Complete your collection of Houston airports with FSDT’s Houston Intercontinental Airport, now out for MSFS

Everything is lining up for a phenomenal weekend in Houston next month when FlightSimExpo 2023 finally unrolls at the DoubleTree at Houston Hobby Airport and the Lone Star Flight Museum. Not only is it set to be the biggest flight simulation event ever in North America, but it’s also shaping up to be an experience that MSFS simmers can explore virtually thanks to the recent release of Houston’s two major airports in the platform. Following the release of FSimStudios’ and Texan Simulations’ Hobby Airport earlier this month, this week it was FSDT’s time to present their newest creation for the sim, Houston Intercontinental Airport (KIAH).

Located in Houston, Texas, KIAH was named after the 41st President of the United States, George H.W. Bush. In terms of passenger traffic, it stands as the 15th busiest airport globally, showcasing the incredible breadth and depth of operations happening on its premises.

KIAH is recognized as the second largest passenger hub for United Airlines, one of the world’s largest carriers, linking a multitude of domestic and international destinations. This means simmers have a chance to virtually fly a diverse array of routes, from short domestic hops to long-haul international flights, all emanating from one hub.

Houston Intercontinental Airport is FSDT’s newest “premium” scenery add-on for Microsoft Flight Simulator and includes an impressive wealth of features. Besides being up-to-date according to the real-world 2023 status, KIAH also integrates perfectly with GSX Pro, with over 1500 custom pushback routes, 49 Walk-in Gates, 156 VGDS, and using GSX’s “Airport walkers” feature to create a lively terminal atmosphere with passengers visible inside.

A cool touch added by FSDT are the automated doors at Terminals B and C that now open and close in sync with GSX boarding and deboarding procedures. Furthermore, the informative panels at these gates animate in real-time, displaying the current GSX operation.

The FSDT team has left no stone unturned, adding dynamic lighting, including custom taxiway lights and numerous light sources scattered throughout the airport. They also deployed high-resolution terraforming to depict bridges and underpasses, and improved most textures using AI, converting them manually to PBR for enhanced realism.

Finally, this scenery makes use of parallax shaders extensively, offering a more authentic appearance to all buildings without modeled interiors, with nearly no impact on performance.

With this release, FSDT continues to expand its growing selection of add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which range from airports such as KIAH and KCLT to the indispensable GSX Pro.

KIAH Houston Intercontinental Airport is out now via FSDT’s website, priced at just $9.99 USD.