VATSIM · X-Plane 12 · Stop bar simulation

Runway stop bars,
lit by ATC.

XPGuard shows VATSIM-controlled stop bars on the ground in X-Plane 12. When the controller holds you, the bar glows red. When you're cleared, it turns green — right on the hold-short markings.

Built onXPLM instancing
Controlled fromEuroScope
Frame-rate cost~0
Ground · RWY 03C hold Stop bar set
PILOT VIEW
Pilot sees HOLD SHORT
How it works

From the controller's scope to your taxiway.

One stop bar, three steps. A controller decides, XPGuard syncs, and the lights appear on the ground in front of you.

STEP 01 · CONTROLLER

Set on the scope

A VATSIM controller manages stop bars from EuroScope, runway by runway, as they work the ground.

EuroScope plugin
STEP 02 · XPGUARD

Synced in real time

Every change relays through XPGuard to every pilot connected at that airport, the same moment it happens.

Live network
STEP 03 · X-PLANE

Lit on the ground

The XPGuard plugin draws the bar exactly on the hold-short markings — red to hold, green to roll.

X-Plane 12 plugin
What you get

Built to feel like the real ground.

Instant

No lag, no reload

Set or drop a bar and pilots see it the same moment. The ground stays in sync with the controller.

On the markings

Exactly where it belongs

Stop bars sit on the real hold-short positions, extracted straight from airport data.

No FPS cost

Drawn the light way

Lights use X-Plane's instancing API, so your frame rate doesn't notice they're there.

Any scenery

Default or add-on

Works with stock airports and third-party scenery alike — no special package required.

Red & green

The real language

Red holds you short. Green clears you across. The same logic as the lights on a real taxiway.

Growing

Community-mapped

Airport stop-bar maps are built by the community and expanding, field by field.

Two sides of the bar

For the pilot, and for the controller.

● For pilots

Hold short like the real world

Install the plugin, fly online, and watch stop bars light up wherever a controller is working the ground.

  • Drop-in X-Plane 12 plugin
  • Bars appear automatically at your airport
  • A control panel to preview and test any field
Get the X-Plane plugin
● For controllers

Run the ground from your scope

Add the EuroScope plugin, claim your airport, and control every stop bar without leaving your radar client.

  • Claim a field and pick active runways
  • Click a bar to hold; click again to clear
  • Pilots see it instantly, no coordination needed
Get the EuroScope plugin
Coverage

Where XPGuard works.

Coverage is community-built and growing. Here's what's on the map so far.

LTAC Ankara Esenboğa  Ankara, Türkiye Mapped · 29 holds
LTFM İstanbul  Arnavutköy, Türkiye In progress
LTBA İstanbul Atatürk  Türkiye Planned

Know an airport that needs stop bars? Contribute a map.

Freeware

Built by the people who fly it.

XPGuard grows when pilots and controllers add their home airports and sharpen the plugin. Here's how to pitch in.

Map a field

Add an airport

Run the extractor on an airport's data, check the stop bars, and open a pull request.

Code

Improve the plugin

The X-Plane plugin and the EuroScope side are open. Fix it, refine it, extend it.

Fly & report

Test on VATSIM

Fly the ground, find what's off, and tell us where a bar sits wrong.

Read the contribution guide
Open beta · in active development

Ready to hold short?

Download XPGuard, connect to VATSIM, and fly the ground like it's real. Free to use.