One of the first things that I thought of when I received this product for review was, who would be interested in an airport scenery package. Honestly, I had not read anything about this product, France 1 by Aerosoft, until I received it in the mail, and read the manual that was included. I was pleasantly surprised that this was not just an "airport enhancement", but was more of an airport and scenery package! Back to the question of who would be interested, I found that my initial thoughts changed somewhat to a wider field of users. Pilots for Virtual Airlines were one of the things that came to mind initially. If you fly routes for your VA into this region, which includes, Marseille Provence (LFML), St. Tropez, La Mole (LFTZ), Nice (LFMN), and Cannes Mandelieu (LFMD), I think this would be a fantastic add on for you. You are probably into "as real as it gets" a bit more than the average simmer, since you are piloting for a VA, so this would be an excellent touch of realism for you.
The installation is simple. Save your disc envelope, since it has the registration Code on it that is required when you install. After given the common options for an install path, you have a few options. These options include the installation of static objects in Nice and fictional taxi lights in St. Tropaz. If you have any Nice Scenery ad ons that were included in the product Commuter Airliners, you will need to deactivate this scenery. Just go to your Settings options in MSFS, click on scenery library, uncheck the appropriate check boxes, exit MSFS, and everything is reset. Remember that after changing your scenery options, you need to restart MSFS for the changes to take effect. They give you a reminder so you won't forget. Adjustments to AI Traffic in MSFS are automatically carried out.
The installation will include three pre-set flights for you to enjoy. They are:
Cannes - You are flying in a Cessna 182 Skylane, heading towards NDB CS 385.0. Your destination is the Cannes Mandelieu Airport, rwy 35
Cannes VIP Flight - As you wait for the VIP to get off the phone (probably talking about his golf game with his buddies), out of his limo, and strapped into his seat of your Learjet 45, you wonder if you're going to make the appointed arrival time in Barcelona, so that he can make his nine o'clock appointment! O.K., I made up the part about the phone and his strapping in, but the rest is true! Your Flight plan has already been filed. Good luck! Got any caviar on board?
Nice Cote d'azur - A Boeing B737 sits waiting for you at Terminal 2, Gate C48.
As far as system performance goes, I didn't see a noticeable impact on frame rates with my system. However, as with all add ons, you have to experiment with your settings to see what works best for you. There are some tips for getting the most out of your system's performance while using this add on included in the manual. At times, while you are taxiing along, a building or an aircraft may suddenly appear, depending on the angle of view. Don't panic. They don't pop up right in front of you as to create a hazard. Integration with normal AI traffic is automatic.
The Airports
The details of the airports are extreme, from working jet ways and hanger doors, to parking lots full of cars! There's so much detail that I just can't list all of the items here, but the screenshots will tell the story! There is a bit of a hink with using the animated jetways at the Marseille Airport, but it's not a serious problem. More of a detail type of thing. It may occur that when jet ways that are next to you are moving when you activate yours, by entering a particular frequency Nav2. They would have had to assign each and every jet way a different freq and this would have been a pain in the behind for the user. Again, a minor problem, but at this point there is no resolution for it. The airport in Nice is a beautiful sight to behold at night. If you go to the "spot view" while parked at the gate, and zoom out max, go ahead and pan around and you'll find yourself looking from the inside of the terminal, out at your plane. Hey! Shouldn't you be in the cockpit getting your preflights in order?
Marseille Provence Marseille is the third most important European seaport. Marseille is located off a bay in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the second largest city in France. The elevation of Marseille is anywhere between 0 and 160 m above sea level, with a nearby mountainous region, the Croix de Garlaban being the highest peak at 710 m. The airport itself is located next to a huge salty lake that is fed by the Mediterranean. The jet ways at this airport are functional, by activating them through the NAV 2 radio as mentioned earlier. Height of the jet way is dependant upon the aircraft you're flying. Examples of airliners that can use the various jetways are 737's, 747's, and A320's. There is a table in the manual describing which Parking Gate you should use.
St. Tropaz The airport, St. Tropaz - La Mole is located 15 km from St. Tropaz. It started out as a private flying club, back in the 60's. Today it is owned by a private company. National, International, Private, commercial and business flights all utilize this airport. It is classified as a Class D airport. The small village of La Mole is located about 1 km to the north east of the airport, surrounded by mountain ranges and forested areas. The airport at Nice, the Cote d'azur is about 90 km away. A neat extra that you can see at this airport during the summer months, is a man sitting drinking (moving his arm) a cold one outside of the tower, looking very comfortable in a garden chair! With the St. Tropaz airport, during the install you have the option of fictitious taxi lights, or how the airport actually is set up.
Nice
Nice has a very long history, dating back hundreds of years, and they touch on some of this in the manual. The airport itself has history dating back to the very early 1900's. At the Cote d'azur airport, "FOLLOW ME" cars will appear on rwy 04R-22L: Taxiway EF and Taxiway EY. If they're not there when you are, be patient and they will show to lead the way for you.
Cannes - Mandelieu Not to be left out of the history department, Cannes has a history that dates back to 200 B.C. according to local historians. Today, Cannes is probably best known for its Film Festival, which opened for the first time on September 1, 1939. Unfortunately, they had to close the next day due to the outbreak of WW II. Mandelieu is located 7 km west of Cannes. The airport dates back to the early 1900's also. On February 22 1932, Air Union opened passenger service between London and Cannes, via Paris, Lyon, and Geneva. Air Union was absorbed by Air France in 1933. Today the airport is one of the largest business traffic airports in France, with the capacity to handle aircraft up to 22 tons.
Scenery Landscape The attention to detail was not only focused on how the airports looked, but the surrounding countryside is beautifuly done also! Coastal flights to mountain scenery can be had with this add on. The area is also dotted with castles and the cities and towns that are very detailed. Detailed roads and landmarks make VFR flying possible.
Included in the product is a manual that is well written, with some interesting facts, and a Charts booklet containing Approach and Airport Charts. I found this very impressive, since I am a big fan of manuals and charts coming with the product and not having to print them up myself. In some cases, this can be very ink intensive!
To sum it all up, if you like the "ultimate" in airport realism and enjoy some very nicely rendered scenery, this package is for you. If you're not into the realism and the scenery, well, why are you flying flight sims? For $32.39 USD / EUR 29.99, I find this product to be both worth the money and comparable to the prices of other scenery add ons.
For more information on this product, visit Aero Soft at www.aerosoft.com
Screenshots speak better for scenery add ons than words do, so here you go:
