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MSFS Heraklion City, Crete Photogrammetry Scenery

MSFSscenery

Heraklion’s harbor, Venetian fortress and Minoan surroundings anchor Google Maps-derived photogrammetry coverage of Crete’s capital in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. LOD 17–19 detail supports coastal and inland VFR sightseeing, while color and brightness adjustments, terraforming and water-elevation corrections help integrate the city with surrounding terrain, balancing visual definition, performance and package size.

No ratings yet Rate 63 downloads 2.01 GB Scanned clean · Nov 2026 Added By keinowaara · 4 add-ons Greece
Flight Simulator 2024 Flight Simulator 2020
Adam McEnroe
Editor reviewed · Tested in-sim

Expert Overview

I flew out of Nikos Kazantzakis Airport in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and followed the waterfront, where the Venetian fortress gave me a clear focal point for a sightseeing circuit. Keinowaara’s Google Maps-derived photogrammetry covers Heraklion rather than all of Crete, with Knossos near its southeastern edge. I found the coastal development and rising inland terrain an appealing contrast from the cockpit.

The scenery uses LOD 17–19 detail, with color and brightness adjustments intended to bring the city closer to the surrounding default landscape. Terraforming and water-elevation corrections tackle local mismatches, though some imperfections remain. Coverage boundaries are still visible despite those adjustments. I treated it as a focused city sightseeing package, rather than a replacement for the island’s wider scenery.

This mod was installed, tested and reviewed by Adam McEnroe for Fly Away Simulation. Adam is an FS mod expert. Read his bio →

Keinowaara’s freeware Heraklion City photogrammetry scenery brings Google Maps-based coverage of Crete’s capital to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Explore the harbor, the city’s Minoan surroundings and the transition from coastal development to rugged inland terrain, with detail levels chosen to balance visual quality, performance and package size.

Heraklion’s Harbor and Minoan Surroundings

Heraklion sits on Crete’s northern coast and ranks among Greece’s largest cities, with the developer citing a population of just under 140,000. Its waterfront offers a useful focus for VFR (visual flight rules) sightseeing: an old Venetian fortress guards the harbor entrance, while the remains of Knossos lie near the southeastern corner of the add-on’s coverage. This ancient Minoan settlement counts among Europe’s oldest urban sites.

Beyond the city, rolling hills and gorges give way to Crete’s mountainous interior. Nearby Nikos Kazantzakis Airport provides a convenient departure point for exploring the scenery; from there, you can follow the coastline toward other towns and airports or head north over the Aegean Sea toward its many islands. The package covers the Heraklion area rather than the whole of Crete.

Photogrammetry Detail and Terrain Adjustments

Keinowaara uses LOD 17–19 (level of detail) for the Google Maps-derived scenery, aiming for a practical compromise between definition, simulator performance and download size. The developer also adjusts color and brightness to bring the imported city closer to the default terrain’s brownish, heavily saturated appearance.

Nevertheless, the coverage boundaries remain visible, so do not expect a seamless transition into the surrounding default scenery. Terraforming and water-elevation corrections address local terrain and water-level mismatches, although the developer notes that some imperfections remain.

Installing the Four Heraklion Scenery Folders

The supplied installation instructions specify the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Community folder. Extract the downloaded archive, then copy all four of the following folders into that location:

  • keinowaara-heraklion-part1
  • keinowaara-heraklion-part2
  • keinowaara-heraklion-part3
  • keinowaara-heraklion-part4

Keinowaara offers the scenery as freeware and welcomes optional donations to support the time involved in its development, along with comments and other feedback.

Ready to download Heraklion City, Crete Photogrammetry Scenery?

Free for all simmers · 2.01 GB · Scanned clean Nov 2026

File information

Filename
heraklion-heinowaara.zip
File size
2.01 GB
Added
Virus scan
Clean ClamAV · Nov 2026
Access
Freeware
Content rating
Everyone

Download speed: Free tier is capped at 2 Mbps (this file takes approximately 2h 24m at the cap). PRO members download at full line speed.

How to install this mod

MSFS scenery
  1. Extract the downloaded archive

    Use 7-Zip (free) or WinRAR to extract the ZIP to a temporary folder. Don't install while still zipped — the simulator can't read inside ZIP files.
  2. Locate your MSFS Community folder

    All MSFS add-ons live in the Community folder. Microsoft Store / Game Pass version: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Packages\Community\. Steam version: %APPDATA%\Microsoft Flight Simulator\Packages\Community\. Tip: enable Developer Mode in MSFS to see your exact Community folder path.
  3. Copy the scenery package into Community

    Drag the extracted scenery folder into your Community folder. Photogrammetry and large mesh packs can be 1GB+ — ensure you have disk space.
  4. Restart MSFS

    Close MSFS completely and relaunch. The new content appears in the Content Manager, on the World Map, or in the aircraft/livery selector.
  5. Always read the included readme

    Every mod ships with a readme.txt or README file. It tells you exactly where files go, what dependencies are needed, and any quirks specific to this add-on.

Finding the scenery

Use these coordinates to fly directly to this location once the mod is installed.

MSFS format (paste into search bar)
35.33870000,25.14420000
Decimal degrees
35.338700°, 25.144200°
Degrees, minutes, seconds
35° 20' 19.320" N 25° 08' 39.120" E

Paste these coordinates into the Microsoft Flight Simulator search bar when planning a flight, or into the Developer Mode Teleport window, to fly directly to this location.

Freeware developer

keinowaara

4 add-ons 349 downloads On Fly Away since 2026Message keinowaara
About keinowaara

Keinowaara is a freeware scenery developer for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, best known for photogrammetry city scenery across Finland and the wider Nordic region.

Read full bio
Enjoyed this add-on? keinowaara released it as freeware. A small donation says thanks and keeps future releases coming.

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2 comments

Read what other simmers think, or add your own. The developer replies here.

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Comments below are opinions of individual posters and don’t always reflect Fly Away Simulation’s views. Every comment is manually moderated before publication.
  1. Replying to James Saxton

    Thank you very much, James! Glad you like it. Took me along while to answer since I actually didn't have a profile here but on flightsim.to. The admis of this site asked to host my uploads here as well and I agreed. :)

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  2. James Saxton

    This scenery is much better than the default, thank you!

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