Model Matching

Table of Contents
  1. Model Matching
    1. Microsoft Flight Simulator
      1. VMR files
      2. FSLTL
      3. FS Traffic
      4. AIG
    2. X-Plane
      1. If using the swift pilot client:

In order to see other users aircraft as the correct model and livery you must install model matching. There are several options for each simulator.

Microsoft Flight Simulator

VMR files

With each of these model matching solutions it is necessary to configure VMR files in vPilot to see the appropriate models in the simulator. This can be done as follows:

  • Open vPilot settings
  • Click Model Matching -> Custom Rules -> Add Custom rule Sets
  • Select your VMR file

FSLTL

FSLTL is free model matching available in the FlyByWire launcher. It has over 2,075 different high quality liveries and custom sounds. It must be noted that performance impact is largely considered worse than other model matching solutions. The VMR file is included and can be found in the fsltl-traffic-base folder inside of your MSFS community folder. The file should be called ‘FSLTL_Rules.vmr’.

FS Traffic

FS Traffic is a paid model matching solution from JustFlight costing £26.99. It has fewer liveries than FSLTL at over 700. Performance impact, however, negligible so it is a better option on low end systems. There is an included VMR file but it is recommended to use this community created option by Acerazus for better accuracy and livery fallbacks: https://flightsim.to/file/57472/just-flight-s-fs-traffic-vmr-file-accurate-version.

AIG

AIG is the model matching solution with the highest number of available liveries. It also has less of a performance impact than FSLTL. Most users avoid AIG due to the difficulty of installing the models and the large amount of storage space the models take up. A VMR file for AIG traffic can be found here: https://flightsim.to/file/58981/complete-aig-traffic-model-matching-vmr. It has been created by nickvdruit and has more than 240000 entries.

To install AIG for MSFS it is recommended to follow these steps:

  • Download the package from this GitHub page or directly from the Google Drive. This step avoids the need to use AIG’s traffic manager which is difficult to use
  • Once downloaded, use an extraction tool (like WinRAR or 7zip) to unzip the file into your MSFS community folder
  • Download the above VMR file and configure it in your vPilot settings. Note: this 3rd party VMR file is outdated so you may recieve some error messages in vPilot. It will still, however, provide better coverage than the included VMR file

X-Plane

For X-Plane the most widely used model matching solution is Bluebell CSL. If using xPilot you will be prompted to install the Bluebird CSL model package when you first attempt to connect to the network.

If using the swift pilot client:

If using the swift pilot client, the Bluebird CSL files can be downloaded from X-Plane.org here. It is recommended to download all of the available files. Inside of X-Plane’s custom data folder create two further folders. The first titled CSL and then inside of that folder one titled BB. The file path should be as follows X-Plane 11/Custom Data/CSL/BB. Inside of the the BB folder extract all of your .zip files.

Important For the files titled BB_Aircraft1, BB_Aircraft2, you must extract into one file called BB_Aircraft. E.g. the BB_Airbus1 and BB_Airbus2 should be extracted into one folder titled BB_Airbus as shown in the images below.

Next you must create a model set in the swift mapping editor. In the ‘Stored own models XPlane’ tab you should see a list of all the models the application has found inside of your X-Plane directory. If you do not see any models, ensure that the X-Plane directory is configured correctly in the ‘Settings and login’ tab.

When on the ‘Stored own models XPlane’ page click ‘force reload ‘Xplane”. It should now search and find again all models in the X-Plane directory including your Bluebird CSL models.

Now go to the ‘Active model set XPlane’ tab. Click the ‘new set’ button. Configure the ‘Create model set for XPlane’ window as follows:

  • Simulator – XP
  • Mode – full
  • Source set – DB data only
  • Distributors – all distributors

Then click ‘OK’. The software will no produce a model set.

To complete the process. Right click and go to ‘Model set’ -> ‘Remove excluded models’. This is essential to ensure X-Plane does not try to render fully flyable addons as the simulator is not capable of this.

ESSENTIAL – click ‘save XPlane’ in the bottom right before closing the swift mapping editor or you will lose this model set.

You should now be ready to fly with model matching!