Sky Harbor Airport, KDYT - Duluth Minnesota

 

This airport dates back to 1939 and has a newly built runway of 2,602 ft in length.  The runway has been shortened in the last few years, as the previous runway was too close to the trees at one end.  The trees are protected, so the new runway was built on reclaimed land.

 

A new Windsock has been modeled, which unlike the Asobo version, is lit at night and has a red warning light on top.  This design choice was made after viewing videos taken at the airport which clearly show this configuration.

 

There are also two waterways  designated 09W/27W and 13W/31W.  A ramp allows float planes to ascend onto the airfield.

 

About this MSFS Model

 

The model attempts to recreate the known features of the real airport, including lighting of the runway and reflective markers on the taxiway, rather than lights.  The reflectors will glow when the aircraft has either the landing or taxi lights switched on, during night operations.

 

A rotating beacon has been created which closely matches the one installed, and rotates from dusk to dawn.  It does not use the Asobo Beacon, as this cannot be turned off.

 

To add a little to the life of the airport, the main hangar door opens during the day and closes at dusk.  Should a pilot wish to open it, hiding the co-pilot yoke will trigger it to so do.  In an attempt at realism, it is quite slow.

 

In order to provide some immersive effects, a number of Grain Silos and Ore Handling buildings have been modeled.  They are currently unlit, as I have no information on this.  The old Ore Jetties 5 and 6 have been partially modeled, along with the gantries that can clearly be seen on takeoff from runway 14.  

Revision 1.3

• This new version has been released for a number of reasons:
• A new Terminal Building has replaced that modelled before, and was officially opened on Wednesday 10th July.  With no 3D imagery available, the dimensions and some placements of windows are guesswork, based on published artist impressions, which we all know are often not the "as built" result.
• Asobo have updated the bing imagery, thus allowing that to be merged with the runway and taxiway scenery that has to be added.  There are still problems with Lake Water Levels and Land Levels, but we have attempted to remove flood water and make it as realistic as possible.
• The last version had the lift bridge going up and down on a loop, and cars crossing the bridge when it was up.  It has taken the best part of a week to achieve, but now a ship - modelled on the newly built Mark W. Barker - can be seen sailing in to the canal and off into port, whilst the lift bridge obediently raises to let it pass.  Thanks are due to Federico Ponotti (Mamu Design), Superspud and 30West for their invaluable help along the way.

This version still requires a library file called mnsd-modellib-airport-models as it contains the reflective markers and the rotating beacon.  Having got the animation working, it was decided to release this version now, in case something got broken and delayed it further. 

Revision 1.4

In this revision, the area around the Lift Bridge has been worked on, introducing models of the Light Houses, the Jetty and the Maritime Museum.  A surprising amount of work had to go into this, as introducing the Jetty for the canal broke the bridge animation. Sadly, though building in the ability to play the exchange of ship and bridge horns when entering the canal, MSFS2020 still doesn't support this.  I doubt 2024 doesn't either since the mechanisms are still marked as WIP in the documentation.  The bridge raise now starts when the ship is about 1 mile away.  The bridge should take about 3 minutes to rise, but I think this is closer to 1 minute on the model.

The lighting of the bridge has undergone some work, which makes it stand out better at night from the air.

Known Issues and Omissions

The Ore Jetties (or docks) have a complex pattern of piers approaching them.  We have yet to draw these, but they may come later if this model becomes a popular download.

Radio Masts are part of the KDLH Airport Scenery, so we would advise this is also downloaded. (Minnesota Scenery Design)

Removing vehicles from the airport is still a challenge.  we managed to get rid of the push back people, but trucks still keep driving around and getting in the way.

Unexplained steps in water level seen from certain angles.  These are probably related to Terraforming work that has been necessary in places, but really should not be there.

MSFS 2024

I have installed 2024 - for the second time - after a hardware upgrade.  I started testing KDYT to see if 2024 had broken anything, and though not terrible, it has.  The Ship not longer has any wake effect.  The Hooter, which didn't work anyway, causes an error message -nicely spoken by the Sim" that there is a Generation Problem.  The Custom Lights no longer work.  These are on the end of the Jetty and marking a water tower.

I have 2 weeks to decide if the pain of owning 2024 is worth it.  Martin

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Sky Harbor Airport, Duluth, Minnesota

Explore Sky Harbor Airport, KDYT in Duluth, Minnesota with this MSFS model featuring a newly built runway and detailed airport features like lit windsocks, waterways for float planes, reflective markers, and a rotating beacon. Experience added realism with the main hangar door that opens during the day, immersive effects with Grain Silos and Ore Handling buildings, and a ship sailing in the canal. Join the aviation community and enhance your flight simulation experience at this historic airport.

Version History