Re: Santa Barbara County - Update: The End.

[joelyboy911]

Really, really great looking airport. 

[RickD]

Driving to the Airport

Today we will take the car and drive to the airport.

21.1

We are entering the tile from the east on the expressway coming from downtown Santa Barbara.

21.2

Passing over the stream we can see the smiling water tower on the hill to our left.

21.3

We are taking the next exit. It leads to the airport and downtown Goleta. It has recently been upgraded from a signalized intersection to ...

21.4

... uh oh ... a Diverging Diamond Interchange. Not all drivers are used to this unusual type of interchange. Extra caution is necessary.

21.5

Traffic flow has greatly improved since the interchange is in place.

21.6

We'll turn right here onto Aviation Boulevard.

21.7

Several businesses are lining the busy road.

21.8

Apartment houses to our right as we continue driving towards the terminal.

21.9

Maybe it is time to stop and grab something to eat?

21.10

There is quite some choice.

21.11

We are passing some parking lots and airport hotels.

21.12

More shopping opportunities and business hotels along Aviation Boulevard.

21.13

Now we are approaching the terminal's pick up and drop off areas. Some office buildings to our right.

21.14

We have arrived at the terminal.

21.15

The hotels are mostly frequented by business travelers. But their close location to the ocean and affordable rates make them an insider's tip for tourists. At least if you don't mind the noise from the airport.

21.16

More hotels and restaurants.

21.17


21.18

This motel offers the cheapest rooms but it is very close to the airport and you can't even see the planes.

21.19

And finally an overview of the hotel area.



Replies:

solsystem, art128, kalvar, Haljackey, joelyboy911:
Glad you all like my airport. Thanks for visiting my MD.

kwakelaar:

Nice work on your airport, living close to an airport myself I feel sorry for the poor folks living in the neighbourhood between the two runways

Hehe, but at least land prices should be very affordable there.

canyonjumper:

Awesome update Raphael! It's an awesome airport, and I wish that the one I'm working on comes out even half as good

Thanks and good luck with your airport.

EDGE4194:

Raphael- I have to agree that you did an awesome job with the airport. I know that I don't have patience and have been afraid to attempt an airport. I am tempted again after seeing yours.

Thank you, too. I needed a lot of patience to figure out all those puzzle pieces.



Thanks for reading and please leave a comment. 

[marsh]

Awesome work. I like the suburby feeling even near the airport.

,marsh 

[Kevin1a]

You did a good job capturing that airport feel.  In my experience, the areas around airports are either devoid of anything an everything (Denver International, except those secret government bunkers under it), or filled with large hotels, and chain stores.  I think you captured the second type perfectly.  All the fast food places and large chain stores with surface lots gave it a very "airporty" feel.  When we leave the airport, do we have to fly, or can we take SBlink to get where we're going?

P.S. I'm working on an airport right now too.(a little larger, but not as well detailed...yet)  I haven't posted any of it, but in a month or so, it should be on my MD.

[cubby420]

Great stuff! Love the endless parking lots - its an aspect of everyday life so few people tackle realistically in their city.

[turtle]

Great update, Raphael!
The drive to the airport really reveals how much thought you've put into planning the areas close to the airport. 

[canyonjumper]

Awesome update! Love the RHW set up and all the parking lots!

                     Your friend,
                                    Jordan

[krbe]

That's an excellent medium-sized airport there! I love it when airports don't look like a combination of Heathrow and Denver Airports.

I did some research on required runway lenght. According to my research a 737 or A320 could probably land on this runway but not take off. At least not loaded with passengers. Any experts reading? Should I make the runway longer?

Your long runway is more than long enough for "normal" short haul 737 / A320 operations. If you look at the specifications for the aircrafts at Wikipedia, you'll see that the take-off runs listed are MTOW, SL, ISA -- at maximum take-off weight, at sea level in an ideal "International Standard Atmosphere", a construction of certain atmostpheric attributes such as temperature and air pressure. In lay-man words, a plane filled to the brim with passenger, luggage, cargo and fuel.

Actual take-off runs tend to be much shorter, as the planes are very rarely filled 100% in any of those categories. In Norway, SAS operates 737s (400 through 800 series) from a number of airports which runways range from 1700 m to 2100 m. This is possible because the flights tend to be short, and filled with people on day business with little luggage. It is entirely possible to operate a 737-800 on such routes as long as you reduce the weight.

However, if you are to operate the routes mentioned non-stop, you need longer runways to accommodate planes with a full fuel load. This is the distance between Santa Barbara and the airports listed:

Los Angeles (LAX): 142 km
San Fransisco (SFO): 421 km
Seattle-Tacoma (SEA): 1461 km
Vancouver (YVR): 1664 km
Chicago (ORD): 2893 km
Anchorage (ANC): 3660 km
Miami (MIA): 3896 km
New York (EWR): 4036 km

All locations are well within reach of longer range 737s and the A320 family at MTOW, though just as you can reduce take-off run by reducing weight, you can increase range (provided you save on the fuel, of course).

Another option is of course to have an extra landing. E.g. at SeaTac for the Anchorage flight.

And if you want to do the maths on your own distances, you can use http://www.acscdg.com/

[Tomas Neto]

Great update, RickD!!! Really very nice!!! 

[daryl7478]

Nice job making the airport surroundings!

[Girafe]

Hehe nice update 

I have never seen before the cross exchanger and didn't know it was already released, the giraffe is lost, again 

RHW fits good in this landscape. I appreciate the green touches with the trees and finally someone who understands that there always re big parkings in commercial areas 

[Battlecat]

Lots of interesting highways around the airport!  You've put the cross exchanger to good use there!

[io_bg]

Fantastic update, love all these highways and avenues However, I noticed some of the houses on pic 1 and 3 are too close to the RHWs... Won't it be better if you put some noise barriers along the highways? Just an idea...

[RickD]

Welcome to update 22. 

I didn't have much playtime lately but I want to show you some (rather unimaginative  ) pics of the warehouses near the airport.

22.1

Here is an overview. The industrial area will continue into the next tile once I build it.

22.2

It consists mostly of warehouses and distribution centers.

22.3

But there is also this sewage plant operated by the public works department.

22.4

The warehouses are attracted by the good transport connections and relatively low land prices so close to the airport.

22.5

The airport and the surrounding industry provides many jobs for the region.

22.6


22.7


22.8


22.9


22.10

I don't like the avenue curve with the rail level crossing here. I demolished and rebuild this numerous times but couldn't come up with anything better. 

22.11

The area is served by freight rail. This is one of the container loading facilities at Airport Spur 1.

22.12

The warehouses have grown very close to the highway. Not much room for future expansion
available.



Replies:

marsh, turtle, canyonjumper, Tomas Neto, daryl7478, Girafe, Battlecat:
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. 

Kevin1a:

When we leave the airport, do we have to fly, or can we take SBlink to get where we're going?

We'll take SBlink another time. The tile to the north (goleta cbd) has grown considerably since the last region shot but is not quite presentable yet.

P.S. I'm working on an airport right now too.(a little larger, but not as well detailed...yet)  I haven't posted any of it, but in a month or so, it should be on my MD.

I'm looking forward to it.

cubby420:

Love the endless parking lots

Thanks! Hooha47 did a really great job with his modular parking lots.

krbe:
Wow, thank you very much for all this intersting information. Very much appreciated.

io_bg:

However, I noticed some of the houses on pic 1 and 3 are too close to the RHWs... Won't it be better if you put some noise barriers along the highways?

Probably yes. But the budget was needed for even more important things. However, the mayor denies that his new indoor swimming pool has anything to do with it. 

[io_bg]

Another great update! The warehouse area has turned out pretty well! If you don't mind a few more suggestions, in the first pic I'd use carribou's [enter correct spelling here] long slope rail-to-subway transitions as they're much more realistic than NDEX's ones. Also, you can connect MIS and one-way roads straight out without converting the MIS to RHW-4 and then the RHW to one-way road.

io_bg:Probably yes. But the budget was needed for even more important things. However, the mayor denies that his new indoor swimming pool has anything to do with it. 

And last, if the mayor decides to spend some money on the rail crossing he dislikes, he can use some Avenue FLUPs. I'd not place them just next to the corner in order to simulate a smoother underground curve. Hope that wasn't too hard to understand

[Battlecat]

I think the warehouse district turned out great.  I'm also remiss in missing your earlier update, love what you've done with the RHW in those shots. 

[RickD]

Update 23 - Cabrillo Country Club

23.1

Cabrillo Country Club is the largest and most exclusive golf course in the region.

23.2

The land it sits on is owned by the City of Santa Barbara. If the City should decide to expand the airport the country club will have to give way.

23.3

This is the Club house. You have to be invited by a member to enter.

23.4

Hole 9 is the most spectacular one directly at the edge of a cliff over the Pacific Ocean.

23.5

Other holes are really close to the runway.

23.6

7:30 am. The first players are enjoying the cool ocean breeze on this wonderful summer morning.



Replies:

io_bg:
Thanks for your advice on the rhw and avenue. I think I know what you mean with the flups pieces and I'll give it a try.
And, wow, that long slope rail to subway transition looks so much better. I did not know it before.
I think I'll post pictures of the improved area in the next weeks.

Battlecat:
Thanks for the compliments.

[Tomas Neto]

Cabrillo Country Club is a fantastic golf course!!! Great work!!!

[daryl7478]

Nice golf course there! I would just imagine golfing and seeing 747s. Only if they could fit in the airport....

[mightygoose]

while all your updates are classically american in style and very pleasing to the eye, the roundabout in 22.1 gave me a cardiac arrest, i mean the weaving combined with the potential direct U-turns just scares the hell outta me. everything else is lovely.