Local Legend IX : Latecoere 631 | Air France v1.0.1

This is a fictional livery of Japan Airways. (Also known as Imperial Japanese Airways or Dai Nippon Koku KK, not related to Japan Airlines).

Japan Airways was started their business in 1938 by merging some airlines.
They operated flights to domestic routes, as well as to China, Taiwan, Korea, Saipan and Palau.
They used the Kawanishi H6K to link Palau and the South Seas Mandate from Yokohama via Saipan.
After WW2, GHQ banned all aviation activities of Japan and this company was dissolved.
Their seaplanes was named after IJN destroyer and I named this aircraft as well. 榊(Sakaki) is the name of a tree, and often used in Shinto rituals in Japan as a sacred leaf. The destroyer Sakaki was commissioned in 1915 and became famous in Europe when they entered WW1 as part of the Second Special Squadron. One day, Sakaki was attacked by U-boat and 59 crew were killed, and they are still enshrined in Malta. Their activities contributed greatly to the improvement of Japan’s international status after WW1 (unfortunately, I don’t need to tell you about the international status after that).

Changelog 1.0.1
Optimized for MSFS 2024

Buy NullP a coffee

NullP

Fictional repaint for the virtual airline Osprey Airways ran by British Avgeek on YouTube, promoting 2025’s Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Basel, Switzerland. Eurovision logos and theme art credit to EBU and SRG SSR. Heart shaped flags credit to Serarped.

thisismyusername

This livery is designed for MSFS2024.

How to install:
Extract the zip in msfs 2024 community folder.

Windows Store install:
%LOCALAPPDATA%PackagesMicrosoft.Limitless_8wekyb3d8bbweLocalCachePackagesCommunity

Steam install:
%APPDATA%PackagesMicrosoft Flight Simulator 2024PackagesCommunity

normandyq8

Background
Zug Island has the appearance of a post-apocalyptic industrial hellscape, belching fire and smoke day and night, a black anti-oasis surrounded by greens and grays. Located on the Detroit River just outside the Detroit city limits, it is Michigan’s version of Gary, Indiana. Created in 1888 when a canal was cut through Samuel Zug’s marshland at the mouth of the Rouge River, the newly formed island was quickly put to use as an industrial dumping ground. A blast furnace was installed in 1902 to refine steel with a second furnace added in 1909. At the time they were the largest such blast furnaces in the world. Prompted by demand from the nearby automotive industry, the mill was expanded in 1931 by the National Steel Corporation and the workforce peaked at 16,000 during the 1940s. The mills were purchased in 2003 by US Steel when National Steel became insolvent. US Steel idled most of its workforce on the Island in 2020, reducing the number of employees there to about 500.

The island and the adjacent river is the most polluted spot in Michigan. A century of unchecked dumping of toxic materials from steel making and numerous other industrial enterprises in the River Rouge area has left the Detroit River filled with poisonous sediment. Fortunately, an 84-million dollar dredging operation began in 2024 with the goal of cleaning out the polluted sediment around the island. But operations on the island continue to emit pollution into the air, and nearby residents live in a persistent, smelly miasma. The EPA has measured high levels of ammonia and ethylene, along with mercury, manganese, and lead compounds. Even so, a small portion of the island is maintained in its natural state, with foxes, mink, wild turkeys and Perigrine falcons among the wildlife living there. Life indeed finds a way.

The Heliport as constructed in MSFS
Wouldn’t you love to visit this island paradise? Well, you can’t. The island is private property and access to the public over the only vehicle bridge is severely restricted. But you can visit the island in MSFS, and now there is even a place to land. I have added a helipad near one of the large commercial buildings, and given it the unused identifier 9M9. Although photogrammetry of the island is not highly detailed, the island does look appropriately gloomy from the air. To add some detail, I placed a few buildings and some vehicles and other objects near the helipad. I also added some appropriately stinky smoke. I hope this makes your visit more “enjoyable.”

If you have the ability, be sure to fly this scenery at night in VR. You just might feel like you’ve entered the movie Blade Runner.

Notes
To install the heliport, merely unzip and place the folder titled “mulberrywing-airport-9m9-zug-island-heliport” in your community folder.

Samuel Zug was a dedicated abolitionist. His biography, published by the Historic Elmwood Cemetery & Foundation, states: “He was a worker on the Underground Railroad who sheltered and assisted countless freedom seekers. He was an early member of the Michigan Anti-Slavery Society in the 1840s. He supported the anti-slavery newspaper, the Signal of Liberty, with both his subscription and advertising. He was active in Michigan’s anti-slavery Liberty Party, and the Anti-Slavery Young Men of Michigan Society.”

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was heading to the Zug Island steel mills in 1975 with a load of iron ore pellets when it sank off Whitefish Point in Lake Superior during a brutal November storm. All 29 hands were lost. The sinking was memorialized in a famous song by the Canadian musician Gordon Lightfoot.

The new Gordie Howe International Bridge crosses the Detroit River between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, immediately adjacent to Zug Island. Gordie Howe was a famous Canadian ice hockey player who spent 25 of his 26 NHL seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. He is beloved by Americans and Canadians alike.

Summary
The Zug Island Heliport gives you access to the most industrialized area in the state of Michigan. Home to steel mills for 120 years, Zug Island is covered by decades of soot, coal dust, and heavy metals. Come visit the most polluted spot in the state — just be sure to leave the toxic waste behind when you leave.

MulberryWing

This project makes use of the UK2000 Scenery Library which is free in the Marketplace. However since the FS2024 Marketplace is still unavailable ensure you read the attached readme.txt file in the download for a temporary link to it.

Welcome to Picton Aerodrome as I build additional new scenery around New Zealand for career mode missions in MSFS 2024. PIcton is where the Wellington to Picton ferry goes to connect to the two main islands of NZ. This scenery incorperates material and techniques specifically for FS2024. Consideration is given to the interaction between aircraft wheels and the environment. Embrace the new sim despite its flaws!

I have taken creative liberty with this scenery, the buildings are all in the right places but I have changed them to give the scenery extra eye-candy for the new sim. The scenery includes the housing around the approaches of both ends of the runway.

V1.0 18 Dec 24
The usual near-payware quality build you have all come to expect.
Ground textures, pathing, taxiways and runways should respond to aircraft wheels etc.
Handplaced vegetation, texures, clutter and lighting.
Will work well for Career Mode in FS2024.

HELP ME STOP THE WIFE CHUCKING A TANTRUM:
If you appreciate the work that I have done and it gives you joy, PLEASE consider smashing that Paypal button and donate to the cause, just $5 or $10 or whatever you think is fair. I would love to continue to pump out these near-payware quality airfields for you to all enjoy but I have to justify my time and effort these days to the wife. Help me take her out to dinner or she will put a stop to anymore ”time-wasting”.

Instructions:
Unzip and drop into your Community folder.
Read the attached readme.txt in the zip file for more information.

Required:
Mikea.at – AssetPack v0.3.6

Summary
NZPN – Picton Aerodrome is a detailed scenery add-on for MSFS 2024, designed to enhance the environment surrounding this key New Zealand aerodrome. Utilizing the FS2024 SDK and the UK2000 Scenery Library, it features accurate building placements along with visually appealing enhancements. The add-on supports realistic interaction between aircraft wheels and the ground textures, making it suitable for Career Mode missions in the simulator.

CoolGunS