aircraft.cfg

Every Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 aircraft is defined by a mandatory Aircraft Configuration File called aircraft.cfg (although this file is not required for other non-aircraft SimObjects). It mainly provides general information about the aircraft and its variations to the simulation. Most of the data in this file can be set dynamically using The SimObject Editor - specifically from the Aircraft tab.

Below you can find information on the different sections used in the aircraft.cfg file as well as what parameters and values are expected within them.

[Version]#

The [Version] section provides version information for the configuration file. In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, major versions should always be at least equal to 1.

Note that this section information is mandatory and should always be included.

[LIVERY]#

This section is optional and only used when the aircraft being defined is a livery variation of an existing aircraft. The section only has one parameter:

It is important to note that adding a livery does not permit you to change all the aircraft parameters, only those given in the [FLTSIM.N] section.

[GENERAL]#

In the [GENERAL] section of the Aircraft Configuration File there are multiple entries that relate to properly configuring a plane to be integrated into the sim in the following ways:

• multiplayer
• as a grounded/parked plane
• as part of the air traffic

The parameters available are mostly related to how the plane is identified by the database of the ICAO and they should all be non-localized.

For multiplayer, the user might be choosing to use optimized and generic planes to represent other players planes, or they might not possess the correct plane model. In those cases, if the icao_type_designator matches an entry in the ICAO database, the model will be swapped with a generic plane that is as close as possible to that plane, in terms of WTC, engine count and engine type.

For air traffic, if the icao_type_designator matches an existing entry in the ICAO database, it might be used to represent a plane from the Real Online traffic. Please check the [FLTSIM] section and the AI configuration file documentation for further information on correctly integrating the plane in the grounded/parked planes and in air traffic.

[PILOT]#

This section was previously used for defining the pilot, copilot and instructor styles for the aircraft. However in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, only the parameters related to the copilot are used.

This section can have the following parameters:

[SERVICES]#

This section details which Airport Services can be available for this aircraft. Each line in this section contains a name of a service, followed by = 1 to mark it as available, or = 0 to make it unsuitable for the aircraft. Any unspecified service is considered unavailable (0) by default. The following parameters for services exist:

Note that most services require properly defined [Interactive Points] in order to be usable.

Also note that if neither PUSHBACK nor SMALL_PUSHBACK are available (for example with aircraft having a left and right front wheels instead of a centered one), the User will still be able to pushback the aircraft (with Shift+P), but this might appear as “magic” because no visible vehicle or human character will be seen pushing the aircraft.

[IKCHAINS]#

This section is used to set up the inverse kinetic chain between the pilot extremities and the yoke/stick and pedals. Here you give the nodes on the cockpit model elements that should “connect” with the relevant part of the pilot/copilot model (hands and feet). The parameters available are:

[EXITS]#

This section defines the exits for the aircraft.

It can have the following parameters:

[VR]#

For each base aircraft, a VR section should be added to bind node descriptors to the actual meshes or animations of the glTF file for the aircraft (see VR Helpers for model setup information). This section has the following parameters:

For more information on VR controls for the yoke / stick / collective, please see here:

• Yoke/Stick/Collective Controls With Hand Gestures

[InteractionMgr.N]#

This section initialises the interaction manager for the aircraft. This section must be added if there are interactions between SimObjects in the aircraft, for example, the interaction between the pilot, the seat, and the seatbelt. You can define multiple of these sections numbering them from 0, where each section is applied to a variation of the aircraft. You can find further information on interactions from the the following page:

• Service Interaction XML Properties

This section can have the following parameters:

[FLTSIM.N]#

The [FLTSIM.N] section(s) are used to define the behavior of the aircraft as a SimObject, and whether it is available to the user or not. You can define multiple of these sections numbering them from 0, where each section is a variation of the aircraft. The following parameters exist for this section:

Specialisation Codes#

The following table gives all the codes required for the targeted_specializations parameter:

[EFFECTS]#

Each entry can be followed by a ,1 if the effect is to be run for a single iteration. Set this number to ,0 or leave blank for the effect to continue as long as the respective action is active, for example:

[EFFECTS]
vaportrail_l = fx_vaportrail_l, 0
vaportrail_r = fx_vaportrail_r, 0
l_wingtipvortice = fx_wingtipvortice_l, 1
r_wingtipvortice = fx_wingtipvortice_r, 1

If you make an entry in the configuration file it will replace the default effects with a new one, or - to turn off the effect - add an entry that references the fx_dummy effect (which does nothing).

The table below outlines the aircraft effects parameters, though of course not all effects are supported on all aircraft:

In all cases, the enum value used can be any one of the following:

Effects can also be specified for an aircraft within a list using the following format:

effect.*N* = effect.N = \<nodename\>#\<SimCode\>#<fxFileName>

Where N is the effect number and nodename is the model node that the effect will be attached to. SimCode is a script expression that has to return TRUE or FALSE (1 or 0), and the effect will show up based on this value. Here is a more thorough example:

effect.0 = L1_EngineFX#(A:GENERAL ENG COMBUSTION:1, boolean)#fx_reactorHeat
effect.1 = L2_EngineFX#(A:GENERAL ENG COMBUSTION:2, boolean)#fx_reactorHeat
effect.2 = R1_EngineFX#(A:GENERAL ENG COMBUSTION:3, boolean)#fx_reactorHeat
effect.3 = R2_EngineFX#(A:GENERAL ENG COMBUSTION:4, boolean)#fx_reactorHeat

The last input in the line is a *.fx file. At this time, it is not yet possible to re-define the effects used.

Here’s a full example for a Boeing:

[EFFECTS]
wake=fx_wake
water=fx_spray
dirt=fx_tchdrt
concrete=fx_sparks
touchdown=fx_tchdwn, 1
effect.0 = L1_EngineFX#(A:GENERAL ENG COMBUSTION:1, boolean)#fx_reactorHeat
effect.1 = L2_EngineFX#(A:GENERAL ENG COMBUSTION:2, boolean)#fx_reactorHeat
effect.2 = R1_EngineFX#(A:GENERAL ENG COMBUSTION:3, boolean)#fx_reactorHeat
effect.3 = R2_EngineFX#(A:GENERAL ENG COMBUSTION:4, boolean)#fx_reactorHeat