Long Beach Airport (KLGB) occupies a distinctive place in American aviation history. Situated just a few miles south of downtown Los Angeles, the airport has served Southern California for nearly a century, evolving from its roots as a hub for Douglas Aircraft manufacturing — where legendary airframes like the DC-3 were born — into the busy yet remarkably relaxed dual-purpose facility it is today.
Developer ShorePilotSim has now released 🔗 KLGB - Long Beach Airport for both Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, bringing the airport to life across four carefully modelled areas of the field. The scope of the project reflects a effort to capture not just the main commercial terminal but the broader ecosystem of facilities that make Long Beach such an interesting location to fly into and out of. The package is organised around four distinct sections of the airport. The main terminal complex includes both the operational terminal and the historic older terminal building. The ATC tower and the surrounding AeroPlex hangar and building complex are modelled in detail, and notably the scenery includes the brand-new Sky Harbour Hangar currently under construction at the real airport.
Along the southwestern end of the field, the flying school buildings area has been recreated, reflecting the active general aviation training community that operates at Long Beach. Perhaps one of the more technically interesting choices is the treatment of the Relativity Space complex — the former Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster manufacturing hangars that now house the aerospace startup's operations. ShorePilotSim has updated the colour scheme, architecture, and overall layout of these structures to reflect Relativity's current occupancy, replacing what in many scenery packages remains an outdated industrial depiction.
All three runways have received custom markings, and taxiway signage has been fully custom-modelled and textured, including the wigwag lights at runway entry points. The four underpasses beneath Runway 30, which pass beneath the runway threshold and are a distinctive physical feature of the real airport's layout, have been modelled and textured to enhance the experience during take-off and landing rolls.
All buildings across the four main sections use PBR (Physically Based Rendering) textures throughout, with materials that convey surface detail, weathering, and accurate reflective properties. Dynamic lighting covers aprons, parking areas, roads, and buildings across the entire layout, ensuring that the airport holds up visually during night operations and in low-light conditions.
KLGB - Long Beach Airport by ShorePilotSim is 🔗 available now on Flightsim.to, compatible with both Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.