I’ve mentioned it a few times before, but my plan is to launch a new game world in the hopefully near future that will serve as a testing ground and a development preview open to all players (with premium status). So far, my idea was to just call this game world…“next”. But whenever I talk about it on team calls, it just feels odd and cumbersome
So I am turning to you, the community, again, to help me find a better name. I do have a general theme in mind: Since regular AirlineSim game worlds are named after defunct civil airports, a good fit for the “next” game worlds would be private, possibly defunct airports that host or have hosted an aircraft manufacturing plant.
Here’s a list of suggestions to get started:
Woomera: Named after the respective test range in Australia, this doesn’t actually fulfil the above criteria (it’s neither civil nor defunct). But since we operated a development server called “Woomera” many many years ago, this would be a nod to AirlineSim’s own history.
Lemwerder: Used to be the site where the (almost unknown) VFW 614 and the (slightly better) known Transall were built. Also: a place in Germany, the home of simulogics…but not sure whether I want to give bonus points for nationalism.
Paine Field: Not defunct by any means, but I just like the play on words…“bleeding edge development version” and “pain”
Filton: Definitely defunct and former home to BAe, who built the Concorde there, among other things.
Got any more and/or better ideas? Don’t worry about the theme too much…anything that makes sense in the context of AirlineSim and a development/test/preview game world is fine.
Since it is a test server, I would like Edwards (Air Force Base) very much. The first test flights of the Space Shuttle originally took off from there.
How about Komaki (now Nagoya Airfield)? It’s where the first flight of the YS-11 took place, as well as the development of the MRJ and testing by Japan’s space research agencies. Nagoya is also home to Boeing’s research facilities and manufactures key components for the B787 and B777.
At the same time, I think we could also add Weybridge, the site of the Vickers-Armstrong plant, to the list. It could also be named Brooklands, as it hosted a famous pre-war racing circuit (ref. the Bentley Brooklands specials). This is where some the last big turboprop airliners, the Vickers Viscount and Vanguard took to flight for the first time.
How about Rose Bay? It was Australia’s first international airport, located on Sydney Harbor, and hosted flying boat services in the 1930s. Although not completely defunct, it no longer has scheduled flights and only hosts charter services for tourists.
