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
