Set up Air Manager panels in X-Plane 12, install the plugin, connect a second screen or PC, and fix blank gauges, controls and datarefs.
To set up Air Manager instrument panels for X-Plane 12, install Air Manager on the display computer, place its X-Plane communication plugin in X-Plane 12’s Resources/plugins folder, select instruments made for your exact aircraft, then arrange the panel on an extended monitor or networked device and confirm live data and controls.
How to connect Air Manager to X-Plane 12
The reliable setup order is display first, software second, plugin third, followed by panel selection and testing.
- Extend the Windows or macOS desktop. Use an extended desktop rather than duplicating the main screen. Do not assign the Air Manager screen as an X-Plane visual display unless you also want a 3D outside view there. Our guide to arranging desktop screens and X-Plane display roles covers that part of the setup.
- Install Air Manager on the display computer. This can be the computer running X-Plane 12 or a separate machine on the same local network. Open the application once so it can create its settings and panel library.
- Install the matching X-Plane plugin. Quit X-Plane, extract the communication plugin provided for your Air Manager release, and place its top-level folder directly inside
X-Plane 12/Resources/plugins. Do not put it inAircraftorCustom Scenery. If plugin folder structure is unfamiliar, see our walkthrough for placing X-Plane plugins and add-ons in the correct folders. - Start X-Plane 12 and Air Manager. Load an aircraft, select X-Plane as the simulator source if prompted, and confirm that Air Manager reports a connection. X-Plane’s plugin administration view should also show the communication plugin as loaded.
- Create or open a panel. Add instruments from the installed library and choose versions intended for X-Plane and the aircraft being flown. Build the panel at the target screen’s resolution and aspect ratio to avoid stretching or clipped bezels.
- Move the panel to its display. Position the Air Manager window on the extended monitor, switch it to its panel or full-screen presentation mode, and calibrate the operating system’s touch mapping if the screen is touch-enabled.
- Test data and inputs. Check a live value such as airspeed or heading, then operate a switch or knob. Data moving into Air Manager proves reception; a cockpit control moving in X-Plane proves that commands are being sent back correctly.
For ordinary Air Manager instruments, X-Plane’s Data Output checkboxes are not required. Communication is handled by the plugin, so enabling unrelated network-data options usually adds confusion rather than fixing the connection.
Which Air Manager instruments work with X-Plane 12?
An Air Manager instrument works only when its script uses datarefs and commands exposed by the aircraft you have loaded.
- Standard analogue instruments commonly work across several aircraft because they use X-Plane’s standard datarefs.
- Complex avionics and add-on aircraft often use custom datarefs, commands or supporting plugins. Select an instrument explicitly designed for that aircraft and variant.
- X-Plane 11 panels may work in X-Plane 12 when the aircraft retains the same datarefs, but compatibility is not automatic.
- Read-only gauges can display values without controlling the simulator. Interactive switches require a script that sends a writable dataref or the correct X-Plane command.
A mistake we see frequently is choosing a panel because it looks like the cockpit rather than because it supports the aircraft’s systems. We recommend saving a separate panel profile for each aircraft, including separate profiles for variants that use different avionics.
Should Air Manager run on the same PC or a second computer?
A same-PC setup is simplest, while a second computer is useful when the panel is physically separate or the main machine is already driving several displays.
| Setup | Choose it when | Main consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Same PC, second monitor | You want the easiest installation and automatic local communication | Keep the panel monitor as an extended desktop screen, not another X-Plane 3D view |
| Second PC or compatible networked device | The panel is remote or has its own touch display | Install the X-Plane plugin on the simulator PC and Air Manager on the display device; both must be reachable on the same network |
| Native X-Plane pop-outs | You need the aircraft’s exact built-in avionics and no suitable Air Manager instrument exists | These are X-Plane windows rather than recreated Air Manager instruments |
On a networked installation, allow X-Plane and Air Manager through the host firewall. Guest Wi-Fi, wireless client isolation, VPN adapters and separate network subnets can prevent automatic discovery even though both computers have internet access.
Why is Air Manager not connecting to X-Plane 12?
Most connection failures come from a plugin that has not loaded, a blocked local-network connection or an instrument that does not support the selected aircraft.
- The plugin is missing from X-Plane: check for an extra nested folder, an outdated or wrong-platform build, and operating-system security blocks. X-Plane’s
Log.txtfile records plugin loading errors and missing dependencies. - Air Manager remains disconnected: confirm that both applications are running, allow them through the firewall, and disable network isolation. On a remote setup, use the simulator computer’s local network address if Air Manager offers manual connection.
- The panel connects but gauges stay blank: turn on the aircraft’s battery, avionics and required buses, then verify that the instrument supports that exact aircraft. A dark glass display in a cold-and-dark cockpit is not necessarily a connection fault.
- A control moves in Air Manager but not X-Plane: the instrument may use the wrong command or a read-only dataref. Also remove duplicate assignments if the same physical switch is mapped in both Air Manager and X-Plane.
- Touch input appears on the wrong monitor: associate the touchscreen with the correct display in the operating system’s touch-calibration settings before adjusting the panel layout.
- The panel disappears behind X-Plane: restrict X-Plane’s full-screen output to its intended visual monitor, or run the simulator in a windowed mode that does not cover the panel display.
Can Air Manager replace X-Plane pop-out instruments?
Air Manager can replace many instrument pop-outs, but it recreates them through scripts rather than extracting the aircraft’s original display.
Choose Air Manager when you need a custom arrangement, touchscreen controls or a panel running on another computer. Choose the aircraft’s native window when exact avionics behaviour matters and no fully compatible Air Manager version exists. Our explanation of using X-Plane’s native detachable instrument windows covers placement and window-specific troubleshooting.