Why is my add-on aircraft not showing in Flight Simulator?
Your add-on aircraft usually does not show in Flight Simulator because it is incompatible with that simulator, installed in the wrong add-on folder, nested one level too deep, missing a required base aircraft, or hidden by menu filters. An installer reporting success only confirms that it copied something somewhere.
This diagnosis applies to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024, FSX, Flight Simulator 2004, Prepar3D and X-Plane. Their aircraft formats and installation paths are not interchangeable. Across these simulator families, the mistake we see most often is correct files placed at the wrong folder depth.
Compatibility and package type
The add-on must match both your simulator family and, where specified, its generation or edition.
An MSFS aircraft is not an FSX aircraft with a different folder name, and an X-Plane .acf cannot be loaded by a Microsoft simulator. FSX and Prepar3D add-ons sometimes share components, but compatibility is not guaranteed; gauges, modules and installers made for an older simulator may not work in a newer or 64-bit version. Likewise, do not assume every MSFS 2020 aircraft works unchanged in MSFS 2024 unless the package documentation says so.
Is it a livery rather than a complete aircraft?
A repaint, livery or texture pack cannot appear as a standalone aircraft unless its required base model is installed.
Look for phrases such as repaint only, livery, texture pack or base aircraft required. In MSFS, a livery is normally grouped beneath the base aircraft as a variation. In FS2004, FSX and Prepar3D, a texture-only repaint commonly needs a valid [fltsim.x] entry in aircraft.cfg; duplicating an existing section number or title= value can prevent the new variation from appearing.
AI-only and static aircraft
AI traffic and static display models are often deliberately excluded from the flyable-aircraft menu.
Check the description for AI, traffic, static, model set or non-flyable. Such a package may be installed correctly even though it never appears as a selectable user aircraft.
Correct aircraft folders by simulator
The simulator must be able to see the aircraft definition files at the folder level it scans.
| Simulator | Expected structure | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Flight Simulator | For a manual installation, one package folder inside the active Community folder, with manifest.json and layout.json at the package root | An extra wrapper folder, the wrong Community location, an unextracted ZIP, or copying files into the managed Official area |
| FS2004 | An aircraft folder under the simulator's Aircraft directory, normally containing aircraft.cfg, an aircraft file and the required model folders | The aircraft folder is nested too deeply, or only a repaint was copied |
| FSX | An aircraft folder under SimObjects/Airplanes, with aircraft.cfg at that aircraft folder's top level | The installer targeted another FSX edition, an obsolete installation path or the wrong simulator root |
| Prepar3D | Either the classic SimObjects/Airplanes structure or a correctly registered add-on package declared through add-on.xml | Moving files out of a registered package, or treating every Prepar3D add-on as a direct FSX-style installation |
| X-Plane | An aircraft folder inside the simulator's Aircraft directory containing a valid .acf file and its supporting files | Installing it under scenery or plugins, using an unsupported aircraft version, or leaving the aircraft inside the archive |
For MSFS, the correct result looks like Community/AircraftName/manifest.json, not Community/Wrapper/AircraftName/manifest.json. The active Community location varies with the simulator version, installation source and chosen package library, so use our instructions for finding the active Community folder and checking an MSFS package layout rather than relying on a path copied from another computer.
The same nesting fault affects classic Microsoft simulators. If aircraft.cfg is at SimObjects/Airplanes/AircraftName/AircraftName/aircraft.cfg, move the inner aircraft folder up one level unless the package instructions explicitly require a different structure.
Steps to make a missing aircraft appear
Check compatibility first, then package structure, installation path, dependencies and menu visibility in that order.
- Read the package description and readme. Confirm the exact simulator it supports and whether it is a complete aircraft, repaint, update, AI model or expansion requiring another product.
- Extract the archive fully. A ZIP, RAR or similar archive sitting in an add-on folder is not an installed aircraft. Extract it to a temporary location so you can inspect the contents before copying anything.
- Find the real package root. Ignore wrapper folders containing only screenshots, documentation or another identically named folder. Locate
manifest.json,aircraft.cfgor the relevant.acf, depending on the simulator. - Verify the active destination. Systems with multiple simulator editions, package libraries or old installations often have several plausible-looking add-on folders. Open the final destination manually and confirm the files are actually there.
- Inspect the aircraft definition. Missing or malformed package files stop detection. For a classic repaint, check that its
[fltsim.x]block refers to the correcttexture=folder and does not duplicate an existing section or title. - Install required dependencies. A livery may require a default, freeware or separately installed base aircraft. Some expansions also depend on a specific model, package or simulator edition.
- Close and restart the simulator. A complete restart is the most reliable way to force another aircraft scan; returning only to the main menu may not be enough.
- Reset aircraft filters. Clear searches, favourites, manufacturers, categories and installed-content filters. Also confirm that a managed package is installed and enabled, not merely listed as owned.
- Check for blocked or incomplete files. Security software, protected installation folders and insufficient permissions can quarantine files, stop a copy or redirect an older installer. Compare the extracted source with the final destination.
Do not begin by deleting simulator caches or configuration files. A cache reset cannot repair an incompatible package, missing dependency or incorrectly nested folder, and unnecessary deletion can create a second problem.
Why can an installer report success when the aircraft is still missing?
An installer can complete normally after copying the aircraft to a folder that your simulator never scans.
This is especially common with multiple FSX installations, stale registry information, separate library drives and old installers written before FSX: Steam Edition. Our explanation of how FSX add-ons behave in FSX: Steam Edition and why installers miss its path covers the edition-specific traps.
Do not rely on the final success message. Note the destination shown by the installer, browse to it and verify that the expected aircraft files were created there. If it wrote to an obsolete simulator folder or a Windows per-user virtualised location, remove that copy and reinstall to the path specified by the add-on's instructions.
Can aircraft menu filters hide an installed add-on?
Yes; search terms, category filters and variation settings can conceal an aircraft that the simulator has successfully detected.
- Clear the search box and switch from favourites or a single manufacturer to the broadest aircraft view.
- In FSX, enable Show all variations when looking for a repaint.
- Look beneath the base aircraft for liveries instead of expecting every texture package to have its own main entry.
- In MSFS, check the simulator's content library or package manager to confirm that managed content is downloaded and enabled.
- In X-Plane, remove aircraft-role or version filters that may exclude an older model.
Search using the aircraft's displayed manufacturer, model or variation name. The package folder name may bear little resemblance to the name shown in the selection menu.
What if the aircraft is listed but will not load?
If the aircraft appears in the menu, detection is working; a failure after selection points instead to compatibility, missing files, dependencies or an add-on conflict.
A missing model or aircraft file can stop the selected aeroplane loading. Old gauge modules may also be incompatible with a newer or 64-bit simulator, while absent effects or sounds usually affect presentation rather than menu visibility. In MSFS, a livery can be listed yet display no usable model when its required base package is absent or incompatible.
Return to the supplied instructions and install only the dependencies named there. Copying random gauges, modules or configuration sections from unrelated aircraft often makes the installation harder to diagnose.
Clean reinstall and isolation test
If the structure looks correct but the aircraft remains absent, reinstall one clean copy and test it without other third-party packages interfering.
- Close the simulator. Move the suspect add-on to a temporary backup location. Do not delete default or managed official content manually.
- Obtain a fresh archive. This rules out an incomplete download, damaged extraction or files overwritten by an older version.
- Extract once to a temporary folder. Identify the real package root before moving it into the simulator.
- Install only that aircraft. Temporarily remove conflicting versions or duplicate packages with the same aircraft and livery identifiers.
- Restart with all filters cleared. If the aircraft now appears, restore other add-ons in small groups until the conflict returns.
- Compare with another package for the same simulator. A second aircraft from our simulator-specific freeware aircraft library can establish whether the fault affects one add-on or every manual installation.
If only one aircraft remains missing, its package, compatibility or dependency is at fault. If no manually installed aircraft appears, recheck the simulator's active add-on path and file permissions. If the base aircraft appears but one repaint does not, concentrate on its livery dependency, texture reference and variation configuration rather than reinstalling the whole simulator.