Everything you need to claim, build & fly

The official handbook for Project Airports: step-by-step tutorials with screenshots, the full economy reference, and fixes for the things that trip people up. Written to be read out of order - jump straight to what you need.

30 pages ~180 min cover to coverUpdated with every release

Most travelled routes

Build your first airport Install the companion app How do I earn Aeros?Get airports into MSFS Something's not working

Getting Started

- From zero to your first airport in the sim.

What is Project Airports?The five-minute overview: claim real-world land, design an airport in your browser, and fly it in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. 5 min Your first airportThe end-to-end quickstart: sign up, claim free land, draw a runway, build, and fly it in MSFS - in about fifteen minutes. 12 min Install the companion appThe free Windows desktop app that puts your airports into MSFS and earns Aeros while you fly - download, sign in, pick regions, done. 5 min Your account & callsignSigning up, the onboarding wizard, why your callsign is the only name anyone sees, and where every account setting lives. 5 min

The Claim Map

- Explore the world, stake your plot, follow live traffic.

The Claim MapOne satellite globe for the whole community: browse built airports in detail, inspect and claim cells, and watch live traffic. 6 min Claiming landHow claims work: one cell, one airport; prices and limits; where the buildable area can sit; and what a release refunds. 6 min Search & favoritesThe Claim Map search bar finds places and community airports; the heart builds your personal list of fields worth returning to. 3 min Live trafficEvery pilot flying with the companion app appears on the Claim Map in real time - smooth-moving icons, 3D aircraft up close. 3 min

Building Your Airport

- The builder, surface by surface.

A tour of the builderEvery panel, tool, and shortcut in the airport builder - the map you'll want before the deep-dive tutorials. 8 min RunwaysDrawing runways with the Runway tool: templates, drag-to-place, editing, automatic runway numbers, and the limits set by your area level. 6 min Taxiways & apronsDrawing taxiways point by point, shaping aprons corner by corner, naming taxiways for ATC signage, and what pavement between runways costs. 5 min Ground coverThe free natural-surface polygon under your airport: replacing ugly aerial imagery, shaping the boundary, and the automatic flattening and clutter exclusion every field gets. 4 min Buildable area & levelsThe blue circle everything fits inside: where to put it, the five area levels and what each unlocks, and how field elevation is resolved. 5 min Saving, the cart & buildsHow Save & view cart works, what the cart charges for, the two-airport elevation split, and the build lifecycle from queued to flying. 6 min

Decor & Objects

- Buildings, vegetation, landmarks - and the slots they use.

Decor & the catalogueFive thousand life-size MSFS objects, how to find the right one, place it, edit it, and how the account-wide object pool works. 8 min Object slotsEvery airport has a slot budget from its area level. What counts as a full slot, what counts as a quarter, what's free, and what to do at the cap. 5 min Vegetation paintingPaint living forest and brush straight onto the ground with the Foliage tool - priced by area, free of object slots, compiled to native MSFS vegetation. 6 min Landmarks & prestigeWorld icons and showpieces: prestige pricing with no cap, freedom from object slots, and the visit income that makes a landmark pay for itself. 5 min

Ground Navigation

- Parking, hold shorts, signage, and ground text.

Ground navigationThe Markings tool: parking spots, hold-short bars, illuminated taxi signs, and painted ground text - all free, all compiled to native MSFS elements. 7 min Parking spotsFree, real spawnable stands: place them, name them, connect them to the taxi network, and start flights parked at your own airport. 6 min

The Economy

- How Aeros are earned, spent, and kept honest.

How the economy worksAeros in one page: what the currency is, every way it enters your wallet, every way it leaves, and the caps that keep it fair. 7 min Earning AerosEvery income stream in detail: idle time, flight time and the variety multiplier, the landing formula, visit income, and milestones. 9 min Spending & pricesEvery price in one place: land, buildable-area levels, how object prices are calculated, what's free, and how refunds work. 9 min Materials & surfacesThe six runway/taxiway/apron materials: unlock fees, per-m² prices, free starter allotments, and how the per-airport inventory reuses area you've already bought. 6 min

Flying & Syncing

- Getting airports into MSFS and earning while you fly.

Syncing to MSFSHow airports actually get into your sim: the one golden rule, the sync triggers, region selection, and the self-healing verify. 7 min Flying your airportsYour airport as a real MSFS destination: spawning there, who else gets it, and the flight loop that earns Aeros while you enjoy it. 6 min TroubleshootingProblem-to-fix entries for the common snags: airport not in the sim, sync blocked, failed builds, missing scenery, earning stopped, and cart shortfalls. 7 min

Community & Account

- Supporters, sharing, privacy, and keeping things civil.

Supporter perksOne pay-what-you-want contribution, permanent perks: the Ⓐ25,000 grant, double object slots, free landmarks, queue priority, and a raised earn cap. 5 min Public airport pages & sharingEvery published airport gets a shareable public page with a live 3D viewer - how to edit it, list or unlist it, and why sharing it earns you visit income. 5 min Privacy & moderationWhat other players can and can't see about you, what the companion app shares, and the guardrails that keep shared airports civil. 5 min