Dortmund Airport (EDLW) is a regional airport located in the Ruhr metropolitan area of western Germany, serving as an important hub for leisure and low-cost carriers connecting the densely populated region to destinations across Europe. Situated roughly ten kilometres east of Dortmund city centre, the airport is known for its compact but efficient layout and its notably sloped terrain — a characteristic that makes it a particularly interesting subject for detailed scenery development. Despite its modest size compared to major German hubs like Frankfurt or Munich, Dortmund Airport handles several million passengers annually and remains a meaningful part of the regional aviation network.
A new freeware scenery package titled Dortmund Airport 21 has been released on Flightsim.to by developer Bahrometrix, bringing an updated and carefully crafted representation of EDLW to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. The add-on carries a thoughtful dedication to Peter Hiermeier, the original creator of the airport scenery, who passed away prematurely. His work laid the foundation that this release builds upon, and the dedication reflects the sense of community and continuity that runs through the flight simulation hobby.
One of the most technically notable aspects of this scenery is how it handles the real-world gradient that characterises the Dortmund Airport site. The terrain slopes meaningfully across the General Aviation Terminal area, the runway, the apron, and the surrounding grounds — and Bahrometrix has leveraged the MSFS 2024 elevation model to render this with considerable precision. The runway itself has been engineered to follow its real-world slope almost exactly, a level of fidelity that goes beyond what many airport sceneries attempt. Even subtle undulations in the terrain are reportedly visible, giving the airport a grounded, authentic feel that flat-baked scenery simply cannot replicate.
The ground layout reflects the current configuration of the real-world airport, based on the latest AIP data. All runway markings, taxiway lines, and apron layouts have been updated to match what you would see at the real Dortmund Airport today. All airport buildings are included, and every model features PBR textures along with LOD optimisation, helping to maintain performance without sacrificing visual quality. A colour- and tone-corrected 20cm orthophoto covers the site, providing a sharp and accurate ground texture base.
Bringing the airport to life beyond static geometry, the scenery makes use of Bahrometrix's own Living People and Living World systems. Animated passengers and ground personnel populate the airport in a way that responds to both the time of day and outside temperature, while vehicle traffic similarly adjusts based on the hour. Windsocks, flags, and landing T-markers round out the dynamic objects present at the airport. GSX Pro integration is also included through a custom profile, contributed by Oliver Smolinski, who also provided detailed on-site information to help bring the airport up to date.
This add-on is currently not compatible with photogrammetry. When photogrammetry is enabled — particularly through the City Update 1: Germany package — visual glitches appear around the General Aviation Terminal area. Bahrometrix recommends either disabling photogrammetry globally in the settings or uninstalling the Germany city update for now, with a compatible version planned for a future release.
Dortmund Airport 21 is available now, free of charge, on Flightsim.to. If you enjoy the scenery, please consider making a donation to Bahrometrix to support the continued development of quality freeware content. You can find the add-on here: 👉 Download Dortmund Airport 21 on Flightsim.to.