AIRPORTS DEFINITION PROPERTIES

This page lists most of the different elements and attributes required to generate properly formed XML for an airport. Most of the XML shown, is created for you when you use The Scenery Editor tool - included as part of the Developer Mode toolset within Microsoft Flight Simulator. As such, we recommend that you use that tool instead of trying to create your own XML from scratch, and use this page as a reference if you need to edit the files the Scenery Editor creates.

IMPORTANT! When doing work on an already existing airport in the simulator, by default the behavior is to add the new set of data to the existing airport and not to replace the corresponding data. If the objective is to replace the previous set of data, then it is necessary to use a <DeleteAirport> element to describe what is to be replaced.

Note that this page covers the XML required for the airport and some of it's facilities, but other things like runways and approach routes are not included here to keep the information in more manageable blocks. The links below cover the things that are not included on this page, and all of them would be used within the <Airport> container element:

Finally, the XML document for an airport must have the following format:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
    <FSData version="9.0">
        <Airport>
            <!-- Airport Data Elements Here -->
        </Airport>
    </FSData>

The FSData container element can only be version "9.0" and anything else will fail to parse.

<Airport>

The <Airport> element is used to indicate the placement of airport facility information. Airports are placed according to their airport reference point and may contain a large amount of data, with the element containing one or more of the following sub-elements: <TaxiwayPoint />, <TaxiwayParking />, <TaxiwayPath>, <TaxiwaySign />, <TaxiName />, <Tower>, <Services>, <Com />, <Runway>, <Aprons>, <ApronEdgeLights>, <Approach>, <Arrival>, <Departure>, <Ndb>, <Helipad />, <Start />, <Jetway>, <PaintedElements>, <DetailPolys>, <ProjectedMesh>, <LightSupport>, <VectorPlacement>, <BoundaryFence>, <BlastFence>, <RunwayAlias> and <DeleteAirport>.

The <Airport> element encloses all other elements for the airport definition and it has the following attributes, mainly to describe where it is and the information to be displayed on the world map:

Attribute Description Type Required
lat Latitude of the airport reference point, in degrees between -90.0° and 90.0°.

Float

 Yes
lon Longitude of the airport reference point, in degrees between -180.0° and 180.0°. Float Yes
alt Altitude of the airport reference point, in meters. You may add the "F" suffix to convert the value to feet, for example: "13.0F".

Float

 Yes
altType This is used to determine the referential for the alt field.

Enum:

  1. GEOID
  2. ELLIPSOID
 No
ident Unique identifier that is used to represent the airport, must be 3 or 4 characters long, eg: "UUWW". String Yes
name Name of the airport, displayed on the world map. String No
city Name of the closest city to the airport, displayed on the world map. String No
region The region the airport is in. Generally the region would be one of the following:
  • Japan
  • Asia (China, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Taiwan, etc...)
  • North America (Canada, USA)
  • Latin America (Argentina, Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil, etc...)
  • Middle East (UAE, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iran, etc...)
  • Europe (France, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, etc...)
  • Africa (Tunisia, Chad, Kenya, Madagascar, etc...)
 String No
country The country the airport is in. String No
magvar Magnetic variation, the angle difference between the magnetic north and true north. Negative for value to the east and positive for value to the west, measured in degrees between -360.0° and 360.0°. Float No
airportTestRadius Airport test radius in meters. You may add the "F" suffix to convert the value to feet, for example: "1300.0F". This is the distance around the airport reference point (location) that will be tested for airport object elements. Anything that is an airport element that is outside this area may cause build errors. Float No
trafficScalar

The volume of AI traffic that is appropriate for this airport. 1.0 would apply to major airports.

NOTE: This is a deprecated feature and the value added for this attribute will have no effect in the simulation.

 Float No
isOnTIN Used to get a different ground materials behavior in certain area. Boolean No
onlyAddIfReplace Only adds the airport if it was already present in another package. Relevant if the data contained within <Airport> is only complementary and not meant to be used on its own. Boolean No
applyFlatten Generate flattening rectangles on the airport based on runways altitude and inclination. Boolean No
starAirport Puts the airport forward on the world map. Boolean No
closed Stop the airport from being accessible or interactive in any interface such as the world map, the instruments or the ATC system. The airport is only going to be rendered in the simulator.. Boolean No
groundMergingTransfertBright Ground merging bright setting. Float No
groundMergingTransfertDark Ground merging dark setting. Float No

<Tower>

This element is used to place an air traffic control tower location at an airport. This element must contain a single <SceneryObject> element, and has the following attributes:

Attribute Description Type Required
lat Latitude of the tower location, in degrees between -90.0° and 90.0°. Float Yes
lon Longitude of the tower location, in degrees between -180.0° and 180.0°. Float Yes
alt Altitude of the tower location, in meters. You may add the "F" suffix to convert the value to feet, for example: "13.0F". Float Yes
alt_type This is used to determine the referential for the alt field

Enum:

  1. GEOID
  2. ELLIPSOID
 No
overrideSize Used to override the default size.

Enum:

  1. NONE
  2. SMALL
  3. MEDIUM
  4. LARGE
 No
overrideLevel Used to override the default level (values from 0 - 255 only). Integer No

<Services>

This element has no attributes and is used as a container for the self-closing <Fuel /> element

<Fuel />

This element has the following attributes:

Attribute Description Type Required
type The type of fuel the service offers.

Enum:

  1. 73
  2. 87
  3. 100
  4. 130
  5. 145
  6. MOGAS
  7. JET
  8. JETA
  9. JETA1
  10. JETAP
  11. JETB
  12. JET4
  13. JET5
  14. UNKNOWN
 Yes
availability The fuel availability.

Enum:

  1. YES
  2. NO
  3. UNKNOWN
  4. PRIOR_REQUEST
 Yes

Note that this element can also be used in the deprecated legacy element <Trigger>.

<Com />

This element is used to add a COM (communication) frequency to an airport. Note that this is a self-closing element and has the following attributes:

Attribute Description Type Required
frequency Frequency for COM in MHz, between 108.0 to 136.992. Float Yes
type The type of COM frequency.

Enum:

  1. APPROACH
  2. ASOS
  3. ATIS
  4. AWOS
  5. CENTER
  6. CLEARANCE
  7. CLEARANCE_PRE_TAXI
  8. CTAF
  9. DEPARTURE
  10. FSS
  11. GROUND
  12. MULTICOM
  13. REMOTE_CLEARANCE_DELIVERY
  14. TOWER
  15. UNICOM
 Yes
name Friendly name for COM frequency (48 characters max) String Yes

NOTE: Editing COM data may prevent the simulation performing further automatic updates to the NavData for the airport. Please see the following section for more information: Note On Navigation Data

<Aprons>

This element is used to add aprons to an airport. The element has no attributes but can contain one or more <apron> sub-element, explained below.

<Apron>

This element is used to add an apron to the <Aprons> list of an airport. This element usually contains multiple <Vertex /> sub-elements and can also contain a <Coloration /> element. It has the following attributes:

Attribute Description Type Required
surface The surface material type to use.

Enum:

  1. ASPHALT
  2. BITUMINOUS
  3. BRICK
  4. CLAY
  5. CEMENT
  6. CONCRETE
  7. CORAL
  8. DIRT
  9. GRASS
  10. GRAVEL
  11. ICE
  12. MACADAM
  13. OIL_TREATED
  14. PLANKS
  15. SAND
  16. SHALE
  17. SNOW
  18. STEEL_MATS
  19. TARMAC
  20. UNKNOWN
  21. WATER
 Yes
drawSurface Whether to draw the underlying surface or not.

Bool

 No
drawDetail Whether to draw the detail texture surface or not Bool No

<ApronEdgeLights>

This element is used to define the edge lights to the apron of an airport. Note that this element is defined under the main <Airport> element, and not as part of the <Apron> sub-element, and it usually contains multiple <EdgeLights> sub-elements and has no attributes.

<EdgeLights>

This element is used to add edge lights to the <ApronEdgeLights> list of an airport. This will contain multiple <Vertex /> sub-elements - where each vertex corresponds to a position between which lights will be drawn - and has no attributes.

<Ndb>

This element is used to add an NDB to the airport facility database.

NOTE: Editing NDB data may prevent the simulation performing further automatic updates to the NavData for the airport. Please see the following section for more information: Note On Navigation Data

When this element is added within an <Airport> container element, it is only used to define a terminal NDB. It can also be used outside the <Airport> element to define general navigation beacons. This element may contain a <VisualModel> sub-element and has the following attributes:

Attribute Description Type Required
lat Latitude of the NDB beacon, in degrees between -90.0° and 90.0°.

Float

 Yes
lon Longitude of the NDB beacon, in degrees between -180.0° and 180.0°. Float Yes
alt Altitude of the NDB beacon, in meters. You may add the "F" suffix to convert the value to feet, for example: "13.0F".

Float

 Yes
type The type of NDB being used.

Enum:

  1. COMPASS_POINT
  2. H
  3. HH
  4. MH
 Yes
frequency The NDB frequency in KHz, from 0.0 to 1737.0. String Yes
range Range of NDB in meters or nautical miles. If no suffix is supplied, then the range will be set in meters, however using the "N" suffix converts the range into nautical miles, eg: "45N". If this attribute is not set, it will default to "27N". String No
magvar Magnetic variation at the NDB to True North in degrees. Negative for values to the east and positive for values to the west, measured in degrees between -360.0° and 360.0°. Float Yes
region The beacon region code (maximum 3 characters, based on iso-3166-2). String Yes
ident ICAO code identity for this beacon, with a maximum of five characters. String Yes
name Friendly name for ILS beacon. String No

<Helipad />

This element can be used to define one or more helipads within an airport facility.

NOTE: If you wish the helipad to be available as a starting location for helicopter flights, then you also need to define a <Start /> element of the type "HELIPAD".

This is a self-closing element and has the following attributes:

Attribute Description Type Required
lat Latitude of the helipad, in degrees between -90.0° and 90.0°.

Float

 Yes
lon Longitude of the helipad, in degrees between -180.0° and 180.0°. Float Yes
alt Altitude of the helipad, in meters. You may add the "F" suffix to convert the value to feet, for example: "13.0F".

Float

 Yes
alt_type This is used to determine the referential for the alt field

Enum:

  1. GEOID
  2. ELLIPSOID
 No
surface Surface material to apply to the helipad

String:

  1. "CONCRETE"
  2. "GRASS"
  3. "WATER"
  4. "GRASS_BUMPY"
  5. "ASPHALT"
  6. "SHORT_GRASS"
  7. "LONG_GRASS"
  8. "HARD_TURF"
  9. "SNOW"
  10. "ICE"
  11. "URBAN"
  12. "FOREST"
  13. "DIRT"
  14. "CORAL"
  15. "GRAVEL"
  16. "OIL_TREATED"
  17. "STEEL_MATS"
  18. "BITUMINUS"
  19. "BRICK"
  20. "MACADAM"
  21. "PLANKS"
  22. "SAND"
  23. "SHALE"
  24. "TARMAC"
  25. "WRIGHT_FLYER_TRACK"
 No
heading Facing angle for the helipad. Value between 0° and 360°. Float Yes
length Length of the helipad. Length is in meters, but you can suffix the value with "F" for feet, eg: "2000F". Float Yes
width Width of the helipad. Length is in meters, but you can suffix the value with "F" for feet, eg: "2000F". Float Yes Float Yes
type The type of helipad. Note that if you enter type as CIRCLE or SQUARE and the length and width are not identical, then the shape of the helipad will be an ellipse or rectangle, respectively.

Enum:

  1. NONE
  2. CIRCLE
  3. H
  4. MEDICAL
  5. SQUARE
 Yes
closed Boolean indicating whether the helipad is closed (TRUE) or not (FALSE) Boolean No
transparent Boolean indicating that the helipad should be drawn without pavement (markings only) Boolean No
red Color components of helipad markings. Note that these are not implemented in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Float N/A
green Float N/A
blue Float N/A

<Start />

The <Start> element is used in the <Airport> container element to add a start location the airport in general. Note that this is a self-closing element and has the following attributes:

Attribute Description Type Required
type Type of start point. If it's a helipad, then you must also define an <Helipad /> element, and for all the others a <Runway> element.

Enum:

  1. RUNWAY
  2. HELIPAD
  3. TRACK
  4. WATER
 Yes
lat Latitude of the start position, in degrees between -90.0° and 90.0°.

Float

 Yes
lon Longitude of the start position, in degrees between -180.0° and 180.0°. Float Yes
alt Altitude of the start position, in meters. You may add the "F" suffix to convert the value to feet, for example: "13.0F".

Float

 Yes
alt_type This is used to determine the referential for the alt field

Enum:

  1. GEOID
  2. ELLIPSOID
 No
heading Facing angle for the start position. Value between 0° and 360°. Float Yes
number Number of the runway to start on. Note that you do not suffix the designator onto this value, but instead define it separately in the designator attribute.

Integer:

  1. 1 - 36

or Enum:

  1. EAST
  2. NORTH
  3. NORTHEAST
  4. NORTHWEST
  5. SOUTH
  6. SOUTHEAST
  7. SOUTHWEST
  8. WEST
 No
designator Designator of the runway chosen to start on.

Enum:

  1. NONE
  2. C
  3. CENTER
  4. L
  5. LEFT
  6. R
  7. RIGHT
  8. W
  9. WATER
  10. A
  11. B
  12. E
  13. N
  14. NE
  15. NW
  16. S
  17. SE
  18. SW
  19. W
 No

<BoundaryFence>, <BlastFence>

These elements both define different fence types that can be placed around or within an <Airport>.

IMPORTANT! These elements have been deprecated in favour of the more comprehensive <VectorPlacement> element, and should no longer be used.

If you are using these elements, then you must also set the appropriate attribute in the <DeleteAirport> element (deleteAllBlastFences or deleteAllBoundaryFences) to TRUE. Both these elements require at least two <Vertex /> sub elements to be considered valid. The available attributes for both elements are as follows:

Attribute Description Type Required
profile GUID that defines the profile for the fence String Yes
instanceId Optional GUID to identify the element String No

<PaintedElements>

This element permits you to define the different painted lines and other things that are on the airport ground. It has no attributes and can contain the <PaintedPolygon>, <PaintedLine> and <PaintedHatchedArea> sub-elements.

<PaintedPolygon>

This element is used to paint a polygon area within an airport, and as such uses the <Vertex /> sub-element to define the area being painted (minimum required is three vertices). It has the following attributes to define the color that is to be used:

Attribute Description Type Required
red Red component of the paint (between 0 and 255). Integer Yes
green Green component of the paint (between 0 and 255). Integer Yes
blue Blue component of the paint (between 0 and 255). Integer Yes
alpha Alpha component of the paint (between 0 and 255). Integer No

<PaintedLine>

This element can be used to paint a line, and as such it requires at least two <Vertex /> sub-elements to define the start and end points of the line, although you can define more vertices if required between those points. It has the following attributes to define the type of line to be painted:

Attribute Description Type Required
type The type of line to be painted.

Enum:

  1. DEFAULT
  2. HOLD_SHORT_FORWARD
  3. HOLD_SHORT_BACKWARD
  4. HOLD_SHORT_FORWARD_MARKED
  5. HOLD_SHORT_BACKWARD_MARKED
  6. ILS_HOLD_SHORT
  7. EDGE_LINE_SOLID
  8. EDGE_LINE_DASHED
  9. HOLD_SHORT_TAXIWAY
  10. SERVICE_DASHED
  11. EDGE_SERVICE_SOLID
  12. EDGE_SERVICE_DASHED
  13. WIDE_YELLOW
  14. WIDE_WHITE
  15. WIDE_RED
  16. SLIM_RED
  17. EDGE_SOLID_ORTHO
  18. EDGE_SOLID_ORTHO_BACK
  19. NON_MOVEMENT
  20. NON_MOVEMENT_BACK
  21. ENHANCED_CENTER
  22. DEFAULT_LIGHTED
  23. HOLD_SHORT_FORWARD_MARKED_L
  24. HOLD_SHORT_BACKWARD_MARKED_L
  25. HOLD_SHORT_FORWARD_LIGHTED
  26. HOLD_SHORT_BACKWARD_LIGHTED
  27. ILS_HOLD_SHORT_LIGHTED
  28. EDGE_LINE_SOLID_LIGHTED
  29. EDGE_LINE_DASHED_LIGHTED
  30. HOLD_SHORT_TAXIWAY_LIGHTED
  31. SERVICE_DASHED_LIGHTED
  32. EDGE_SERVICE_SOLID_LIGHTED
  33. EDGE_SERVICE_DASHED_LIGHTED
  34. WIDE_YELLOW_LIGHTED
  35. WIDE_WHITE_LIGHTED
  36. WIDE_RED_LIGHTED
  37. SLIM_RED_LIGHTED
  38. EDGE_SOLID_ORTHO_LIGHTED
  39. EDGE_SOLID_ORTHO_BACK_LIGHT
  40. NON_MOVEMENT_LIGHTED
  41. NON_MOVEMENT_BACK_LIGHTED
  42. ENHANCED_CENTER_LIGHTED
 Yes
trueAngle Set the true angle type.

Enum:

  1. NONE
  2. BEGIN
  3. END
  4. BOTH_ENDS
  5. ALL_POINTS
 Yes
surface Material to apply to the line.

String:

  1. "CONCRETE"
  2. "GRASS"
  3. "WATER"
  4. "GRASS_BUMPY"
  5. "ASPHALT"
  6. "SHORT_GRASS"
  7. "LONG_GRASS"
  8. "HARD_TURF"
  9. "SNOW"
  10. "ICE"
  11. "URBAN"
  12. "FOREST"
  13. "DIRT"
  14. "CORAL"
  15. "GRAVEL"
  16. "OIL_TREATED"
  17. "STEEL_MATS"
  18. "BITUMINUS"
  19. "BRICK"
  20. "MACADAM"
  21. "PLANKS"
  22. "SAND"
  23. "SHALE"
  24. "TARMAC"
  25. "WRIGHT_FLYER_TRACK"
 Yes

<PaintedHatchedArea>

This element can be used to paint a cross hatched polygon, and as such uses the <Vertex /> sub-element to define the area being painted (minimum required is three vertices). It has the following attributes to define the area that is to be used:

Attribute Description Type Required
heading Facing angle for the hatching. Value between 0° and 360°. Float Yes
spacing

The distance between the lines of the hatching. The distance is in meters, but you can suffix the value with "F" for feet, eg: "2F".

 Float Yes
type The type of line to be used for the hatching.

Enum:

  1. DEFAULT
  2. HOLD_SHORT_FORWARD
  3. HOLD_SHORT_BACKWARD
  4. HOLD_SHORT_FORWARD_MARKED
  5. HOLD_SHORT_BACKWARD_MARKED
  6. ILS_HOLD_SHORT
  7. EDGE_LINE_SOLID
  8. EDGE_LINE_DASHED
  9. HOLD_SHORT_TAXIWAY
  10. SERVICE_DASHED
  11. EDGE_SERVICE_SOLID
  12. EDGE_SERVICE_DASHED
  13. WIDE_YELLOW
  14. WIDE_WHITE
  15. WIDE_RED
  16. SLIM_RED
  17. EDGE_SOLID_ORTHO
  18. EDGE_SOLID_ORTHO_BACK
  19. NON_MOVEMENT
  20. NON_MOVEMENT_BACK
  21. ENHANCED_CENTER
  22. DEFAULT_LIGHTED
  23. HOLD_SHORT_FORWARD_MARKED_L
  24. HOLD_SHORT_BACKWARD_MARKED_L
  25. HOLD_SHORT_FORWARD_LIGHTED
  26. HOLD_SHORT_BACKWARD_LIGHTED
  27. ILS_HOLD_SHORT_LIGHTED
  28. EDGE_LINE_SOLID_LIGHTED
  29. EDGE_LINE_DASHED_LIGHTED
  30. HOLD_SHORT_TAXIWAY_LIGHTED
  31. SERVICE_DASHED_LIGHTED
  32. EDGE_SERVICE_SOLID_LIGHTED
  33. EDGE_SERVICE_DASHED_LIGHTED
  34. WIDE_YELLOW_LIGHTED
  35. WIDE_WHITE_LIGHTED
  36. WIDE_RED_LIGHTED
  37. SLIM_RED_LIGHTED
  38. EDGE_SOLID_ORTHO_LIGHTED
  39. EDGE_SOLID_ORTHO_BACK_LIGHT
  40. NON_MOVEMENT_LIGHTED
  41. NON_MOVEMENT_BACK_LIGHTED
  42. ENHANCED_CENTER_LIGHTED
 Yes

<RunwayAlias>

This element is used when replacing components inside of an airport (like taxiways), but the intent is not to replace the actual runways. This element serves as a note to the compiler that the old runway definition is to be preserved. This is a self-closing element and has the following attributes:

Attribute Description Type Required
number Number of the runway. Note that you do not suffix the designator onto this value, but instead define it separately in the designator attribute.

Integer:

  1. 1 - 36

or Enum:

  1. EAST
  2. NORTH
  3. NORTHEAST
  4. NORTHWEST
  5. SOUTH
  6. SOUTHEAST
  7. SOUTHWEST
  8. WEST
 Yes
designator Designator of the runway.

Enum:

  1. NONE
  2. C
  3. CENTER
  4. L
  5. LEFT
  6. R
  7. RIGHT
  8. W
  9. WATER
  10. A
  11. B
  12. E
  13. N
  14. NE
  15. NW
  16. S
  17. SE
  18. SW
  19. W
 No

<Jetway>

Jetway elements are part of an airport, and must contain a single <SceneryObject> element. One jetway can service at most one parking spot. A jetway will be animated and will usually come in to the main exit on the left side of the aircraft. AI controlled aircraft will also trigger the animation of the jetway. To replace jetways at an airport, use the <DeleteAirport> element with the <deleteAllJetways> field set to "TRUE", then enter the new jetway elements. Note that all parking spots do not require jetways.

The available attributes for jetways are as follows:

Attribute Description Type Required
gateName

Gate or parking spot name.

All Jetways require a name and a parkingNumber to uniquely identify a parking location.

Enum:

  1. DOCK
  2. E_PARKING
  3. GATE
  4. GATE_A
  5. GATE_B
  6. GATE_C
  7. GATE_D
  8. GATE_E
  9. GATE_F
  10. GATE_G
  11. GATE_H
  12. GATE_I
  13. GATE_J
  14. GATE_K
  15. GATE_L
  16. GATE_M
  17. GATE_N
  18. GATE_O
  19. GATE_P
  20. GATE_Q
  21. GATE_R
  22. GATE_S
  23. GATE_T
  24. GATE_U
  25. GATE_V
  26. GATE_W
  27. GATE_X
  28. GATE_Y
  29. GATE_Z
  30. NE_PARKING
  31. NONE
  32. N_PARKING
  33. NW_PARKING
  34. PARKING
  35. SE_PARKING
  36. S_PARKING
  37. SW_PARKING
  38. W_PARKING
 Yes
parkingNumber

The number for the parking spot.

All Jetways require a number and a gateName to uniquely identify a parking location.

 String Yes
suffix Suffix to be added to the jetway parking name and number.

Enum:

  1. GATE_A
  2. GATE_B
  3. GATE_C
  4. GATE_D
  5. GATE_E
  6. GATE_F
  7. GATE_G
  8. GATE_H
  9. GATE_I
  10. GATE_J
  11. GATE_K
  12. GATE_L
  13. GATE_M
  14. GATE_N
  15. GATE_O
  16. GATE_P
  17. GATE_Q
  18. GATE_R
  19. GATE_S
  20. GATE_T
  21. GATE_U
  22. GATE_V
  23. GATE_W
  24. GATE_X
  25. GATE_Y
  26. GATE_Z
  27. NONE

<DetailPolys>

IMPORTANT! This element is deprecated and does not need to be defined for Microsoft Flight Simulator. It is maintained purely for backwards compatibility with FSX files.

This element is a container element for one or more <DetailPoly> elements. It is used to define an area in which the texture on the ground should be more detailed, and each <DetailPoly> element would have multiple <Vertex /> sub-elements (at least three) to define the areas for this extra detail. Neither <DetailPolys> nor <DetailPoly> require any attributes.

<ProjectedMesh>

This element can be placed within an <Airport> to create a projected mesh object as part of the airport group, and it requires a <SceneryObject> sub-element.

You can find a full description of this element and its properties here:

<Waypoint>

This element is used to add a waypoint to the airport facility database.

NOTE: Editing Waypoint data may prevent the simulation performing further automatic updates to the NavData for the airport. Please see the following section for more information: Note On Navigation Data

This element may contain the optional sub-element <Route>, but if it has no sub-elements it can be self-closing. The element has the following attributes:

Attribute Description Type Required
lat Latitude of the airport reference point, in degrees between -90.0° and 90.0°.

Float

 Yes
lon Longitude of the airport reference point, in degrees between -180.0° and 180.0°. Float Yes
waypointType The type of waypoint.

Enum:

  1. NAMED
  2. UNNAMED
  3. VOR
  4. NDB
  5. OFF_ROUTE
  6. IAF
  7. FAF
  8. VFR
  9. RNAV
 Yes
waypointRegion The waypoint region code (maximum 3 characters, based on iso-3166-2). String Yes
waypointIdent The identity for this waypoint, with a maximum of five characters. String Yes
magvar Magnetic variation, the angle difference between the magnetic north and true north. Negative for value to the east and positive for value to the west, measured in degrees between -360.0° and 360.0°. Float No

<Route>

This element is used to add a route designation to a waypoint. The element has the following attributes:

Attribute Description Type Required
routeType Latitude of the airport reference point, in degrees between -90.0° and 90.0°.

Enum:

  1. VICTOR
  2. JET
  3. BOTH
 Yes
name The name of the route (maximum 8 characters). String Yes

<LightSupport>

This element is for adding a rectangular surface (sloped or flat) that will determine the altitude of all lights within the defined rectangle. Note that this is a self-closing element and has the following attributes:

Attribute Description Type Required
latitude Latitude of the airport reference point, in degrees between -90.0° and 90.0°.

Float

 Yes
longitude Longitude of the airport reference point, in degrees between -180.0° and 180.0°. Float Yes
altitude Initial altitude of the light support rectangle (in meters). Float Yes
altitude2 Final altitude of the light support rectangle (in meters). Float Yes
heading Facing angle for the support rectangle. Value between 0° and 360°. Float Yes
width The width of the rectangle in meters. Float Yes
length The length of the rectangle in meters Float Yes
excludeLights Whether to exclude lights in the rectangle or not (this will exclude the lights, and the light model objects) Bool No
excludeLightObjects Whether to exclude only the light objects or not (if set to TRUE, then the lights will still appear as "floating" bright points without their object model). Bool No

<VectorPlacement>

This element is for adding in a series of points that will be connected by a vector path and then have a model placed along the path, useful for creating things like fences or power-lines, etc... This element requires at least two <Vertex /> sub-elements to define the points between which the models will be placed.

NOTE: This element replaces the deprecated <BoundaryFence>, <BlastFence> elements.

The element has the following parameters:

Attribute Description Type Required
profile This is the GUID of the model that will be used to populate the vector path.

String

 Yes
snapToVertices When this attribute is set to "TRUE" the chosen model will only be placed on the single vertices (points) that make up the vector path, instead of being placed along the lengths of the vectors. Default value is "FALSE". Bool No
spacing This sets the spacing (in meters) between the models as they are placed along the vector path. This set to a avalue that brings the object models closer together to keep continuity between them. Float Yes
heading This attribute can be used to modify the orientation (heading) of the model by a value in degrees. This will be a relative orientation if the rotation attribute is set to "Follow edge" or "Random", and an absolute orientation if the attribute is "Same". Float Yes
scale This attribute is used to scale the model up or down. The base value is 1, and a value less than one will scale it down and a value greater than 1 will scale it up. This will also be cumulative with the scale applied if the scaleDelta option is greater than 0. Float Yes
scaleDelta This attribute will add a random variation in scale to each model placed along the vector path. The default value is 0, which is no random variation, and any value greater than 0 will be used to apply a random variation in size to each model using the given value as a magnitude for the variation. This variation will be cumulative with the scale setting. Float Yes
rotation

With this attribute you can change the way the model rotation will be handled by the simulation. It can be one of the following strings:

  • "Follow edge": The models will be orientated relative to the direction of the vector path it follows
  • "Same": All the models will be orientated in the same, single direction, which can be edited using the Model Headings parameter (below).
  • "Random": Each model will be geiven it's own random orientation regardless of the position it occupies along the vector path.
 String Yes
avoidDiscontinuity This attribute can be set to "TRUE" to have the scenery editor try and ensure that the models used match up correctly at the corners of the vector path. If set to "FALSE" then the model may overrun the length of the vectors. Bool Yes
castShadow If this attribute is set to "TRUE" the models used will cast a shadow, and if set to "FALSE" they won't. Bool No

<DeleteAirport>

Since most of the airports that are going to be edited are preexisting airports within the simulator, it is important to understand the behavior behind the <DeleteAirport> structure: when loading two packages that cover the same airport, the simulator will load both versions of the airport from each package, adding the data from each package together, rather than overriding one package with another. In the case that this is not what you want, you need to use this element to remove features from any previously loaded airport (including those that are defined as part of the base sim).

This element can have the following attributes:

Attribute Description Type Required
deleteAllApronLights Remove all data coming from <ApronEdgeLights> field Boolean No
deleteAllAprons Remove all data coming from <Aprons> field Boolean No
deleteAllHelipads Remove all data coming from <Helipad> field Boolean No
deleteAllRunways Remove all data coming from <Runway> field Boolean No
deleteAllStarts Remove all data coming from <Start> field Boolean No
deleteAllTaxiways Remove all data coming from <TaxiwayPoint>, <TaxiwayParking>, <TaxiwayPath> and <TaxiwayName>fields Boolean No
deleteAllBlastFences

Remove all data coming from <BlastFence> fields

NOTE: This is a deprecated attribute and you should instead use the deleteAllVectorPlacement attribute.

 Boolean No
deleteAllBoundaryFences

Remove all data coming from <BoundaryFence> fields

NOTE: This is a deprecated attribute and you should instead use the deleteAllVectorPlacement attribute.

 Boolean No
deleteAllVectorPlacement Remove all data coming from <VectorPlacement> fields
deleteAllControlTowers Remove all data coming from <Tower> fields Boolean No
deleteAllJetways Remove all data coming from <Jetway> fields Boolean No
deleteAllPaintedElements Remove all data coming from <PaintedElements> fields Boolean No
deleteAllLightSupports Remove all data coming from <LightSupport> fields Boolean No
deleteAllTaxiwaySigns Remove all data coming from <TaxiwaySign> fields Boolean No
deleteAllApproaches Remove all data coming from <Approach> fields Boolean No
deleteAllFrequencies Remove all data coming from <Com> fields Boolean No
deleteAllDepartures Remove all data coming from <Departure> fields Boolean No
deleteAllArrivals Remove all data coming from <Arrival> fields Boolean No
deleteAllTerminalWaypoints Remove all data coming from <Waypoint> fields Boolean No
deleteAllILSs Remove all data coming from <ILs> fields Boolean No
deleteAllTerminalNDBs Remove all data coming from <Ndb> fields Boolean No

In addition to these attributes, there exist other sub-elements which can be contained within the <DeleteAirport> structure in order to have a more refined deletion of certain objects. These are listed below.

<DeleteRunway />

The purpose of the <DeleteRunway /> element is to delete a specific runway from an airport. Note that this is a self-closing element and has the following attributes:

Attribute Description Type Required
surface GUID or Name of the surface of the runway to delete GUID or String Yes
number Number of the runway to delete. Note that you do not suffix the designator onto this value, but instead define it separately in the designator attribute.

Integer:

  1. 1 - 36

or Enum:

  1. EAST
  2. NORTH
  3. NORTHEAST
  4. NORTHWEST
  5. SOUTH
  6. SOUTHEAST
  7. SOUTHWEST
  8. WEST
 Yes
designator Designator of the runway to delete

Enum:

  1. NONE
  2. C
  3. CENTER
  4. L
  5. LEFT
  6. R
  7. RIGHT
  8. W
  9. WATER
  10. A
  11. B
  12. E
  13. N
  14. NE
  15. NW
  16. S
  17. SE
  18. SW
  19. W
 Yes

<DeleteStart />

The purpose of the <DeleteStart /> element is to delete a start location from an airport. This element is available but rarely required. Note that this is a self-closing element and has the following attributes:

Attribute Description Type Required
type Type of start to delete

ENUM:

  1. RUNWAY
  2. HELIPAD
  3. WATER
 Yes
number Number of the runway where the start is found

Integer:

  1. 1 - 36

or Enum:

  1. EAST
  2. NORTH
  3. NORTHEAST
  4. NORTHWEST
  5. SOUTH
  6. SOUTHEAST
  7. SOUTHWEST
  8. WEST
 Yes
designator Designator of the runway where the start is found

Enum:

  1. NONE
  2. C
  3. CENTER
  4. L
  5. LEFT
  6. R
  7. RIGHT
  8. W
  9. WATER
  10. A
  11. B
  12. E
  13. N
  14. NE
  15. NW
  16. S
  17. SE
  18. SW
  19. W
 Yes