CYLT Alert, Nunavut, Canada scenery modification for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.

VERSION 1.2 - 23 April 2023

FREE AND EXCLUSIVE TO FLIGHTSIM.TO (If you find this file elsewhere, let me know).

In the default scenery, Alert airstrip is poorly rendered, with no lighting and very rough to land on.  This scenery replaces that runway with a more realistic rendition of the actual runway, adds appropriate lighting, and other scenery details in the area.  Information from the Canadian Flight Supplement (expired editions) and the internet wre used to place objects.  Only default MSFS SDK scenery elements are used.

Installation:
NOTE the TWO folders.
arh-apt-cylt-alert = contains the CYLT CFS Alert airstrip and all the scenery except landmark locations.
arh-apt-cylt-alert-lm = contains only landmark locations for natural features and points of interest, but no scenery.

Place the folders in your community folder.  If you do not wish all the POI showing, do not install the arh-apt-cylt-alert-lm folder.  I hope you enjoy the updated area!
You may also wish to filter out POIs on your World Map > Open Filters > Points of Interest (turn them off), and for a full sense of immersion, turn POIs off with your Assistance > Navigation Aids settings (or just do not install the folder arh-apt-cylt-alert-lm).
The airstrip is starred and located on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, CANADA.

Scenery includes:
 * 5500 x 150 feet gravel airstrip at 100 feet elevation
   - Runway lighting (Runway end identification lights, Threshold lights, High intensity runway lighting, appropriate Approach lighting)
   - Windsocks at each end of the runway (and one at the summit).
   - Apron and apron lighting
   - Refueler
 * Vehicles at various locations on the roads around the area.
 * Removal of vegetation from the area.  (There is little vegetation this far north in reality).

Improvements to come:
 * additional terrain edits, including smoother elevated runway and apron pad.
 * Replacing buildings with more appropriate structures.
 * Changing textures to better represent the sparse vegetation and gravel of the area.
 * Addition of more infrastructure if information sources can be found.
 * Removal of MSFS default lighting for streets as there is no street lighting at this site.

Location details of the airstrip:
 * ICAO: CYLT
 * IATA: YLT
 * Airstrip location:  82-31-04 N, 62-16-50 W (81.517778, -62.280556)

Alert is located approximately:
 * 1.6 km north of summit site.
 * 677 km north of Thule, Greenland.
 * 786 km north of Grise Fiord, Nunavut, Canada.
 * 817 km south of the North Pole.
 * 1145 km north of Pond Inlet, Nunavut, Canada.
 * 2092 km north of Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada.

History:
Alert is the location of Canadian Forces Station Alert on the northern coast of Ellesmere Island.  It is the northernmomst inhabited place on Earth.  A weather station was created in 1950.  Unfortunately, a RCAF Lancaster crashed that same year killing all 9 onboard.  They were laid to rest west of the airstrip.  In 1956 the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) opened an Arctic Long Range Communications Research facility.  Up to 215 personnel would man the station.  Changes in technology have reduced this to 74 by 1998.  In 1991 a CC-130 Hercules transport aircraft crashed on approach 16km south of the runway killing 5 of 18 onboard.  Blizzards made rescue difficult.  It was the plot for a film entitled "Ordeal in the Arctic."

This airstrip improves the default MSFS scenery to give a more realistic version of the actual aviation infrastructure.  During 6 months of darkness each year, you now have a place to land with lighting in the high arctic.  During the summer, you can find some spectacular high arctic scenery around the site, as well as a few natives to the area wearing white fur while walking on all fours.

VERSION HISTORY:
Version 0.5 - 24 April 2021
Version 0.6 - 29 January 2022
 * Addition of Points of Interest (POIs) identifying nearby natural features.
 * Addition of lighting for exterior of buildings, somewhat fictional as cannot find good source data.
 * Addition of a few more antennas.
Version 0.7 - 25 April 2022
 * Separation of Landmarks (with the exception of CFS Alert itself) by request.  There are now two folders, the arh-apt-cylt-alert contains all features except landmark locations which are located in arh-apt-cylt-alert-lm, so if you wish not to have landmarks displayed, just do not copy the arh-apt-cylt-alert-lm folder into the Community folder.

Version 1.1 - 21 October 2022
 * Increase size of treeless area.
 * Modification to fit World Update 11 - Canada.
 * Replace windsocks.
Version 1.2 - 23 April 2023
 * Modification of some of the terrain, particularly to flatten the coastal water area.
 * Addition of new infrastructure at the limits of the station and edit some other infrastructure locations.

 

I hope you enjoy the updated area!

ARH64CDN - contact on www.flightsimulator.com

23 April 2023

 

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CYLT - Alert Nunavut Canada airport/scenery enhancement

Enhance your Microsoft Flight Simulator experience with the CYLT Alert, Nunavut, Canada scenery modification. This add-on features a realistic rendition of the Alert airstrip, complete with lighting, improved runway details, and added scenery elements in the area. Explore the northernmost inhabited place on Earth and enjoy a more immersive landing experience in the high arctic.

Version History