How do I install add-on aircraft in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

On PC, install most add-on aircraft for Microsoft Flight Simulator by extracting the download and placing the package folder—the one containing manifest.json—directly in the Community folder, then restart the sim. On Xbox, manual installation is unavailable; aircraft must come through the in-sim Marketplace. Use a supplied installer when the developer provides one.

Which installation method should I use?

Use the method that matches the files you received rather than assuming every aircraft belongs in Community.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 have separate package locations. An aircraft advertised for one version is not automatically compatible with the other, even when its folder structure looks identical. Choose a download explicitly labelled for your simulator; our MSFS aircraft and add-on library identifies the intended simulator where that information is available.

What should I check before installing the aircraft?

Confirm the simulator version, package type and required dependencies before copying any files.

• Full aircraft or livery: a livery appears as a paint option for its base aircraft, not as a separate aeroplane. Follow our livery-specific installation guidance if the download is only a repaint.
• Standalone aircraft or enhancement: a systems, sound or flight-model enhancement may modify an aircraft you already own without creating a new selection-screen entry.
• Correct simulator: aircraft made for FSX, Prepar3D or X-Plane cannot be converted to MSFS by placing their folders in Community.
• Required base content: some packages depend on a default, Marketplace or third-party aircraft. Read the included documentation.
• Archive extracted: do not leave a .zip, .rar or .7z archive in Community.
• Simulator closed: MSFS normally scans Community packages during start-up, so close it before changing the folder.

How do I manually install aircraft in the Community folder?

A manual Community installation takes only a few minutes when the correct package folder is copied at the correct depth.

1. Close Microsoft Flight Simulator. Do not install while a flight or the main menu is open.
2. Extract the download to a temporary folder. Avoid dragging directly from an archive window because this makes nested or incomplete copies harder to spot.
3. Read the included instructions. If the developer supplies an installer or updater, use that instead of treating the files as an ordinary package.
4. Find the package root. This is normally the folder containing manifest.json and often layout.json.
5. Open the active Community folder for the MSFS version you intend to run.
6. Copy the complete package folder into Community. Keep its supplied folder name unless the instructions say otherwise.
7. Check the folder depth. Opening the copied folder should reveal manifest.json immediately, not another identically named folder.
8. Start the simulator and look in aircraft selection. For a livery, variant or enhancement, inspect the relevant base aircraft rather than expecting a new aircraft entry.

Some downloads contain several package folders, such as an aircraft plus a shared library. Install each folder containing its own manifest.json when the documentation requires it. The worked Ilyushin Il-76 installation example shows the extraction and Community-folder process on a complete aircraft download.

What should the package folder look like?

The package root must sit directly inside Community; excessive nesting is the installation mistake we see most often.

• Correct: Community\aircraft-name\manifest.json
• Wrong: Community\aircraft-name\aircraft-name\manifest.json
• Wrong: Community\aircraft-name.zip

Downloads often have an outer folder containing screenshots, documentation and the actual package. Copy the inner package folder, not the outer download folder.

What if the aircraft has its own installer?

If an aircraft includes a dedicated installer, let it manage the files and updates unless its documentation explicitly offers a manual method.

Read the destination prompt carefully. If it requests the Packages location, select the folder identified by InstalledPackagesPath. If it specifically requests Community, select that child folder. Do not also install a second manual copy, because duplicate packages can conflict.

How do I find the correct Community folder?

The reliable way to find Community is to read the active simulator configuration rather than rely on a default path.

1. Locate UserCfg.opt. Its location varies by MSFS version and whether the simulator came through Steam or the Microsoft Store/Xbox app.
2. Open the file in a plain-text editor.
3. Find InstalledPackagesPath. The path shown on that line is the Packages location selected for that simulator installation.
4. Open that location in File Explorer and then open its Community folder.
5. Verify the simulator version. If MSFS 2020 and 2024 are both installed, each can have a different Community folder.

For Microsoft Store or Xbox app installations, UserCfg.opt is usually beneath a simulator-specific folder under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\...\LocalCache\. Steam installations normally keep it under a Microsoft Flight Simulator folder within %APPDATA%. Custom package locations override the common defaults, which is why InstalledPackagesPath is the safer reference.

Never place manually downloaded aircraft in Official or another simulator's Community folder. If you find several possible folders, use the one referenced by the configuration belonging to the simulator you are launching.

How do I install Marketplace aircraft?

Marketplace aircraft should be acquired, installed and updated through Microsoft Flight Simulator's own library or content-management controls.

1. Open the in-sim Marketplace and acquire the aircraft.
2. Choose its download or installation option when one is presented.
3. Check the simulator's library or content-management area to confirm that the aircraft is available.
4. Restart MSFS if the aircraft does not appear after installation.

MSFS 2020 generally manages these packages through its Content Manager. MSFS 2024 may download or stream eligible content through its library system, depending on the package. In either case, do not move Marketplace files into Community or edit their managed folders manually.

Why is the installed aircraft not showing up?

An aircraft that does not appear is usually in the wrong Community folder, nested too deeply, missing a dependency or incompatible with the running simulator version.

1. Restart in normal mode. If MSFS offered Safe Mode after a crash, Community add-ons are deliberately excluded there.
2. Confirm compatibility. Check the required MSFS version, base aircraft and any shared libraries listed in the documentation.
3. Verify the active Community path. Read InstalledPackagesPath and make sure you did not use the folder belonging to another MSFS installation.
4. Inspect the package root. manifest.json should be directly inside the aircraft folder placed in Community.
5. Remove duplicate versions. Delete or move the older package rather than merging replacement files over it.
6. Check extraction errors. If Windows reported a long path, invalid name or incomplete extraction, extract the archive again to a short temporary path before copying it.
7. Look under the base aircraft. Liveries, variants and enhancements may not create independent entries. Clear restrictive aircraft-selection filters as well.
8. Test for a conflict. Temporarily move other Community packages elsewhere, leave only the affected aircraft and its dependencies, then restart. If it loads, restore the other packages in batches until the conflict is identified.

If the aircraft appears but has missing instruments, broken systems or an invisible model, the folder has probably loaded. That points instead to incompatibility, an absent dependency or a conflict with another package.

Can I install add-on aircraft manually on Xbox?

No. Xbox does not expose a Community folder, so downloaded archives, USB copies and PC Community packages cannot be installed manually.

Xbox users can only use aircraft distributed through the in-sim Marketplace and supported on the console. A PC freeware package is not transferable merely because the same Microsoft account is used.

How should I update or remove an add-on aircraft?

Use the same management method that installed the aircraft, and avoid leaving old and new copies active together.

• Manual Community package: close MSFS, remove the old package folder and copy in the replacement version. This is safer than merging files because obsolete files can otherwise remain behind.
• Installer-managed aircraft: use its updater, installer or uninstaller.
• Marketplace aircraft: update or remove it through the simulator's library or content-management tools.
• Shared dependency: remove it only after checking that no other aircraft or scenery package requires it.

Deleting a livery removes only that paint scheme; deleting its required base aircraft also makes the livery unusable. Our complete aircraft removal procedure covers clean uninstallation without disturbing unrelated Community packages.