Introduction

Guarulhos International Airport (SBGR) is the busiest airport in Brazil, serving the city of São Paulo. With over 41.3 million passengers annually, it is not only the busiest airport in Brazil but also the second busiest in Latin America.

The airport was opened in 1985, during a time when air traffic in Brazil was ramping up. Its location was carefully chosen based on strategic considerations.

In 1967, the Brazilian government started studying the air traffic infrastructure in the country due to the growth of air traffic. After the studies were completed, it was decided to build a new airport in São Paulo. The airport was originally planned to have three runways and four terminals, but it was opened with two runways and two terminals on January 20, 1985, after almost 5 years of construction.

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As soon as it opened, the airport became the official main airport for the city. This led to a runway extension and terminal upgrade in 1989, increasing the airport’s capacity from 7.5 million to 8.25 million passengers.

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In 2001, Terminal 3 was planned, but due to economic and political factors, construction was halted until 2011. Since the number of passengers had a tremendous rise from 2009 onwards, some of the former cargo terminals were adapted for commercial traffic to alleviate overcrowding at the other terminals. The project was called Terminal 4, and Phase One opened in 2012, followed by Phase Two in 2013.

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In 2015, all the airport's terminals were renamed. The old Terminal 4 became Terminal 1, Terminal 1 and 2 became Terminal 2, as they were both part of the same building, and Terminal 3 kept its original name. The new numbering was done to facilitate arrival at the airport when approaching by road.

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In the same year, the Airbus A380 was approved to land at Guarulhos Airport, marking the airport's growth in size and capacity.

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Today, Guarulhos Airport serves numerous destinations and airlines worldwide. It is a hub for both LATAM Brasil and Gol Transportes Aéreos, with an average of 41.3 million passengers per year.

Vref Simulations has released its version of the airport, focusing on realism and detail. Their scenery includes custom terminals and jetways, PBR texturing, dynamic night lighting, detailed ground markings, and more, making their rendition of Guarulhos Airport as realistic as possible.

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Installation

Since the scenery package is only available through SimMarket or the in-sim Marketplace, installation is stress-free with a one-click install.

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First Impressions

Upon my initial start at Guarulhos Airport, I was truly impressed by the airport's sheer size and the city surrounding it. The airport itself looked good, with enough features to keep me busy.

I was surprised by the good performance, considering the airport's size. With my trustworthy Fenix loaded, the FPS was not bad at all. But we will come back to the performance later. How does this reflect on the airport's visuals and features? Are they compromised in any way?

As I always do with new scenery, I flew around the airport with the drone cam. The visuals were impressive, with terminals that looked solid and detailed. Around the airport, there were many features such as ground equipment, airport buildings, and lots of jetways. Although I have not flown much in Brazil in Microsoft Flight Simulator, this scenery sparked my interest in the South American country.

The interior of the airport was decent. Although not the most detailed, it was sufficient. The lack of interior detail is compensated by the great performance. Compared to other sceneries, the interior might not be as detailed, but it is more than enough when you are parked at the stand. After all, we are here to fly, not to admire the terminal interior.

One thing I noticed is how well the airport integrates with the surrounding scenery. There is no overlapping with Ortho, rivers, buildings, or anything else. This, combined with the one-click install, makes the airport a plug-and-play scenery. No hassle at all. This, together with the airport's massive size, makes it a great addition to Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Modeling / Texturing

The modeling and texturing are commendable. All the terminals and buildings have been treated equally, and Guarulhos Airport's recreation for Microsoft Flight Simulator is realistic and accurate, thanks to the use of PBR texturing.

The airport includes an interior that adds extra realism to it. Although not highly detailed, it includes detailed sitting areas, floors, and other small details.

The jetways at Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 have been custom-made. Once the plane is parked correctly, the jetways connect perfectly, ensuring that passengers do not fall off while boarding or deboarding.

Most areas of the airport also have ground clutter, from pushback vehicles to luggage containers, which makes the airport feel even more alive.

The airport's taxiways, ground markings, and runways are well recreated. They are both detailed and accurate, and all the taxiways will guide you to the correct spot you need to go.

‍Night lighting

Although I personally prefer flying during the day, it is possible to fly into São Paulo at night as the airport is well-lit. The night lighting brings the airport to life and the terminals, which may appear dark during the day due to the tinted windows, become visible from the outside. The airport is even more visible in its entirety during dusk.

Furthermore, the ATC tower is beautifully lit up in green, and the dynamic night lighting of the scenery makes the airport come even more alive during dusk.

Performance

For reference, my setup consists of Nvidia RTX 3070 8 GB, Intel i5-12600K, 32 GB RAM, and a 1 TB SSD.

As mentioned earlier, the overall performance has been really good. When I was in the cockpit of the Fenix A320, the performance flattened out at 50 FPS, while the drone cam came down to 40 FPS. I was really impressed with the smooth FPS, especially considering the size of the airport. This might be because the developer has chosen to drop all the non-essential details.

Conclusion

Vref Simulations always aims to make their airport as immersive and realistic at an affordable price. This is definitely reflected as the airport is retailing for $9.08. For this price, Vref Simulations really has included lots of features, representing a detailed and accurate, yet performance-friendly rendition of Guarulhos International Airport for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

A big thank you to Vref Simulations for providing us with a copy to review!