor de Stiger: Without his MDLtoBGL V4 there would not be any static aircraft macros in this scenery. I took along time to find a version of this program that worked on the FS98 Aircraft I wanted to use but I found it in the end.
Martin Wright: Who's bmp2000 program allowed the textures Id created for my custom macros to work in FS2002.
Lee Swordy: for AFCAD and Traffic Tools. Both brilliant one of a kind programs.
Robert Palmer: for his brilliant Decidous tree macro set which he granted kind permission for me to use.
Colin Norwood: for allowing me permission to use his FS98 RAF VC-10 as a static Macro.
Mike Wallace: for his permission to use his Delta Tristar Macro repainted by myself into RAF colours.
Gregor Gabel: for his FS98 C-17 which I repainted to RAF colours, I've been unable to contact him but must of course credit him for this model, which was very necessary to the project.
The An124 was from an unknown source but thanks if you're reading this.
So thats your lot. I do hope you enjoy flying from and to Brize as much as Ive enjoyed making it. Coming soon will be AFCAD files to add gates and Taxiways once AFCAD version 2 for FS2004 is released by Lee Swordy and an updated AI package which wwill take full advantage of FS2004's Touch and Go facility.
Nick Black, Aug 2003
nickblack423@hotmail.com
P.s. Please contact me with suggestions comments or problems. Its the only way I know whats going on, if Ive made a good job and if it still needs more work. Cheers.
