Melbourne Airport
“Connecting Victoria to the World for 50 Years”

Introduction

Melbourne Airport, known locally as Tullamarine Airport (or just Tulla), began servicing the Australian State of Victoria on 1 July 1970, taking over that role from the then named Melbourne Airport lying about 8 km to the south-east. The development of the airport was announced in May of 1959. Approval of the five year plan was granted on 27 November 1962 and construction got underway in 1964.

As construction progressed at Tullamarine, Melbourne Airport’s name was changed to Essendon Fields Airport with the new airport being named Melbourne International Airport. Melbourne is the main international airport of the four airports serving the Melbourne metropolitan area. The other international airport is Avalon Airport.

The need for a new airport arose when over 10,000 passengers passed through the original Melbourne airport in the mid-1950s and the inability to handle the increasing traffic resulted in the construction of an international overflow terminal in a new northern hangar. The continuing increase in the number of passengers along with the inability of the existing runways to accommodate passenger jet aircraft meant the airport would have to be enlarged. As residential districts had surrounded the airport, expansion would not be possible and sighting for a new airport got underway.

Melbourne Airport has released figures showing 5,981,117 international passengers and 12,356,848 domestic passengers passing through the airport during their 2024/25 fiscal year which is a 3.5% growth over the previous year. The airport has announced a plan to increase the size of the international terminal and another, that has been approved, to add a third runway that is targeted for completion by 2031. (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

Installation and Documentation

The Orbx rendition of Melbourne Airport is available for $22.95 AUD or equivalent to other curencies. The purchase and download of the scenery package is accomplished in a straightforward manner through the Orbx Central application.

Following the completion of your purchase, the install button will appear and clicking that initiates the download of the product. The only user intervention in the installation occurs here where you have to choose between a direct install into the Custom Scenery folder or a Library install that places the files into a designated folder outside of the X-Plane folder and creates all the links in the Custom Scenery folder for you. Once you make your selection, the download and installation commences.

Once the installation is completed, you will need to complete one other task. The scenery package requires the SAM plugin but that plugin no longer works under the latest releases of XP 12 and is no longer under active development. A streamlined SAM replacement, called openSam is available here.

Whether you choose SAM or openSam, you will need to make sure the corresponding library folder is installed in your custom scenery folder. You will not get an error message if you do not use the plug-in but you will get the dreaded “scenery may not look correct” error if you do not use one of the library folders from the plug-ins.

Once you have decided which plugin you are using, you need to configure the scenery package accordingly. This is accomplished by using the configure option in OrbxCentral to make your choice.

Overview

Melbourne Airport occupies 13,000 acres of what used to be grassland in what was a rural Tullamarine when the land was obtained by the Commonwealth Government in 1959. Now, adjacent to the suburb of Tullamarine, the airport has its own suburb and postcode. On 30 June 1997, the airport was privatized with operations transferring to Australia Pacific Airports Corporation Limited. It is classified as a Leased Airport with the group having a fifty-year lease with an option to renew for another forty-nine.

The airport has four terminals that have seen several expansion projects since their original construction. The current terminal numbering system came into service in July, 2005. As of this review, T1 is home to Qantas and QantasLink, T2 is the International terminal, T3 is home to Virgin Australia after being bought by the Melbourne Airport from Ansett after it folded, and T4 is shared by Airnorth, Rex Airlines, and Jetstar. Altogether, the terminals feature 68 gates: 15 International gates and 53 domestic gates.

Melbourne Airport also has a Southern Freighter Apron with five dedicated parking positions, is home to the Melbourne Centre air traffic control facility that covers Australia’s busiest information region, and is home to the approach facilities serving the Canberra, Adelaide, and Melbourne airports. (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

ORBX features
Orbx describes the scenery with a focus on several key features. These include:

– High Resolution 5cm/pixel updated imagery
– Updated airport layout with 2024 data
– SAM and Open SAM custom animated jetways animations and VDGS.
– Dynamic Lighting
– Animated 3D vegetation
– Detailed terminal interiors in all main terminals and control tower
– AI Traffic compatible
– Custom Ground Polygons with highly detailed markings
– Complete and detailed land-side area coverage

Let’s see how well the product lives up to these claims.

Melbourne Airport (YMML) Airport Side

Runways
Runway 16/34 is the longer of the two at YMML. According to the published charts, it is 11,998 feet in length. The chart indicates that runway 16 is at a 432 foot elevation and 34 is at a 330 foot elevation. My altimeter registered 440 ft. on the thresholds of both runways indicating Orbx has chosen to flatten the runway. It is this runway that the new third runway will run parallel to.

Runway 9/27 is 7800 feet long. Runway 9 is listed with an elevation of 395 feet at the threshold while the threshold for 27 is at 407 feet. Here, again, both measured at 440 ft. by my altimeter.

Runways 16 and 27 are configured with approach lighting. That lighting, as well as all the edge, center line, threshold, PAPI, and taxiway lighting appear accurately placed, correctly hued, and useful. Painted markings are also very clear and accurate for airport navigation except where obscured by accumulated layers of rubber as one would expect.

Navigation signage is rendered clearly. Runway textures are varied and include asphalt and concrete. Both textures are well represented and nicely detailed and both respond to changing light conditions as they should. What doesn’t change as one would expect is the surface conditions. The runways, taxiways, and aprons do not reflect the surface wetness conditions specified in the weather options with one exception: the single helipad at the airport. This is an unfortunate omission on the part of the developers since this immersive visual is one that users wanted and that X-Plane delivered.

Aprons
Melbourne’s sixty eight gates are arranged on six piers labeled B through G. There are also many non-gated parking areas on the aprons surrounding the piers plus the parking area on the southern freight apron. Orbx has modeled all of this accurately and with detail as we shall see.

The aprons are rendered to appear as concrete blocks with varying dirt marks found here and there. This is in keeping with the actual composition found at the real airport. The only difference is that the modeled version has no repaired areas and is evenly colored. Painted gate routes, numbers, ground vehicle lanes, equipment stalls, and all other markings are correctly presented and look like maintenance just finished repainting them. The clear markings are certainly a plus for the virtual airline pilot but it would be nice if some showed some wear here and there. As with the runways, the aprons do not visually reflect surface wetness conditions.

Terminals and Gates
The terminal and pier work is outstanding and lives up to the expectations Orbx has set by its previous work. Melbourne has a fairly complex terminal structure that is the result of multiple modifications, expansions, and even the addition of a completely new terminal since its opening.

Terminal 1 saw a second pier added in 1991.

]Terminal 2 saw the SkyPlaza retail complex open in 1993. The diamond-shaped three-level satellite concourse with its ten airbridges was added to the end of the existing international concourse in 1995. At the same time, a 66 foot extension that included penthouse airline lounges was added and gates 9 and 11 were reconfigured with dual airbridges to support simultaneous access to both levels of the Airbus A380.

Regrettably, the A380 is a failed project and in 2025 there will be only two A380 routes involving Melbourne; one by Qantas and one by Emirates. In 2006, a level of airline lounges was added above the terminal in a 54,000 sq. ft. expansion project. The last modification of Terminal 2 occurred in 2011 with 5 airbridges, a new passenger concourse and an outbound passenger security and customs processing zone being included in that 270,000 sq. ft. addition.

Terminal 3 was expanded in 1999 to add a second pier with nine additional aircraft stands.

Terminal 4, the new Domestic Express Terminal, opened in 2000. Dedicated to budget airlines, it was the first such facility at a conventional airport in Australia. It appears that the second pier that was added to terminal 3 has now been assigned to terminal 4. One of the chief complaints about Terminal 4 is the nearly 2 km walk from drop off to gate if you are departing from gates 46 – 52. Once you’ve completed that walk, you’ll need to climb several steps since none of the T4 gates have jetways.

The tremendous number of materials, surface textures, and details that had to be accounted for in this model are notable even from a distance and that’s only considering the terminal buildings and piers and not the additional airside buildings or the surrounding landside structures. These surfaces are rendered convincingly and flow from one structure to another as needed. Where different surfaces abut, the joins are seamless. Textures respond to changing light conditions as one would expect and the night lighting of the buildings is admirable and effective.

Lastly, with regards to the terminal buildings and jetways, there is no lack of detail to be found here from the top of the roofs to the areas under the raised sections of the buildings. The developers have also provided us with a nice motley assortment of gate and loading area clutter.

Additionally, Orbx did spend a bit of effort to generate interiors in many areas of the terminals as advertised.

Airport Operations
As a helicopter and GA pilot, I personally have little use for ground service but I know it is an important consideration when piloting airliners. When I pulled out the default 737 to test the jetways and VDGS system, I called for a pushback and was told this service was not available. I am not sure of the reason for this but it does seem like an oversight to not have this. There is also a noticeable absence of animated apron traffic that leaves the airport feeling a little dead.

The jetways are interactive if you have installed either SAM or openSam. I tested the gates with openSam and found them to work but you probably don’t want to have it connect to door 2. The jetways are equipped with alert lights and sounds that activate while they are moving. The VGDS operates as expected.

AI Aircraft
Orbx states that YMML is compatible with AI traffic and this is an accurate statement for both X-Plane’s built in AI aircraft as well as with at least one third party add on that I was able to test. Given the noted lack of movement around this large airport, you may want to have X-Plane at least draw parked aircraft if you are using this package. The airport comes alive if you do add a third party AI traffic generator.

The only small complaint is that the parking places do not restrict certain types of aircraft so a GA plane can end up at an A380 gate while an A380 is parked at a hangar blocking the road because it is too big for the spot.

Other Airside Buildings
Beyond the terminal, Orbx has modeled the Qantas and Menzies Aviation freight terminals off the southern freight apron. At the other side of the airport is the Airservices Australia building, the Hot Fire Training Ground, the Melbourne Airport Control Tower facility and environs, and the Fire Station. These structures are rendered true to life and again demonstrate the talent and skill that Orbx brings to creating models for the flight sim world.

As advertised, the interiors of both towers have been modeled. The new tower is equipped with ATC computers (perhaps in need of IT department intervention!) and chairs while the old tower has a suitable appearance for an abandoned space. If you’re in the mood for a laugh, take the time to check out the title of the book that is prevalent in the new tower space.

At the south end of the airport is a collection of hangars accessible via taxiways from the runways and main aprons. In this area are the Jetstar and Qantas Maintenance facilities, the Virgin Australia Training Centre and Engineering facilities, the Melbourne Jet Base FBO. Dnata, and Dnata Catering.

The architecture in this area is quite varied and Orbx has captured the nuance of each building right down to the signage upon each building. There is nothing shoddy about the effort that went into the models of these buildings and the level of detail makes this an impressive area of the scenery package.

Melbourne Airport (YMML) Landside

The Orbx product description statements we are concerned with in this section include the high resolution 5cm/pixel updated imagery and the complete and detailed landside area coverage.

A comparison of the X-Plane gateway YMML with the Orbx rendition proves both statements to be accurate. Orbx has reproduced a fairly large area with the use of custom modeled buildings and autogen. The imagery is very obvious within the major auto roads surrounding the airport along with an additional small area beyond the landside hangars at the south end of the airport. A close look also shows where Orbx has done some custom vegetation work.

Now we can move in for a closer look at the landside of the terminal buildings and some of the custom models in the area. The first thing that we can see, even at a decent altitude above the area, is that the effort to bring in a significant amount of detail continues here. Much care has been placed into creating the landside of the terminal structures, no less than for the airside of the buildings. There is a judicious use of logos, signs, and architectural details, and the use of the ground imagery for the roads ties it all together.

Beyond the terminal buildings, Orbx has reproduced the extensive parking areas using imagery for the ground and adding a sufficient amount of vehicles lined up in parking spaces to convey the sense that this is a busy airport.Other areas where imagery brings realism to the scene is the roadways and markings running in front of the terminal buildings. Orbx has modeled some roads so as to introduce autogen traffic into the airport environs. Across the road is the immense Park Royal hotel and mulit-level Terminal 1,2,3 car park. It is incredibly well represented with convincing details and texture work.

Further down the road, just to prove nothing is ever perfect, is the Terminal 4 multi-level car park. It is well modeled, but it does appear to have a couple of structural issues. Those would be two missing bridge roads from the garage to the surface.
Beyond that, Orbx has provided us with a number of remarkable custom buildings that fill in the airport area.

These include a couple of hotels, what appears to be a school or daycare building inclusive of playground equipment, a Mercedes dealership, and other intriguing structures that are such because of Orbx’s dedication to detail and accurate modeling.

Summary

At the start of this review, we listed what Orbx presented as highlight points for this scenery package. Let’s revisit this list as a summary of what we have seen.

High Resolution 5cm/pixel updated imagery – this is very clearly included in the package and has been creatively utilized to enhance the impact of the scenery. The drawback is that it does not reflect season changes as the vegetation does.

Updated airport layout with 2024 data – from an external point of view, all the latest additions and changes to the terminal buildings are present as well as changes made to the runway lighting.

SAM and Open SAM custom animated jetways animations and VDGS – these are present and they do work when tested with openSam. (SAM was not tested in this review.) As we saw, there is a bit of an artistic issue with the jetways but it does not effect functionality. You do not have to load the plug-in but, if you do not have either the SAM or openSam library in your custom scenery folder, you will get the “problem loading scenery” notice.

Dynamic Lighting – The only thing I noted with reference to lighting is the intensity of it seems to alter given the time of day such that it is not as bright in appearance at sunrise / sunset as it is at the height of darkness. This is no different than what I experienced with the gateway version of YMML so this feature is not what I would consider a value-add item.

Animated 3D vegetation – this was not specifically covered in the review proper, but the vegetation is 3D to blend with the rest of the X-Plane 12 universe and it does change with the seasons.

Detailed terminal interiors in all main terminals and control tower – This, as we have seen, lives up to its billing. It is useful for when you are close to a terminal during daytime when light gets in through the glass to illuminate the interior but, unfortunately, night time lighting obfuscates the interiors.

AI Traffic compatible – this does bear up under testing and I would consider AI traffic as almost a necessity for this airport since it is otherwise devoid of activity.

Custom Ground Polygons with highly detailed markings – we certainly saw this feature as we visited the various aprons at the airport.

Complete and detailed landside area coverage – Orbx clearly fulfilled this expectation in grand style.

As good as the airport scenery is, we always would like to see some additions. There are a few modeling misses that have a minimal impact on pilots hovering over particular buildings at a low altitude but would, otherwise, never be noticed and the lack of visual cues for surface weather conditions is disappointing in a model of this quality.

There are two small issues I would like to bring to your attention. Airliner pilots need to be aware of the absence of ground service including pushback tugs. This, especially the pushback tug, is problematic given that self-powered pushbacks are generally not allowed at gates. I have not tried Better Pushback but it sounds like it might be a suitable fix for this problem.

The second item is the absence of automated airport vehicles moving about the area engaging in their tasks as the day goes on. One item of note that the buyer should be aware of is that Melbourne Airport is not compatible with the X-WORLD Australia-Oceania scenery by SimHeaven.

So, where does that leave us?
I think it is safe to say that the Orbx rendition of YMML – Melbourne Airport is a noteworthy addition to the virtual world of X-Plane but perhaps not as straightforwardly as Orbx Brisbane where Brisbane does reflect weather, has service vehicles, and includes pushback services without the need of an add on.

Visually, it is, hands down, a must add on if your flight destinations include Australia. This is a no-brainer scenery add on for the low altitude rotorcraft pilot and the GA pilot that does not require pushback services. This can be a “must have” airport for airline pilots if they are willing to go the route of installing a plug-in for pushback services or utilize self-powered pushbacks from the gates. In all cases, the use of AI aircraft is highly recommended since Melbourne is the second busiest airport in Australia and it needs to feel that way.

When, after reading this review, you feel that it is a must have for you, then check-out the dedicated Orbx X-Plane 12 YMML store page.

Until next time, cheers!

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 Orbx X-Plane 12 Melbourne Airport (YMML)
Publisher | Developer:	Orbx | Orbx
Description:	Highly realistic representation of Melbourne International Airport YMML
Software Source / Size:	Download / Approximately 6,84GB (download)
Reviewed by:	Paul Beckwith
Published:	February 13th 2025
Hardware specifications:	- i9-13980HX - 32 GB DDR5 4800MHz RAM - Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 12 GB GDDR6X - X-56 Flight System - Logitech G Rudder Pedals
Software specifications:	- Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.1.3 r2 (64 Bit)