How do I create custom flight simulator airport scenery?

To create custom airport scenery for a flight simulator, use the simulator’s supported SDK or airport editor, reproduce the airfield layout from reliable reference material, place and configure objects, compile or export the package, then test it in the simulator. The exact editor, file format and installation method depend on the simulator.

Decide first whether you are correcting an airport layout, dressing it with library objects or building fully custom terminals and hangars. A layout-only project needs an airport editor; original buildings also require 3-D modelling, texturing and conversion into the simulator’s asset format.

Which airport scenery editor should I use?

Use an official or established editor that writes the target simulator’s native airport format. Airport packages are not interchangeable, and even closely related simulators may require different compilers, metadata or installation methods.

A reliable airport scenery workflow

Build the functional airport before adding decorative detail. A beautiful terminal cannot compensate for a disconnected taxi network, incorrect runway position or unusable parking stands.

1. Choose one simulator and version. Install its scenery tools and use the corresponding SDK or compiler. If you claim compatibility with more than one version, build or test each target separately rather than assuming it works.
2. Define the project scope. Start with a layout correction, a library-object rendition or a full custom airport. Library assets are quicker and lighter; custom models provide a closer likeness but add work involving scale, origins, materials, texture paths and levels of detail.
3. Collect dated reference material. Use airport diagrams, permitted aerial references, published runway dimensions and your own photographs where possible. Check when each source was produced because runway numbers, taxiway names, parking and buildings change at different times.
4. Create a unique package. Keep editable source files separate from compiled output, and give the project and package identifiers names unlikely to collide with another add-on. Never overwrite the simulator’s stock scenery.
5. Control the default airport. Add the smallest exclusions or replacement instructions needed to suppress conflicting runways, buildings, vegetation and objects. Oversized exclusions often remove nearby landmarks or scenery belonging to another package.
6. Lay out the operational surfaces. Position the runway first, then add taxiways, aprons, hold-short points, parking, signs, markings, lighting and windsocks. Connect taxi-path nodes cleanly and match parking dimensions to the aircraft expected to use each stand.
7. Add buildings and ground detail. Place library objects before committing to custom models. Keep object origins sensible, use appropriate texture resolution and provide levels of detail where the simulator supports them; one unoptimised terminal can cost more performance than the rest of a small airport.
8. Compile or export the package. Resolve validation errors rather than ignoring them. Duplicate identifiers, missing asset references, unsupported model formats and paths pointing outside the project are common reasons a build fails or works only on the author’s PC.
9. Install a clean build. Test the compiled package, not the editable development source. This exposes missing libraries, textures and other files that were available only from your working folders.

Treat instrument procedures and navigation data separately from visual scenery. Some simulators load ILS frequencies, approaches and procedures from an independent navigation database, so changing the runway model does not necessarily update them. Avoid modifying an ILS unless the target SDK explicitly supports it and you can check the result after navdata changes.

Can I use satellite imagery in airport scenery?

You may use aerial imagery as a positioning reference only when its licence permits that use, but you cannot assume you may redistribute the image as a ground texture. Use imagery you created yourself, public material with suitable reuse terms or properly licensed source data.

Also check alignment before tracing. Imagery may be old, distorted or projected differently from the simulator’s coordinate system. Confirm runway thresholds and dimensions against an airport diagram rather than forcing every feature to match one photograph.

Common airport scenery problems and fixes

• Two airports appear on top of each other: the replacement is not excluding the stock airport, or another add-on covers the same location. Check package priority and disable competing scenery while diagnosing it.
• The airport does not appear: confirm that the compiled output is in the correct scenery location and enabled. Do not copy the source project when the simulator expects the built package.
• Buildings are missing: include the custom models and textures, or document any permitted object-library dependency. Test without unrelated add-ons installed.
• Aircraft ignore taxiways: repair disconnected taxi nodes, incorrect hold-short links, unsuitable parking types or stands that are too small for the assigned aircraft.
• Runways are sunken or floating: check airport elevation, terrain mesh conflicts and any flattening polygon. Large flattens can create visible plateaux, so use them only where the target simulator requires them.
• Performance collapses near the terminal: reduce unique materials and draw calls, add sensible levels of detail, resize excessive textures and avoid placing thousands of individual lights or markings.
• Objects disappear at night: verify night textures, emissive materials and scenery-light settings. A daytime texture alone does not automatically create illuminated windows or apron lighting.

How should I test custom airport scenery?

Test the airport from the cockpit, from the air and in a clean simulator configuration. A successful export proves only that the compiler accepted the project.

• Start at every runway and several parking positions to catch bad headings, collisions and underground spawn points.
• Taxi between parking and each runway while checking signs, hold-short lines, surface transitions and connected routes.
• Fly both visual and instrument approaches, checking runway alignment from several miles away.
• Inspect the airport by day and night and under weather conditions that expose lighting, drainage or terrain problems.
• Test with AI traffic if the simulator supports it, especially pushback, runway access and parking allocation.
• Measure performance while looking towards the densest group of buildings, not just from an empty runway end.
• Disable your development libraries and unrelated add-ons before the final packaging test.

Can I create airport scenery on a console?

Airport-scenery authoring is generally a PC task because the editors, SDKs and compilers run there. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is available on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5/PS5 Pro, but console users cannot place arbitrary development packages into a PC-style Community folder.

Build and validate Microsoft Flight Simulator scenery on PC. Console distribution requires a supported in-simulator publishing route and additional platform compliance; a package that works in a PC development installation is not automatically available on Xbox or PlayStation.