Melbourne Scenes for Flight Simulator

Free software. I must admit those words grab my attention every time, and when I came across Colin Lock's Melbourne scenery add-on for Microsoft Flight Simulator 98 I was doubly grabbed by the thought of virtual flights over the old home town.

Colin's software replaces the very basic Microsoft Melbourne Scenery with a nicely detailed layout based on satellite imagery of the city, and it enables the virtual pilot to practice flights over recognisable terrain.

This software was originally developed for commercial distribution but with the passage of time the author is giving it away from http://www.alphalink.com.au/~colinlok.

On that page you will notice that he says it works, but badly, with Flight Simulator 2000. Brush the cobwebs off your Flight Simulator 98 and you'll be laughing.

I have used it with certain limitations on Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator so that I could terrorise the metropolis with a variety of old war birds.

Ask nicely and Colin will send you the six e-mails required to add the scenery components and instructions how to configure the package.

In spite of its name you will not be limited to the Melbourne airports, indeed most of the airfields in Victoria are represented, as are a couple over the Murray river and, amazingly, a highly detailed Darwin.

Figure 1 Beware the Corawa Cowboys. They taxi
with no regard for your welfare.

Many of the airfields have nice touches of detail. There is plenty of activity at Moorabbin, Essendon and Tullamarine, where in this virtual world Ansett still operates. Over at Avalon, FA18s tear up the sky in an air-show, and old planes stand around at Point Cook. Be careful at Corowa, where a Corowa Cowboys DC3 will taxi right over you if you don't get out of the way.

So there you have it. How you use it is up to you. Navigate to distant airports or fly the Boeing 747-400 under
Westgate Bridge, the choice is yours. Note: Figures 7, 8 and 9 are a Set.

Figure 2 A low pass reveals that Ansett still survives at Tullarmarine	Figure 3 Air traffic controllers love this sort of thing.
Figure 4 The Lear Jet over the city.	Figure 5 Luna Park, just for fun. The trams actually trundle about.
Figure 6 Formation flying with a foreign visitor.	Figure 7 Lining up the Lear Jet for a pass over the CBD
Figure 8 Centering on Flinders Street station.	Figure 9 Whoosh!