Onslow Airport (ICAO: YOLW, IATA: ONS) sits on the northwest coast of Western Australia, serving as the primary air link between the historic town of Onslow and the state capital, Perth. Onslow itself carries a quiet significance — a coastal outback town with deep ties to the pastoral and resource industries of the region, and increasingly a destination for those drawn to its unspoiled natural surroundings. In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, the airport has previously existed only in its default, generic form, leaving a gap in coverage for those exploring Western Australia's rugged northwest.
Developer SHADESCENE has addressed that gap with a dedicated scenery add-on for Onslow, bringing a purpose-built recreation of Onslow Airport to the simulator. The package replaces the default airport with custom-modelled scenery that reflects the airport's real-world character, from its compact terminal building and hangars through to the surrounding terrain and ground surfaces.
The scenery features custom terraforming to correctly shape the ground around the airport, addressing the flat or inaccurate terrain that often plagues default representations of regional Australian airports. Custom scenery objects cover the terminal building, hangars, and supporting structures, giving the airport a sense of place that matches its real-world footprint. Ground markings and taxiway textures have been hand-crafted, and the lighting system — covering taxiway centreline and edge lights as well as the runway lighting — has been placed by hand to ensure accurate positioning and a convincing appearance during dawn, dusk, and night operations.
Full day and night lighting support means the airport holds up across all times of day, which is particularly relevant given the dramatic light conditions of the northwest Australian coast. The add-on also includes airline context, with Qantas represented among the operators serving the airport — reflecting the real-world route connecting Onslow to Perth.
For virtual pilots building out coverage of regional Western Australia, YOLW sits naturally alongside other Pilbara and Gascoyne destinations. The Perth–Onslow route offers a meaningful regional sector, and the airport's scale makes it well suited to turboprop and smaller jet operations. 🔗 YOLW – Onslow Airport by SHADESCENE is available now for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. You can find the add-on and purchase it through the Flightsim.to Store.