Third-party developer Drzewiecki Design recently released Moscow Sheremetyevo Alexander S. Pushkin International Airport (UUEE) in Russia for Microsoft Flight Simulator.
As the busiest airport in Russia and the fifth-busiest in Europe, UUEE is certainly relevant if you want to simulate airline or cargo operations in the country.
It’s currently available on Orbx Direct for approximately $23, which means that you can use the handy Orbx Central client to install the airport and keep it updated.
If you want to take a good look at what the scenery looks like, you can watch an ILS approach and landing on runway 24R in the first video below, and a full flyover in a variety of lighting and weather conditions in the second video.
Incidentally, if you’d like to make your approaches and departures more scenic, Drzewiecki Design itself created an excellent city pack for Moscow for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which works very well with the airport.
Published approaches, SIDs, and STARs are all available, and the ILS glideslopes and localizers are well-calibrated. The same can be said about the PAPI lights if you prefer visual approaches.
Taxiways are correctly labeled and true to the charts, so navigating the airport isn’t an issue. The only (relatively small) problem is in the way some of the ramps are named at a software level. Visually, they have the right label, but functionally, some are partly misnumbered. For instance, you’ll be told by the default ATC to park at gate B115, when the correct numbering would be 115A. This isn’t a massive issue considering that the indications painted on the ground are correct, but it’d be worth fixing.
I’ve also noticed that AI aircraft often have issues navigating the more complex intersections of the runways and taxiways, but that’s likely a problem on Microsoft Flight Simulator’s side and not the scenery’s fault.
All ground services are available and functional, and this includes the fuel trucks that developers so often neglect.
The ortho imagery used for the base of the airport is adequate in its resolution and detail, and runways, aprons, and taxiways are generally well-textured. A downside is that the concrete tiling pattern feels a little bit too repetitive for my taste, but you won’t notice this during normal operations.
On the other hand, colors and weathering are generally spot-on especially considering that the concrete is relatively new in most areas. The markings are basically perfect, not too faded and not too bright, blending nicely with the surrounding concrete.
One of the coolest detail of Sheremetyevo is that the newest runway (06L/24R) is considerably displaced away from the rest of the airport, which means you’ll have to taxi for a few minutes across the countryside and a bridge to and from it. Incidentally, the bridge is solid and well modeled, so you won’t fall through it as it happens in several other Microsoft Flight Simulator airports (I really, really, hate when that happens).
Judging from the visual sources I could find on the real airport, the aiming zone of 06L is relatively clean, while 24R already shows the usual rubber smudges due to repeated landings. Both aiming zones are clean in this scenery, which is a small issue.
This may be unsurprising considering the level of quality Drzewiecki Design has been providing, but the terminals are absolutely fantastic. Nearly all of the buildings feature richly detailed interiors. Only Terminal F has its interiors simulated with parallax shaders, but that’s fine since its windows are much smaller than the rest.
The other terminals, including the two iconic “flying saucers” of Terminals B and C, are meticulously designed with their full interiors on display. Not only they’re beautiful, but the developer even used parallax shaders cleverly to add a further level of depth to the shops inside. The overall effect is very pleasant. The detailing work is absolutely fantastic and can certainly be considered industry-leading even thanks to the beautiful skylights and realistic structural beams and trusses.
Of course, the exteriors aren’t any less beautiful, and combine masterful modeling with great texturing and skillfully use of physically-based rendering for a very realistic look. The custom animated jetways are just as awesome and represent pretty much the (many) cherries on top of this delicious cake. Only the models of the passengers are a bit rough, but this is likely to save resources and hardly noticeable from the aprons.
Impressively, the landside parts of the terminals are also very well detailed, with the appropriate signage, vehicles, parking equipment, and more. One thing I’d like to see improved is the ground landside, as it’s just the naked ortho imagery, which doesn’t do the area justice. Bespoke and higher-resolution textures at least at the entrances of the terminals would have worked a lot better.
There are plenty more additional buildings within and outside the border fence (and yes, this airport is fully fenced, which isn’t exactly commonplace in addons of this size for Microsoft Flight Simulator), including fire stations, hotels, industrial buildings, warehouses, and offices. All are great with the exclusion of the satellite fire station near runway 06L, part of which is floating. This is likely due to a small oversight.
Another highlight is certainly the train station with its animated trains. It’s beautiful and just as detailed as the terminals, all the way down to the 3D-modeled tracks.