EVEREST PARK 3D MODEL

BY FRANK DAINESE and FABIO BELLINI

Introduction
This scenery for X-Plane 11 is dedicated to the highest mountain on the planet: the
Everest (8848mt - 29029 ft.)
It includes a territory of about 1000 square kilometers in the Himalayas along with
other eight thousand, on the border between China and Nepal. Other famous
mountains include the Lhotse (8516), Makalu (8463), Nuptse (7861), Pumori (7161),
Ama Dablam (6812), Taboche (6543), Baruntse (7129) ...
The scenery is included in degrees +27.086 +27.087 + 28.086 +28.087.
For this scenery, given the characteristics of the territory, we decided, as for the
Matterhorn, not to place the orthophotos, both for the known copyright issues and
the related costs very high, but also because we thought it possible to reproduce
the characteristics of the area adapting the reconstructed photographic textures, to
the plot and to the chromatic and morphological variations of the terrain.
Scenery - Characteristics

This scenery is exclusively suitable for VFR flight, only with "visual flight" it is
possible to take full advantage of the characteristics of the scenery.
The whole territory has been rebuilt on a photographic basis but without the
orthophotos positioning. All the vegetation has been mapped and faithfully
reproduced in 3D. The houses are reconstructed in 3D according to a typical
typology of the Nepalese mountain areas, with buildings reproduced for both Lukla
and Namche Bazar, and even if simplified, very well recognizable.
The protagonist of the whole scenery the Everest group (Everest-Lhotse-Nuptse)
was reconstructed in 3D according to DEM data (digital elevation model) and further
elaborated with many structural details. Many textures (over 40) based on 4K
(4096x4096) are derived from HD photographs and positioned respecting the real
position. This procedure, long and laborious, has required a considerable effort, but
has made the 3D model of the mountain very realistic, such as to allow a close flight
to the walls without loss of quality, setting the graphic configuration at the highest
quality / extreme level.
Makalu, Pumori, Taboche, Baruntse and AmaDablam were also reconstructed in 3D.
Particular effort and attention has been devoted to the meshing of the terrain of the
entire territory, both to allow the positioning of the 3D models of the mountains
and to create the bases of the airports. Often the levels of the terrain are difficult to
solve difficulties and unfortunately the tools available are few and complicated to
manage, but we managed to achieve a good level of "realism".
Airports and Heliports
The Lukla airport (icao VNLK) is considered by the pilots, one of the most difficult
especially in the landing phase, the track is just over 500 meters long. and has a
significant change in slope in the initial part during take-off (12%). But even for
scenery developers it is considered just as complicated to build. We have worked on
the meshes modified for this purpose, with a small addition of a 3D model in the
terminal part; also reproduces the Apron area with the four parking sites. Some 3D
people (airport workers), static and very stylized to avoid excessive overload, and
the N.4 Apron station occupied by D228 Tara Air were inserted.
The second airport, better avio-surface is that of Syangboche (icao VNSB) in clay
ground, just over 400 meters long, secondary airport but officially coded. It is
located just above the village of Namche Bazar, a mandatory stop for hikers to the
Everest base camp. Much more suitable for material transfers especially of
construction.
For the Heliports several landing pads have been inserted in the most important
points of the scenery, normally located in residential areas, scattered at various
points along the route to the base camp.
Base of Lukla (icao HELK) - Base of Namche Bazar (icao HENB)
Housing Areas
Wide mountain area and considering the high altitude also very populated. Two
main locations: Lukla and Namche Bazar. Reconstructed in 3D with customized
buildings, however typical of the place. They are an obligatory stop for hikers to the
Everest base camp. Lukla is the arrival / departure point with an airplane /
helicopter and also an emergency helicopter rescue center (AS350). Namche Bazar,
located in a stepped basin, is a must-see stop, offering a lot of hospitality and
refreshment and overnight accommodation.
Tengboche is home to an important Buddhist monastery, located at the peak of a
mountainous area under the slopes of the AmaDablam (the sacred mountain for the
monks).
On the way to the base camp, there are many small population centers, practically
almost all hotels / restaurants for hikers in transit. The highest is Gorak Shep located
at 5160 mt.
Worthy of note is the Pyramid of the CNR (Italy) at 5050 mt. Laboratory and
Observatory, center of study and medicine on the reactions of the human body at
high altitudes.
Lukla arrival / departure base for Trekking Everest

Namche Bazar
The Mountains - 3D Models
The main mountains of the area have been rebuilt with 3D models. DEM data was
used and further corrected with 3D graphics programs. Later the textures were
applied, mostly in 4K, taken from high definition photos. The positioning on the
modified mesh was very accurate, respecting the dimensions and the main
morphological characteristics of the terrain.
Example - 3D model construction phase. (Everest - south side part)
Everest (North side) 3D model, compared with the real photo

The Everest Base Camps were also placed, in practice camp of tents from the Base
Camp (5360 mt.) To Campo IV to Colle sud (7906 mt.)

Everest Base Camp

Required Hardware / Software Resources
The scenery was built for XPlane 11 (last v. 11.25)
For a smooth flight without particular shots, at least 25 fps is required. Ideal if higher
than 30 fps.
For the hardware we obviously recommend a PC with some essential features:
1) CPU i5 or i7 at least fourth generation (optimal SKY-Lake and Kaby-Lake) with 8
cores.
2) 8 GB RAM better than 16 GB, optimal 32 GB
3) Fast HD, best ever SSD M.2 Ideal to load X-Plane on SSD
4) Graphics card with at least 2 GB of VRAM, absolutely for have no limitation better
than 8 GB
5) Monitor 24 "better a 27" ... ideal 32 "
In the panel dedicated to Graphics it is recommended to set the parameters as
much as possible allowed by the hardware available. Obviously everything depends
on the characteristics of the PC, in the various forums there are many references
and suggestions about it. Furthermore, the clarity of the images depends a lot on
the power of the video card.
6) who owns Cockpit bought or self-built will have to adapt the various peripherals
as usual, considering that it is VFR flight.
Scenery Installation

For X-Plane the installation is always very simple, but there are some clarifications and tips.
As for all the added scenery it is necessary to insert the whole package in the "Custom
Scenery" folder, the meshes relating to the 4 degrees of the scenery are already present, so
no other operation is necessary. You can leave the original meshes in the Global Scenery
folder without problems.
For a correct visualization it is fundamental to keep the priorities, all the folders related to the
scenery must be on top, above the "Global Airports" folder that I recommend to always leave
last or even delete it from the same "Custom scenery", to avoid unsightly overlapping.
If the installation was correct there should not be any problems. When starting up, just select
the type of aircraft / helicopter and the reference airport / heliport.
Known Problems
Depending on the hardware characteristics it is possible to have some limitations in viewing the
scenery, in particular:
1) drastic reduction of the number of visible 3D objects. This depends on the graphic settings
inserted in the appropriate panel and obviously the modest hardware potential..
2) shots or micro-shots during the flight. Normally the simulator loads the entire visible degree but
if the RAM is not sufficient, the system will work in swapping with the sensitive loss of fps.
3) Despite the high quality of the textures, with excessive approach to the mountain you can see
some blur effect.
4) It is not recommended to use other scenery of the same area, to avoid unsightly overlaps in
particular of buildings and structures. Also note that the Alpilotx meshes are not compatible with
this scenery.
A tutorial will be available to give the possibility to use the Ortho4XP program to place, in private
and without any support, the orthophotos of the area.
Possible to find some split in the areas of passage between the degrees, due to the inaccurate
coupling between the meshes, it'sn't a problem of the scenery but
of the simulator at medium / low resolutions.

Note
The scenery is for "playful recreation" purposes only. The whole area has been rebuilt based on
photographs, without any pretense of perfection but with a good true-likeness. Moreover,
these areas, in view of the great growth of tourism, are constantly evolving.

GOOD FLIGHT IN 3D EVEREST PARK

APS FLGHT – LUKLA –SYANGBOCHE – BASE CAMP EVEREST - EVEREST
ICAO NAME Geographic Coordinates

VNLK LUKLA – AIRPORT 27.6871185 086.7295953

VNSB SYANGBOCHE AIRPORT 27.8137431 086.7078288
HELK LUKLA – HELIPAD 27.6870875 086.7285678
HENB NAMCHE-BAZAR 27.8041185 086.7136969
HETB TENGBOCHE HELIPAD 27.8360122 086.7653310
HCNR PYRAMID CNR HELIPAD 27.9581025 086.8124180
HEBC Base Camp EVEREST 27.9976687 086.8434353
HYET YETI MOUNTAIN 27.7814169 086.6923505
HECK CHUKHUNG 27.9053922 086.8898599

This manual aims to facilitate and suggest the best way to valorize the specifics of
the scenery.
The “3D Everest park“ for Xplane 11 is however a scenery for simple "playfull
recreation" use of pure fun, without expect perfection.