Fuel Load Problem

[vololiberista]

Some of my a/c load with full fuel tanks which makes them (as in real life) overweight, so i have to manualy reduce the fuel.
I have tried tweaking the a/c.cfg but that reduces the tank capacity when all I want to do is load the a/c with a preset percentage of fuel in the tanks.
Does anyone know of a way?
Many thanks,
Vololiberista

[JBaymore]

I have my BAe 146-200 set to load up with only 40% in the tanks....which is close to "typical" for most flight I make on a "spur of the moment" type decision.  (Otherwise I do the flight planning first and then load the correct amouint of fuel before I fire er' up.)  I saved the situation with the 40% in the tanks as the default flight and also "cold and dark".  

When the sim loads up...... (always same plane and same place) the fuel is where I set it.

Yours is not doing this?

best,

...................john

[Brett_Henderson]

That's how I do it. Every saved flight I have is either a specific testing scenario, or a continuing flight. Like my default flight is the C177RG that I kinda fly like I would for real. Wherever it is after I land is where it will be when I start the sim. The fun part is that it forces you to check your fuel before taking off. After a few one hour or so flights, those tanks get mighty dry. I've never run out in flight, but I have made the mistake of landing at an airport when too low on fuel to safely fly to another airport, and that airport doesn't HAVE any fuel  ::)

I've yet to come up with a reasonable way to punish myself for that error..  I just feign that I had to find somebody to drive me to an Avgas source with a 5-gallon can.. and then only put 5 gallons in the plane...  

[JBaymore]

[quote]I've yet to come up with a reasonable way to punish myself for that error..

[Brett_Henderson]

I'm going to share that resolution with someone who will get an even bigger kick out of it, than I did  :D

[gypsymoth]

volo - I've asked this question & was told there is no way apart from checking fuel & payload before flying.  I assumed fs loaded aircraft with just the right amount for that aircraft but found some were difficult to get off the ground.  Checking the fuel revealed the overload but no-one knows why fs does this!

[Brett_Henderson]

I'm pretty sure this is how it works.

The first time you fly a plane, its tanks will be 100% full... and until you change your default flight (by saving a flight as the default flight), that will be the case.

Now.. if your default flight has your favorite plane with 60% fuel, and you change planes at the opening free-flight screen... whatever plane you change to, will have 60% (even if it's a brand-new d-load)..

[Brett_Henderson]

Back to vololiberista's original question....

Next time you start a flight and get the pax/cargo/fuel load where you want it.. save the flight. It doesn't have to be the default flight.. just name it accordingly.. i.e...

[Xyn_Air]

That's how I do it. Every saved flight I have is either a specific testing scenario, or a continuing flight. Like my default flight is the C177RG that I kinda fly like I would for real. Wherever it is after I land is where it will be when I start the sim. The fun part is that it forces you to check your fuel before taking off. After a few one hour or so flights, those tanks get mighty dry. I've never run out in flight, but I have made the mistake of landing at an airport when too low on fuel to safely fly to another airport, and that airport doesn't HAVE any fuel  ::)

I've yet to come up with a reasonable way to punish myself for that error..  I just feign that I had to find somebody to drive me to an Avgas source with a 5-gallon can.. and then only put 5 gallons in the plane...  

Sorry to hijack the thread, but this is something I was not aware of.  When you talk about an airport that does not have any fuel, are you referring to the little fueling stations that I sometimes see?  Beyond the fueling stations in FS, is there a lack of fuel-supplying airports in the real world that I should be thinking of when trying to add realism in FS?  The reason I ask is because I never use those fueling stations in the first place (well, very, very rarely).  I always adjust the fuel from the weight and cargo adjustment menu.  I didn't know I might be cheating and fueling myself up when an airport would have no fuel services.  Other than little, itty-bitty private strips, an airport without fuel service just never occurred to me.

Really confused,
~Darrin

[Brett_Henderson]

Oh yeah... I won't vouch for the accuracy in MSFS when it comes to whether or not an airport pumps fuel, but so far, it's been pretty close.

Even in real life you can't count on an airport that's listed as having fuel, to actually have it (mostly the smaller fields).

The MSFS map is pretty accurate along the lines of indicating;  fuel/no-fuel/paved/not-paved..  in the same manner as a real sectional....

Here's where I do a lot of simming (and have flown for real)...



If the airport is just a circle (like Y61) it's not paved. If it's solid, it's paved... and if it has "tick marks" at 3,6,9,12 o'clock (like 83D), it has fuel.

Just another element of realism that forces realistic flight planning (and fuel management).. I've come across pumps in MSFS that won't give fuel (prob a glitch) and I just reat them like out of service pumps.

The only time I fuel by the fuel & payload screen is like I mentioned above (I'm gonna start punishing myself per JBaymore ..lol ).. or when fueling at a working pump and I need less than full fuel..

[JBaymore]

(I'm gonna start punishing myself per JBaymore ..lol )

Now... should you run out of fuel while on a FLIGHT....you need to turn off the sim, go up onto the roof of your house (or onto any nearby two story building with a peaked roof), walk to the end of the peak and jump off.

[vololiberista]

Thanks Guys,
It seems the actual fuel load is set by the main programme. So 40% it is, which will allow me to adjust for longer flights.
Here are some view of my "Front Office" for your entertainment!!!!!
Vololiberista

[Xyn_Air]

[quote]Oh yeah... I won't vouch for the accuracy in MSFS when it comes to whether or not an airport pumps fuel, but so far, it's been pretty close.

Even in real life you can't count on an airport that's listed as having fuel, to actually have it (mostly the smaller fields).

The MSFS map is pretty accurate along the lines of indicating;

[Brett_Henderson]

It's not just small, private airports. The two, paved fields with no fuel on that map (KMCD and 5Y1) are both 3,500ft+ runways, with more than a few planes based at them. KMCD is even a major resort (Mackinac Island) with large twins and even an occasional twin-turbine landing there. Pumping fuel is a major investment with major resposibilities, and if the airport isn't busy, it's not economically feasible (in the case of KMCD it's that it's not only an island, but an Island that doesn't even allow motorized vehicles (except for airplanes, a fire truck and an ambulance (and a snow plow or two that come out of hiding in the off-season)).

So yes.. if you're based at a non-pumpimg airport; you either stop for fuel near home at the end of a flight... or plan on stopping not for from home when starting a flight.

I've yet to see a fuel delivery service for airports that do not pump, but I'm sure a few exist.

When I'm planning a flight through unfamiliar territory for real; I'll call all the potential fuel stops to confirm that they still pump and when they're open. Once, while flying through upper Michigan, I had to continue on to an alternate airport, pushing my VFR reserve, because the place where I stopped (and had called ahead) looked like I was the first person to risk pumping their fuel into a plane in years.. lol.

Even busy airports have their risks... If the 100LL and JetA pumps are next to each other, it's not unheard of for a busy, distracted lineman to pump kerosene into your C172