Review by: Rick Desjardins

Biarritz Pays Basque Airport, ICAO; LFBZ, which also goes by the names Biarritz Airport or Biarritz-Parme Airport is located near the city of Biarritz which is on the Bay of Biscay on the Atlantic coast in the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques approximately 35 kms from the Spanish border.

The airport originally opened in 1954 with an inaugural flight from Biarritz to London by the British airline BEA. Several other noteworthy dates include; 1962 when its runway length was extended, 1977 when it was granted official International Airport status and 1994 when the new terminal building was opened being designed in the shape of a delta wing sloping slightly to one side, to symbolise a plane taking off.

The airport saw passenger traffic peak in 2017 to just below 1.2 million passengers then falling significantly during the pandemic. It has since been recovering and in 2023 the numbers were back up to over 970,000.

The airport has a single asphalt runway; 09/27 @7,382ft.

Installation

After purchasing the product you will be able to download the executable file which you then need to run to extract the various included files; installer, pdf manual, PESim central, and GSX profile.

When running the installer you will be asked for your product SN and the install destination folder location; all and all a very simple process however internet access is required when installing this product.

Visuals

Ground Textures

The hard surface textures were all hi res and they were able to capture the differences in the types of materials used as the aprons are not all asphalt with some areas appearing to be concrete instead. The apron/parking markings are quite complex and they have captured them beautifully in spite of their complexity. The remaining grassy areas and the network of roads and vehicle parking areas north of the airport were all very well done and detailed as well.

Structures

The general layout of the airport has the main cluster of buildings that include the main terminal, control tower along with a group of private industry offices in an area along the north boundary of aprons A thru C which is also north of the runway. There is also a small cluster of structures near apron K and the South apron which are located on the south side of the runway. As part of the scenery they have also modelled several of the prominent residential and commercial buildings located just to the north of the airport. 

Overall I thought the structures looked very good. The textures were detailed and realistic looking being further enhanced by the addition of discrete detailing adding to the visual appeal. They were able to capture the unique individual characteristics of the airport’s buildings.

To further enhance the realism windows either appeared to be transparent through their use of high quality detailed textures that appeared to show the interiors or they were transparent and the interiors had been modelled which was the case for a great many of the buildings.

Figuring most prominent was the main terminal, and as mentioned previously, the centre portion is designed to be in the shape of a sloped delta wing, the screenshots clearly show the sleek lines and distinct shape.  As the largest structure it was important that they get it right and in my opinion they did. Exploring the building from all sides and up close I came away very impressed.

Moving on to further explore the remaining airport structures I could easily see their commitment to detail and realism were no less evident.  Each structure regardless of size or significance had been reproduced with the same care and using the same techniques I have just described with the passenger terminal.

Structure Interiors

For those of you who enjoy spending some time exploring the interiors of the airport buildings I think you will be very pleased with what they’ve accomplished. Like many developers the interiors of the passenger terminal and control tower are both extensively modelled.  In the main terminal it was very easy to distinguish the various areas such as the general waiting areas, boarding gates, security and screening, food and shopping and baggage claim.

The control tower was also given a great deal of attention and detail with personnel and furniture along with computer workstation monitors displaying a variety of different screen captures.  From this vantage point you truly felt as if you were in the midst of an active tower.

They’ve exceeded what most other developers have done in this regard and modelled the interiors of many other buildings.  This included several small office buildings and a hangar that border the north side aprons and also several car rental agency offices located just to the north of the airport. Excluding the open hangar most are not visible while in an aircraft cockpit so unless you make the effort to seek them out you will never know to what extent they’ve taken interior modelling.  It is great feature if you enjoy this part of an airport addon.

Objects

In this regard I think they were able to insert the right mix and quantity of objects in all areas of the scenery to make it interesting as well as reinforcing the realism you hope to find at any flight simulator airport. The variety of the objects is quite extensive and spans the entirety of the area covered by the scenery.

To add to the realism factor they have included several static aircraft; on apron A there is an EC-145 SC helicopter and in front of the Dassault Aviation hangar on apron K are three small Falcon business jets. The quality of all of these objects was all quite good even when viewed up close.  

Animations

A number of animations are included that further bring the airport to life. Some of the more subtle ones include animated luggage conveyor belts as well as animated information and advertising billboards. Unfortunately many will go unnoticed unless you make the effort to fully explore the airport.

Night

The night time rendering of the airport was very well done. I found light levels matched what I was expecting to see with the various types of lighting. There were distinct differences in light intensities and illumination areas based on the type of light source whether it was building lights, overhead lighting or ground lighting. Each contributed to giving the airport a realistic appearance.

Approaches

Having only a single runway 09/27 approach choices are limited. I was able to navigate and execute approaches to both runway 09 and 27 successfully utilizing available charts.

Performance

The airport performance was quite good and I had no problems even when using complex aircraft such as the PMDG 737 while running the AI traffic program FSLTL. The experience was fluid and remained stutter free at all times.

Final Thoughts

Having been impressed with their other v2 product, LFBD Bordeaux, I was expecting nothing short of a very detailed and immersive experience and I have to say they delivered.  The list of improvements is extensive and touches all aspects of the scenery, from LOD improvements to ambient sounds and everything in between. They have been able to take a relatively small airport and bring it to life making LFBZ an airport worthy of frequenting again and again.  I look forward to their next project.

Review by: Rick Desjardins