A LIVERY CAN SELECT AN AIRCRAFT STANDARD
Current Fenix livery configuration is operationally relevant because it can select equipment and behaviour as well as appearance. In MSFS 2020 the documented base container identifies the engine and wingtip context; MSFS 2024 uses required tags in livery.cfg to select the applicable aircraft settings. Type-specific cabin choices also require the correct base type. Confirm the actual loaded standard before using a planner profile or comparing a system demonstration. A paint scheme's airline name is not a complete specification of the aircraft beneath it. [70, Platform configuration, Engine Type Detection and required tags]
The documented options include system-relevant choices such as essential-bus auto switching, Green/Yellow steering supply, ADIRS panel, backup speed scale, FLS and go-around NAV behaviour. Their operational consequence is to change what the crew should expect from a selection or failure. Identify the installed choices in the aircraft record and follow their receiving indications. The SYS and FM sections explain the relevant mechanisms and programming. This guide does not treat the existence of a configuration key as proof that every possible failure, protection or approach branch has been independently tested in the simulation. [70, Available Options; applicable system/guidance configuration entries]
Distinguish appearance-only changes from changes that affect a procedure or assessment. A visible antenna or wallpaper has a different role from installed ACTs, a different standby arrangement, steering source or a thrust/acceleration default. Defaults still need to be compared with the actual departure. A stored height is not an obstacle clearance or an ATC level. Where the documentation labels an input as above-ground height, preserve that reference when comparing it with a resulting altitude entry. Record any discrepancy rather than resolving it with an unrelated remembered number. [70, Cabin/ACT, standby, visual and default-height options] [138, Airframe and thrust-reduction/acceleration preferences] [21, PDF pp. 121–124]
When maintaining a custom livery, use the current platform-specific developer instructions and supported template rather than copying a configuration file from an incompatible family member. Preserve an original copy before a local change and verify the loaded effect afterwards. A configuration edit can be an authoring task, a troubleshooting experiment or a correction to an unintended option; record which purpose applies. Do not use an unverified community modification to conceal a discrepancy that should first be tested on the supported aircraft and reported with reproducible evidence. [70, MSFS 2024 livery package and templates; 2020/2024 option scope] [135, Official support route]
Use a controlled comparison to learn an option's consequence: retain the same flight and change one supported aircraft setting, then identify the changed indication or mode before repeating the relevant exercise. Keep performance-sensitive variant changes separate from cosmetic ones and generate new calculations where required. The feature/variant matrix accompanying this manuscript records documented options, source dates, platform restrictions and unresolved verification questions. Its purpose is to make the applicable standard explicit, so a lesson from one livery does not quietly become a universal rule for all three airframes. [70, Documented option and platform restrictions] [106, Matching variant/configuration planning profiles]