Zero Dollar Payware (ZDP) are one of those developers that see the sky as the limit, and he’s pushed out yet another excellent scenery. Located in America’s last frontier, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (PANC) is home to airplanes of all sizes, and ages. As the largest airport in Alaska, plenty of passenger aircraft ranging from regionals like the Beechcraft 1900D and Dash 8 to the Boeing 737 and 757 will appear at the passenger terminals. And as a major freight hub between Asia and the lower United States, cargo aircraft (primarily 747s, 777s, and MD-11s) can be seen constantly flowing in and out during all times of the day. 

Taking a look at Zero Dollar Payware’s Anchorage, the first thing you will notice are the very crisp textures on all the buildings. Paired with the refreshing crispiness of these textures is PBR implementation, as well as visible weathering/rust on the buildings. Concerning the main concourses, the implementation of SAM Jetways was a very welcome feature. Also nicely implemented was the “clutter” that is visible at every airport, with vehicles, baggage carts, GPUs, and miscellaneous objects parked around the ramp. 

Moving onto the other heavily used area of the airport, the cargo ramp. The clutter/scattered objects that ZDP has placed really shines here. A busy look is created, as the cargo area would be, and it makes the area feel much more alive. The texturing here is just as great as other areas of the airport.

Another thing that can definitely be appreciated with this airport are the ground textures. The large number of pavement types, combined with the dirt, tire marks, and oil streaks, creates the look of a used airport, something Anchorage certainly is. 

With both of the major areas covered, I decided it was time to move into the smaller areas of the airport. What I discovered was that none of the buildings at ZDP’s Anchorage were spared the crisp texture treatment, and even things that the average user would simply ignore were there. Here’s some of the miscellaneous buildings: 

As I continued to look at this scenery I couldn’t stop admiring the tiny, intricate details. A conclusion I quickly made was that this was the best Anchorage scenery for X-Plane, absolutely destroying the old (paid) Aerosoft version. As for all sims, I’m not sure. I do own the Anchorage Professional for Prepar3D, however a comparison would be too extensive for this article. What is certain though, payware developers better be careful, because Zero Dollar Payware has an eye for detail that many in the field lack!

Zero Dollar Payware’s Anchorage Airport can be downloaded here. Our podcast, Inflight, got the chance to interview Kyle from Zero Dollar Payware, that episode can be listened to here. Our previous No Money Mondays feature of ZDP can be viewed here.