Globall Art – Vancouver International (CYVR)

Introduction

On July 22, 1931, the Vancouver Civic Airport and Sea Plane Harbour was officially opened on Sea Island, Richmond, British Columbia. Commercial air transportation service commenced in 1934. The airport featured a single runway with a control tower, two hangars, a small wooden administrative building, and a floatplane harbor. Today, it is the second busiest airport by passenger traffic in Canada being surpassed only by Toronto Pearson Airport.

It is also one of the few International Airports to have a fully operational seaplane / floatplane terminal. The Harbour Air Seaplane Terminal and Seair Seaplanes are situated near the south airport terminal and serve as hubs for seaplane services that connect Vancouver with various destinations, including islands and remote areas within British Columbia.

Flying history in British Columbia began on March 25, 1910 when Charles K. Hamilton flew over Lulu Island in his Curtiss pusher biplane—using Minoru Park Racetrack as his aerodrome where 3500 spectators witnessed the first airplane flight west of Winipeg. As part of his exhibition, he competed with the racehorse Prince Brutus. The horse was given a 3/8 mile handicap and posted before Hamilton. Aircraft demonstrations and history continued to be made at Minoru Park.

A small hangar was built at the park around 1919 and at least five aircraft were based there. The Aero Club of British Columbia, organized a training school at Minoru but moved to Milligan Farm at Terra Nova on the northwest corner of Lulu Island.

The impetus for a larger and purpose built airport came in 1927 when Charles Lindbergh refused to land at Vancouver during his North American tour because “there was no field fit to land on.” In 1928, the city of Vancouver leased land north of Lansdowne Park Racetrack and the second licensed British Columbia airport opened as Lansdowne Field in May, 1929. It was generally referred to as the Vancouver Airport on Landsdowne Field. During its temporary operation, it became the hub of aviation in the Lower Mainland. Aviation activity ceased at Lansdowne when the Vancouver Civic Airport opened on Sea Island in 1931.

The new airport soon fell under the authority of the Federal Government when WWII broke out. It was named RCAF Station Sea Island and was a defense zone base for the Royal Canadian Air Force. While under Federal control, adjacent land was purchased for airport expansion and a flurry of construction activity got underway. Control of the airport was returned to Vancouver in 1947. The airport name was changed to Vancouver International Airport in 1948.

A fire destroyed the original facility and a new terminal was opened in 1950. Expansion work continued throughout the 1950s and the hangar now knows as BCIT Hangar, Building T-131 became the first jet-era aircraft hangar at the airport. The building is still in existence and is a federal heritage building. The airport continued to expand throughout the years until It had expropriated all the farms and residential areas on Sea Island with the exception of Burkeville which remains the only residential area on Sea Island.

Other than Burkeville, the British Columbia Institute of Technology Aerospace campus and the Sea Island Conservation Area are the only significant non-airport features that remain on Sea Island.

Installation and Documentation

Globall Art’s CYVR package is available from <a href=”https://www.aerosoft.com/en/shop/flight/x-plane/x-plane-12/sceneries/4703/globall-art-cyvr-vancouver-international-airport-xp12″ target=”_blank”>Aerosoft through their Aerosoft One software, which will handle the installation for you—placing it in your custom scenery folder or in the Aerosoft One library folder. You make the choice at installation. You can also download the package for manual installation from simMarket or the X-Plane.org Store.

The package installation creates two folders: CA-CYVR-A-Vancouver Intl Airport and CA-CYVR-B-Mesh. There is no documentation for this airport scenery included in the package when installed via Aerosoft One and I am unable to verify if such exists from the other two sources mentioned. There is a manual available through the “Manuals” button in Aerosoft One.

The installation also sets up the Ground Traffic plugin inside the airport folder. There is also support for SAM 3 which continues to be reported as not working under XP12. OpenSAM is the alternative and that will be tested with this package if possible.

The Airport

The Tarmac – Runways, Taxiways, and Aprons
Vancouver International Airport has three asphalt-concrete runways and a web of taxiways connecting them. The designated runways are 08R/26L at 12,188 feet, 08L/26R at 9941 feet, and 13/31 at 7300 feet. Within the scenery package, those lengths translate to 12,156 feet, 9911 feet, and 7304 feet, respectively. Headings in use are 84° / 264° for the longer runways and 126° / 306° for 13/31. These numbers vary slightly from the latest chart information.

The two major runways feature category II/III approach lighting systems at both ends while 13/31 has omni-directional approach lighting at either end. All runways are equipped with PAPI lighting for aircraft with an eye to wheel height of up to 45 feet. Doing a survey of the modeled lighting shows all the approach lighting is present but during the daylight hours, the approach lighting on 08 is not as visible as it is on 26. 08 is a water approach while 26 is a land approach so maybe that has some effect on the lighting.

Surface treatments are excellent. The concrete and asphalt texture details are realistic and hold that realism at low levels before becoming slightly blurry right at ground level. The textures are used in both continuous stretches and in patchwork applications which is reflective of the actual condition of the runways at CYVR. Painted markings are clear, sharp, and appear to emulate their real-world counterparts. Every texture used for the depiction of the runway appropriately responds to changing weather conditions.

The myriad taxiways are all modeled and demonstrate the same use of texture as the runways. The taxiways nicely align with, and join, the runways and each other without gaps. Texture joins in some cases are not visually appealing and paint markings are misaligned in some locations. The paint markings are clear and offer accurate guidance for navigating around the airport. The virtual pilot should not have too much of a problem finding their way around providing they can remember the likely complex instructions they will get from ground control.

The primary air traffic aprons are Apron VI surrounding the Main Terminal and Apron I at the South Terminal. Aprons II, IV, and VIII are used for cargo operations. Apron IV and V are used for aircraft parking and cargo operations. Aprons VII and IX are private cargo aprons. FedEx and Purolator each have their own apron.

Aprons I and VI are expansive areas that continue the texture and paint work that is featured on the runways and taxiways. Given the larger area, it is not surprising that the surfaces would be worn and patched and the developers have reflected that reality quite well. The painted markings cross blemish-free from one texture to another and do not lose their alignment.

Parking notations at the gates are clear and legible. The amount of objects scattered around the aprons appears to be appropriate for an airport of this size and the ground traffic is sufficient to keep the airport from feeling underutilized or, worse, abandoned.

Intro Terminals
Vancouver Airport is essentially divided into three sections. The Main Terminal area is at the north, to the east and south of that are hangar and cargo operations including Cargo Village that has over a million square feet of warehouse and building space, and to the south of runway 08R/26L is Airport South.

Main Terminal
The main terminal opened north of the primary runway on September 10, 1968. It was to handle domestic and international flights. The four level structure was designed to handle millions of passengers and included boarding bridges that were considered and advanced feature at that time. In the 1970s, a United States border preclearance facility was added. The building went through continued major renovations in the early to mid 90s, Domestic facilities were renovated in 2005, the Domestic A-B Connector was opened in 2015, and Pier D saw expansion work done from 2017to 2022.

The main terminal has five piers and the Fairmont Vancouver Airport In-Terminal Hotel in a rather complex, four level structure. Domestic flights are accommodated by Piers A, B, and C. Pier A houses gates A6-A12, Pier B has gates B13-B27, and Pier C has gates C29-C52 for a total of 45 gates to handle domestic aircraft.

International flights are handled by Pier D with 31 gates: D48-D78. Some of these gates are remote-stand gates. Pier E handles the U.S. Transborder Gates. These gates are E71-E88 and E90-E96.

The representation of the terminal in the scenery package is a detailed and professionally modeled structure. The terminal is very sectional and each section has varying textures and finishes that all need to align from one segment to the next. There are also plenty of segments that have entirely different surfaces that are connected and those connections are also cleanly made.

The developers have harmoniously blended each independent module with joins that are seamless and alignments that are true. The glass textures change from daylight versions to night versions and possess a realistic reflective property. The non-glass textures have been properly modeled to react to the changing ambient light.

For the roof, the developers opted to use a photographic texture which can be risky. In this case, it has been applied with skill and the myriad roof accoutrements have been carefully aligned with the texture so the embarrassments that can surface when using a photographic texture are avoided.

The gates for each pier are detailed and convey a sense of realism when taxiing in to deplane passengers. Hardstands are found for both domestic flights and U.S transborder flights near their respective piers. The hardstands for the Transborder travelers occupy a fairly extensive area just to the east of Pier E.

It seems like they are provided with a paucity of equipment until a comparison with a view of the area from Google Earth confirms that the level of equipment at these stands can vary greatly. Two details that are missing that seems like they should be present include animated buses since these remote gates are serviced by them and, since the SAM items are in use, marshallers.

CYVR does use the SAM plugin. The plugin’s use allows the terminal to feature operational gates and a functioning visual docking guidance system (VGDS). Developers continue to use this plugin despite it’s being well documented that the plugin is no longer under development and is incompatible with X-Plane 12. Having gates operated by the plugin disallows gates that can be operated by the gate operations Laminar has built into X-Plane.

The only undocumented option available for pilots that want functioning gates and VGDS is to use the openSAM plugin (available here: openSAM ). Operation of the gates and VGDS have been tested and confirmed to work with the plugin. The VGDS at Gate 15 is inside the wall of the terminal so you may want to avoid that gate.

The Tower
The air traffic control tower was built in 1996 as part of the modernization of the air traffic control facilities at the airport. It stands about nineteen stories high which makes it the second-tallest control tower in Canada. It’s design includes features to make it resistant to significant earthquake activity.

In keeping with the rest of the Main Terminal, the structure is well modeled and texture and surface treatments are accurately rendered with properties that interact with the ambient light or, in the case of the glass surfaces, interact and reflect that light.

The interior of the tower is the only interior portion of any building that has been modeled and it is one of the best tower interiors I have ever seen. It is detailed with realistic looking work areas with screens displaying content from an X-Plane related package that seems almost relevant.

Air Canada
The other dominant feature in the Main Terminal section of the airport is the Air Canada maintenance and operations facility. The building was constructed in the early 1970s by then named Trans-Canada Airlines. Other than this building, the area features parking and lots of it.

The building is again modeled with appropriate materials and detail with the exception of the missing door at the front entrance to the building. The roof is, once again, rendered using photographic textures but the detail is not flushed out as well as it is on the Main Terminal roof.

Across the street from the main entrance is a cluster of buildings that holds the CAE Inc. Vancouver Training Centre. These buildings are accurately rendered and are also an example of how using photographic roof textures can have a less than desirable effect. Other structures of note here include the MTU Maintenance facility and the Sea Island Centre train station. Care has been taken to reproduce each structure as close to the real one as possible with attention paid to module placement, extruded shapes, and, of course, texture design and material properties.

Airport South
South of runway 08R/26L is a large area that runs along the banks of the Fraser River that is now referred to as Airport South. Airport South was the Vancouver Civic Airport that opened in 1931 and functioned as the center of aircraft operations until the Main Terminal was opened in 1968. Airport South is now the center of operations for regional and charter flights as well as general aviation, helicopter and floatplane operations.

South Terminal
The current South Terminal is what remains of the new terminal building that was built and opened in 1950 after a fire on February 20, 1949 completely destroyed the original terminal, administration building, and tower.

As the airport continued to build, renovate, and evolve, the existing control tower and boarding areas to the left of the building were demolished. In their place is room for airport vehicle parking and an observation platform. (I was able to find one photo at airporthistory.org that is dated circa 1966 and shows Airport South prior to the construction of the Main Terminal.)

The developers have done a fine job of recreating what remains of the 1950 South Terminal and its vicinity. The terminal building itself is a mixture of stone facing, glass, and girder construction. As with every other structural representation, the use of texture and material properties is applied in a realistic fashion to provide a convincing vision of the building. The roof texture is again photographic with correctly placed fixtures. The observation platform has been recreated but apparently the noise was enough to scare some folks right out of their clothing!

Scattered about Airport South are several other buildings supporting regional and general aviation activities as well as other endeavors. Stroll about the area and you will see detail after detail and examples of skillful 3D modeling. The engine testing facility has been modeled across the apron from the terminal. It is here that the Federal Heritage BCIT hangar, building T131, is located and modeled. The structure of the building is accurate but the green roof is an artistic interpretation. Other buildings exhibiting advanced modeling skills are the Vector Aerospace facility and the Landmark Aviation building.

Heliport and Seaport

Helijet and Others
While Helijet does operate a Heliport at the easternmost part of Airport South, the rotary craft pilot will not have a hard time finding a pad to land on around the Landmark Aviation complex either. If you do not want to fly for Helijet and you’d rather land at a high end FBO, you’ll find two pads on the Million Air apron. Of course, Vancouver Harbor is not far away and can make for a quick ferry flight if that’s all you have time for.

When you land at any one of these areas (except Vancouver Harbor), you will not be disappointed at the sense of reality that surrounds you since each area has plenty of skillful modeling and a lot of detail to immerse yourself in.

CAM9 – Vancouver International Seaplane Base

Vancouver International Airport is one of the very few airports that has, within its facilities a fully operational floatplane / seaplane base and terminal. CAM9 is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency. Ownership and overall management of the base rests with the Vancouver International Airport Authority. Harbour Air and Seair have contractual arrangements with the Authority to manage their operations from two docks at the base.

What is very disappointing in this very detailed model of Vancouver airport is the lack of a water based start point at CAM9. This is a major miss on the part of the developers especially when the inferior gateway scenery includes one. What adds to the problem is the developers have a start point on the land side aprons for amphibian pilots but that start point does not allow access to the water ramp—forcing the amphibious aircraft to taxi to runways at CYVR for takeoff.

For the floatplane pilot that wants to land here and taxi up to the very inviting docks and terminals, be aware that docking will not be easy since the docks do not have the hardness attribute set so you will go right through them.

That aside, the area features the same level of modeling as the rest of the airport with some nice use of photographic textures for the Harbour Air and Seair buildings that results in accurate signage and building identification. Roof photo textures are utilized here without fault. The one modeling letdown in the CAM9 area is the somewhat careless use of static aircraft with straight floats on the apron and amphibous aircraft on the water.

With a few tweaks, the developer could easily make this one of the few fully rendered and fully functional seaplane bases available for X-Plane.

Cargo Village
Cargo Village is Vancouver International’s air cargo area that covers more than a million square feet with cargo buildings and warehouses. It is home to air carriers such as Air Canada with their massive, can’t miss it facility. DHL and FedEx have very prominent facilities within this area as well. There are also other air carriers, freight forwarders, customs brokers, truckers, and couriers within the Village.

As far as modeling and presenting the Village in this scenery package, the developers have created an outstanding version of this complex area. The number of individual objects that have been placed is beyond counting. There are vehicles upon vehicles, trailers upon trailers, and a wide variety of cargo moving equipment. The level of detail is exemplary. Needless to say, all of the building attributes that have been previously noted elsewhere apply in full force in the multitude of structures reproduced in this area. It is a supportive area for the airport that has little to do with aircraft movement but the model would have suffered greatly were the Village not rendered as it has been.

Miscellaneous Items Worth a Mention

There are a few things that don’t fit into the major divisions of the airport that are included in the Globall Arts rendition of CYVR.

The first item of note is the inclusion of the Ground Traffic plugin. This plugin loads with the airport and you will see it listed as active in the plugin admin and having a miniscule fps cost. It appears that the plugin is responsible for a few pieces of construction equipment found mainly to the north of the runways. If the presence of the plugin is an issue, it can be removed from the scenery folder and it will not generate an error when the airport is loaded.

The next thing on the list is other buildings and structures that are not part of the airport but add greatly to the scenery. Take a “walk” in front of the terminal and notice the traffic directional signs with their blinking lights. Travel to the east end of Sea Island and you’ll see the BCIT Aerospace campus and the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet along with other custom model buildings.

Now travel west from the Outlet along the Fraser River and you’ll find the fuel depot with detailed tanks and supporting structures. A short distance to the northwest from there is the McDonald Beach Park which merits a custom modeled, albeit simple, structure and the nearby radio tower and building are also included.

The last item for this section is the satellite imagery that has been utilized. The entirety of Sea Island has been rendered with this imagery to excellent effect. Of course, the use of imagery for the ground comes with the usual caveat that it is not responsive to season changes.

It will be covered with snow by the simulator if that is the current weather but the colors and “baked in” trees will not change. Foliage in use around the scenery does reflect the current season.

Summary

Globall Art’s rendition of Vancouver International Airport is an ambitious, extensive, and successful presentation of the complex Sea Island aerodrome and surrounding area. The models are detailed and complex with very few minuscule flaws mostly having to do with roofing. The use of satellite imagery is exemplary in the way the developers have used it to fill in the background while augmenting it with models. This is best seen in the extensive parking areas where enough 3D vehicles are placed to give the area depth and the remaining area is filled in with the flat images of parked vehicles. This type of approach is seen throughout the entire project.

One area diverges from the propensity to excellence otherwise seen in the scenery package and that, as we have seen, is CAM9—the Vancouver International Seaplane Base. It is hoped that the developer might revisit the seaplane base in order to make it usable for floatplane / seaplane aficionados by adding a docked start point at each terminal and opening the gate for access to the water via the apron for amphibious pilots. If your goal is to fly in and out of CAM9, you would be better with the gateway scenery for now since the docks are solid and the base is a live start point.

One final observation is that drawing parked aircraft is almost a must to give this airport a sense of life and completion. Beyond that, the airport taxiway routes and runway parameters are very accurately set which makes it very usable for AI traffic. CYVR is a busy airport and if you can use Traffic Global (recommended) or another AI aircraft generator, this airport really comes alive.

Aside from CAM9, Vancouver International Airport is a superb model and is definitely worth a look if you frequent the Pacific Northwest.

You can buy Globall Art Vancouver International Airport from X-Plane.Org, Aerosoft or SimMarket.
Until next time, cheers and blue skies!

Feel free to contact me if you’ve got additional questions related to this impression. You can reach me via email Angelique.van.Campen@gmail.com or to Angelique@X-Plained.com.

With Greetings,
Paul Beckwith

 

 

Add-on:	Payware Globall Art Vancouver X-Plane 12
Publisher | Developer:	Aerosoft / simMarket / X-Plane.Org | Globall Art
Description:	Highly realistic representation of the International Airport of Vancouver
Software Source / Size:	Download / Approximately 5.04GB (unzipped)
Reviewed by:	Paul Beckwith
Published:	January 16th 2026
Hardware specifications:	- Ryzen 99000X3D - 32 GB DDR5 4800MHz RAM - Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB GDDR6X - Turtle Beach Velocity One Flightdeck - Logitech G Rudder Pedals
Software specifications:	- Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.x (64 Bit)