About
Surprise!!! I'm sure you've seen a lot on my Youtube video channel where i've flown all my park flyer size R/C plane models in the middle of this barren empty looking shop lot...do you want to 
be here to join me flying? Yes! you can!, finally everyone can enjoy flying at my site without being there. Just download, install and whamm!!..off you go flying on the screen and feel in my shoes being there.....if you still have that PHOENIX R/C simulator on your computer. It was about time for me to create a virtual flying site where i could just fly on the screen when i'm too lazy to drive over there especially when it started to rain. That's solve my problem with my flying addiction, lol! Plus since most of our local R/C flying member still wondering around looking for a place to fly this virtual site will give them an opportunity to test the place out before actually go there to fly or just being to lazy to go out.....of course at the time of writing its summer like weather around here, very hot day!. FYI, we just lost our club flying field due take over by land developer.....psssttt!!.. that's why you don't see us playing on big old runways like we used to 5 years back. So here i present you one of the few flying site that we used to frequent at. Not a perfect site for everyone but just ok for a 'park flyer' size R/C planes.
The build
The area photo shots taken in the afternoon which explained the direction of the sun behind R/C pilot back. Early season of the year is quite windy, dry yet cloudy which explained from the generated scenery. Fortunately the weather is perfect for me and i love those blue skies in the background which makes it a perfect scene for 
my virtual flying site in Phoenix R/C simulator. I took multiple set photos of the area during my flying activities. Photos taken manually by hand on my HUAWEI Y9 camera on 13MP with f/2.8 run as default setup with white balance (AWB) locked. The photo size aspect ratio is at 4:3 which give a good size coverage for composite panorama stitching. Took multiple shot of photos with 4160x3120 pixel resolution Jpeg photos in full 360 direction. Then using Microsoft Image Composite Editor to stitch the photos automatically into full 360 sphere panorama at 22528x8483 pixel in PNG format. Then i have to manually resample the size to 2:1 ratio (where width is size is twice the height) before turning into cube map layout via 'Panorama to Cubemap' online generator tools (here). On cube map tiled layout any imperfection on the generated scenery will be compared against the original photographs, any mismatched or imperfection will be edited manually by hand through Photopaint program which actually took me 8 hours to fix imperfection 'patchy' looking stitches. Once completed the real full 360 panoramic VR with multiple cube mapped photos will be assembled manually inside the PHOENIX BUILDER tools rendered in 'box' where its then will be layout with solid base foundation, object collision, lightings, weather elements and other items required to make the flying site more realistic to fly.
Tools used to create these custom site:
- Photography tool: HUAWEI Y9 (2019) camera with 13MP, f/1.8
- Site builder tool: Phoenix Builder
- Sphere 360 panorama compiler: Microsoft Image Composite Editor
- Cubemap tool: https://jaxry.github.io/panorama-to-cubemap/
- Photo editing program: Corel Photopaint
Actual real life flying site:
VR panoramic construction:
Virtual flying site in Phoenix R/C simulator:
Flying site characteristic
The site is actually a newly constructed commercial shop lot revolves around perfectly square'ish shaped area with big empty space in the middle. Shop lot just recently occupied with a new supermarket, 2x cafes and few parcel delivery services running inside the building. The area are still young and new located far away from dense residential area. Not many people knew this area a part from some handful of jogger, family cyclist, R/C hobbyist and other small recreationalist that drove far to reach here taking advantage over the vacant empty space for recreational purposes before the area populated with commercial activity in next coming years. Which is why you see many of my R/C flying and driving activities take places here....enjoy before its start to get crowded.
Flying site specification:
- Area type: New unpopulated urban
- Field size: Approximately 252m x 205m
- Safe take-off & landing runway length: 100m
- Hazards & obstacles: Buildings, narrow lanes and light poles.
- Flight skills required: Advance
The wind condition at this
place is quite rough during windy season because the area located behind the hills and mostly comes as cross wind which make it challenging to take-off and land. The area suited for park flyer size electric R/C planes with recommended maximum size of 1100mm down to 600mm wingspan. Effective flying range in horizontal space is approximately 252m x 205m good enough for park flyer model that have agile handling but not ideal for scale flying that need much longer space to turn and cruise about. Even flying fast EDF, fast wings or even fun jets can be quite challenging as it can cover few seconds distance before closing in nearby buildings or forests. As for me this is a great place to perform close ground proximity fly by, aerobatics, F3A/F3P stunts, 3D or anything than involves tight turns in confined spaces which is why my tractor planes such
as Pitts Special bi-plane and YAK 54 shines at this places.
The effective runway size usable for take-off and landing before it hit the 'wall' is 100m especially small EDF jet plane. Runway is actually a perfectly flat tarmac road with parking lanes on each sides which makes it easy to disembarked plane models from our transportation and just take-off and land in an instant. Along the runway are few light poles which facing behind the the pilot back but skilled pilot can wedge between them if needed to fly 360 around the pilot. Flying behind the pilot position can be a bit of visual hazard because glaring sun is located behind the pilot will cause orientation problem if the plane turns into dark silhouette casts by sun rays. Overall its a fun place to fly especially if you're into small park sized planes. Yes, for scale helicopter flyer this is a best place to fly too since the area have more solid ground on both sides.
Summary
Unfortunately in real life this flying site wouldn't last for long and won't be our permanent site to fly because sooner or later the place will be crowded and buildings will be occupied by business 
occupant along with roaming public all over places once the area is fully commercialized. It is predicted the barren open field will be constructed for some facilities or new buildings soon in the future. If that's the case some of our R/C flying member will be force to look else where to fly their models. Fortunately for myself i could fly anywhere i want due to the size and nature of my 'park flyer' models which can be easily flown anywhere from beaches, public park, behind the office, basket ball court, grassy sports field or even at our own back yard... i don't need much space to take off. Due to my diverse models of versatility i have no problem if this place 'gone' for good, the reason why i like this place much is because its a few minutes drive from home and also it has nice flat tarmac to land and take-off my scale plane unlike 'stucky' challenging surfaces where i frequent at. You can say this is my 'lazy bum' place to fly just to waste my time after work or nothing to do at home, lol! There's lots of cool places to fly our models in this small town but this places is great for those folks who like to land on full wheels and still able to grab a quick meal at nearby cafes.
Video
Video ( *actual site in real life* )
General info | site model: Open field shop lot | platform: PC | simulator version: Phoenix R/C v5.5 | type: Flying site | avg ZIP file size: 15.5MB | date released: 4-March-2021 | Revision: v1.0
Full gallery preview | Video preview | 
Download this Phoenix R/C flying site
*Installation instruction: How to install custom site in Phoenix R/C
*Note: This virtual flying site are available for free distribution and for non-commercial purposes.
