AIRPLANE RATINGS
Users earn points by uploading airplanes and then receiving upvotes on those airplanes. Each upvote is worth 15 points.

So, for example, if you had an airplane, and it received three upvotes, then you would receive 45 points.

SUCCESSOR POINTS
If someone downloads your airplane and then re-uploads a new version, your airplane will be credited as the original design (aka the predecessor). You will also receive a point bonus every time their airplane receives positive ratings. Let's look at an example.

The user thomasjaf uploaded a cool F-35.
Somebody else downloaded this plane, made some tweaks and re-uploaded a couple of new variations.
These new variations received a lot of positive reviews and earned several points.
The original designer, thomasjaf, has received a 50% bonus from all points earned by these variations.
Note: It actually even goes further than that. Thomasjaf would also receive a 25% bonus from any grandchildren of his design. 12.5% from any great-grandchildren, and so on.