How do I install and use AI Carriers in FSX: Steam Edition?

To install AI Carriers in FSX: Steam Edition, extract the utility, run its installer with FSX closed, meet the package’s Java and SimConnect requirements, and approve its FSX start-up entry. Load a flight, open Add-ons > AI Ships, select a formation, then place it ahead over open water.

Does FSX: Steam Edition include Acceleration for AI Carriers?

Yes. FSX: Steam Edition includes the Deluxe and Acceleration content needed for the stock aircraft carrier models, catapults and arresting-wire operations. You do not need to install a separate boxed copy of Acceleration, and doing so over Steam Edition can damage the installation.

Three components have separate jobs:

• AI Carriers is an external SimConnect utility that inserts and controls moving boat formations.
• Acceleration supplies the stock carrier assets and carrier-operation features included with Steam Edition.
• The aircraft and carrier model must support catapult or arresting-wire functions. AI Carriers cannot add those capabilities to an incompatible model.

How do I install AI Carriers in FSX: Steam Edition?

Install AI Carriers as an external utility, not as scenery, an aircraft or an FSX mission.

1. Download and extract the complete archive. Use the AI Carriers package with its extraction and installation notes. Extract it to a normal folder before running the installer; launching setup from inside the compressed archive can leave required files behind.
2. Read the package requirements. Classic AI Carriers 2 releases are Java-based. Some older launchers require a 32-bit Java runtime even on 64-bit Windows, so install the architecture specified by the included documentation rather than assuming an existing Java installation will be detected. A non-Java build should be installed according to its own readme.
3. Close FSX and run the installer. Retain the default utility location unless the documentation gives a reason to change it. Do not put the utility in Addon Scenery or add it through the Scenery Library.
4. Allow the installer to register the application. The classic installer normally adds a launch entry to exe.xml. Steam Edition may use %APPDATA%\Microsoft\FSX\exe.xml or %APPDATA%\Microsoft\FSX-SE\exe.xml, depending on whether boxed FSX has existed on that Windows installation.
5. Approve the first FSX launch prompt. Start Steam Edition and approve the expected AI Carriers executable if FSX asks whether it may run or be trusted. Approve only the executable installed from the package you extracted.
6. Check the menu inside a loaded flight. Wait until the cockpit or external view has loaded, then press Alt if the menu bar is hidden. Look under Add-ons for AI Ships; some builds use an AI Carriers label instead.

If both FSX and FSX-SE profile folders exist, do not guess which one is active. Change and save an ordinary FSX setting, then find the fsx.cfg whose modification time changed. The corresponding folder is normally where the active exe.xml belongs.

How do I spawn and control an FSX aircraft carrier?

AI Carriers places a temporary moving formation relative to the aircraft’s position and heading when the command is issued.

1. Load a flight near open water. Begin airborne or at a nearby coastal airport and point towards the area where the carrier should appear.
2. Open the insertion menu. Choose Add-ons > AI Ships, followed by the command for inserting a new formation.
3. Select a known working formation. Test with a formation supplied for the stock Acceleration carrier before using a third-party ship.
4. Place it ahead of the aircraft. An ahead option is safer than spawning the formation at your exact position. Its initial bearing is generally calculated from the aircraft heading at the moment it is inserted.
5. Set the course before making an approach. Available commands vary by build, but may include changing the nearest formation’s course or speed, repositioning it and deleting it. The carrier does not automatically turn into the surface wind, so establish its heading before lining up with the angled deck.

These formations are temporary SimConnect objects rather than permanent scenery or scheduled traffic. Expect to insert them again after restarting FSX or loading another flight; saved flights do not reliably restore an externally spawned carrier group.

How do I add a custom carrier formation?

A custom moving carrier needs both a boat SimObject and an AI Carriers formation entry.

• Install the boat under SimObjects\Boats. The expected structure is normally SimObjects\Boats\CarrierFolder\sim.cfg. An extra nested folder is a common reason the model cannot be found.
• Copy supporting files where instructed. Carrier packages may include effects, textures or gauges outside the boat folder. Preserve their supplied folder structure.
• Install the formation configuration. AI Carriers releases commonly read formation files from a conf.d folder, although the exact location varies by build.
• Match the SimObject title exactly. The name referenced by the formation must match the relevant title= value in the boat’s sim.cfg. The folder name is not a substitute, and a spelling difference prevents that unit from loading.

For a more detailed moving group, our USS Nimitz carrier package for FSX and Prepar3D provides a suitable example of a third-party carrier used with AI Carriers. A static carrier supplied only as scenery cannot be inserted or moved by the utility.

Why is the AI Ships or Add-ons menu missing?

A missing AI Ships command usually means the utility did not start or could not establish its SimConnect connection.

Why does the aircraft carrier fail to appear?

If the menu works but no carrier appears, the problem is usually placement, a missing boat model or a formation name that does not match the model’s configuration.

• Try a stock Acceleration formation first. If that also fails, verify the Steam installation files and retest over open sea.
• Spawn it reasonably close. A distant formation can be difficult to see even when it loaded correctly. Use an ahead placement option and check the map or external view if available.
• Inspect the boat folder. Confirm that sim.cfg, the model and its textures are inside the expected carrier folder rather than another identically named subfolder.
• Check the formation title. The entry in the AI Carriers configuration must reproduce the boat’s title= value exactly.
• Distinguish scenery from a boat SimObject. A scenery carrier can be visible in FSX while remaining unavailable to AI Carriers.
• Leave ship-traffic settings out of the diagnosis. The Ships and ferries traffic slider controls scheduled traffic, not formations manually injected by AI Carriers through SimConnect.

How do I use Acceleration catapults and arresting wires?

Carrier launching and landing require a compatible naval aircraft, a carrier model with working deck zones, and the Acceleration carrier functions already included in FSX: Steam Edition.

A visual tailhook alone is insufficient. The aircraft configuration needs suitable tailhook and launch-assistance data, and the relevant cockpit controls or key assignments must operate them. Our FSX Free Flight carrier take-off and landing procedure covers positioning the aircraft, attaching to the catapult, launching and catching an arresting wire.