This project aims to model and place most/many of the helipads that currently exist within the confines of ZBW (Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center)'s airspace, the current version includes 153 pads in 7 states (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont), no more states are planned for this pack, however some additions/changes may be made in the future.

Edit July 3rd, 2024: Given Asobo/Microsoft's recent announcement regarding default helipads in MSFS 2024, and my lack of time to work on the project any further, the final version of this addon is likely be this version (0.1.1). Thanks for the support, we'll see what 2024 brings.

A couple of notes for those interested in downloading the scenery.

• These models are purposely not high fidelity (no fencing, walkways, safety netting/panels, etc), as my goal is not to spend 10 hours on 1 pad, and with the amount of pads I'd like to have in the final pack high-poly/texture models would make the total size of the addon insane.
• There are 4 things prioritized;
  • Being more visible than the background satellite imagery.
  • Being a flat, hard surface to land on (should match the size of the pad)
  • Not accumulating snow - very important in New England
  • When applicable being lit (all medical pads are lit, about half of the civilian ones are.
• These pads were specifically developed and tested using photogrammetry set to on, I have not done much testing with it off, but if you normally fly with it off it is very likely pads will be floating above buildings; if a pad is hovering over a building I do not plan to fix it, however if a pad is covered by a building please contact me with the settings you are running (ultra, low end, photogrammetry on/off, etc), and I will attempt to fix it for the next update.
• There are a few pads (1MA2, 2NH6, 45NY, MA68 and NH82) with some extra detailing as they are bigger/heliports.
• All pads are marked in a .kmz file in the zip folder, there is also a .csv file you can import user waypoints for littlnavmap, and all but 1 of them (MA62) are also listed on Volanta. As of v0.0.15 they also appear on the World Map and GPS as intersections (Type in the ICAO in the searchbox). - You still cannot spawn on the ground at any of the pads, I plan to add the ability to do this, but it is a little more difficult than I expected, will be in the update following v0.1.0.
• As of v0.1.1 you can now spawn at 1MA2, NH82, and the Boston Medflight Hangar at KBED (Spawn ICAO: ZBW1), I will likely add a few more spawnable 'airports' in future updates, but it will never include all pads.
• As of v0.1.1 Hangars at KBED and NH82 are animated, and automatically open in the morning, and close in the evening, you can also manually open them if you are in the HPG EC135 by hiding the cyclic.

Known Issues:

• Many pads will be floating, either over the ground or building they are meant to be attached to, this may be due to 1 of many issues, primarily the fact that I cannot remove grass - and it will stick through the reasonably thin pads - and that different scenery settings will adjust building heights and details. 
  • The pads around Boston were modeled and placed at ultra settings, some others were placed on low-end settings.
• Low quality model - not really an issue, this was a design choice, since just with 1 state there are over 40 pads higher fidelity models will be resource intensive.
• Added March 18th: MA68 has no lights at night, this was fixed in v0.0.15.
• Added March 29th: Many Massachusits pads no longer appear, this was a compiler error, was fixed in v0.0.14.
• Changed June 30th: Cannot spawn at some heliports/helipads; In v0.1.1 you can now spawn at 1MA2, NH82, and the Boston Medflight Hangar at KBED (Spawn ICAO: ZBW1), I will likely add a few more spawnable 'airports' in future updates, but it will never include all pads.

Potential/Likely Issues (Please report such issues):

• Pads partially/totally covered by buildings. - due to differing scenery settings the details or height of buildings may vary, if you notice pads are covered/merged into buildings please let me know (with your current settings).
• Grass sticking through pads - It is not unlikely there will be grass sticking through some of these pads, if you notice this please let me know (with your current settings).
• Pads 'popping' into view - I think I corrected this issue, but if you notice you have to be exceptionally close (less than .25nm or a few thousand feet) for a pad to appear please let me know.

Additional Notes:

• The states of Connecticut, and New York are split between Boston and New York ARTCCs, only the parts of the sates covered by Boston are/will be includeded.
• KMZ and CSV file included for use with Google Earth, and Little Nav Map respectively, LNM file updated in v0.1.1 to be visible from greater height (100nm).

Changelog:

• v0.0.12 - Initial release, includes 46 helipads in the state of Massachusetts.
• v0.0.13 - First major update, adds 23 helipads (69 total) in the states of Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
• v0.0.14 - Re-added pads accidentally removed in Massachusetts caused by a compiler error in v.13.
• v0.0.15 - Second major update, adds 39 helipads (108 total) in the states of New Hampshire, and Vermont, added intersections to World Map and GPS for all pads.
• v0.1.0 - Third major update, adds 45 pads (153 total) in the states of New York and Maine.
• v0.1.1 - Fourth major update, adds higher detailed and animated hangars to KBED and NH82, as well as some spawnable pads and general fixes. Edit July 3rd, 2024: Given Asobo/Microsoft's recent announcement regarding default helipads in MSFS 2024, and my lack of time to work on the project any further, this will likely be the final version of the addon.

Any feedback is appreciated, either here or via email (dudley.razor@gmail.com).

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ZBW (New England/Boston) Area Helipads Megapack

This project aims to model and place most/many of the helipads that currently exist within the confines of ZBW (Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center)'s airspace. The current version includes all planned pads (153 In MA, CT, ME, NH, NY, RI, and VT).

Version History