Explore FlightGear aircraft categories, see what is included, add new models through the launcher or manually, and fix add-ons that do not appear.
FlightGear includes a starter fleet led by the Cessna 172P, while its wider aircraft catalogue covers general aviation, airliners, military types, helicopters, gliders, seaplanes and historic machines. Add more through your launcher’s aircraft catalogue when available, or extract a compatible aircraft folder and register its parent directory as an additional aircraft path.
Which aircraft come with FlightGear?
The exact starter fleet depends on the FlightGear release, operating-system package and any aircraft catalogue configured in the launcher. The Cessna 172P is the familiar default, but the aircraft-selection screen may combine installed models with catalogue entries that still need to be downloaded.
FlightGear’s wider hangar contains projects representing most major classes of flying machine:
| Category | Representative FlightGear choices |
|---|---|
| General aviation | Cessna 172P, Piper Cub projects, light twins and aerobatic aircraft |
| Air transport | Boeing 777 and 747 variants, regional turboprops and Airbus-family projects |
| Military and historic | Modern fighters, bombers, warbirds and early aircraft |
| Rotorcraft | Piston and turbine helicopters with varying levels of systems modelling |
| Special-purpose | Gliders, seaplanes, balloons, supersonic aircraft and spacecraft projects |
This is a representative selection, not a fixed inventory. Models move between starter packages, downloadable catalogues and separately distributed community projects. Our review provides examples from the FlightGear hangar across several aircraft categories.
Quality also varies. One aircraft may have a detailed 3D cockpit, working systems and a carefully developed flight model; another may be suitable mainly for exterior flying. A familiar aircraft name does not guarantee that every switch, autopilot mode or navigation system is simulated.
How do I add more aircraft to FlightGear?
Use the launcher’s aircraft download or catalogue control when your FlightGear build provides one; choose manual installation for an aircraft supplied as a separate archive.
- Launcher catalogue: Select an aircraft marked as downloadable and use the displayed installation control. This is the simpler route because the launcher already knows where its managed aircraft belong.
- Manual archive: Extract the complete aircraft folder into a custom aircraft directory, then add that parent directory to FlightGear’s aircraft search path.
Manual installation steps
- Check the package. Confirm that it is a complete FlightGear aircraft rather than an FSX, X-Plane or MSFS model, and that it suits your FlightGear release. A full aircraft normally contains one or more files ending in
-set.xml. - Extract the archive. Do not leave the aircraft inside a ZIP or other compressed file. Keep its internal folders and filenames unchanged.
- Create a custom aircraft root. A clean arrangement is
FlightGear-Aircraft/ExampleAircraft/ExampleAircraft-set.xml. Keeping add-ons outside the supplied program-data folder reduces permission problems and prevents an upgrade from replacing them. - Register the parent folder. Add
FlightGear-Aircraft, not the individualExampleAircraft - Refresh the list. Restart or refresh the launcher, select the new aircraft and watch the FlightGear log if loading fails.
Our detailed FlightGear aircraft installation instructions cover the folder structure and launcher method more closely.
Why does my new aircraft not appear?
Most missing FlightGear aircraft are caused by an unextracted archive, a nested folder or the wrong directory being registered.
| Symptom | Likely cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Aircraft is absent from the list | Extract the archive and check that the registered root contains the aircraft folder directly beneath it. |
| Folder exists but no aircraft is detected | Look for a -set.xml file. If none exists, the download may be a livery, update or incomplete package rather than a full aircraft. |
| Aircraft appears but will not load | Check the log for missing files, dependencies or unsupported features. Remove duplicate copies and verify version compatibility. |
| It works on Windows but not Linux | Filename capitalisation may not match the XML references; Linux filesystems commonly treat case differences as significant. |
| Aircraft was placed in a scenery directory | Move it to an aircraft root. Aircraft and scenery use different search paths, as explained in our separate FlightGear scenery folder guidance. |
A mistake we see constantly is an extra wrapper folder created during extraction, such as ExampleAircraft/ExampleAircraft/ExampleAircraft-set.xml. Remove the redundant level or register the correct parent directory.
Which FlightGear aircraft should I choose?
Choose an aircraft by compatibility and simulation depth, not merely by how detailed its screenshots look.
- For learning FlightGear: Start with the Cessna 172P or another uncomplicated general-aviation aircraft.
- For instrument flying: Check that the cockpit, radios, navigation equipment and autopilot functions you need are actually implemented.
- For airliners: Read the aircraft description for required procedures and dependencies; complex projects may not behave like the simpler starter models.
- For modest hardware: Prefer a lighter cockpit and simpler systems model. Detailed airliners and high-resolution textures can be much more demanding; our FlightGear hardware guidance explains the main performance considerations.
- For liveries: Install the required base aircraft first. A repaint normally adds textures and cannot be selected as an independent aircraft.
Keeping all manually installed models under one clearly named custom aircraft root makes upgrades, troubleshooting and removal much easier, while launcher-managed aircraft are best left in the location chosen by the launcher.