LatinVFR - San Andres & Providencia Scenery

By Bill Stack
21 July 2009


Screen shots by LatinVFR

San Andres and Providencia is a department (state, province) of Colombia that comprises two main islands and several smaller islands in the western Caribbean Sea. These islands are off the coast of Nicarugua, which is in Central America, while Colombia is on the northern coast of South America. At various times since being settled by English Puritans in 1630, the islands have been controlled by England, Spain, Nicarugua, and now Colombia. Population is approximately 60,000, and the capital is San Andres City.

The main economy of these islands is tourism, mostly from Central and South America with some from Canada. Visitors are promised "superb diving in crystal clear water, warm, white sandy beaches, exciting nightlife, colorful culture, a choice of full-amenity accommodations, relaxation and duty-free shopping head to San Andres in the Caribbean," according to About.Com. Photos posted to the Internet show people enjoying this Caribbean paradise.

LatinVFR produces "realistic sceneries for Flight Simulator . . . in remote areas of the globe," according to its website. In response to my question, LatinVFR said it made this scenery package "to accurately portray these beautiful islands almost hardly known (only by those in Latin nations), to make them known in the world."

San Andres & Providencia Location
Screen shots by Bill Stack

Major Features

This scenery package is conveniently available for instant downloading from the Flight Sim Pilot Shop.

Installation is easy. The installation program installs all needed files into the correct folders. Users must engage "Add-on Scenery" in their Settings/Scenery menu, however.

Features of this scenery include the following:

Photorealistic images for day and night
Textures for runways, taxiways, and aprons in high detail
Airports fully built with Gmax
Custom AFCAD for AI traffic

LatinVFR	FSX
LatinVFR	FSX
LatinVFR	FSX
San Andres Screen shots by Bill Stack

Nice Features

The Caribbean ambiance is visible throughout the islands:

Rugged mountains and cliffs throughout
Colorful tropical-style structures densely placed around the airports and scattered about the islands
White sandy beaches
Palm trees scattered about the islands, especially near airports and beaches
Light blue seas surrounding the islands

The comparative screen shots show that this scenery depicts the rugged terrain of these islands realistically whereas the the default FS2004 scenery does not.

The islands and the airports are realistically depicted as compared to real-world photos and airport data I found on the Internet.

Frame rates are unaffected by the numerous objects included with this scenery. They are in the 30s and 40s even near densely populated scenery objects such as houses, automobiles, and typical airport equipment.

Relevant aviation charts for these airports, including airport diagrams and instrument-approach procedures, are included. Two manuals are in Spanish, and the airport charts are in English.

LatinVFR
FSX

LatinVFR
FSX

LatinVFR
FSX

El Embrujo (Providencia)
Screen shots by Bill Stack

Comparative Screen Shots

My comparative screen shots were made as follows:

With LatinVFR's San Andres & Providencia scenery activated, I slewed to suitable "photo spots" and snapped various screen shots.
To activate and deactivate scenery in FS2004, the program must be exited and restarted, so I made all the LatinVFR shots first, showing the position data shown at the top.
With LatinVFR's San Andres & Providencia scenery deactivated, I slewed to the same "photo spots," using the same position data shown at the top of the corresponding set of screen shots, and snapped screen shots with the default FS2004 scenery.

As a result of this process, each pair of screen shots is made from exactly the same position, altitude, and heading. Apparent differences in viewpoints result from differences in the sceneries themselves.

Caribbean ambiance is evident throughout

Night lighting is colorful and Caribbean

Screen shots by Bill Stack

Issues

This scenery is only for FS2004. Although it can be installed in FSX, it doesn't display properly in FSX at all. LatinVFR is working on a version for FSX.

The patchiness of airport surfaces in my screen shots appears regardless of what display settings I chose — default, ultra high, low, and so forth. In response to my question, LatinVFR said "the runways and tarmacs are rebuilt and made over other sorts of surfaces."

Summary

The colorful, rugged terrain, sandy beaches, lush palm trees, and numerous ground objects make this scenery ideal for flight simmers who like flying visually, viewing scenery below, and flying from point to point using ground references. The relevant aviation charts are an added bonus for flight simmers who want to fly to and from these islands. The night lighting is very colorful and realistic. The minimal impact on frame rates is an added treat. This scenery is well worth the price for flight simmers seeking a lovely and unusual place to simulate visual and instrument flights.

Bill Stack

Learn More About LatinVFR - San Andres & Providencia Scenery for FSX

Bill Stack is author of several books about flight simulation, a regular author in flight-sim magazines, and a contributor to Flight Sim Com. His website is www.topskills.com


San Andres & Providencia Location Screen shots by Bill Stack


Caribbean ambiance is evident throughout

Night lighting is colorful and Caribbean
Screen shots by Bill Stack