Moffett Field KNUQ 1963-1993 (The P-3 Days) (+ Crows Landing)
Posted: 10 Jun 2022, 21:08
Ahoy guys,
I'm finishing up a basic P3Dv5 scenery (should probably work in v4 and FSX too with modifications) of NUQ back in the post-fighter jet days when from 1963-1993 a big chunk of the P-3s in the country were based there. Monday through Friday it was common to see 3-6 planes in the pattern all the time until the closure of the Naval Air Station at Moffett in 93 (1 or 2 squadrons had also left by then, most stayed and sadly were deactivated with the closure).
Using a mid 80s high rest air to ground photo and google earth's 1991 photo, I made this the best I could without custom objects trying to match the layout and surfaces, include all the proper parking (squardons in the right place as far as I can tell), and added generic buildings and hangars as needed, especially around the NASA ramp.
In addition to the more than 60 parking spots for P-3s, there were 6 NAVY C-130s with VR-55, NASA with a bunch of cool stuff either based there or frequenting Moffett such as U-2s, F-104s, F-5s, several experimental planes and even a C-141, and I also brought the closed Crows Landing Auxilary Landing Field (NRC) to life. NRC post-WWII was mostly used for flight testing and Navy/NASA planes doing pattern work. Several aircraft were tested extensively at NRC, and Douglas actually did a lot of DC-9 and MD-80 testing there too a long with flying LGB-NRC for pattern work during pre-delivery testing through the early 1990s. By the late 80s, dozens of aircraft from NUQ were coming over for touch and goes each week along with F-18s from NLC and Learjets and other aircraft from MCC which was still an active airbase. I have brought the runways back with the proper markings, made the realistic limited signage and surface markings the best that I could tell, the real Tower and ATIS frequencies, an airport beacon in the right place along with the most similar looking generic tower, and parking for various planes to rest between touch and goes.
Crows Landing was handed over from The Navy to NASA after the closure of Moffet in 1993, but NASA quickly gave the airport to the federal government, thus electing to allow other government agencies to use it rather than pay to keep the airfield private. Then NASA pulled out in 1999 and the airfield was closed. The city has tried to re-open it, even removed the X's from the runways at some point, but there is little interest for an FBO to start up.
As the retro P-3 plans don't seem to have these guys in and out of Moffett as much as they usually were unless undeployed, I've made my own plans with aircraft mostly flying 2-3 times per week doing combos of touch and goes at NUQ, NRC, and various other airports they used at the time less often like MER, MCC, MRY, NGZ, etc. Other aircraft simulate going to/returning from 1989 deployments, as for now I focused on that year. I have the NASA Ames fleet in progress (many repaints needed), and I am also going to add the large number of piston props that were either part of the Moffett Aeroclub or owned by Navy/NASA/Lockheed employees who commuted to work by air.
Here are some screenshots, decided to test it out along with my almost finished 89 SJC scenery with a mock A320 sales demo in the area to test out these airports.
This is my first time seeing it in the sim, there will be a lot of tweaking including masking the ORBX satellite imagery with layers of grass. Not ideal, but looks a lot better than...this. Also noticed that ORBX went ahead and decorated Crow's Landing themselves with some planes and even a-non stock tower even though its been closed since 1999 LOL! Welp, guess I'll have to delete the ORBX version.
I'll post some updates in the near future and then release it along with several other NorCal airports backdated to various periods in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Eventually, I'll do NGZ, SRF, and MCC also.
I'm finishing up a basic P3Dv5 scenery (should probably work in v4 and FSX too with modifications) of NUQ back in the post-fighter jet days when from 1963-1993 a big chunk of the P-3s in the country were based there. Monday through Friday it was common to see 3-6 planes in the pattern all the time until the closure of the Naval Air Station at Moffett in 93 (1 or 2 squadrons had also left by then, most stayed and sadly were deactivated with the closure).
Using a mid 80s high rest air to ground photo and google earth's 1991 photo, I made this the best I could without custom objects trying to match the layout and surfaces, include all the proper parking (squardons in the right place as far as I can tell), and added generic buildings and hangars as needed, especially around the NASA ramp.
In addition to the more than 60 parking spots for P-3s, there were 6 NAVY C-130s with VR-55, NASA with a bunch of cool stuff either based there or frequenting Moffett such as U-2s, F-104s, F-5s, several experimental planes and even a C-141, and I also brought the closed Crows Landing Auxilary Landing Field (NRC) to life. NRC post-WWII was mostly used for flight testing and Navy/NASA planes doing pattern work. Several aircraft were tested extensively at NRC, and Douglas actually did a lot of DC-9 and MD-80 testing there too a long with flying LGB-NRC for pattern work during pre-delivery testing through the early 1990s. By the late 80s, dozens of aircraft from NUQ were coming over for touch and goes each week along with F-18s from NLC and Learjets and other aircraft from MCC which was still an active airbase. I have brought the runways back with the proper markings, made the realistic limited signage and surface markings the best that I could tell, the real Tower and ATIS frequencies, an airport beacon in the right place along with the most similar looking generic tower, and parking for various planes to rest between touch and goes.
Crows Landing was handed over from The Navy to NASA after the closure of Moffet in 1993, but NASA quickly gave the airport to the federal government, thus electing to allow other government agencies to use it rather than pay to keep the airfield private. Then NASA pulled out in 1999 and the airfield was closed. The city has tried to re-open it, even removed the X's from the runways at some point, but there is little interest for an FBO to start up.
As the retro P-3 plans don't seem to have these guys in and out of Moffett as much as they usually were unless undeployed, I've made my own plans with aircraft mostly flying 2-3 times per week doing combos of touch and goes at NUQ, NRC, and various other airports they used at the time less often like MER, MCC, MRY, NGZ, etc. Other aircraft simulate going to/returning from 1989 deployments, as for now I focused on that year. I have the NASA Ames fleet in progress (many repaints needed), and I am also going to add the large number of piston props that were either part of the Moffett Aeroclub or owned by Navy/NASA/Lockheed employees who commuted to work by air.
Here are some screenshots, decided to test it out along with my almost finished 89 SJC scenery with a mock A320 sales demo in the area to test out these airports.
This is my first time seeing it in the sim, there will be a lot of tweaking including masking the ORBX satellite imagery with layers of grass. Not ideal, but looks a lot better than...this. Also noticed that ORBX went ahead and decorated Crow's Landing themselves with some planes and even a-non stock tower even though its been closed since 1999 LOL! Welp, guess I'll have to delete the ORBX version.
I'll post some updates in the near future and then release it along with several other NorCal airports backdated to various periods in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Eventually, I'll do NGZ, SRF, and MCC also.