Use an Aerosoft aircraft paint kit correctly: edit and export textures, install the repaint in FSX/P3D or MSFS, and fix missing liveries.
To create and install an Aerosoft aircraft repaint, use the paint kit made for the exact aircraft, simulator and model variant; edit its layered diffuse or albedo files; export textures with the original names, format, alpha channels and mipmaps; then install them as a separate livery and register that livery with the simulator.
Aerosoft publishes aircraft for several simulators, so there is no universal installation path. FS2004, FSX and Prepar3D use traditional texture folders and aircraft.cfg entries, while Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020/2024 and X-Plane use different livery-package structures.
Which Aerosoft paint kit do I need?
Use only the paint kit supplied for the exact aircraft edition, simulator and external model you intend to repaint. A kit for another engine type, fuselage length, wing configuration or simulator release may look similar but have different UV mapping and texture names.
- The official layered source files: usually PSD or another format containing separate paint, markings, panel-line, rivet, shading and UV-guide layers.
- A working livery for reference: this shows the filenames, dimensions, format, alpha channels and folder arrangement expected by the aircraft.
- A compatible image editor and exporter: it must preserve layers and alpha channels and export the required DDS, BMP or PNG format without flattening technical channels accidentally.
- The kit instructions: follow any aircraft-specific guidance about texture orientation, compression, mipmaps and material maps.
The kit may be included with the installed aircraft, documentation or optional product files. If the aircraft is managed through Aerosoft ONE, our Aerosoft ONE setup notes explain how its product installation and library management work. Not every aircraft or paint kit is distributed through that application.
How do I create the repaint textures?
- Make a working copy. Keep the untouched paint kit and back up any configuration file you plan to edit. Never paint directly over the only master file.
- Confirm the model variant. Compare the kit with an installed livery for the same engine, fuselage and model configuration. Door outlines, antennas and wing textures frequently differ between variants.
- Paint below the detail layers. Add colours, logos and registrations on new layers beneath panel lines, rivets, weathering and shading. Keep the UV wireframe visible while aligning artwork, then hide UV guides, labels and coloured reference backgrounds before export.
- Preserve technical channels. Legacy alpha channels may control reflection, gloss or transparency. Newer aircraft can use composite material maps containing ambient occlusion, roughness and metallic data in separate channels. Leave those maps unchanged unless the paint-kit instructions explicitly explain them.
- Export an exact match. Retain the original filename, pixel dimensions, file type, texture orientation, alpha channel and mipmap requirements. Copy the settings from a working texture when the documentation is unclear; choosing a DDS preset by guesswork often produces black, transparent or excessively glossy surfaces.
- Inspect the aircraft in daylight. Check joins around the nose, tail, belly, doors, nacelles and wing roots. UV islands can cross several files, and some surfaces may be mirrored, making a one-sided logo appear backwards on the opposite side.
How do I install an Aerosoft repaint?
The correct destination and registration method are determined by the simulator, not by the image editor used to make the repaint.
| Simulator | Typical livery location | How it is registered |
|---|---|---|
| FS2004 or FSX | texture.LiveryName beside the aircraft's other texture folders | A new [fltsim.X] section in aircraft.cfg |
| Prepar3D | Inside the aircraft or its external add-on package | A [fltsim.X] section in the relevant aircraft.cfg |
| MSFS 2020/2024 on PC | A separate livery package in the installation's Community folder | The template's aircraft configuration, manifest and layout metadata |
| X-Plane | The aircraft's liveries/LiveryName folder, commonly with an objects subfolder | Detected from the livery folder and expected texture names |
Installing the repaint in FSX, FS2004 or Prepar3D
Create a uniquely named texture folder in the same aircraft package as the matching base livery. If the repaint contains only changed files, retain the supplied texture.cfg or another valid fallback arrangement so the simulator can find shared textures.
Next, copy the [fltsim.X] block from a working livery for the same model variant. Give it the next unused number, set texture= to the suffix of your new folder, and make title= unique. Change the displayed variation, airline and registration as required, but leave sim=, model=, panel= and sound= matching the source variant.
For example, texture=MyLivery points to texture.MyLivery. A mismatch between those two strings is one of the most common reasons a repaint fails to appear. Our detailed FSX texture-folder and aircraft.cfg walkthrough covers this legacy installation process, while older products may require the BMP and alpha-channel workflow used by FS2004.
Installing the repaint in MSFS or X-Plane
For Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 or 2024 on PC, begin with the livery-package template supplied for that aircraft. Preserve its folder tree, aircraft reference and package metadata, then update the layout data using the method specified by the template. Do not place custom files inside the managed base-aircraft package because an update or repair can remove them.
A livery that is present in the Community folder but missing from the aircraft selector usually has an incorrect base-aircraft reference, malformed configuration, duplicated identity or stale layout metadata. Loose Community-folder repaints are a PC workflow; the Xbox and PlayStation versions do not expose a normal local Community folder for arbitrary packages.
For X-Plane, mirror the folder structure and filenames of a working livery supplied with the aircraft. Most exterior textures belong under liveries/LiveryName/objects, although the exact arrangement is aircraft-specific.
Why is the repaint missing or displaying incorrectly?
| Symptom | Likely cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Livery does not appear | Check for an extra nested folder, a mismatched texture suffix, duplicate title=, incorrect [fltsim.X] numbering, the wrong model variant or invalid package metadata. |
| Aircraft is white, chequered or partly untextured | Required shared textures or fallback definitions are missing, or the exported filenames do not exactly match those expected by the model. |
| Paint is black, transparent or extremely shiny | The alpha channel, DDS compression or material-map channels were changed. Restore them from the kit or a working original texture. |
| Logos are reversed on one side | The model uses mirrored UV mapping. A normal texture repaint cannot place independent artwork on that surface unless the model provides separate left and right mappings. |
| Old artwork still appears | The simulator is loading another copy of the livery, or the edited file was exported outside the active package. Verify the live path and rebuild package metadata where required. |
| Paint becomes blurred at a short distance | The export has unsuitable mipmaps or a lower resolution than the original. Match the dimensions and mipmap behaviour of the working textures. |
Can I share an Aerosoft repaint?
You can distribute it only within the paint kit's licence terms. A normal repaint archive contains your changed texture files, the required configuration snippet or livery package, installation instructions and a statement identifying the required base aircraft.
Do not include the payware model, gauges, sounds, complete original texture set or layered paint-kit masters unless their licence expressly permits redistribution. This texture-only Aerosoft Catalina repaint illustrates the usual arrangement: the repaint is downloadable, but the original Aerosoft aircraft remains a separate requirement.