After a packed few weeks for the content team, we are pleased to announce the release of the UK Airport update to the community. I wanted to give you all a little insight into what the update is as it's not the same as any other Missionchief game. A large majority of the missions created will be POI based, so keep an eye on the requirements of any new missions.
Expansions
An airport expansion will be available in fire stations and police stations for the purchase of the following vehicles.
Vehicles
Fire
Major Foam Tender (MFT) - this is the main firefighting vehicle used at medium and large sized aerodromes
Rapid Intervention Vehicle (RIV) - a small airport firefighting vehicle used at small aerodromes
Rescue Stairs - an optional unit that is used for the largest aircraft type (Code F / Cat 10 - I will explain below) - an Aerial Appliance will fullfil the requirement if you do not wish to purchase Rescue Stairs
Airfield Firefighting Command Vehicle - typically a 4x4, this vehicle is used for medium and large airports as a point of communication for aircraft incidents - fulfills the role of an ICCU
Airfield Operations
A new division within the game; purchasable at fire stations or police stations and are required for incidents involving medium or large aircraft.
Airfield Operations Vehicle - responsible for the safety of the airfield and attends all aircraft related incidents
Airfield Operations Supervisor - oversees the airfield and is a point of escalation for Airfield Operations so will attend aircraft incidents
Police
Armed Cell Van - an Armed Response Vehicle capable of transporting a prisoner. Purchasable only with the airport expansion.
Ambulance
Medical Cycle Responder - essentially an RRV, but on two very small wheels
Medical Equipment Trailer - used at aircraft crashes, should fulfill the Mass Casualty Equipment requirement (TBC) - available at fire stations
Aircraft Incident Categories
Aircraft Accident
Essentially, the aircraft has crashed - either on airport or off airport. Could have the potential for a very large number of casualties depending on the severity and aicraft category. Some may not have so many.
Full Emergency
Emergency services on full standby as an inbound aircraft has an emergency which may pose a danger to life.
Aircraft Ground Incident
An incident that happens to an aircraft... on the ground. Essentially the emergency was declared while the aircraft was not in the air. There's a huge variety of things this could relate to.
Local Standby Ground
I'm not sure if I will use this yet or not but essentially this mobilises external services to a Rendezvous Point (RVP) as they may be required at an incident airside.
ICAO Aerodrome Reference Codes
In layman's terms, this more or less categorises aircraft by wingspan. This determines the emergency service response we have decided for missions, as well as other factors such as passenger count - so if you see this in the title of a mission, it gives you an idea to the size of the aircraft. I've given some examples of capacity and aicraft types so if you wanted to look up some photos of each one then please feel free.
Code A - <15m - typically twin engine turboprop aircraft - up to ~8 seats (Beechcraft King Air 200)
Code B - 15m to <24m - large turboprop aircraft or small jets - up to ~19 seats (de Havilland Twin Otter / Gulfstream G450)
Code C - 24m to <36m - narrowbody airliners - up to ~240 seats (A320 family / 737 family)
Code D - 36m to <52m - small widebody airliners - up to ~350 seats (767 family)
Code E - 52m to <65m - large airliners - up to ~450 seats (A350 family / 747-100 to -400)
Code F - 65m to <80m - super large airliners - up to ~600 seats (A380 and 747-8 only)
While aerodromes also have a number associated with the code, for simplicity we have omitted these and simplified it to Small / Medium / Large. This is what we will base our missions on. This can be restrictive for a number of airports, but I'm sorry there's no way round this without making the game too complicated - sometimes we have to sacrifice some realism for playability. It's a game after all. The following table outlines which of the above aircraft codes will typically be present at what types of airport.
There's a little bit of info on this link if you want to read it. You really don't need to though as I've explained it above. If you do read it, try not to overthink it too much as it may not make too much sense to someone outside of aviation - https://www.skybrary.aero/arti…-aerodrome-reference-code
Some examples of aerodrome sizes are as follows;
Small - Shoreham (Brighton City) (EGKA), Sywell (EGBK)
Medium - Southampton (EGHI), Edinburgh (EGPH)
Large - Heathrow (EGLL), Gatwick (EGKK), Manchester (EGCC)
Hopefully this post isn't too overwhelming. I've tried to keep it simple but also provide the necessary basic information so it's not all completely alien. If you're still unsure then I'm sorry I can't have explained it better in this one post. We hope this update is worth the time we've put into it but it's been very challenging juggling real life and making a pack that's realistic but playable. All feedback is welcome and I'll be doing some tests over the next few weeks to see if anything needs tweaking. It's possible that some things we asked for altered or weren't implemented for a variety of reasons.
