TAXIWAY XML PROPERTIES

This page lists the different elements and attributes required to generate properly formed XML for taxiways into airports. The information on this page is used along with the information for creating an Airport - since approaches are specifically for airports - which can be found here:

The different taxiway elements would go inside of the <Airport> element, and you can (and normally would) define multiple taxiways in a single airport. It is very important to note that these elements must go in the following order:

 

1) List all your Taxiway Points.

2) Define any Taxiway Parking.

3) Define any Service Stands.

4) Define any Taxi Names.

5) list all the Taxiway Paths.

 

The image below shows an example:

 

 

<TaxiwayPoint />

This element is used to add a point to the taxiway network for routing on the ground within an <Airport> element. Since the network will contain many taxiway points (and possibly parking spots), each of these locations need to have an "index" that uniquely identifies a point when building the network.

 

When defining a taxiway point, there are two ways to specify the position:

  • The first is to use a lat/lon pair that will give the exact coordinate
  • the second is to use a biasX/biasZ pair that specifies the displacement of the point from the airport reference point

 

Note that this is a self-closing element and has the following attributes:

 

Attribute Description Type Required

displayName

The display name for the object in the Scenery Editor.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 String No

parentGroupID

The ID of the parent group this object belongs to.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 Integer No

groupIndex

The group index of the object.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 Integer No
index Identifier index assigned to this taxiway point inside of an airport. This identifier must be unique for all <TaxiwayPoint>, <TaxiwayParking> and <TaxiwayServiceStand> locations. Values must be between 0 and 65534. Integer Yes
type Taxiway point type. The *_NO_DRAW options indicate that the taxiway points should not be drawn (as is the case for grass or gravel taxiways, for example).

Enum:

  1. NORMAL
  2. HOLD_SHORT
  3. ILS_HOLD_SHORT
  4. HOLD_SHORT_NO_DRAW
  5. ILS_HOLD_SHORT_NO_DRAW
 Yes
orientation The orientation of a HOLD_SHORT.

Enum:

  1. FORWARD
  2. REVERSE
 No
lat Latitude of the airport reference point, in degrees between -90.0° and 90.0°

Float

Yes

(only if biasX and biasY are not used)
lon Longitude of the airport reference point, in degrees between -180.0° and 180.0° Float

Yes

(only if biasX and biasY are not used)
biasX Bias from airport reference along the longitudinal axis in meters.

Float

Yes

(only if lat and lon are not used)
biasZ Bias from airport reference along the latitudinal axis in meters. Float

Yes

(only if lat and lon are not used)

 

 

<WaitingRoom />

This element still appears in the bglcomp.xsd file, but is obsolete and not used by the simulation. It has no sub-elements, and the following attributes:

name
planeStandName
lat
lon
biasX
biasZ
heading
apronControlIndex

 

 

<TaxiwayParking />

This element is used to add a parking spot to the taxiway network. Taxiway parking spots can have preferred airline designations. Since the network will contain many taxiway points and parking spots, each of these locations need to have an "index" that uniquely identifies a point when building the network.

 

When defining a taxiway parking spot, there are two ways to specify the position:

  • The first is to use a lat/lon pair that will give the exact coordinate
  • the second is to use a biasX/biasZ pair that specifies the displacement of the point from the airport reference point

 

The size of a parking spot required for an aircraft is taken from the wingspan of the aircraft recorded in the Aircraft Configuration Files. The wingspan is converted to meters and rounded up.

 

This element may contain the sub-elements <Coloration /> and <Material />, and has the following attributes:

 

Attribute Description Type Required

displayName

The display name for the object in the Scenery Editor.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 String No

parentGroupID

The ID of the parent group this object belongs to.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 Integer No

groupIndex

The group index of the object.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 Integer No
index Identifier index assigned to this taxiway parking spot inside of an airport. This identifier must be unique for all <TaxiwayPoint>, <TaxiwayParking> and <TaxiwayServiceStand> locations. Values must be between 0 and 65534. Integer Yes
lat Latitude of the airport reference point, in degrees between -90.0° and 90.0°

Float

Yes

(only if biasX and biasY are not used)
lon Longitude of the airport reference point, in degrees between -180.0° and 180.0° Float

Yes

(only if biasX and biasY are not used)
biasX Bias from airport reference along the longitudinal axis in meters.

Float

Yes

(only if lat and lon are not used)
biasZ Bias from airport reference along the latitudinal axis in meters. Float

Yes

(only if lat and lon are not used)
heading The parking spot heading - oriented from the North - from -360.0° to 360.0°.

Float

 Yes
radius The parking spot radius, in meters. Float Yes
type Taxiway parking type.

Enum:

NONE
DOCK_GA
FUEL
GATE_HEAVY
GATE_MEDIUM
GATE_SMALL
RAMP_CARGO
RAMP_GA
RAMP_GA_LARGE
RAMP_GA_MEDIUM
RAMP_GA_SMALL
RAMP_MIL_CARGO
RAMP_MIL_COMBAT
VEHICLE
RAMP_GA_EXTRA
GATE_EXTRA
HELICOPTER

 Yes
name Taxiway parking name.

Enum:

DOCK
E_PARKING
GATE
GATE_A
GATE_B
GATE_C
GATE_D
GATE_E
GATE_F
GATE_G
GATE_H
GATE_I
GATE_J
GATE_K
GATE_L
GATE_M
GATE_N
GATE_O
GATE_P
GATE_Q
GATE_R
GATE_S
GATE_T
GATE_U
GATE_V
GATE_W
GATE_X
GATE_Y
GATE_Z
NE_PARKING
NONE
N_PARKING
NW_PARKING
PARKING
SE_PARKING
S_PARKING
SW_PARKING
W_PARKING

 Yes
number Number of this spot (goes with given name),from 0 to 65534 Integer Yes
suffix Suffix to be added to the taxiway parking name and number.

Enum:

GATE_A
GATE_B
GATE_C
GATE_D
GATE_E
GATE_F
GATE_G
GATE_H
GATE_I
GATE_J
GATE_K
GATE_L
GATE_M
GATE_N
GATE_O
GATE_P
GATE_Q
GATE_R
GATE_S
GATE_T
GATE_U
GATE_V
GATE_W
GATE_X
GATE_Y
GATE_Z
NONE

 No
pushBack

The behavior of "parking pushback" is to push back the aircraft either one wingspan radius, or to the first taxiway node (whichever comes first), do a 180° turn, and then proceed along the taxiways. There is no control over which way the aircraft will turn the 180°, but if the pushback of one radius is too far, entering a taxiway node closer to the parking area will shorten the pushback distance.

IMPORTANT! This is a legacy setting and has no effect on the behaviour of aircraft in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.

Enum:

  1. NONE
  2. BOTH
  3. LEFT
  4. RIGHT
 No
teeOffset1 Stopping points for aircraft, in meters, from the center of the parking spot. Value is between 0.1 to 50.0 Float No
teeOffset2
teeOffset3
teeOffset4
airlineCodes This is a comma separated list of airline codes that can use this parking spot. This text should match the strings entered for the atc_parking_codes entry for the aircraft. To maintain compatibility, the ICAO code for airlines should be used. String list No

manufacturerNames

 This is a comma separated list of manufacturer names that can be used to limit the aircraft that spawn on the parking spot. The list will be compared against the ui_manufacturer parameter of all available aircraft variations. String No
numberMarking Enable (TRUE) or disable (FALSE) number markings for the taxiway parking point. Bool No
numberBiasX Bias from parking spot reference along the longitudinal axis in meters. Float No
numberBiasZ Bias from parking spot reference along the latitudinal axis in meters. Float No
numberHeading The parking spot number heading, from -360.0° to 360.0°. Float No

has3DMesh

When this attribute is "TRUE", the parking space will generate a fuel mesh.

 Bool No
drawDirt When this attribute is "TRUE", a dirt texture will be applied to the area within and around the parking space (the actual texture used will depend on the size and type of parking). Note that ground vehicle parking will ignore have this attribute. Bool No

touchdown

When this attribute is "TRUE" - and the heliopterStand attribute is also "TRUE" - an interior circle marking will be added to the helicopter parking spot.

 Bool No

centralZone

When this attribute is "TRUE" - and the heliopterStand attribute is also "TRUE" - a central circle marking will be added to the helicopter parking spot.

 Bool No

helicopterStand

When this attribute is "TRUE", the parking space be considered as being a helicopter stand. Requires that the type is "HELICOPTER".

 Bool No

alignmentLine

When this attribute is "TRUE" - and the heliopterStand attribute is also "TRUE" - a painted indicator line will be added through the parking spot, aligned with the taxiway path that the spot is attached to.

 Bool No

collocatedWithTLOF

When this attribute is "TRUE" - and the heliopterStand attribute is also "TRUE" - it change the exterior painted circle to be a white TLOF (touch down and lift off) area marking.

 Bool No

passengerAccessType

 This attribute defines the kind of passenger access for the parking spot, and assigns a boarding flow apron service to this parking for the Passenger Boarding Service. This flow will adapt to the possibilities allowed for the aircraft using the services. When this is not set, the spot will detect automatically if it has a Jetway or not, then behaving as if it was "BUS" or "JETWAY".

Enum:

  1. BUS
  2. JETWAY
  3. RAMP
 No

apronControlIndex

This is the index of the Apron Controller to be assigned to this taxiway stand service location.

IMPORTANT! This index value cannot be set in the XML and is assigned by the The Scenery Editor when you assign an Apron Control to a taxiway.

 Integer No

 

 

<TaxiwayServiceStand />

A Taxiway Service Stand object is an element that is used to add a service control taxiway parking spot. Taxiway service stands can have preferred airline designations. Since the network will contain many taxiway points and service stands, each of these locations need to have an "index" that uniquely identifies a stand when building the network.

 

When defining a taxiway service stand, there are two ways to specify the position:

  • The first is to use a lat/lon pair that will give the exact coordinate
  • the second is to use a biasX/biasZ pair that specifies the displacement of the point from the airport reference point

 

This element may contain the sub-elements <Coloration /> and <Material />, and has the following attributes:

 

Attribute Description Type Required

displayName

The display name for the object in the Scenery Editor.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 String No

parentGroupID

The ID of the parent group this object belongs to.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 Integer No

groupIndex

The group index of the object.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 Integer No
index Identifier index assigned to this taxiway service stand inside of an airport. This identifier must be unique for all <TaxiwayPoint>, <TaxiwayParking> and <TaxiwayServiceStand> locations. Values must be between 0 and 65534. Integer Yes

standType

This attribute is used to set the type of taxiway stand that is being edited. Note that the values shown in the Type column are default values that are always defined within the simulation, however you may define your own values by setting up the <ApronControl.ApronVehicleParams> element in Apron Control Services XML.

String:

"BAGGAGE_CART"
"BAGGAGE_LOADER"
"BUS"
"CATERING_TRUCK"
"FUEL_TRUCK"
"GPU"
"PUSHBACK"
"RAMP"

 Yes

standRole

This option lets you assign a role to the parking stand.

String:

  1. PLANE - This means the spot is where any vehicles go when they will need to approach an aircraft after it's parked. For stands of this type, you will need to associate the stand with an aircraft parking spot using the planeStandName, planeStandNumber, and planeStandSuffix attributes.
  2. PARKING - This means that the spot is the spawn point for the vehicle, and will also be where it goes when it is not currently on a service mission. By default, when the airport loads into the simulation, a corresponding vehicle will be spawned on every stand with the assigned role. This is the only way that vehicles will be spawned.
  3. GATE - This is only used for buses and means that the spot is where a bus should go to get passengers for an aircraft. For stands of this type, the associated taxiway parking spot name is supplied through the planeStandName attribute.
 Yes

lat

 Latitude of the airport reference point, in degrees between -90.0° and 90.0°

Float

Yes

(only if biasX and biasY are not used)

lon

 Longitude of the airport reference point, in degrees between -180.0° and 180.0° Float

Yes

(only if biasX and biasY are not used)

biasX

 Bias from airport reference along the longitudinal axis in meters.

Float

Yes

(only if lat and lon are not used)

biasZ

 Bias from airport reference along the latitudinal axis in meters. Float

Yes

(only if lat and lon are not used)

heading

 The parking stand heading - oriented from the North - from -360.0° to 360.0°.

Float

 Yes

radius

 The parking stand radius, in meters. Float Yes

apronControlIndex

This is the index of the Apron Controller to be assigned to this taxiway stand service location.

IMPORTANT! This index value cannot be set in the XML and is assigned by the The Scenery Editor when you assign an Apron Control to a taxiway stand.

 Integer Yes

planeStandName

 The name of an associated <TaxiwayParking />. Only used if the standRole is set to "PLANE" or "GATE". String No

planeStandSuffix

 The suffix of an associated <TaxiwayParking />. Only used if the standRole is set to "PLANE". String No

planeStandNumber

 The name of an associated <TaxiwayParking />. Only used if the standRole is set to "PLANE". Integer No

 

 

<TaxiName />

This element is used to add a name to a <TaxiwayPath> element in the taxiway network. Note that this is a self-closing element and has the following attributes:

 

Attribute Description Type Required

displayName

The display name for the object in the Scenery Editor.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 String No

parentGroupID

The ID of the parent group this object belongs to.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 Integer No

groupIndex

The group index of the object.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 Integer No
index The unique index for the name, from 0 to 255.

Integer

 No
name The name to be associated with this index, which can have a maximum of 8 characters. String No

 

 

<TaxiwayPath>

This element can be used to add a taxiway path to the taxiway system for an airport. This element may contain the following sub-elements

  1. <Coloration />
  2. <Material />

 

If it has no sub-elements, then it can be self-closing. The element has the following attributes:

 

Attribute Description Type Required

displayName

The display name for the object in the Scenery Editor.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 String No

parentGroupID

The ID of the parent group this object belongs to.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 Integer No

groupIndex

The group index of the object.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 Integer No
start Index number of taxiway point or parking space to start from. Value from 0 to 65534. Integer Yes
end Index number of taxiway point or parking space to end on. Value from 0 to 65534. Integer Yes
type Taxiway path type.

Enum:

  1. PARKING
  2. RUNWAY
  3. PATH
  4. CLOSED
  5. TAXI
  6. VEHICLE
  7. ROAD
 No
surface The name of the surface material to use. String No
drawSurface Whether to draw the taxiway surface (TRUE) or not (FALSE)

Bool

 No
drawDetail Set to TRUE to draw the taxiway detail (such as a bump map, for example), or FALSE otherwise. Bool No
width Width, in meters, of the taxiway path. Float No
weightLimit The maximum weight for the taxiway path, in pounds. Float No
name

This is the name index as defined by the <TaxiName /> element.

IMPORTANT! Only include this attribute if the type attribute is not RUNWAY.

 Integer No
centerLine Whether the taxiway path has a center line (TRUE) or not (FALSE). The default is FALSE. Bool No
centerLineLighted Whether the taxiway path center line is lit (TRUE) or not (FALSE). The default is FALSE. Bool No
leftEdgeLighted Whether the taxiway path left edge line is lit (TRUE) or not (FALSE). The default is FALSE. Bool No
rightEdgeLighted Whether the taxiway path right edge line is lit (TRUE) or not (FALSE). The default is FALSE. Bool No
leftEdge

The left edge type.

String:

  1. NONE
  2. SOLID
  3. DASHED
  4. SOLID_DASHED
 No
rightEdge The right edge type.

String:

  1. NONE
  2. SOLID
  3. DASHED
  4. SOLID_DASHED
 No
number

Number of the runway the path is being added to. Note that you do not suffix the designator onto this value, but instead define it separately in the designator attribute.

IMPORTANT! Only include this attribute if the type attribute is RUNWAY.

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 the path is being added to.

IMPORTANT! Only include this attribute if the type attribute is RUNWAY.

Enum:

NONE
C
CENTER
L
LEFT
R
RIGHT
W
WATER
A
B
E
N
NE
NW
S
SE
SW
W

 No
enhanced When this attribute is "TRUE" then any center line markings will use the enhanced marking. Boolean No
groundMerging When this attribute is "TRUE", the the taxiway path material will be merged with the terrain textures. Boolean No
excludeVegetationAround

When this attribute is "TRUE", any vegetation that is near the edge of the taxiway path object will be removed.

 Boolean No
excludeVegetationInside

When this attribute is "TRUE", any vegetation that is within the bounds of the taxiway path object will be removed.

 Boolean No

 

 

<TaxiwaySign />

This element is used to add a taxiway sign to an airport. Note that this is a self-closing element and has the following attributes:

 

Attribute Description Type Required

displayName

The display name for the object in the Scenery Editor.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 String No

parentGroupID

The ID of the parent group this object belongs to.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 Integer No

groupIndex

The group index of the object.

NOTE: this is only used for ordering in the The Scenery Contents List

 Integer No
lat Latitude of the object, in degrees between -90.0° and 90.0°.

Float

 No
lon Longitude of the object, in degrees between -180.0° and 180.0°. Float No
heading The heading in degrees of the sign. Note that this is the heading of the sign, so the text will face 90° clockwise from this heading. Value is from from 0.0° to 360.0°.

Float

 No
label Label string (explained in more detail below)

String

 No
justification Whether to right or left justify the text (default is LEFT).

Enum:

  1. LEFT
  2. RIGHT
 No
size The size of the sign (SIZE1 is the smallest and SIZE5 is the largest).

Enum:

  1. SIZE1
  2. SIZE2
  3. SIZE3
  4. SIZE4
  5. SIZE5
 No

 

The label attribution is a string comprised of at least one sign-type symbol (a lower case letter) and one or more characters to define the sign contents. A simple example would be "l[G]" which creates a location sign for taxi "Golf". The sign-type symbols are as follows:

 

Sign-type Identifier Description Colours
l Location Yellow text on black
d Direction Black text on yellow
m Mandatory White text on red
i Information Black text on white
r Runway White text on red
u Unknown Black text on white

 

The following characters describe the content of the sign. The characters can be any upper case letter (A-Z), any numerical digit (0-9), or any one of the following special characters:

 

Character Symbol Description
_ or space Space
- Dash
> Right Arrow
< Left Arrow
^ Up Arrow
v Down Arrow
' (apostrophe) Up-right arrow
` (backwards apostrophe) Up-left arrow
/ Back-left arrow
\ Back-right arrow
[ Left border
] Right border
| Vertical Line

 

Here are a couple more examples:

  • l[AE] - This sign indicates to the pilot that they are on taxiway "alpha-echo"
  • l[G]d[F\]m[11R-29L] - This sign will tell a pilot that they are located on taxiway Golf at the intersection with runway 11R/29L and that taxiway Foxtrot is back and to their right

Note the use of brackets in these examples. Brackets create the black outline around the letter on many of the signs, and if you omit the brackets the letter will have no "box" around it. You can also use brackets on direction and runway signs to increase the spacing at either end of the segment.

 

Direction signs are made up of a combination of directional arrows and taxiway and runway designators. Arrows can appear before or after the taxiway or runway designator. All of the following are valid direction signs:

  • d/G
  • dG/
  • d/G/

 

Using these components you can create signs of arbitrary complexity.

 

Related Topics

  1. TaxiwayPath Objects
  2. Airports And Facilities
  3. Airport XML Properties
  4. Airport Services
  5. Runway XML Properties
  6. SimpleAirport

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