Hello everyone!  Greetings from perhaps your noobiest noob around ("Why is the aircraft screaming to me about 'sink' rate?  We're not on a boat, are we?!?")!

I had a couple of questions about posting requests for add-ons, be it aircraft to airports.  I did notice that there were several forums for said requests with several helpful instructions; I hope you think me neither lazy nor overly bereft of mental faculty ("Hey, which one of these pedals is the gas and which is the brake?") by posting my questions here rather than struggling through elsewhere with previously posted instructions.  My honest intent is not to annoy or take short-cuts ("Checklists are for slow-pokes!"), but simply do my best to get it right the first time.  Rambling explanations aside . . .

1) Is it OK to make requests for specific aircraft skins/repaints?  Presently, I have a great desire for aircraft bearing Northwest Airlines livery, JAL livery, and ANA livery.  Fortunately, there are a lot of add-ons out there with the above liveries, so I am not lacking in options.  But, I was not sure if anyone actually asks for specific repaints in that manner (or if you either just take what is offered or buck-up and learn how to do it yourself).  Furthermore, I have toyed with the idea of having repaints done for my own virtual airline.  I know this sounds pretty bold ("That noob wants his own virtual airline and yet he thinks a stick-shaker is something you make cocktails with!"), but it is a dream of mine.  I wasn't sure if it was in good form to ask around for someone willing to make a custom repaint for your own virtual airline (or, again, if this is something you just learn how to do yourself).

2) Is it OK to offer rewards/incentives to developers willing to make something for you?  I am just not sure how add-on development and copyright law works here.  There may be some instances where I would be willing to offer a reward or incentive (be it monetary or something offered in trade) to a developer who was willing to design a specific add-on for me.  However, I definitely don't want to do anything illegal that could get myself or a developer in trouble.  Is there some sort of licensing guide or information I should be aware of before I offer to pay someone to custom repaint a 747-400 for me?

3) This third question really is an additional question for the two specific examples of add-on request I mentioned above.  First, is requesting a repaint of an aircraft, specifically for your own virtual airline, an appropriate request for the general aircraft requests?  Or, are requests for aircrafts specifically for entire models not yet existent for the game?  (That is, do repaints and custom repaints have their own category?)  Also, is there a difference where you would post an open request for an add-on versus a request for an add-on where you are willing to compensate the developer?

I hope my questions possess some merit and are not too dense in nature.  I thank you all in advance for answers and advice you have to offer.

All the best!
Xyn_Air

Thanks, John!  Your answers and comments were very helpful indeed!

One thing that did surprise me was that offering to reimburse someone for a repaint might offend the various community developers.  Legal difficulties I expected, but perhaps I was naive about potential social difficulties.

Also, thank you for your comments about virtual airlines and the virtual airline forums.  Though it is somewhere far off for me (perhaps a bit over the simulated horizon), I do have an eventual goal of having a small, virtual airline.  The idea of 'virtual' employees, including a design person or staff, hadn't exactly entered me brain yet.  Great advice!

Thanks, again!

Xyn_Air