Hey guys,I have been looking at getting Ben Gurion X, but I was wondering what the coverage of the photoscenery is. I love the ILS12 approach because of how you fly over the beach, but the FS2004 LLBG didn't have photoscenery that went as far as the beach. Does the FSX version have photoscenery that does cover Tel Aviv, or does it only cover a certain area around the airport, excluding Tel Aviv and thus the beach?

Hey guys,I have been looking at getting Ben Gurion X, but I was wondering what the coverage of the photoscenery is. I love the ILS12 approach because of how you fly over the beach, but the FS2004 LLBG didn't have photoscenery that went as far as the beach. Does the FSX version have photoscenery that does cover Tel Aviv, or does it only cover a certain area around the airport, excluding Tel Aviv and thus the beach?

Do you mean the Payware Aerosoft scenery for Ben Gurion X, or, the freebie content, which may not cover as much of the area as the Aerosoft product. Have a look on Youtube for any videos of Tel Aviv in FSX.Cheerz. Transport Steve.

Do you mean the Payware Aerosoft scenery for Ben Gurion X, or, the freebie content, which may not cover as much of the area as the Aerosoft product. Have a look on Youtube for any videos of Tel Aviv in FSX.Cheerz. Transport Steve.

I mean the payware scenery for FSX. As I indicicated in the OP, I'm interested to know if the photoscenery of the FSX LLBG payware scenery extends to include Tel Aviv and the beach, or is it only the (limited) coverage of the FS2004 freeware scenery? Youtube movies are a good suggestion though. I'll give a look.

Hello, I have meaning to respond to this thread for a couple days but I have not had the time to fire up FSX. The answer is no, it doesn't go all the way to the beach but that doesn't mean it is defaut scenery all the way to the beach. I do think it includes some objects in the city and frankly, I have added so much stuff to Israel I'm not sure what's default, what's Ben Gurion X and what is freeware. The result is pretty good although I really liked having all the beachfront hotels in FS2004. I have not seen a similar add on for FSX. Here is a great site for Israeli freeware: http://vs156041.server4you.net/isp/index.phpI really like Ben Gurion X but I am a little biased - it was one of the top 5 airports that I wanted for FSX. The AFCAD is a little spotty and it will require some tweaking if you want your traffic to show up properly. I have posted some screenshots so you can see what the city looks like with Ben Gurion X and a bunch of freeware.

Well that's a pity then. I have been wanting to try and make my own photoscenery for Tel Aviv, but I never got around to learning how to do it. There is FS2004 Photoreal Tel Aviv scenery which I did get working in FSX, but it's not ideal... Oh well. I might just get the airport anyway. I really like LLBG and I have been there many, many times. The only problem for me is that everything is a long distance away from LLBG. I mean, EDDH for example is in the middle of a lot of airports that I like. Same counts for LOWW, which I also think is a very nice airport (also thanks to FlyTampa!).Thanks for the link and the screenshots! Very helpful

Not been to Ben Gurion in real life yet, but any of you guys been to Israel?Daniel

Well that's a pity then. I have been wanting to try and make my own photoscenery for Tel Aviv, but I never got around to learning how to do it. There is FS2004 Photoreal Tel Aviv scenery which I did get working in FSX, but it's not ideal... Oh well. I might just get the airport anyway. I really like LLBG and I have been there many, many times. The only problem for me is that everything is a long distance away from LLBG. I mean, EDDH for example is in the middle of a lot of airports that I like. Same counts for LOWW, which I also think is a very nice airport (also thanks to FlyTampa!).Thanks for the link and the screenshots! Very helpful

What do you like about it? Is there yummy food?Israel must be a lot of fun. I wonder if there are Israeli 'spotters', not that I am crazy about that.Daniel

My mother's from Israel, which makes me Jewish too, so yeah, been there lots of times In short, the country is beautiful and the food is delicious. Can't say I always like the people, but I don't want to dwell into political matters here and now. In general, however, I love being in Israel. Except for a relatively strong military presence, I don't think you'll even notice much of the ever-going conflict with the Palestinians. Good weather (most of the time), delicious food, interesting places, beautiful landscape... I'd say it's a place you'll want to visit sometime As for what the airport, I guess it's mostly a nostalgia thing, like I have with Amsterdam Schiphol too. Once you've been so many times to an airport, you're bound to want it in FS. That, and I like its layout. Simply elegantly designed. And also, the runway 12 ILS approach is lovely. Flying slowly over the beach is a view I'll never forget! You just fly with a roughly 90 degree angle over the beaches of Tel Aviv, and land straight into Ben Gurion without one turn. Same thing for departing Ben Gurion. You rarely see such a "clean" departure from a country, where you just take off and in not too much time fly over water. It's sort of the same when departing from runway 27 at EHAM and flying to America.

My mother's from Israel, which makes me Jewish too, so yeah, been there lots of times In short, the country is beautiful and the food is delicious. Can't say I always like the people, but I don't want to dwell into political matters here and now. In general, however, I love being in Israel. Except for a relatively strong military presence, I don't think you'll even notice much of the ever-going conflict with the Palestinians. Good weather (most of the time), delicious food, interesting places, beautiful landscape... I'd say it's a place you'll want to visit sometime As for what the airport, I guess it's mostly a nostalgia thing, like I have with Amsterdam Schiphol too. Once you've been so many times to an airport, you're bound to want it in FS. That, and I like its layout. Simply elegantly designed. And also, the runway 12 ILS approach is lovely. Flying slowly over the beach is a view I'll never forget! You just fly with a roughly 90 degree angle over the beaches of Tel Aviv, and land straight into Ben Gurion without one turn. Same thing for departing Ben Gurion. You rarely see such a "clean" departure from a country, where you just take off and in not too much time fly over water. It's sort of the same when departing from runway 27 at EHAM and flying to America.

Well I have been wanting to go Benjamin for a while now. Thinking of doing the El-Al 777 flight from HK, because I live in Australia.The Dead Sea is famous and also I meet a lot of people who go to Jordan from Israel or vice versa.....I love the Israeli military BTW.And yes, I have EGLL and Zurich on FS, both places I have been in Europe.What are the beaches like in Tel Aviv? Where I live here we have some of the finest beaches in the world with winter temps not less than 14-15C and summer reaching 40+. Only problem is the conservations have banned shark hunting so now we are the ones being hunted.Daniel

I've been to Israel 3 times. I'm also Jewish and I am very proud of what my people have accomplished since 48. The country has issues; however, they are a relatively new democracy and they have been essentially at war since the modern State of Israel was founded.I think the neatest thing about Israel are the contrasts you will see in such a small country. Forests in the north, desert in the south. Tradition in Jerusalem and a modern European-style city in Tel Aviv. Strong military presence and a generally progressive mindset. Ultra religious communities and gay pride parades.The Mediterranean beaches are beautiful but I wouldn't compare them to the Caribbean or even Greece. Tel Aviv is a fun city to party in and the food is fantastic. Eilat is supposed to have nicer beaches but I have never been there. Jerusalem can also be a fun city but it is more subdued than Tel Aviv; the food is also very good. The wine country in the north is starting to get international recognition and I plan to imbibe the next time I go.Some of the most memorable things from my tripsSeeing the sunrise over the Dead Sea from the top of Masada - breathtaking.Booze cruise on the Sea of GalileeSmoking something on my hotel balcony over looking the Old City at night (this was over 10 years ago)Israeli women on the beachChilling at a Dead Sea SpaAnd yes, the approach in to TLV. What adds to it is if you are coming from the US, you have been flying over water for a long time. To see the first sight of the beach, then the city and then the steep turn, it is very cool.I love Israel and I can't wait to take my wife (not Jewish) but it will probably be a while. We are picky about hotels and on a 11 hour flight, we would need business class. Although other airlines service TLV from the states, you have to go on El Al the first time and they are expensive. Because of the distance and all there is to see, you need to go for at least two weeks. All this adds up to a very expensive vacation.Edit - another contrast: The last trip was with a large group of single adults in their 20's/30's. We drank every drop of alcohol on the plane and the FA's actually positioned the carts in front of the galley to form a bar and proceeded to bartend (free booze). While we were all drinking, you have a group of very observant Jews praying in the back of the aircarft behind a curtain.

There two Israeli spotters that post a lot of pictures on Airliners.net - Yarden Ben-Dor and Yochai Mossi. They have also been very active in flight sim over the years - both have plenty of files in the library.

There two Israeli spotters that post a lot of pictures on Airliners.net - Yarden Ben-Dor and Yochai Mossi. They have also been very active in flight sim over the years - both have plenty of files in the library.

Yarden has done the most awesome repaints I have ever seen for various high quality FS addons. Downloads them ASAP if you are interested in flying El Al in FS. He has done some work for the PMDG 747 and LDS767, for example. It rivals McPhat, maybe it's even better.As for Ben Gurion X: I got it as a review copy and will review it for Avsim. Installed it, and it's looking very nice. Doing this review actually got me looking at holiday pioctures, and photographs I made at the old LLBG... brings back so many good memories. I'd love to go back soon. You know, Israel has this atmos[here to it. You'll notice it instantly when you arrive. The warmth, the dust, the sun, the palms, the blue sky, the language and the people... They all contribute in their own way to this "feeling". Now take that to the cities, like Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa... The hills in Haifa offer a stunning view over the harbour and the Meditteranean. You can walk around the gardens of the Bab (a religious cult, for as far as I understood), or walk around the forests. Go to Tel Aviv and party all night (though I never actually did that, I was too young and haven't been to Israel in the last few years due to the fact that they might push me into the army. They probably won't, but you never know. Officialy, I have an israeli citizenship). Eilat is the sort of resort town. I have never actually been there, but I hear it's very nice. Ber Sheva is a modern city in a desert sea (maybe a bit like Las Vegas, minus the casinos).But, to me, Israel is the following:- The approach over the Tel Aviv beaches (which really are very nice. my aunt works at the King David hotel in Tel Aviv and she managed to get us in there for a discount. The beaches are nice and warm, and oh so blue (at least they were ten years ago, not sure how they look now). However, I have no idea how it would compare to Australia's beaches...).- The (somewhat chaotic) drive to Zofit (close to Kfar Sava), the moshav where the family lives (chaotic because of the way they drive there. The temparement of the Israelis sure is noticeable on the road...). It's especially the slight desolation, warmth and dust that makes me go all nostalgic. I asbolutely love that. Oh, and the dusty smell! That's great.- The house of my aunt, with all the cats and trees.- The Israeli mornings in summer. Seriously. The warmth and clodness in the night bring forth a refreshing morning that's cool but is already warming up. Combioned with the smell of trees and sand, it's the best smell I have smelt in my entire life. I'm not kidding.- The trips to the mega supermarkets, where everybody walks and eats. Go to a big, typical israeli supermarket. It's an experience! Everywhere you can taste stuff, and people are not afraid to taste fruit before they buy it. I remember my aunt just eating an antire plum before filling the plastic bag she carried to the top. It must have been very good... Remember: israel = food. Eat it. Lots of it. Otherwise you shouldn't come at all...- And of course the family. The outings over the entire country. The good part is that Israel is small, so it doesn't take long to get from place to place.All in all, yeah, Israel is a great place to be. I wouldn't want to live there at all, but for a vacation it's great. Just don't be surprised of the great security and military presence...Jeff: then you probably did the ILS26 approach, which takes you over the mountains. That, or runway 30, but that seems highly unlikely to me. ILS12 is the neatest approach, because you fly straight into the airport without any turn. Try it in FS! Just don't listen to ATC because for some reason they always direct you to a visual 30 approach, but for as far as I remember, this apporach is rarely, if ever used. If the wind is not good, they'll tend to use ILS26 (Incidentally, I remember taking off from 26 lots of times. Makes for a very nice departure).

Jeff: then you probably did the ILS26 approach, which takes you over the mountains. That, or runway 30, but that seems highly unlikely to me. ILS12 is the neatest approach, because you fly straight into the airport without any turn. Try it in FS! Just don't listen to ATC because for some reason they always direct you to a visual 30 approach, but for as far as I remember, this apporach is rarely, if ever used. If the wind is not good, they'll tend to use ILS26 (Incidentally, I remember taking off from 26 lots of times. Makes for a very nice departure).

Right. It wasn't RWY12. I don't remember which runway it was; my last trip was in 1999 and I wasn't paying as close of attention to Aviation back in those days. I had just gotten in to FS. I do know I was on the right side of the aircraft, we came in north of the city and made a steep right turn. I would assume it was RWY26. I don't remember my other flights very much because I was a kid - 1979 and 1983.

I've been to Israel 3 times. I'm also Jewish and I am very proud of what my people have accomplished since 48. The country has issues; however, they are a relatively new democracy and they have been essentially at war since the modern State of Israel was founded.I think the neatest thing about Israel are the contrasts you will see in such a small country. Forests in the north, desert in the south. Tradition in Jerusalem and a modern European-style city in Tel Aviv. Strong military presence and a generally progressive mindset. Ultra religious communities and gay pride parades.The Mediterranean beaches are beautiful but I wouldn't compare them to the Caribbean or even Greece. Tel Aviv is a fun city to party in and the food is fantastic. Eilat is supposed to have nicer beaches but I have never been there. Jerusalem can also be a fun city but it is more subdued than Tel Aviv; the food is also very good. The wine country in the north is starting to get international recognition and I plan to imbibe the next time I go.Some of the most memorable things from my tripsSeeing the sunrise over the Dead Sea from the top of Masada - breathtaking.Booze cruise on the Sea of GalileeSmoking something on my hotel balcony over looking the Old City at night (this was over 10 years ago)Israeli women on the beachChilling at a Dead Sea SpaAnd yes, the approach in to TLV. What adds to it is if you are coming from the US, you have been flying over water for a long time. To see the first sight of the beach, then the city and then the steep turn, it is very cool.I love Israel and I can't wait to take my wife (not Jewish) but it will probably be a while. We are picky about hotels and on a 11 hour flight, we would need business class. Although other airlines service TLV from the states, you have to go on El Al the first time and they are expensive. Because of the distance and all there is to see, you need to go for at least two weeks. All this adds up to a very expensive vacation.Edit - another contrast: The last trip was with a large group of single adults in their 20's/30's. We drank every drop of alcohol on the plane and the FA's actually positioned the carts in front of the galley to form a bar and proceeded to bartend (free booze). While we were all drinking, you have a group of very observant Jews praying in the back of the aircarft behind a curtain.

Thanks Jeff. I believe Australian Eucalypt trees populate the North?Very, very interesting. I read something recently, a huge contrast in Jerusalem, A jewish man giving a Muslim woman learner driver tuition.Yes Israel is similar to Australia-progessive, but maintains a large military (required). I find Israelis who have served are very responsible people. Yes Tel Aviv is a huge party town, Israelis know how to have fun!Funny story about the booze flight!!!! Which airline was that, sounds like you got great service! What variety of beer did they have? In Australia we have a huge variety now, a lot of Boutique breweries started up. James Squires, Little Creatures etcWhy El Al the first time?Also thanks for the info about the spotters. I view a lot of LLBG photos on Airliners. I went on a BA 757 back in 1996 to Zurich and found that aircraft legendary. Better than a 737.I'm not Jewish technically, but I consider myself Jewish. (I'm half Irish)Daniel

Yarden has done the most awesome repaints I have ever seen for various high quality FS addons. Downloads them ASAP if you are interested in flying El Al in FS. He has done some work for the PMDG 747 and LDS767, for example. It rivals McPhat, maybe it's even better.As for Ben Gurion X: I got it as a review copy and will review it for Avsim. Installed it, and it's looking very nice. Doing this review actually got me looking at holiday pioctures, and photographs I made at the old LLBG... brings back so many good memories. I'd love to go back soon. You know, Israel has this atmos[here to it. You'll notice it instantly when you arrive. The warmth, the dust, the sun, the palms, the blue sky, the language and the people... They all contribute in their own way to this "feeling". Now take that to the cities, like Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa... The hills in Haifa offer a stunning view over the harbour and the Meditteranean. You can walk around the gardens of the Bab (a religious cult, for as far as I understood), or walk around the forests. Go to Tel Aviv and party all night (though I never actually did that, I was too young and haven't been to Israel in the last few years due to the fact that they might push me into the army. They probably won't, but you never know. Officialy, I have an israeli citizenship). Eilat is the sort of resort town. I have never actually been there, but I hear it's very nice. Ber Sheva is a modern city in a desert sea (maybe a bit like Las Vegas, minus the casinos).But, to me, Israel is the following:- The approach over the Tel Aviv beaches (which really are very nice. my aunt works at the King David hotel in Tel Aviv and she managed to get us in there for a discount. The beaches are nice and warm, and oh so blue (at least they were ten years ago, not sure how they look now). However, I have no idea how it would compare to Australia's beaches...).- The (somewhat chaotic) drive to Zofit (close to Kfar Sava), the moshav where the family lives (chaotic because of the way they drive there. The temparement of the Israelis sure is noticeable on the road...). It's especially the slight desolation, warmth and dust that makes me go all nostalgic. I asbolutely love that. Oh, and the dusty smell! That's great.- The house of my aunt, with all the cats and trees.- The Israeli mornings in summer. Seriously. The warmth and clodness in the night bring forth a refreshing morning that's cool but is already warming up. Combioned with the smell of trees and sand, it's the best smell I have smelt in my entire life. I'm not kidding.- The trips to the mega supermarkets, where everybody walks and eats. Go to a big, typical israeli supermarket. It's an experience! Everywhere you can taste stuff, and people are not afraid to taste fruit before they buy it. I remember my aunt just eating an antire plum before filling the plastic bag she carried to the top. It must have been very good... Remember: israel = food. Eat it. Lots of it. Otherwise you shouldn't come at all...- And of course the family. The outings over the entire country. The good part is that Israel is small, so it doesn't take long to get from place to place.All in all, yeah, Israel is a great place to be. I wouldn't want to live there at all, but for a vacation it's great. Just don't be surprised of the great security and military presence...Jeff: then you probably did the ILS26 approach, which takes you over the mountains. That, or runway 30, but that seems highly unlikely to me. ILS12 is the neatest approach, because you fly straight into the airport without any turn. Try it in FS! Just don't listen to ATC because for some reason they always direct you to a visual 30 approach, but for as far as I remember, this apporach is rarely, if ever used. If the wind is not good, they'll tend to use ILS26 (Incidentally, I remember taking off from 26 lots of times. Makes for a very nice departure).

Amazing.Friend of mine was in SF and had a big fight with the Army when he changed his faith. Of course you need a big security presence, it is part and parcel of life there. A war could flare up in hours there with little warning.It is amazing at the amount of responsibility the country endows its young citizens with. In Australia there is little of this.I am sure I will be smitten once I travel around. Also I highly recommend Japan for you guys. Make sure you stay with a Japanese family or people. They are amazing too. They are massive in tourism.I have the excellent freeware of LLBG. It is amazing that we have people producing this kind of quality product and sharing it with us. I appreciate this.I wish Cathay Pacific had a 773 flight to Tel Aviv. I love CX, especially their 777s, which are 3-3-3 config and you can even get a glass of champagne in economy if you play your cards right. Though I met an English businessman in HK who swore by Virgin Atlantic. I think he travels in business.Overseas visitors can do a 'complimentary military service' in Israel I believe, like a volunteer thing, right?Daniel

I'm not Jewish technically, but I consider myself Jewish. (I'm half Irish)

Daniel, this is probably the funniest sentence I've read in this forum for years! :( No matter if you are "technically" (lol) Jewish but you indeed have a jewish sense of humour.