Small (or extra-small) and big (or extra-big) airports are all unique in their respective ways...in RW...or in our SIM. It's truly fascinating to be able to (virtually) visit not only the smallest (and scenic) airfields, e.g. a tiny airstrip somewhere, in Southern California, but, also, the big and busy international airports like e.g. Dubai (OMDB)...see below...! I'd previously (virtually) visited (and posted about) a small Brazilian Airport Joinville (SBJV), with a 5,000 ft runway, and, a couple of cargo and pax docking stations etc.. The airport was seen consisting of old-fashioned terminal buildings and roofing, but, nonetheless, displayed its own (characteristic) old-fashioned appeal and charm.

For curiosity, today, I searched for the (World's) top 20 biggest (and busiest) airports of 2021. Here, according to one source, are the top few, in each category:

First, the biggest (top 7):

1. Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK)
2. Dubai International Airport (DXB)
3. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
4. Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND)
5. O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
6. London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
7. Hong Kong International Airport (HKG)

I've had occasions to visit (transit) through (2), (3), (5), and (6), and, out of these four, due to some reasons, the Dubai airport, had appeared most fanciful and impressive...

Next, the busiest (top 7):

1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
2. Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK)
3. Dubai International Airport (DXB)
4. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
5. Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND)
6. O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
7. London Heathrow Airport (LHR)

The usual suspects appear on this list too...with Atlanta, taking over the first position. The airport’s strategic location and role as the main hub for one of the world’s largest airlines (Delta) combine to make it the busiest in the world, overtaking other international hubs. If one has ever got a connecting a flight, or a stop-over flight, with Delta, one must have invariably transited through Atlanta.

Now, in our SIMs, generally speaking, the big airports are highly resource intensive. For example, in my case, approaching (virtually) anywhere near the airspace of EGLL/London (Heathrow) scenery, would bring my (modest) system to its knees...🙂...I vividly recall one of my RW transits via the (then) newly opened Terminal 5 of Heathrow...the 2-3 hours of layover, relaxing just behind those large glass windows of the impressive facade of Terminal 5, and looking out, with a bite to eat and an English brew, in hand,...🙂...I had also with me (probably) an aviation magazine, or, was it a Dostoevsky, to peruse,...(I recall the paperback edition of Crime and Punishment had travelled, back and forth, across the oceans, a few times, with me, during my two readings of it...btw, another (surely, more avid) Dostoevsky reader, andy1252, please note...🙂...), while catching sights of all kinds of BA a/c (large and small) sauntering around, outside, on the tarmac, it was a most enjoyable experience...that I still remember well...

In this post, my choice, here, of one such (big) airport is the Queensland capital (Brisbane), which is the 2nd biggest and 3rd busiest airport on the island continent of Australia (sharing similar honors with Sydney and Melbourne). This Orbx add-on of YBBN, I've not explored in ages, so, here, I've done a bit of looking around this airport, from my virtual world. The YBBN (major) runway is (01/19), see shots of Rwy 19. To the north of Brisbane airport, lies the Moreton Bay, named after the adjacent Moreton Island. Therefore, as one approaches (southward) to land on Rwy 19, one would pass over the Moreton Bay.

Please find, below, a set of pictures from around YBBN airport, including a few images, where, I've gone back to the Rockwell Commander 114, of my previous post, one more time, landing it, on Rwy 19, at night, to get a feel for how the airport might look like under such circumstance...

Hope you enjoy...! Thanks for your interest...!!

WOWW..Great set of shots !!

cheers 😉

Excellent shots! 🙂 

pmplayer, Alaska738: Many thanks for the comments...!!