# Creating A Modular Aircraft Project<no value>
At this point, you have decided what aircraft you want to make, you have all your visual and mechanical references, and you're all ready to boot up your 3D modelling program and get to work... However, before going any further and starting to model your aircraft, you should take a moment to create the project that will be used to generate the final package for it. You will want to do this *now* so that when it comes time to create the {{< glossterm >}}gltf{{< /glossterm >}} files with the interior and exterior models of the aircraft you'll have somewhere to put them.

 

 

### The Project Editor

To start with, you want to start up Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and then go to the [File](../../../devmode/menus/file/) menu and select the **New Project** option:

{{< image-center
    src="images/7_Samples_Tutorials/Tutorials/Creating_An_Aircraft/newproject_1.png"
    alt="The New Project Option In DevMode" >}}

 

This will open up the **New Project Window** where you will need to give some details:

{{< callout context="note" title="NOTE" icon="outline/bulb" >}}

We will limit this tutorial to briefly telling you what to put and where to put it with the following windows, but for a full explanation of the different options and inputs, please see here: [Creating A New Project](../../../devmode/editors/project-editor/the-project-editor/#NewProject)

{{< /callout >}}

{{< image-center
    src="images/7_Samples_Tutorials/Tutorials/Creating_An_Aircraft/newproject_2.png"
    alt="The New Project Window" >}}

 

Here you need to click on the {{< button "..." />}} button and select the location where *all* the package data will be stored, and then you need to give the project a name and provide a **Creator Name** and a **Company Name**. After that you will be asked what kind of **publishing item** you want to make, which in this case is simply a **Package**:  

{{< image-center
    src="images/7_Samples_Tutorials/Tutorials/Creating_An_Aircraft/newproject_3_company.png"
    alt="The Creator And Company Name Window" >}}

 

After that you'll be presented with the **Package Creation Wizard** where you need to select the **Aircraft** package type and then fill in the relevant details:

{{< image-center
    src="images/7_Samples_Tutorials/Tutorials/Creating_An_Aircraft/newproject_4_wizard.png"
    alt="The Package Wizard Window" >}}

 

A package also requires one or more **asset groups** to be defined, and after clicking the {{< button "Next" />}} button in the Package Wizard you will be prompted for information about the initial Asset Group to add to the package. In this window:

-   you should name the group after the aircraft you are modelling
-   you should tick the **Modular Aircraft** options
-   you should select an appropriate empty template for the type of modular aircraft you wish to create

{{< image-center
    src="images/7_Samples_Tutorials/Tutorials/Creating_An_Aircraft/newproject_5_assetgroup.png"
    alt="The Add Asset Group Window" >}}

 

Once that's done, clicking `Create Aircraft` will create the package and you will be able to see it in the Project Editor, like this:  

{{< image-center
    src="images/7_Samples_Tutorials/Tutorials/Creating_An_Aircraft/newproject_6_editor.png"
    alt="The Project Editor With The Base Aircraft Package" >}}

 

 

### The Package Contents

With that, you have created the base package that you'll be using for the aircraft. At this point, there isn't much more that you need to do, however we recommend that you take a moment to examine the package and get an understanding of how it is structured:

{{< image-center
    src="images/7_Samples_Tutorials/Tutorials/Creating_An_Aircraft/project_contents_1.png"
    alt="The New Project Folders" >}}

-   The first folder - `_PackageInt` - is a temporary folder used by the Project Editor for maintaining visual layouts and is irrelevant to the actual package creation process.
-   The `Package Definitions` folder will contain the metadata related to the final package.
-   The `Packages` folder will hold the output package when you build it.
-   The `PackageSources` Folder will contain all the files that actually set up the aircraft.
-   The `XML` file contains the package information for the SDK tools.

 

 

### Recommended Project Setup

Before you move on to actually start [Modeling And Texturing](../../../models-and-textures/models-materials-and-textures/), we recommend that you look over the newly created project schematic as well as the information available on the following page so that you are familiar with the concept and setup of a **modular aircraft**:

-   [Modular Aircraft Project Structure](../../../content-configuration/modular-simobjects/modular-simobject-project-structure/)

 

All the aircraft that belong to the base simulation have been created with a single *helper* node exported in the **common** folder, and all other aircraft parts are added as *SimAttachments* in the **attachments** folder. Doing it this way means that you can "mix and match" parts based on the **preset** that has been selected by the user or the simulation. For example, if you have an aircraft that can be used for passenger transport and for skydiving, you will need two different fuselage models, both of which can be created as SimAttachments and then added to the common helper node at run-time based on presets. It is because of this flexibility that this is the recommended setup for a modular aircraft for third parties as well.

 

 

### Your Package And Multiplayer

If your package is to be used as either a live aircraft or as a multiplayer aircraft, we recommend that you check the following pages to get details of how this will be set up. In general you need ensure that the model itself is as optimised as possible, and then - when setting up the aircraft files - ensure that you have the appropriate parameters set to the correct values for how you want the aircraft to be used. Please see here for more details:

-   [Air Traffic And The Aircraft.cfg File](../../../content-configuration/environment/living-world/traffic/#airtraffic_note)
-   [Air Traffic And Multiplayer Aircraft](../../../content-configuration/environment/living-world/traffic/#multiplayer_note)