Fix an aircraft repaint or livery not showing by checking the base model, package folders, configuration entries, compatibility and menu filters.
An aircraft repaint or livery usually fails to appear because it is installed in the wrong folder, nested one level too deep, made for a different aircraft variant, or missing a valid configuration entry. In any flight simulator, first confirm the exact base aircraft, then inspect the package structure.
What should I check first?
Start by confirming whether the base aircraft itself appears in the aircraft-selection menu. A repaint normally contains textures and configuration data, not the complete aircraft model.
- Base aircraft appears, but the livery does not: the repaint is misplaced, incompatible or incorrectly configured.
- Neither the aircraft nor the livery appears: this is probably a broader installation problem; use our guide to diagnosing a missing add-on aircraft.
- The livery is listed but loads with blank, pink or default textures: the simulator found its menu entry but cannot find or read the required texture files.
- Only the preview image is missing: the repaint may still work. Load it before changing the installation.
Check the download description for the required aircraft, developer, model generation, engine type and simulator edition. Two aircraft carrying the same real-world name are not necessarily compatible. A livery for one A320 add-on, for example, will not normally work on another developer’s A320 or on a different engine variant.
Where should an aircraft livery be installed?
The correct destination depends on how the simulator registers add-ons; moving every repaint into a generic aircraft folder is a mistake we see constantly.
| Simulator family | Expected structure | Frequent mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 or 2024 on PC | A complete package in the active Community folder, normally with its manifest and layout files at the package level | Leaving an extra wrapper folder between Community and the actual package |
| FSX, Prepar3D or FS2004 | A texture folder inside the correct aircraft folder, accompanied by a matching [fltsim.x] entry in aircraft.cfg | Copying only the textures or using a configuration entry from another model |
| X-Plane | A named livery folder beneath the base aircraft’s liveries directory, with textures in the expected subfolder | Creating another unnecessary liveries folder or changing texture filenames |
| DCS | An aircraft-specific livery folder with the required description file in the supported user or installation location | Selecting an incompatible aircraft variant or a country for which the livery is not enabled |
Extract the archive before installing it. Opening a ZIP file in a file manager can look like extraction, but most simulators cannot load a livery directly from the compressed archive. Our simulator-by-simulator livery installation instructions cover the normal destination for each platform.
Console editions do not expose the same user-accessible folders as PC editions. On a console, liveries must be supplied through the simulator’s supported content system; PC Community-folder instructions do not apply.
How do I fix a livery that is installed but missing?
Work through the installation in this order so that one change identifies the actual fault.
- Verify the exact base model. Match the simulator, aircraft developer, aircraft version and variant. Pay particular attention to engine, passenger, cargo, short-body and long-body versions.
- Inspect the extracted folders. Open the installed folder and look for another folder with the same or a similar name inside it. If the package files are buried one level deeper than the simulator expects, move the actual package rather than the outer wrapper.
- Check that the add-on location is active. An add-on manager may have disabled or unlinked the package. Multiple simulator installations can also leave you with more than one
Community, aircraft or add-ons folder. - Validate the configuration. In FSX, Prepar3D and FS2004, every repaint needs a unique
[fltsim.x]section. Its texture reference must match the texture-folder suffix, its model reference must identify an installed model, and the section numbers should form an unbroken sequence. The full FS2004 repaint configuration procedure explains these legacy entries in detail. - Remove duplicate copies. Two versions of the same package can share an internal identity and conflict. Keep one known-good copy while testing rather than renaming several duplicates.
- Restart the simulator. Many simulators build their aircraft and package lists during startup. Closing only the aircraft-selection window is not enough after changing files.
- Clear selection filters. Reset manufacturer, aircraft type, favourites, ownership and livery filters. In DCS, also test an appropriate country or faction because some liveries are restricted by their configuration.
- Test the repaint by itself. Temporarily disable other liveries for the same aircraft. If the missing repaint then appears, another package is conflicting with it.
Microsoft Flight Simulator users should also confirm that they found the active packages location rather than an abandoned folder from another installation. Our MSFS-specific missing-livery checklist covers package nesting, aircraft variants and selection filters.
Does a repaint include the aircraft?
No—unless the download explicitly says it is a complete aircraft package, a repaint requires a separately installed base aircraft. Texture-only downloads are much smaller because they reuse the model, cockpit, flight dynamics and sounds from that aircraft.
The repaint may also depend on a particular edition of a payware or freeware aircraft. Having a similarly named default aircraft does not satisfy that requirement.
Why does the livery appear blank, pink or untextured?
Blank, pink, black or default surfaces mean the simulator loaded the aircraft but could not resolve one or more texture files. Common causes include missing files, altered filenames, an incorrect texture reference, a broken fallback path or textures exported in an unsupported format.
Filename capitalisation also matters on case-sensitive operating systems. A configuration that requests one spelling may fail when the actual file uses different upper- or lower-case letters. Do not rename texture files unless the repaint’s instructions specifically require it.
Can a repaint work with another simulator or aircraft variant?
A repaint is rarely interchangeable across different simulators, developers or aircraft variants. Texture mapping, material definitions, filenames and configuration formats can all differ even when the underlying real aircraft is the same.
An aircraft update can also change its internal model or texture arrangement. If a previously working livery disappears immediately after such an update, remove duplicate packages, confirm that the base aircraft still loads, and use a repaint built for the updated model rather than forcing old configuration files into it.