What started out as a definite chore is turning into a voyage of discovery.With the Treescapes autogen trees in use I decided to work my way through the farmstrips, to see if any woody changes were indicated. In many cases they are. Sometimes I've chopped down a few of Darrens, sometimes added my own. It would be tedious but for the effect the trees have. Very ordinary looking strips become stunning, when the real world trees are in place. The trees also divert the eye from the crappy buildings etc.
One tool that has made the job easier is Google Earth. In many cases the camera views are available, so the real life tree types and sizes can be reproduced. The other point that emerges from GE is the nature of the strips. No club houses, often no hangars and almost certainly none of the tyres and markers that I've used, to define runway and parking areas. With my recent change of graphics card there are many cases where the strip is so readily identifiable, in FSX, that the markers are not really needed.
From the attached GE photograph of Dowland, in Devon, the other point that jumps out is the narrowness of the landing strip. Not much wider than a light aircraft's wingspan, it's bordered by standing crops. With the surrounding trees there are bound to be all sorts of odd wind effects, with no room for error. FSX, by comparison, is an absolute doddle. However, I read recently of a design prog which can provide tall grass etc. Off to do a search, to see if I can't make life more difficult!
Gerry Winskill
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