How do I add FSX Xenon Lights 3.0 taxi lights to default aircraft without the SDK?

Re: FSX Xenon Lights 3.0 taxi lights on default aircraft

Hi Joske,

Yes — add-on “xenon” light packages like that are typically meant to replace/improve the visual effect of landing/taxi lights, and in many cases you can use them on default aircraft without touching the SDK at all. Most of the time it’s just a texture/effect install plus a small edit to each aircraft’s aircraft.cfg.

Here’s the practical way to approach it.

1) Install the package files (effects/textures)
After you unzip the download, look for folders named something like:

• Effects
• Texture

Then copy them into your FSX folders:

• ...\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\Effects\
• ...\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\Texture\

If Windows asks to overwrite files, I’d suggest you make a backup of any same-named files first so you can roll back if you don’t like the result.

2) Add or change the light entries in the aircraft.cfg
Pick one default aircraft to test with first (don’t do your whole hangar until you confirm it works).

Example path:
...\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Airplanes\B737_800\aircraft.cfg

Before changing anything:

• Make a copy of aircraft.cfg (just rename it to aircraft_backup.cfg or similar)

Now open aircraft.cfg in Notepad and find the section:
[lights]

You’ll see lines like:
light.0=...
light.1=...

What you’re looking for in the Xenon Lights readme (usually included with the download) is the exact effect name it uses (it’ll look like fx_XXXX). Once you know the effect name, you either:

• Replace the existing taxi light effect name with the xenon one, or
• Add a new taxi light line if the aircraft doesn’t have one.

A taxi light entry is normally “type 6” in FSX’s lights list, and landing is usually “type 5”. The important part is: use the exact effect filename the package tells you to use, and keep the coordinates close to where the original taxi light was (otherwise it’ll shine from a weird place).

3) Test in-sim and adjust
Load the aircraft at dusk/night, turn on taxi light, and check:

• Is the light visible?
• Is it coming from the right spot (nose gear / wing root / wherever it should be)?
• Is it too bright or lighting up the cockpit?

If the light is there but positioned wrong, you tweak the three coordinate numbers on that light line (that’s normal—every model is a little different).

A couple of gotchas

• Some “missing taxi light” complaints are actually the aircraft not having a taxi light defined at all in [lights], or the effect file is missing from Effects.
• You do not need the SDK for basic light/effect swaps like this.

Quick questions so I can give you the exact line(s) to add

• Which default aircraft are you trying to edit first (ex: default 737, default C172, etc.)?
• In that Xenon Lights 3.0 download, what is the exact effect filename it tells you to use (from the readme), and/or what fx_*.fx files does it install into your Effects folder?
• Can you paste your current [lights] section from the aircraft.cfg here? (Just that block.)

Once I see your current [lights] section and the xenon effect name, I can tell you exactly what to add/change and where.