flight_model.cfg

The flight_model.cfg file is an optional aircraft file for defining the flight model of the aircraft. In general, you’ll want to prepare this file using the DevMode tools (see here for more information) and then tweak the values if required in the CFG file.

Below you can find information on the different sections used in the flight_model.cfg file as well as what parameters and values are expected within them. You can also find an in-depth explanation of the physics behind the flight model from the following page:

• Flight Model Physics Primer

[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.

[WEIGHT_AND_BALANCE]#

This section is used to define the weight and balance of the aircraft. Most position parameters in this section are given relative to the Datum Reference Point for the aircraft, which is itself specified in this section. The convention for positions is that a positive value equals forward, to the right, or vertically upward, and note that all units are in ft, unless mentioned otherwise. Any 3D coordinates are given with respect to this referential in the following order:

• z (longitudinal) coordinate
• X (lateral) coordinate
• y (vertical) coordinate

The only parameters that are not relative to the datum reference are the parameters for the manual longitudinal positioning of the CoL, compute_aero_center and aero_center_lift.

The available parameters for this section are:

[CONTACT_POINTS]#

This section is for defining the points on the aircraft body referential frame which are likely to come in contact with the ground. These parameters are used for aircraft positioning on the ground and also for crash simulations. Contact points should be added through the SimObject Editor, and only tweaked if required through the flight_model.cfg file.

This section has the following parameters:

point.N#

The point parameter is a hash map with the following keys:

The Properties key is a list of 20 values, as shown in the following example:

point.0 = Name: wheel1 #Properties: 1, -13, 0, -0.65, 750, 0, 0.523, 90, 0.296, 2.5, 0.794, 0, 0, 0, 165, 165, 1, 1, 0, -2.2

Each of these property values is for a specific piece of information about the contact point, which we list in the table below for reference:

[COLLISION_DAMAGE]#

This section is for defining the points on the aircraft body referential frame which are likely to come in contact with the ground. These parameters are used for aircraft positioning on the ground and also for crash simulations. Contact points should be added through the SimObject Editor, and only tweaked if required through the flight_model.cfg file. You can find additional information on how the wear and tear and collision damage parameters work from the following section:

• Note On Collision Damage / Wear And Tear

This section has the following parameters:

[FUEL]#

This section is for defining a simplified fuel system that will reflect on the flight model. In general this section is where you’d define fuel systems for basic aircraft, but for more complex aircraft you have the [FUEL_SYSTEM] section which permits you to setup how fuel will be distributed and used within the aircraft on a much more detailed level. In the SimObject editor, this will only be visible if the Use Legacy Fuel option is checked.

This section has the following parameters:

[FUEL_SYSTEM]#

This section is for defining the aircraft’s fuel system in detail. In general, the fuel system should be set up through the SimObject Editor, and only tweaked if required through the flight_model.cfg file using the parameters on this page.

The [FUEL_SYSTEM] section is primarily for use in complex aircraft models where the simple [FUEL] system doesn’t give enough control or flexibility for the aircraft systems. The parameters within the [FUEL] section should be used for simple aircraft or those that require a basic fuel system setup, or for maintaining old aircraft (like ones imported from FSX).

This section only has a few parameters, but each parameter can be repeated a number of times if required, where N in the parameter name corresponds to a new item of that parameter type. For example, the Engine parameter can go from Engine.1 to Engine.4 and each one can be defined separately.

The available fuel system parameters are:

[AIRPLANE_GEOMETRY]#

This section is for defining the geometry of an aircraft, which is an important part of the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 engine, since the flying physics will use, in a large part, the aircraft geometry to simulate the interaction between the SimObject and the physical world. In general, the geometry of the aircraft should be created and edited through the SimObject Editor, and only tweaked if required through the flight_model.cfg file.

Note that you can find further information on the physics behind this section from the following page:

• Aircraft description - Wing Geometry

You can also find a helpful tutorial on the basics of setting up the aircraft geometry from the following page:

• Tuning The Aircraft Flight Model

The available parameters for the [AIRPLANE_GEOMETRY] section are:

[AERODYNAMICS]#

This section is for defining the aerodynamics of an aircraft. In general, the aerodynamics of the aircraft should be created and edited through the SimObject Editor, and only tweaked if required through the flight_model.cfg file.

Note that you can find further information on the physics behind this section from the following page:

• Aircraft Description - Aerodynamics

You can also find a helpful tutorial on the basics of setting up the aircraft geometry from the following page:

• Tuning The Aircraft Flight Model

The available parameters in the [AERODYNAMICS] section are:

[FLIGHT_TUNING]#

This section is for tuning various aspects of the flight model for an aircraft.

The available parameters are:

[REFERENCE SPEEDS]#

This section contains various reference speed values used in different systems across the sim like the Flight Assistant, the Aircraft Selection UI, notifications, or overspeed triggers. Most of these parameters will have no direct effect on the flight model.

The available parameters are:

[STALL PROTECTION]#

Stall protection is a system which prevents the AoA from getting too high. This is done by software monitoring the plane’s angle of attack sensor, and when a high alpha situation is detected, the software lowers the nose of the plane to maintain a high - but still safe - AoA. This system is designed to prevent pilots from stalling the aircraft and to allow them to get the best possible performance in emergency e.g. in a wind-shear.

The following parameters can be used to control this system:

[CONTROL_SYSTEM]#

This section is only used if you wish your aircraft to have a stall protection system. If this section is included then you need to define all the listed parameters, as they do not have default values (with the exception of the PID). For more information on how this system works, please see the Note On The Stall Protection System.

[FLAPS.N]#

This section is for tuning the different flaps for the aircraft. You can have multiple [FLAPS.N] sections where N relates to the flap being defined from 0 up to the number of flaps - 1. For example, if you have two flaps you would have two sections, [FLAPS.0] and [FLAPS.1].

The available parameters are:

[DESIGN_ACTIVATION]#

In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, the flight model permits much more granularity when it comes to creating the features of an aircraft than previous versions, and you can remove parts or add parts (fuselage, wings, vtails, etc…) as necessary. By default - just as in previous versions of the simulation - the system will build the basic aircraft parts based on the parameters in the [AIRPLANE_GEOMETRY] section. However , in addition to these default parts, it is now possible to define additional parts by adding one or more of the [obj_EA1_*] or [obj_AIRGEO_*] sections. These additional parts will - by default - be based on the corresponding parameters in the [AIRPLANE_GEOMETRY] section, but they can also have their own parameters in each section to modify them from the “base” values.

The parts defined in the [obj_EA1_*] or [obj_AIRGEO_*] sections add to the airframe without removing the default parts. However this is not always what you want and so the parameters listed here in the [DESIGN_ACTIVATION] section can be used to disable these default parts when required. For example, it may be that you want to have more control over how the aircraft fuselage is created - since the standard simulation fuselage is low detail, always centered and there are not a lot of ways to control the shape - meaning you may have something like this in this section:

[DESIGN_ACTIVATION]
enable_aircraft_geometry_vtail = 1
enable_aircraft_geometry_htail = 1
enable_aircraft_geometry_fuselage = 0
enable_aircraft_geometry_wing = 1
enable_aircraft_geometry_gears = 1
enable_aircraft_geometry_exttank = 1
enable_aircraft_geometry_blades = 1

This tells the simulation that you will be adding one or more OBJ_EA1_FUSEALGE or OBJ_AIRGEO_FUSELAGE sections with the details of the more advanced custom fuselage objects. Alternatively, if you want to use the default fuselage but wish to add in two smaller fuselage objects on either side (for example), you can leave the enable_aircraft_geometry_fuselage set to 1, and then create two additional fuselage objects, positioning them accordingly.

It is important to note that setting these parameters to 0 does not mean that the primary geometry parameters are not used, however. Many of the parameters relevant to the advanced physics objects in the [AIRPLANE_GEOMETRY] section will still be used as default values for the physics objects you create, meaning that if you have - for example - multiple horizontal tail surfaces, you can set the htail_span parameter once and omit the span parameter from all the [OBJ_AIRGEO_HTAIL.N] objects.

The parameters available in this section are as follows:

[OBJ_EA1_FUSELAGE.N]#

This section is used to define a fuselage object that takes advantage of all the changes in the flight model physics made for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Fuselage objects are essentially cylinders that can be sized and deformed to create the gross aerodynamic elements of an aircraft, for example the main fuselage, the engine nacelles, external fuel tanks, floats, etc… You can add multiple [OBJ_EA1_FUSELAGE.N] sections, where N starts at 0 and is incremented by 1 for each new section you add, up to a maximum of 19 (20 objects, total).

If you wish to use custom fuselage objects exclusively then the enable_aircraft_geometry_fuselage parameter should be set to 0. When working with this section, it is a good idea to enable the Sim Forces debug option, so that you can see the the actual surface description represented in the simulation, shown by the various points used to define the surface vertices:

The parameters available in this section are as follows:

[OBJ_EA1_SURFACE.N]#

This section is used to define a surface object that takes advantage of all the changes in the flight model physics made for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. Surface objects are essentially planar boxes that can be positioned, moved and even animated to simulate things like spoilers, ailerons, struts, fins, etc… You can add multiple [OBJ_EA1_SURFACE.N] sections, where N starts at 0 and is incremented by 1 for each new section you add, up to a maximum of 99 (100 objects, total). When working with this section, it is a good idea to enable the Sim Forces debug option, so that you can see the the actual surface description represented in the simulation, shown by the various points used to define the surface vertices (see [OBJ_EA1_FUSELAGE.N] for an example).

The parameters available in this section are as follows:

[OBJ_EA1_BALLOON.N]#

COMING SOON!

[OBJ_EA1_ANCHORROPE.N]#

This is used to define a physics object that is used as an anchor rope for either balloons or airships. You can have multiple of these sections where the appended number N corresponds to its unique ID (starting at 0, and incrementing by 1 for each anchor rope that you wish to add).

The parameters available in this section are as follows:

[OBJ_EA1_PITOTFLAG.N]#

This is used to define a physics object that is used to display the “Remove Before Flight” warning hanging from many of the preflight check items. You can have multiple of these sections where the appended number N corresponds to its unique ID (starting at 0, and incrementing by 1 for each flag that you wish to add). Full instructions on setting up this item are given on the following page:

• “Remove Before Flight” Flags

The parameters available in this section are as follows:

[OBJ_EA1_YAWSTRING.N]#

This is used to define a physics object that is used to display the yaw string present on many aircraft. You can have multiple of these sections where the appended number N corresponds to its unique ID (starting at 0, and incrementing by 1 for each yaw string that you wish to add).

The parameters available in this section are as follows:

[OBJ_EA1_BANNER.N]#

COMING SOON!

[OBJ_AIRGEO_FUSELAGE.N]#

This section is used to define a fuselage object that uses the legacy Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 flight model fuselage definition, which is essentially a box shaped object with an elongated tale section. This model was used by default in previous versions of the simulation to model the aircraft geometry, and its properties are governed by the parameters setup in the [AIRPLANE_GEOMETRY] and [AERODYNAMICS] sections. By default one of these objects is created for the aircraft fuselage but if you set the enable_aircraft_geometry_fuselage parameter to 0, the “base” object will be disabled.

You can add multiple [OBJ_EA1_FUSELAGE.N] sections, where N starts at 0 and is incremented by 1 for each new section you add, up to a maximum of 19 (20 objects, total).

When working with this section, it is a good idea to enable the Sim Forces debug option, so that you can see the the actual surface description represented in the simulation, shown by the various points used to define the surface vertices (see [OBJ_EA1_FUSELAGE.N] for an example).

The parameters available in this section are as follows:

[OBJ_AIRGEO_VTAIL.N]#

This section is used to define a V-Tail (vertical tail) object for an aircraft. In previous versions of the simulation you could only model the aircraft geometry of a single vertical tail with the parameters available in the [AIRPLANE_GEOMETRY] and [AERODYNAMICS] sections. However, the [OBJ_AIRGEO_VTAIL.N] object available in the current version of the simulation removes the limitation of a single tail and permits the definition of multiple vertical tail objects, which can all have different properties if required.

With the [OBJ_AIRGEO_VTAIL.N] section, you can add one or more additional vertical tale objects where N starts at 0 and is incremented by 1 for each new section you add, up to a maximum of 9 (10 objects, total). If you do not want to add vertical tails to the default tail created by the simulation, then you should set the enable_aircraft_geometry_vtail parameter to 0, which will disable the default object and either let you have no vertical tail, or add in one or more custom v-tail objects.

The parameters available in this section are as follows:

[OBJ_AIRGEO_HTAIL.N]#

This section is used to define an H-Tail (horizontal tail) object for an aircraft. In previous versions of the simulation you could only model the aircraft geometry of a single horizontal tail with the parameters available in the [AIRPLANE_GEOMETRY] and [AERODYNAMICS] sections. However, the [OBJ_AIRGEO_HTAIL.N] object available in the current version of the simulation removes the limitation of a single tail and permits the definition of multiple vertical tail objects, which can all have different properties if required.

With the [OBJ_AIRGEO_HTAIL.N] section, you can add one or more additional horizontal tale objects where N starts at 0 and is incremented by 1 for each new section you add, up to a maximum of 9 (10 objects, total). If you do not want to add horizontal tails to the default tail created by the simulation, then you should set the enable_aircraft_geometry_htail parameter to 0, which will disable the default object and either let you have no horizontal tail, or add in one or more custom h-tail objects.

The parameters available in this section are as follows:

[OBJ_AIRGEO_WING.N]#

This section is used to define a wing object for an aircraft. In previous versions of the simulation you could only model the aircraft geometry of a single pair of wings with the parameters available in the [AIRPLANE_GEOMETRY] and [AERODYNAMICS] sections. However, the [OBJ_AIRGEO_WING.N] object available in the current version of the simulation removes the limitation of a single pair of wings and permits the definition of multiple wing objects, which can all have different properties if required.

With the [OBJ_AIRGEO_WING.N] section, you can add one or more additional wing objects where N starts at 0 and is incremented by 1 for each new section you add, up to a maximum of 9 (10 objects, total). If you do not want to add wings to the default wings created by the simulation, then you should set the enable_aircraft_geometry_wing parameter to 0, which will disable the default object and either let you have no wing objects, or add in one or more custom wing objects.

The parameters available in this section are as follows:

[AIRSHIP_SYSTEM]#

This section is only for airships and is used to setup the different components related to the gas compartments and envelope.

The available parameters are:

Gas Compartment Map#

The table below gives the keys and expected values that should be used when defining the gas_compartment.N hash map.