Nestled in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, roughly a short hop northwest of Newcastle, Scone Memorial Airport (YSCO) occupies a unique and storied place in Australian aviation history. While it may not carry the name recognition of Sydney Kingsford Smith or Melbourne Tullamarine, Scone has quietly earned an outsized reputation among warbird enthusiasts the world over. Pay's Air Service, based at the field for close to six decades, has been responsible for some of the most celebrated warbird restorations in the Southern Hemisphere — including the first Spitfire to fly in Australia in the post-war era, which took to the skies in 1985. Alongside the warbird operations, the airport also serves as base for commercial operators including Blackedge Aviation, Airspeed Aviation, SuperAir, and East Coast Aircraft Maintenance, as well as the long-established Scone Aero Club.
The airport itself has undergone significant physical development in recent years to keep pace with this growth. A second hangar is under construction to house non-airworthy display aircraft from the Hunter Fighter Collection, expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Community developer thegrumpykestrel has now brought this remarkable aerodrome to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 in a scenery package that represents the airport as it stands today.
Built entirely from stock sim assets — including those introduced in World Update 22 and earlier — the add-on places buildings, markings, and ground features as accurately as the available toolset allows. The package covers not just the main airport infrastructure, but also represents the Hunter Warbirds precinct, giving the scenery a character and atmosphere that goes well beyond a basic airport layout refresh.
Installation is straightforward — simply unzip the downloaded file and drop the folder into your MSFS 2024 Community folder. The developer notes this is their first publicly released scenery project, which makes the level of care and accuracy on display here all the more impressive. If you enjoy regional Australian aviation, warbird history, or simply discovering lesser-known but genuinely interesting airfields, 🔗 YSCO Scone Memorial Airport is well worth adding to your library. The scenery is available free of charge on Flightsim.to.