Learn what Airport Design Editor does and how to configure, edit, validate and install airport BGL files in FSX and Prepar3D.
Airport Design Editor (ADE) is a desktop airport-layout tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X, including FSX: Steam Edition, and Prepar3D. You use it to load an airport, edit runways, taxiways, parking, aprons, signs, approaches and scenery objects, validate the layout, then compile it into BGL files the simulator can read.
Simmers often use “AFCAD” as shorthand for this type of airport data. ADE expands on older AFCAD workflows by combining airport facilities, AI routing, object placement and selected terrain functions in one project. Our ADE download and feature summary covers the main editing capabilities.
What can Airport Design Editor change?
ADE changes the airport records and scenery elements that control how an airport looks and operates.
- Runways and starts: dimensions, surface, lighting, identifiers, thresholds and aircraft starting positions.
- AI and ATC routing: taxiway links, runway paths, hold-short nodes, parking stands and vehicle routes.
- Airport services: frequencies, windsocks, fuel points and, with care, instrument-approach records.
- Visual layout: aprons, taxi signs, fences, library objects, exclusions and supported terrain polygons.
- Background references: calibrated aerial images can guide placement, but the image itself is not automatically included in the compiled scenery.
ADE is not a 3D modelling or texture-painting application. It can place objects from available scenery libraries, but a custom terminal model must be created separately and added as a library object.
Airport geometry also has functional consequences. A visible apron does not create an AI route, and parking radius controls which AI aircraft can use a stand rather than the size of its painted markings. Changing a runway identifier may also require its starts, signs and approaches to be updated; ADE does not update an airliner's separate FMS navigation database.
How do you set up and use ADE?
The basic workflow is to configure ADE for one simulator target, open the stock airport, save an editable project, make and validate the changes, then compile a new add-on BGL.
| Target simulator | Paths ADE needs | Main caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Boxed FSX | The boxed FSX installation and compatible FSX compiler tools | Do not accidentally point ADE at a separate Steam installation. |
| FSX: Steam Edition | The FSX folder inside the selected Steam library and its compatible compiler setup | The installation path varies between Steam libraries and drives. |
| Prepar3D | The intended Prepar3D installation and matching SDK compiler paths | Use an ADE release and SDK appropriate for that Prepar3D generation. |
ADE must be able to find the target's BGL compiler and, where required by the project, the terrain compiler. If compilation fails immediately, an incorrect or missing SDK path is usually the first thing to check. The installation and path-configuration walkthrough shows the initial FSX setup.
- Select the target simulator. Configure ADE for FSX or the intended Prepar3D version before opening the project. Keep separate compiled output for each target.
- Load the airport by ICAO code. Start from the stock airport unless you have the original ADE project supplied by a scenery author. Do not overwrite a simulator's stock BGL.
- Save a working project. The native ADE project is the editable source; a compiled BGL is the simulator output, not the best master copy.
- Edit the layout. Connect parking stands to taxi routes, keep runway links continuous and place hold-short nodes correctly. This worked tutorial on taxi paths, parking and aprons demonstrates the core process.
- Add a background image if needed. Calibrate it against known coordinates before tracing runways or aprons. The background-image alignment tutorial explains this reference workflow.
- Run ADE's fault checking. Correct disconnected links, invalid starts, orphaned parking, runway-path errors and other reported faults rather than compiling around them.
- Compile for the selected simulator. ADE may produce one or more BGL files depending on whether the project contains airport data, object placements or elevation-related changes. Read the compile log if any component fails.
- Install the output as add-on scenery. In FSX, use a dedicated scenery area such as
Addon Scenery\My Airport\sceneryand activate its parent folder in the Scenery Library. In Prepar3D, use either its supported add-on package method or a dedicated Scenery Library entry. - Restart and test. Check aircraft starting positions, ATC runway names, AI pushback, taxi routing, hold-short behaviour, object placement and airport elevation.
We recommend keeping generated files out of the simulator's core scenery folders, apart from any elevation correction that ADE explicitly instructs you to place through its own workflow. A separate add-on area is easier to disable and prevents an edited file from replacing default content.
Why do ADE changes not appear in FSX or Prepar3D?
Missing changes usually mean the BGL was compiled for the wrong target, installed in an inactive scenery area or overridden by another airport file.
| Symptom | Likely cause and fix |
|---|---|
| The stock airport still appears | Confirm the BGL is in an active scenery folder and that its scenery area has priority over competing add-ons. Restart the simulator after changing files. |
| Two terminals or sets of objects appear | A lower scenery layer can still contribute objects. Add suitable exclusions or disable the older third-party airport rather than stacking two redesigns. |
| AI aircraft ignore new parking | Check stand radius, parking type, connected taxi links and route direction. A painted stand without a connected parking link is only visual. |
| AI stop, turn around or cross grass | Look for disconnected nodes, broken runway links, incorrect path types or badly placed hold-short points. |
| The airport is raised or sunken | Use ADE's airport-elevation correction workflow for that simulator and remove stale elevation-adjustment files from previous versions of the airport. |
| Placed objects are missing | The required object library may not be installed, or the object-placement BGL was not copied with the airport BGL. Stock objects are safer when distributing a basic layout. |
| Compilation fails | Check the selected simulator target, compiler paths, output permissions and ADE's fault or compile log. A Prepar3D SDK from the wrong generation can also cause failures. |
A mistake we see constantly is leaving several add-on BGL files active for the same ICAO code. Search all enabled scenery areas for older versions before trying to repair a layout that is actually being overridden.
Can the same ADE airport be used in FSX and Prepar3D?
The editable ADE project can often serve as a starting point for both simulators, but each version should be checked and compiled separately for its target.
- Keep a clean master project, then create separate FSX and Prepar3D branches before making target-specific changes.
- Replace scenery-library objects that do not exist in the other simulator.
- Recheck exclusions, terrain polygons, elevation corrections and approach data after changing targets.
- Never assume a BGL compiled with a Prepar3D SDK is backward-compatible with FSX.
When modifying third-party scenery, obtain the author's source project and permission where required. Importing or decompiling a finished BGL may not reconstruct every original setting, exclusion or custom object correctly. For a simple parking or taxiway correction ADE is the right tool; for custom buildings, ground textures or AI flight schedules, it is only one part of the scenery workflow.