My name is Ignacio Villegas and I design airport sceneries for the Microsoft Flight Simulator. I have been a Microsoft Flight Simulator fan since 1990 when I purchased my first computer, a state-of-the-art IBM PS1 desktop. Since then, I have enjoyed every version of the simulator (starting with version 4) and have been amazed by the advances achieved with each release. At the time I was a graduate student at the University of Georgia, where I eventually earned a Ph.D in Chemistry. I also completed a post-doctoral appointment at Purdue University and briefly held a position as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of New Mexico. Having become a resident of the United States, disgusted by the teaching experience at a third-tier American university and enticed by the experience gained with the simulator, I pursued a career as a commercial pilot. No longer able to fly real airplanes, I returned to the simulator and started designing sceneries. I published my first scenery in 2007 and have been unable to do anything else ever since despite the frustrations arising from cut-throat criticism and illegal file sharing. Today, thanks to FSX and the guys at PMDG and Level-D, I fulfil my dream of flying. Now more than ever I am proud to offer my sceneries with the hope that other pilots out there may find them suitable to help them fulfil their dreams as well.
BluePrint sceneries are uniquely designed, advanced add-ons for the Microsoft Flight Simulator. They are intended to satisfy the needs of experienced pilots and offered in two versions developed and sold separately, one for FS2004 (FS9) and another for FSX.
Our sceneries are designed following a few simple premises:
BluePrint Simulations was born from the desire to share our vision of what a simulator airport scenery should be from a pilot's point of view. Contributions from groups like PMDG, FeelThere, PSS and LevelD have taken the flight experience to an unbelievable degree of realism and accuracy that any pilot can appreciate. Groups like SimFlyers, SimWings and Aerosoft, FlyTampa, Imagine and many others have taken the ground experience to a new level, providing increasingly realistic environments for the pilots to enjoy while on the ground. From the early days of SimFlyer's "Service Armada", their vision has diverged from our own as they have paid increasing attention to moving vehicles and animations that make the airport come alive. As a pilot, however, I felt the need for increased realism in the airport itself, from runway and taxiway location to the look and feel of terminals and other building.
We did not embark in this adventure to improve or replace what other developers are already offering. We are doing it to offer an alternative that satisfies our vision of what we want to encounter once we start the engines and taxi to the runway or when we land and taxi to the gate. Our sceneries are for virtual pilots that spend 99% of their time flying and would like the few critical moments during departure and arrival to be experienced in "real" airports. Isn't it annoying to fly a great approach to find out that the runway has been "moved" to fit the custom-made ground layout? Isn't it frustrating to hunt for a taxiway while trying to keep the aircraft on the centerline during a heavy cross-wind landing because the taxiways do not actually match the airport's diagram? Isn't it annoying to try to find that gate that you know should be there where you left it the last time you visited the airport in real life? If your answer to any of these questions is "yes", you are likely to enjoy our sceneries. If you are instead annoyed when you arrive at the gate and the ground crews are not ready to unload the baggage, or when you are ready to push back and you cannot see the jetway undocking, or when you know that an American 757 should be on the next gate ready to push back on its way to Orange County, then our designs are just not for you.
The needs of "Airport Simulation" enthusiasts are unlikely to be met by our designs. There are no moving vehicles or animated jetways. There are no advanced AI traffic operations. What you will find is the most realistic rendering of the airfield available today including runway and taxiway locations, terminal buildings and other structures as well as ground features such as freeway interchanges and bodies of water that you know should be there as you approach. If you are an AI fan or airport simulation enthusiast, you are likely to be familiar with Lee Swordy's AFCAD2 software and/or Project AI to mention just two of many options available to customize the airport environment. If you are not interesting learning to use Gmax or 3DsMax to create your own terminals, perhaps you will appreciate our designs as great looking stages where you can create airport simulation masterpieces!
As we once again renew our commitment to press ahead, we do it with the firm conviction that our original motivation remains strong and true.
At BluePrint Simulations we are committed to producing scenery add-ons for the Microsoft® Flight Simulator of the highest-quality possible. We are also very proud to stand behind each and every one of our products because we truly believe that, at the time each scenery was released, it reflected our very best effort and its quality was limited by our design resources and not by our lack of dedication and passion for both aviation and the flight simulation hobby. We do, however, realize that no software developer's product is flawless, and that there is always a need for enhancements and upgrades
Consequently, we will continue to offer free fixes and upgrades with the sole intention of maintaining an even level of quality across all our product line regardless of the release date of each individual scenery. Currently we spend about 25% of our time working on scenery upgrades. Unlike most flight simulator add-on manufacturers, the release of our products does not mean the end of the design effort. With each new scenery, we introduce new features and we learn and discover new techniques. This effort has been particularly evident in the design of replacement ground textures, transparency effects and ground markings. Less evident are huge improvements in design and texturing efficiency and have enabled us to steadily increase the complexity of our sceneries.
While we continue to discourage destructive criticism and unfair or superfluous comparisons with other designers, it is no small measure thanks to our customer's constructive criticism and feedback that we have been able to identify areas in need of refinement or improvement. In most cases, feedback from a singe customer has sparked countless hours of development and the incorporation of new or improved features in the subsequent sceneries as well as in the upgrades for older ones.
The bottom line is that we will never be satisfied with the quality of our products. So we invite you to visit our web page frequently. You ever know what new improvements you will find. Please note that we now highlight the release of new upgrades along with the release of new sceneries at the very top of this page.
OnDuty Support Systems, LLC of Camarillo, CA is the sole proprietor of the BluePrint Simulations brand and all of the rights associated with its authorship, sales and distribution. BluePrint Simulations sceneries are sold directly from this web site. The purchase transaction and scenery installer delivery is handled by BMT Micro, Inc of Wilmington, NC on behalf of OnDuty Support Systems, LLC. BMT Micro, Inc is in no way responsible for the contents of our sceneries and does not provide any kind of technical support for our products. Any questions or concerns regarding order placement, processing and/or fulfillment should be addressed to orders@bmtmicro.com.
In addition, the full series of sceneries can be purchased from simMarket.com. Starting May 1, 2011, BluePrint Simulations sceneries will be available for sale on this web site and simMarket.com exclusively. Any individual possessing a copy of any of our sceneries that was obtained from any source other than this web site or simMarket.com after May 1, 2011 is in violation of the product's license agreement and all applicable US copyright laws. Those individuals will be reported to the FBI to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Sceneries purchased or downloaded from any other web site or software store, unless authorized in writing by Blueprint Simulations or OnDuty Support Systems, LLC, are considered pirated copies.
Please read the Customer Support and Product Return policies before purchasing any BluePrint Simulations product from this web site or any other internet retailer. The return policies for purchases made directly from this web site can be found in the support section or by clicking here.
All customers are required to read the End User License Agreement before installing any BluePrint Simulations product. By installing the scenery in your computer you agree with all the terms and conditions contained in the End User License Agreement. We do not claim or in any way guarantee that our sceneries will work properly in every computer system or that they will be compatible with any third party Microsoft® Flight Simulator add-on. BluePrint Simulations sceneries are designed to work properly within the FS2004 or FSX version of the simulator running under the Windows XP, Vista or 7 (32bit or 64bit versions) operating systems. BluePrint sceneries are designed to replace the unmodified default sceneries included with the simulator. We do not test or offer technical support for the sceneries when the area of the default scenery to be replaced has been previously modified by a third party add-on in any way including terrain elevation meshes and/or terrain texture replacements. Our sceneries are designed to support any "properly formatted" AI traffic within the well established limitations of each version of the simulator. BluePrint Simulations sceneries cannot be de-compiled, reverse engineered, modified or in any way altered without written permission from an OnDuty Support Systems LLC officer.