I almost abandoned this project when Asobo released World Update XIII. Their version of PHKO has a lot to offer. Nevertheless, some people might like to see a different version. My latest update brings some things into alignment with the latest aerial imagery, and fixes a few shortcomings of my original release.

The airport: Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole (PHKO) is one of two international airports located on the island of Hawai’i. PHKO is located on the leeward side of the island, while Hilo International is located on the windward side. 

            The airport has gone through a number of name changes since its construction in 1970. The current name honors Kona native Ellison Onizuka, an astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster of 1986. “Keahole” refers to Keahole Point, the projection of land created by the lava flow of 1801. 

            A modernization project began in 2017. The project included the creation of a centralized security checkpoint, the construction of a large baggage facility, and the demolition of the Onizuka museum and the old tower.

            I am grateful to polyhaven.com, ambientcg.com, and pexels.com for their assortment of royalty-free textures and images.

            I am also grateful to Patrick Germain for his airport2project app, which helped me create a starting point for this package.

Installation: Unzip, and place the phko-airport-kona folder in your community folder. This airport package is contained in one folder only. If you see more than one phko folder in your community folder, please remove any older versions before launching MSFS.

          Next, you'll need to remove Asobo's PHKO to prevent overlapping scenery elements. Launch MSFS. From the main menu, go to "Profile." From there, go to "Content Manager." Search for Asobo's PHKO. I think the easiest way to do that is to use the search window in Content Manager. Type in PHKO, and two items should appear. One is the World Update XIII: Oceania and Antarctica file, and the other is PHKO Airport Kona by Lima Juliet. Move your cursor over the World Update XIII file, and a blue rectangle should appear to the right, with a set of dots and lines that look like a bulleted list. Left click on the blue rectangle, and the components of WU XIII will be revealed. Select the "PHKO KONA AIRPORT" entry, and then click on the "Delete" option at the bottom of the screen.

          If you grow weary of my version of PHKO and want to put it back the way it was, it'll entail a two-step process similar to the one above. In addition to removing my package from your community folder, you'll need to reinstall Asobo's version. From the main menu in MSFS, go to "Profile," and then to "Content Manager." Search for Asobo's PHKO, as above. Open the World Update XIII file again, and select "PHKO KONA AIRPORT." This time, an Install option will come up at the bottom of the screen.