Learn what flight simulator add-ons do, which aircraft, scenery and utility types to install first, and how to avoid conflicts and performance loss.
Flight simulator add-ons are optional packages that add aircraft, scenery, liveries, traffic, weather, sounds or utilities to Microsoft Flight Simulator, X-Plane, Prepar3D, FSX and other sims. Start with one compatible aircraft or airport that directly improves the flying you do, then test it alone before adding system-wide traffic or visual mods.
What counts as a flight simulator add-on?
An add-on is any optional package that adds to or changes the base simulator. The term covers community-made mods, commercial products, official downloadable content and simulator-specific modules.
A complete aircraft includes its model and required configuration, while a repaint or livery normally supplies textures for an aircraft you must already own. Object libraries and other dependencies may add nothing visible by themselves; install them only when another package requires them. Our guide to identifying and installing aircraft, repaints and scenery packages explains these distinctions in more detail.
| Type | What it changes | When to install it |
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft | Adds a flyable model or improves an existing one, including its cockpit, systems, handling and sounds. | Install first when learning or flying a particular aircraft is your main goal. |
| Airport and scenery | Improves airports, buildings, landmarks, terrain or aerial imagery. | Install first for local VFR flying, bush operations or regular use of a particular airport. |
| Livery | Changes an aircraft's paint scheme without adding the underlying aircraft. | Install after confirming that you have the exact aircraft and variant it requires. |
| Utility or plugin | Adds functions such as camera control, ground handling, avionics, failures or flight management. | Install when it solves a specific workflow problem, not simply because it appears essential. |
| Traffic, weather and visual enhancement | Changes conditions or objects across much of the simulator. | Add later because these packages are more likely to affect performance or conflict with other add-ons. |
| Library or dependency | Provides shared objects, code or assets needed by another package. | Install only when the chosen add-on's documentation lists it as required. |
You can inspect the available aircraft, scenery, livery and utility categories in our flight simulator add-on library, but compatibility matters more than the size of the collection.
Which flight simulator add-ons should you install first?
For most beginners, the best first add-on is one aircraft or one frequently used airport, chosen to support a clear type of flying. A large bundle of unrelated modifications makes faults and performance losses much harder to trace.
- Establish a stock baseline. Fly the unmodified simulator first using an aircraft and airport you can repeat. Check that controls, loading and performance are stable before changing anything.
- Choose one outcome. Add an aircraft if cockpit depth matters most, airport scenery for regular departures and arrivals, or a utility only when the default simulator lacks a function you need.
- Verify the exact target. Check the simulator, major edition, operating system and aircraft variant. Do not assume that packages for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024, X-Plane 11 and 12, or FSX and Prepar3D are interchangeable.
- Read the requirements. Confirm whether the download is complete, requires a base product, uses supporting libraries or needs its own installer.
- Install and test one package. Repeat the baseline flight and check the cockpit, textures, sounds and loading behaviour. Keep the original archive and documentation so the package can be removed cleanly.
- Add system-wide changes last. Traffic, weather, terrain and visual packages can affect every flight, so introduce them only after local aircraft and scenery are working correctly.
Which add-on type suits the flying you do?
- General aviation and VFR: begin with a familiar light aircraft or detailed scenery around your home airfield. Regional landmarks and terrain are more useful than a large airliner fleet.
- Airliner operations: choose one aircraft you intend to learn, then add airports you regularly use. Traffic and ground-operation utilities can follow once the aircraft is stable.
- Bush flying: prioritise terrain, remote strips and an appropriate light aircraft. Avoid installing overlapping scenery packages for the same region.
- Casual flying and screenshots: liveries and visual enhancements may provide the most immediate benefit, but establish a performance baseline before adding high-detail textures or traffic.
Simulator design changes these priorities. Microsoft Flight Simulator users can compare useful MSFS additions organised by flying style, while our X-Plane aircraft, plugin and scenery recommendations account for that simulator's dependency and scenery-order requirements.
Why is an installed add-on not appearing?
The most common causes are an extra nested folder, a missing dependency, the wrong simulator version or a repaint installed without its base aircraft. Work through those possibilities before downloading additional copies.
- Extract the archive. Most simulators cannot use a compressed download directly unless the package instructions explicitly say otherwise.
- Check the package level. An add-on placed one folder too deep may not be detected. On PC versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator, a package folder inside
Communitynormally has files such asmanifest.jsonandlayout.jsonnear its root. - Confirm the destination. Aircraft, scenery and plugins often use different locations. Follow the package instructions rather than dropping every file into the simulator's main directory.
- Check the base product and dependencies. Match repaint names to the precise aircraft model and install only the listed libraries.
- Remove competing packages. Two airports, terrain packages or modifications covering the same content can conflict. Temporarily disable the newest addition first.
If performance deteriorates after several installations, disable half of the add-ons and test again, then repeat with the affected half. This isolates the culprit faster than removing packages one at a time. Dense traffic and complex aircraft tend to increase processor load, while high-resolution scenery and visual effects more often pressure graphics memory and storage throughput.
Can you install flight simulator add-ons on consoles?
Console users are generally limited to content distributed through the simulator's approved in-game catalogue or Marketplace. PC packages designed for a Community folder cannot simply be copied to Xbox or PlayStation.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is available on PC and Xbox, while Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is available on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, including PS5 Pro. Add-on availability can differ between those platforms, so confirm the platform label before purchasing or downloading anything.