diff --git a/simgear/props/props_io.cxx b/simgear/props/props_io.cxx
index 45886a6c..1b6e0f44 100644
--- a/simgear/props/props_io.cxx
+++ b/simgear/props/props_io.cxx
@@ -540,6 +540,9 @@ void
 writeProperties (const string &file, const SGPropertyNode * start_node,
                  bool write_all, SGPropertyNode::Attribute archive_flag)
 {
+  SGPath path(file.c_str());
+  path.create_dir(0777);
+
   ofstream output(file.c_str());
   if (output.good()) {
     writeProperties(output, start_node, write_all, archive_flag);