The countdown is officially on! We are now just 5 days away from the official release of Ancona Falconara Airport (LIPY) for X-Plane 12. Mark your calendars: Marche’s gateway to the Adriatic coast lands on Monday, 14th September 2026.
From Real Airport to X-Plane 12
Ancona (LIPY/AOI) serves as a key hub along Italy’s eastern coastline, hosting a vibrant mix of commercial passenger flights, cargo operations, and general aviation. Bringing this unique atmosphere into X-Plane 12 was all about capturing the character of the real location—from the main passenger apron down to the weathered textures on the taxiways.
This project represents a close collaboration between Skybound Studios and Barelli. Taking Barelli’s existing 3D structural modeling, our team spent months adapting, texturing, and integrating every asset specifically for X-Plane 12. Using extensive aerial imagery and reference data, we worked to ensure every building, ground marking, and piece of airside equipment reflects its real-world counterpart.
Built as a Complete Environment
Instead of focusing solely on the passenger terminal, we treated the entire airfield as an interconnected environment.
- Detailed Infrastructure: Lucio Barelli’s 3D structural work covers the terminal, hangars, and surrounding landside buildings.
- Realistic Ground & Terrain: Hand-crafted terrain sculpting seamlessly integrates the airport with the adjacent railway line and local contours. Custom ground textures show authentic concrete wear and tire rubber markings.
- Dynamic Airfield Life: Living Scenery Technology (LST) powers animated apron support vehicles and moving road traffic surrounding the field.
- Lush Regional Vegetation: Hand-placed 3D trees and foliage frame the airport boundaries to give it a natural, lived-in feel.
Mastered for Day and Night Operations
X-Plane 12’s atmospheric lighting engine allows Ancona to truly shine around the clock. Custom night lighting across the ramps and terminals creates an immersive atmosphere for evening arrivals without compromising clarity during low-visibility approaches.
Whether you are flying daytime short-haul European hops or late-night cargo runs, the scenery takes full advantage of XP12’s native weather, dynamic puddle reflections, and lighting capabilities—all fully optimized for smooth everyday performance.
Release Details
- Airport: Ancona Falconara / Marche Airport (LIPY / AOI)
- Platform: X-Plane 12
- Release Date: Monday, 14th September 2026
- Pricing: £13.99 (Available cheaper when buying directly at store.skyboundstudios.uk)
Stay tuned over the next 5 days as we gear up for launch! You can join our community on Discord to follow the final release prep or catch more preview screenshots.