Hi fellow simmers!

When I started out with Microsoft Flight Simulator around 1988 at 12 years of age, I believe then it was called Flight Simulator 3 if memory serves me and what a joy it was to start a flight from then Meigs Field to Chicago O'hare or Midway. One had to really imagine and pretend much of what we take for granted today: GSX with passengers, other moving aircraft in your area and ATC. Much of these features of course still not perfect even today as we all know.

I believe it was in 2002 with the introduction of MSFS 2002 that AI traffic was first introduced. What a joy seeing other moving traffic around you taking off, land and fly routes. Being a bit of a perfectionist I dont know how many countless hours I spent to make default AI traffic at my frequently used airports just right. You see, back then there was a free tool for it called AIFP by Don Grovestine (RIP) where you could alter AI routes, callsigns etc. Very fun indeed, and what a reward sitting on the ramp seeing the end result! Sometimes even more so than actually flying I hate to admit 🙂

It was around this time, give or take an few years that I began to question the need for the static aircraft from airport developers. To me it really started to feel like a dinosaur, something that was left from a time when we did not have anything better. I started to ask airport developers "hey I would gladly purchase your lovely airfield but can you please make that annoying static aircraft optional first". A few said yes especially when hearing I was not alone, others said absolutely not. My airport my choice! I could not argue with that logic of course but only with my wallet.     

Jump forward to the day of Vatsim, IVAO, FSLTL, AIG, Say Intentions and BeyondATC. To me now it started to make even less sense for static "phony" aircraft just sitting there often taking valuable ramp space. By the time I noticed even more voices on forums and such for options to disable, or at least make these static aircraft optional and some developers listened. Today some airports have either a control panel where it can be deselected or at least a static aircraft file in the scenery folder that can be deactivated.         

In conclusion. I ultimately understand that it is up to the airport developer to add whatever they want to their airport and its up to me to either like it or not. My question now in 2026 however is why not try to introduce a new standard in both payware and freeware. Why not let the user have a choice. New standards come (and go) all the time, one major one of course being airport interiors. To some ths has become such a crucial feature that its a Go or No go and airport developers had to listen.

I write this because I know many others share my view as well and I have seen endless discussions on forums over the years with very nice user suggestions trying to help fellow simmers (more power to all these helpful people). Often something along the line of "it might just work to do some modifications in the SDK", exclusion rectangles and what have you... oh and yeah it might just break something else in th process. Well the intention is good and the will to help absolutely admirable but lets face it. Why should it have to be so complicated. Make static aircraft optional!

Personal opinion: static aircraft can be a nice addition to have reasonably full airports without the need of 3rd pary addons injecting tons of planes (e.g. BATC, FSHud, AIG). For the sake of relatively empty skies of course. And for me, they have to come from the same library as the AI traffic, e.g. AIG models, because if not, the visual difference between statics and AI models is simply disturbing/immersion breaking...

57 minutes ago, mikced said:

Why not let the user have a choice

Many of the airports I’ve purchased have a configuration panel that lets you select optional objects like static aircraft and interiors … a few don’t, but the majority I’ve purchased do provide a choice.  The options can sometimes be buried away in a tab or less than obvious location, but they do exist.

What I find odd is that static aircraft (which I usually disable) landing gear doesn’t disappear but AI aircraft does at the same distance.

AIFP was great. I have KFLL from LVFR in 2020 and there doesn't seem to be any way to remove their static planes. There is an app to remove them from their KSAN. They are frequently in the way of AIG.

Edited March 25Mar 25 by desbean

I find that the majority of addon airports DON'T offer the option to disable or remove statics. There are some that do, I'd estimate it to be about 20-30% at best. I have asked some devs to remove or provide the option and commonly the response is no. This of course once they have your money.

An absolute no.

Surely if you want to see AI aircraft you enable AI traffic.  If you don't want them moving then most providers provide separate sliders for ground traffic and aerial traffic.  Else they just get in the way.  

I like them in areas where they are not at the gates, for instance Dzrwecki Design.  KDCA, has intrusive amounts of static/animated aircraft.  But most of their modern/newer sceneries have nice statics placed away from the terminals and in the more remote areas and it really adds to the realisim.  At a real large airport there are insane amounts of aircraft just sitting everywhere or being serviced or worked on near hangars and remote stands.  Pure AI airplanes leaves something to be desired, becuause I feel like you can never get to the number of planes there would be in real life no matter what the settings are so the static augmentation away from the terminals, makes the experience better for me.

Drzewiecki is one of the developers who actually provide an option. I have all his Seattle addons. Good stuff

No to static AI, if it doesn't move or at least intend to move, I don't want it. 

Speaking as a (amateur) freeware developers of small freeware general aviation airports: it's a lot of extra work for me to have two versions, one with static and one without. It's 2 versions to maintain and I have no solution to give a switch to the end user.

Airports that I reproduce in MSFS have a tremendous number of static based aircraft staying on the ramp. I use my own 3D models static aircraft because the default one generated by MSFS and activate by the MSFS settings are low quality with flashy livery. Removing all static would makes them ghosted. Totally unrealistic. 

I know the downside of putting static, I'm a Say Intentions users and notice that injected traffic are overlapping my static aircraft (another issue is the starting position of Say Intention that relied on their own mapping).

I would love to let the choice to the users, but it way out of my load and skill/capacity.

Edited March 26Mar 26 by vbazillio

Vincent. If you absolutely must keep the static aircraft in your (otherwise very nice) airports you can always Taxi Tune them yourself to remove SI sports where your static aircraft are parked to avoid any conflict with SI. That is what I have done personally for your airports. static + SI however makes the airport look way overcrowded. Speaking of SI it now adds so much GA traffic so with it I can absolutely not see any need for static planes. With that said of course not everyone is a SI user  

I have already think of that.

I have zero ressources available to manage Taxi tuned (SI taxiways and startup positions) in addition of the scenery itself.

I've tried for one of my airport and it's too much work just to avoid static on top on AI injected traffic (not to mention some taxiways that need sometimes upgrades too).

I assume less than 20% of my scenery users used SI. And I'm confused which Taxi Tuned's SI profils will be used by all.

And I disagree regarding the fact that SI AI injected trafic on my General Aviation fied would replace static aircraft I put in my scenery.They are injected to be live traffic. Statics on some of the field I've build are here "forever" and way more numerous than what SI can do (even with 11/10 setting). See my screen shot of Montgomery.

 

You do know that you can use community created profiles for airports in SI. Often times someone has already created a profile for an airport known to have a lot of static airplanes. All you have to do is go in to Taxi Tuner 4 and activate that profile instead of the default, one click. One good example is the profile for Palomar from Dreamflight. With it activated static aircraft and SI can coexist.

Also I dont understand your argument that "they are there forever" as that would be a good thing. Sometimes less is more. In fact this logic in my opinion actually the whole problem, they are there and they are phoney. But I wont continue this argument. As I wrote in my initial post your work you decide and I fully respect that. I can just disagree. 

I use the FSLTL fleet & injector, when on VFR flights, and I love seeing static GA at regional airports. I even like them in International airports. The issue that I have with default AI is that the parked aircraft are often wrong and they disappear from the parking spots as you climb. FSLTL is great because it adds parked GA and Airliners that don't disappear. I even began adding the static fsltl airliners freeware available at flightsim.to to all the payware airports that I have and enjoy. So having an option is probably the best remedy.

I like GA statics on small airports, otherwise GA airports look empty and dead.    It isn't like most injectors are pumping out tons of GA traffic.  A plane or two overlapping isn't a huge deal.  (airliner traffic at gates of larger airports is a totally different thing).  

It actually annoys me to buy a nice GA airport only to find it empty.  You need a diagram to find parking because there's not a single plane there.  Again I'm talking smaller airports, not the big boys.

I also wonder if the marketplace has anything to do with it?  Does the marketplace even have options for different versions or toggles?  I know the IniBuilds store has a nice toggle, but I've never seen the marketplace have that.  You just buy a thing and stream it (or download it).