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Switzerland Adventure! Turboproping high over the Alps on a moonlit autumn evening! Get out the Champagne.
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NOTE: I took screenshots in a variety of quality levels. Please note actual product may look far better than in these screenshots. Some pictures are lower quality to save loading time. If your monitor is not running in 32-bit resolution, you will not see same quality.
I don't know if this is to be a review, or a tale of flightsimming adventure. Both, I guess. While it is a review, it can not be just so. One can not fly in such a place without stories to tell. Whether it's in a big jetliner or a small Cessna, you're going to see things you have never experienced before. I am here to tell of the story of how I flew around the new Switzerland 2 by Flight and Cockpit. View the pictures if you like and perhaps that will be all you need to either purchase this product, or say "you've seen enough" and go back to flying where you normally do. I doubt most of you can do just that however. Since I am a non-user of mesh scenery, I may be only now discovering something that many of you have known about for months. That's my loss. So, pardon me if you have already discovered the magic of real mountain flight.
Big snow-capped ridge juts through the broken clouds. What a sight!
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I started my journey onboard an Air France 777. I flew from JFK to St. Martin, then onto Guadeloupe. From there I boarded a BA 777 bound for London. Once in London, I took another AF 777 to Zurich (I don't have any Swiss liveries). Once in Zurich some 24 hours later, it was time to settle down for the journey that would last a few days (in between normal work here at FlightSim.Com, and a bit of home life). I flew on a quick connecting 777 flight to Geneva. The weather was IFR most of the way, and the fast jaunt at 17,000 feet was over before I knew it. Coming out of the clouds on the ILS to Geneva's 16, was great. You're flying down the middle of Lake Geneva, with France on one side, and the Swiss border on the other. With limited visibility in rain (using real weather) I could see the beginnings of the photoreal mountains across the lake, but that was all.
After a nice landing in the rain, it was time to explore in something better suited for the Swiss terrain. I started with the default King Air 350. I figured why not use something that can get me up over the mountains safely, in icing weather, and yet be affordable enough to operate. My first leg was from Geneva to a mountain location airport. Not far, about 60 miles or so. Switzerland's a small country. However, the weather was IFR (using real weather) and I was lucky to see anything but a few peaks as I cruised on top. I don't recall what airport exactly it was I went to, but on the descent, picking up ice I knew the huge granite walls were close enough. Upon breakout, I found myself in a beautiful valley with lush lowland mountainsides, and rocky, gray midsections vanishing into the overcast.
Wow. I'll say it again, wow!
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I really felt I was there (sorry, but I don't recall what field it was). I once again knew if the sky was clear, how spectacular my surroundings would be. Frame rates were okay, in the 10 to 15 range upon landing, in the rain, with multiple cloud layers overhead (PIII850). I knew this scenery would be eating up some frames, but again, the weather was doing a good job on that as is.
I continued on in the King Air, flying to another location. This time on top of the weather, I could see some grand towering peaks stabbing their way through the cotton. Wow! The sky had a crisp, clear look, with unlimited visibility! Just what I was hoping for, only this time it was the top halves of the mountains showing. Some of the high peaks were white. There is no scenery change with season in this scenery, which is one of the faults of pure photo mountains. They were clearly done up in summer, so even now in October when the real Alps are starting to get buried, you won't see much frosting on top. Some of the actual ridges were so crisp and clean, I could not tell they were not a 100% real image. They were so true to life, it made the once awesome looking King Air, seem cartooney. I guess we do need photorealistic aircraft now eh?
This shot shows how the terrain blends with the default in the same area. Not too bad.
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Once nightfall came, everything was just dark and more challenging. Unfortunately, there is no ground lighting. You'll lose that with this scenery, which makes me like the default better at night. However, even without lighting, you'll see the moon rise above those jagged peaks, and feel the urge to howl, or maybe go out in the night air and don some snow shoes. I got a break in the weather on climb out. In the moonlight I could see forever, and was in awe of the never ending horizon filled with rocks. It was a sight to behold. Sunset with that golden glow, snowcapped mountains and scattered cumulous clinging to the ridges. This is what an airplane was meant to be used for. In fact, it's a real true magic moment of flightsimming.
Glacier and jagged rock formations towering above the weather. The visibility is great, and endless peaks show up as I continue flying along!
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I craved some canyon-running. In the dark of night I took off towards another destination. Hugging the ridges, climbing no more than 500 AGL, I twisted and turned the nimble Cessna around the corners, and up and down over small elevation changes. Not bad for a fool! I made it down and safely. Rain still splattering the windows. That was enough for tonight I thought.
Side view showing how some scenery is "blocky" and other parts blend smooth.
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A cold damp night in Sion with low clouds rolling down the mountain slope. Makes you want to grab a hot chocolate before flying.
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Climbing rapidly to 17,500 I headed towards the region of the highest peaks. Mountains towering over 15,000 feet. This was turboprop land, no place for a Cessna. The skies were clear. Once reaching the area where I thought it was I began a series of maneuvers to narrow down my choices.
Sunset colors fill the sky over time. Night time is no place for a single engine machine 'round these parts.
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There, there, there! I think I found it now. Really! That's the Matterhorn all right. Tall and mighty with a slight tilt at the top. You could see it for 200 miles around. We circled near its summit, around and around, snapping pictures at 250 kts. I took so many screenshots, I felt like I was taking real photos, anxious to share them with people back home. Oh yea, again, I have to remind myself flightsimming is not real. Well, all you out there know better than that!
Circling the Matterhorn was a thrill. At least, I am 75% sure that was the Matterhorn. With all those peaks poking at the sky, who knows for sure. Maybe someone reading this has been there in real life, and will confirm or deny.
Those two big flaws are big. But as you can tell from my adventure, they didn't impact the feeling of being there. During my flights of exhilaration I really didn't let it get me down. I figured if I was dopy enough to hit a mountain, I'd hit a default one lying underneath. At least I hoped that would be my demise. But other than my jaunt throughout the night canyons in the 172 where I kept away from the rocks, I was very serious about my flying, as I usually am. I can only say that anyone planning to fly in Europe in the near future ought to invest in the Switzerland 2 scenery you have just witnessed. It is every bit as spectacular as my photos show, and even better when viewed in motion outside your airplane windows. Brought to life, I can not imagine flying throughout the real thing is any more exciting!
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