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FS Load Master NEW VERSION v3.0

Operating Guide

PegasusWeb Productions

FS Load Master Operating Guide PegasusWebProductions

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Introduction

You have chosen a departure and a destination airport, your aircraft is ready at the ramp or

gate and you have a flight plan before you. Now it’s time to load the aircraft with fuel,

passengers and cargo and take off.

But before you open the load screen interface , FS Load Master can help you to quickly determine

your payload and cargo weights in a way consistent with the realistic operational conditions of the

trip you about to fly.

If you are in hurry, just select aircraft, input trip distance and payload (passenger or freight) and

you’re done – see below the Quick Start Tutorial. Or if you have in mind some specific conditions –

full or partial load, ferry flight (no payload), known or forecast weather conditions - you can modify

all the parameters as shown in this manual and you will end up with the correct realistic weight

numbers for your flight operation.

In any case LoadMaster is designed to be efficient and practical so as to spend as little time as

necessary to compute your numbers and then off to the real thing: flying!

FS LoadMaster models fuel requirements for any flight from 70 NM up to to about 10,000 NM for

most of the commercial aircraft currently in service, from light to widebodied.

The flight time and the consequent fuel requirements for a flight are computed by the internal “Fuel

Burn Estimator” (FBE). FBE is an algorithm that models for each aircraft the fuel consumption curve

relative to the distance to complete the trip according to the flight plan and the aircraft payload.

The FBE (Fuel Burn Estimator) assumes a typical vertical profile (takeoff, climb, cruise, descent and

landing) to fly the distance indicated in the flight plan and accounts the type of aircraft and the actual

takeoff weight.

While the dynamic data – e.g. trip time and trip fuel - is calculated by the Load Master FBE, the static

weight data provided is taken from the official manufacturers data specifications.

For variations A and B are presented to account for the variance in critical parameters, but a third

variation, U for user, is available for the user to match the numbers of the specific installed FS

model. The list of modelled aircraft is presented at the end of this guide.

FS Load Master produces a standard report style “Load Sheet” that can be saved as a text file for easy

consultation while in flight and for logging purposes.

NEW in version 3: New aircraft models.

NEW in version 3: User configuration profile can be associated to a specific FS aircraft configuration

file (aircraft.cfg) in the FS installation directory, so that the relevant parameters are automatically fed

directly from the FS aircraft model.

NEW in version 3: the loadsheet can be made available as briefing in the FS kneeboard to be consulted

at flight time. Actual METAR conditions can be requested for departure arrival and alternate airport.

NEW in version3. A detailed Load Sheet Data display complete with the seat configuration animation

is provided for each aircraft.

NEW in version3. Convenient Airline and Airliners database updated to 2014.


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Why fly with realistic weight and fuel?

In the real world it is the captain’s responsibility to assure the safety of the flight before accepting

takeoff , by checking all the data available about the flight. And here “all” means “everything relevant”,

from the actual and forecast metereological conditions to the political safety of the airspace the flight

is about to invade.

A dispatching process, involving many people, is dedicated to gathering the flight plan data and the

aircraft load weights and reporting them to the pilot crew.

A central role is played by the weight data, because the aircraft performance is very much dependent

on the dynamically varying gross weight of the aircraft at all stages of flight. At takeoff the gross

weight cannot exceed maximum takeoff weight, while at landing gross weight cannot exceed

maximum landing weight. In climb, cruise and descent the weight of the aircraft determines climb and

descent rate, fuel consumption and ultimately flight time.

The known technical structural limits of the aircraft must be therefore thoroughly checked against the

actual conditions of the flight.

And as fuel is concerned, a balance must be found between economical returns and safety parameters.

International regulations dictate that no flight can be dispatched or aircraft can takeoff unless it has

enough fuel to fly to the airport to which it is dispatched, and thereafter, to fly to and land at the most

distant alternate airport, and then to fly for 45 minutes at normal cruising fuel consumption.

In flight simulation the aircraft sim designers go to great lengths to insure that the aircraft

performance respond realistically to weight changes, altitude, weather and weight balance. Flight

command authority, rate of climb, aircraft speed, fuel consumption, aircraft attitude, to name a few,

are effects that the sim user can directly experience as effects of aircraft load.

Therefore, a realistically loaded aircraft can dramatically improve the simulation experience, giving

the user the “right feel” and the “right cues ” for the pilot flying.

If your aircraft has an FMS (Flight Management System) you can input the FS Load Master estimated

fuel and reserve, and monitor how fuel predictions change during the flight, and consider whether the

actual weather conditions suggest an altitude change, or require a fuel emergency to be declared (a fuel

reserve warning demands declaring an emergency at the destination airport).

Furthermore, knowing and controlling the weight load parameters, can extend your imagination to set

up and understand different scenarios for a flight.

Suppose you are short of fuel because you are dispatched to return to base without refueling: although

you are within the safety limits, any contingency or diversion can be a problem to be taken seriously.

Or suppose your cargo flight was delayed, the winds were against you, so when you arrive at the

destination airport the night has fallen and the airport is closed, not being certified for night landing.

A comfortable afternoon flight suddenly changes to a critical night time flight with limited fuel to the

best alternate airport, which is 150 NM away.

Even for normal scheduled passenger flights the choice of the number of seat class, the available cabin

weight, the cargo load can be adjusted based on distance and route: long haul flights compete for

comfort and seat less passengers but provide for first and business class, while short economic flights

are normally crowded and the baggage weight can be limited to carry-in personal items.


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The FS Load Master Interface

The interface consists, as if were, of two spreadout pages, the left hand page (Flight Data) is fixed and

resumes for you all the relevant data for the flight you are planning, while the right hand page

(LoadSheet) has 6 tabs:

1 Design. Set up fuel and payload for the flight in detail.

2 FSX Aircraft. Synchronize the FBE model with an actual installed FS aircraft and read its parameters into FSLOADMASTER.

3. Flight. Read departure and arrival airport information, flight level and range for the flight. The current metereological situation can also be requested real time (METAR). (An internet connection must be available at the time of the request.)

4. Airline. Query information about airline codes and their main hubs. By clicking on an Airline the 2 or 3 letter code is automatically used to complete the flight number. In the lower window you can query which aircraft is currently in service in which airline in the world and vice versa (updated to “2014 Airliner Census”).

5. FS Load Details. This window shows how to distribute on board fuel in the available tanks, and passengers passenger in typical seat configurations, making it easier to replicate the desired weights in FS.

6. Display Loadsheet. This window displays the loadsheet in a text format suitable to be saved as refernce or log. A special save button copies the loadsheet in the FS kneeboard as section “Briefing”.


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FS Load Master Interface. A walkthrough

Flight Plan Main Windows

01.Select the aircraft. Click on the aircraft code on the left aircraft list to select the aircraft model for the Fuel Burn

Estimator (FBE) to be used for the current flight plan. Profile U default values are displayed

(initially set the same as A profile).

02 Set Departure, Destination and Alternate Airports, Flight Number

and Time of Departure After entering the 4 letter ICAO code of the FROM ,TO and ALT airports, clicking on “G/C” -great

circle distance - will return the geographical (lossodromic) nautical miles (NM) distance between

the departure and the destination airports and the NM distance between the arrival and the

alternate airport ALT DIST . You can insert now a Flight Number (Flight#) and the Expected Time

of Departure. The Expected Time of Arrival (ETA) is then computed. The code, name and city of the

selected airports will appear both on the loadsheet and in the Flight Data tab for subsequent

request of the current metereological conditions (METAR).

03.Input Trip Distance Input the flight plan distance in nautical miles - NM. This number is the basis of the

loadsheet calculation, independently of the G/C distance automatically calculated as G/C.


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Flight Time and optimal Cruise Altitude are computed and displayed. If the trip distance is greater

than the (selected) aircraft maximum range, the Trip Distance background turns to red. (Note,The

maximum range can be adjusted in tab “FLIGHT DATA”)

04. Select Passengers / Freight Selecting P - passenger flight – allows input for number of crew (pilots and staff) and passengers.

Selecting F - all freight flight - sets crew to 2 and the number of passengers to zero, while the freight

weight is by default set to 75% of maximum payload.

05. Select aircraft Profile As soon as a trip distance is entered, the design parameters of the selected aircraft, profile U default

values are displayed (initially set the same as A profile).

The “configuration values” – identified as A B or U -are a set of characteristic values that represent

structural and design limits for the selected aircraft:

1. Max Range,

2. Max Flight Level (Service Ceiling)

3. Empty Operating Weight,

4. Max Zero Fuel Weight,

5. Max Landing Weight ,

6. Max Fuel Capacity, and

7. Max Takeoff Weight.

For the same aircraft type– for instance Boeing 767-200 - configuration A represents the values for

the model variant with less power or capacity while the configuration B shows the design values for

the more powerful or the more capable for the selected model – in this case B762 ER.

All these values can be user adjusted, but profiles A and B are not saved across different aircraft

and between sessions. You can use configuration U to set up a different – reasonably sim-based -

specifications: the updatable numbers appear in blue. The user configuration is saved between

sessions, so that your preferences will be immediately available for the next flights

SPECIAL USE OF PROFILE U Use U –User configuration- to load the parameter values of an

actual FS aircraft model you have installed in your FS, and previously “associated” to this FBE

model. The process of associating an FS model will be described later, and consists in automatically

reading the Empty Operating Weight, the Max Takeoff Weight, the Max Fuel Capacity and the

specific tanks capacities from the flight simulator aircraft configuration file. The affected

parameters appear on a light blue background.

06. Set Payload Passenger flight: insert the crew (pilots and flight attendants) and the number of passengers

expected to board your flight. The number is compared with the maximum capacity for the selected

seat configuration and if it exceed this number the background turns to red. You can rotate

available configurations by clicking on the configuration label. Then you can adjust the unit cabin

weight (passenger average weight plus the weight of cabin carry-in items) and the unit baggage

weight, set by default at 80kgs (178lbs) and 11kgs (24lbs) respectively.

Freight: Input the cargo weight as desired. Freight available weight is continuously computed by

subtracting current weight – aircraft fuel and passengers - from the maximum takeoff weight, so

that it updates automatically with distance and payload. Watch for the Max Available freight

weight not to decrease to zero – and the takeoff weight background consequently to turn red.


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07. Choose Imperial or metric Clicking on the toggle switch where the current unit is displayed will switch between metric (Kgs)

or imperial units (Lbs). All current data will be immediately displayed in either metric (Kgs) or

imperial units (Lbs). All user input is understood to be originally expressed in the unit current at

the time of the input.

08. Fine Tune Configuration Values PROFILE U If the profile U is associated with a FS model, the values in light blue are taken from

the aircraft configuration of the selected FS aircraft, and therefore there's no need to change them,

as they will match exactly the constraints in the FS load fuel and payload window.

For profiles A and B, fine tuning may be required . Typical is the case of Empty Operating Weight,

that varies somewhat in the real world around the published Dry Operating Weight., and Fuel

Capacity, that depends on the fuel tanks actually implemented in the FS model.

09. Reserve Contingency and Taxi Trip Fuel. This number is automatically calculated (by the FBE) and cannot be changed.

Reserve. Reserve fuel is expressed by user as minutes of flight, and automatically calculated as

quired fuel weight. A reserve of 45’ is mandatory by regulation. Add 30’ for diversion to alternate

when the alternate airport is within 120 miles of destination, otherwise it is reasonable to request

up to 120’ more. The default value is 75’ - 45’ as required by regulation. and 30’ to account for

diversion to alternate airport.

Contingency. Contingency fuel is expressed as % of Trip Fuel. The default is 10% as this is a

minimum regulatory requirement, but the user can reasonably request up to 20% if the conditions

of flight are particularly adverse.

Taxi Fuel . The estimated fuel burn from engine start at ramp or gate and runway line up for

takeoff. The user may express a request in weight and an equivalent in minutes is displayed.

Reasonable values are 5 minutes for small airports up to 20 minutes or more for large airports,

where delays are to be expected.

10. Computed Load Sheet Values Column These values are automatically calculated (by the FBE).

Total Traffic Load.

Total Fuel on Board.

Take Off Weight Actual

Landing Weight Actual

A red background behind any of the computed values - Total Traffic Load, Zero Fuel Weight

Actual, Take Off Weight Actual and Landing Weight Actual - signals it is outside the profile value

range.

11. Winds Aloft Forecast Toggle NONE, HEADW, TAILW and insert wind speed (component) in knots, to calculate a new

estimate for time of flight and fuel on board at destination.


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Display Loadsheet TAB

Selecting the DISPLAY LOADSHEET tab opens a differently formatted view of the load sheet,

similar to the printed output of a dispatch sheet. Basically, at the end of the design phase,

FSLoadMaster has generated two values: payload and fuel weight for a specific aircraft and for a

specific flight. For ease of reference, these two values are marked by an asterisk on the loadsheet.

Save as Flight Log. A text file wil be saved in a default FSLOADMASTER directory for future

reference, and can be reloaded by cliking on the “Load From Log” button.

Save as Briefing in FS. This button saves an html file in the internal FS subdirectory “…\UIRES” so

that the loadsheet becomes available in the in-flight kneeboard at the section “Briefing”. (shift-F10

and then click on Briefing).


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FS Load Detail TAB

It’ s now time to start our FS flight with a matching aircraft and load it with payload and fuel that

agree with our design numbers. The native FS interface for loading Fuel and Payload is by calling

the “Fuel and Payload” dialog, but many add-on aircraft have their own interface that sets these

numbers directly in FS.

IMPORTANT NOTE: FS Load Master does not set the payload and fuel directly into MSFS or P3D

to avoid conflicts with the individual load managers that many aircraft come with. See FAQs for

more information. On the othe hand, this tab helps in identifying the right numbers to be entered

in the FS interface by showing fuel load distributed in available tanks, and payload divided by class,

row seat and cargo.

Aircraft Load. This window shows the automatic distribution of the crew and passengers in seats.

CLASS ROWS. PIC/FO is Pilot and first officer seats, ATT shows the flight attendant seats, then we

have FIRST CLASS, BUSINESS CLASS and ECONOMY CLASS.

FULL capacity is given by class as number of rows, seats per row and total seat capacity per row

(for example 04 x 04 016 means four rows of four seats abreast and total 16 seats) . The ONB

(onboard) number is an automatic distribution of the total number of passenger as requested by the

user (PASS). The WEIGHT shows the actual weight of the class. The TOTAL row matches the

design user requested payload. The aircraft diagram on the right show the actual airplane seat

configuration. Two separate lines show Checked in Baggage and cargo load.

Fuel. This window shows a balanced distribution of the computed fuel on board in the available

tanks for the aircraft. Fuel loading procedure: fuel is loaded first in the main left and right tanks,


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then center main tanks, then left and right auxiliary, then center main 2, then left tip and right tip

last center main 3. MAX is full capacity for the tank, FILL the weight to be loaded in the current

weight unit, while % shows the percentage of fill over max. When Profile U is associated with an FS

aircraft, total fuel capacity and each tank capacity are read from the FS configuration file.

Whatever the interface, payload and fuel values must be ultimately reflected in FS “Fuel and

Payload” interface anyway, so we can generally state that we must act so as to set Payload and

Fuel, expressed as weight in the same units, to match “Total Traffic Load” and “Take Off

Fuel” of FS LoadMaster respectively, as in the following example.

Example: FZAA to FOOL

Let’s look at an interesting flight, African Ehiopian Airlines from Kinshasha (Democratic Republic

of Congo) to Libreville (Gabon) . Departure airport FZAA, arrival FOOL , aircraft Boeing B757-

200, 482 NM, 149 passengers onboard. Associated FS aircraft Quality Wings Boeing 757-200.

The excellent Quality Wings B757-200 comes with a custom interface to setup load (both payload

and fuel), so once we know the numbers (24368lbs fuel and 30856lbs payload) we can certainly use

the QW interface to load the aircraft.

But as an example we are going to use the generalized FS procedure to change “Fuel and Payload

before starting a flight. Keep in mind that the FS procedure will always overwrite whatever

numbers were setup by any custom load interface.


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FZAA - FOOL FLIGHT & LOAD DETAILS

The chosen aircraft configuration

The METAR at the time of execution

The load detail pages for the flight

In the following images my FS interface is in Italian, because thay’s my installation, but the shapes and the numbers are the

same.

TRANSLATION FROM ITALIAN TO ENGLISH

PESO A VUOTO : EMPTY WEIGHT ||| CARICO: PAYLOAD ||| CARBURANTE: FUEL

PESO A PIENO CARICO: FULL WEIGHT AT TAKEOFF

PESO MASSIMO A PIENO CARICO: MAX TAKEOFF WEIGHT

CARBURANTE MAX CONSENTITO: MAX FUEL CAPACITY


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Setting FUEL The suggested load per tank is as follows:

NOTE. The Quality Wings B752 comes with a custom interface to set the fuel payload: by all means this is a viable alternative procedure that can be executed before loading the aircraft in FS

In FSX we have exactly the same window and the same maximum capacity.

Here we are halfway to changing the fuel load , having set the left tank only, to show the small difference due to arihtmetic number rounding.

Setting PAYLOAD The empirical rule is to try and approximate the Load Master Total Traffic Load with the FS Payload value, dividing the payload between seats and cargo. In this instance we have to make room for a First class and a mid Economy using the numbers from FIRST AND CREW, while Cargo is to be split into Front and Aft. NOTE. The Quality Wings B752 comes with a custom interface to set the payload: by all means this is a viable alternative procedure that can be executed before loading the aircraft in FS.

GENERAL SETTINGS


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Associating an FS Model to the FSLOADMASTER FBE Model

FS Aircraft TAB

Whenever an aircraft FBE model is loaded (1) , the last currently associated FS model appears in a

light red box (2) . If no associated aircraft is current the box shows NA (not available).

To associate an FS model or change the currently associated one, request a change by clicking on the

button (3).

This opens the FSX Aircraft tab on the right hand side of the interface. As soon as you have set up the

FS root (04), or changed it by clicking on SELECT NEW FS ROOT, the change association box is

populated with all the model configuration files present in you FS installation. A model is easily

identified because the name that appears is the name of the folder that contains the installed aircraft,

and normally starts with the name of add on manufacturer -PMDG or AEROSOFT for instance- and

then the model type (see FAQ to know the default directories of many popular aircraft addons).

To home in to your aircraft, if its name does not already appear in the list window, first type in the

selection box the start of the name of the aircraft directory you are looking for– i.e. CS for Captain Sim

models - and then click on the down arrow appearing on the right of the selection box to scroll down

the list to the requested start point.

IMPORTANT NOTE. SELECTING FS ROOT.

The root file must be the root of the FS father directory of the simobjects folder: a sure way to find it is to open the file

explorer in Windows and search for the string simobjects. When you identify the folder right click and select

“properties”. This opens the property window for the folder where you can take note of the complete path to the folder

and even cut and paste it as you like.

By default in FSX (where [drive] is the name of the disk drive where FS is installed, very often C):

[drive]:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X


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For p3d:

[drive]:\%PROGRAMFILES(X86)%\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v2\

For FSX SE, the location of the resources for FSX is in the common area for all Steam Products:

[drive]:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\FSX

Next select the model you want to associate to the FBE model for the current flight (05), and then click

on ACCEPT (06). FSLOADMASTER then reads the internal configuration file for the selected aircraft

(aircraft.cfg) and acquires all the necessary parameters (WEIGHT and FUEL SECTIONS). The

association is saved as default for Profile U until you should decide to change it again. If you made a

wrong association or simply want to reset the values to Profile A just click on RESET TO CONFIG A.

When an association is ACCEPTED the program reads in the ATC_MODEL parameter in the aircraft

config file because it is the nearest to the ICAO code used in FSLOADMASTER.

This parameter is compared with the FBE model selected, and a warning can show up in box (07) just

to warn you that the ATC_MODEL code is different from the FBE model code (which is the standard

ICAO code).It is normal for the two codes to be different (for instance ATC_CODE could be the ICAO

code plus the code for the engines): the warning is there just to avoid gross mistakes in association.

FSX Aircraft TAB

VIEW MODEL PROFILE CONFIGURATION VALUES.

A List view box appears with all the FBE configuration values for all three Profiles.The currently

selected profile has a bright red background. .


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VIEW AIRCRAFT FS THUMBNAILS

Once a model has been selected, clicking on the AIRCRACFT CONFIG tab shows all the texture

directories for the selected aircraft. By default every texture directory contains a thumbnail of the

aircraft variation for that type of model: by clicking on its name if the thumbnail is present it will show

in the thumbnail window. On the left list a selection of relevant configuration parameters as read from

the FS configuration file will be shown.


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Flight tab and METAR

Flight TAB

REQUEST CURRENT METAR

An internet real time request for data is sent to the http:/weather.noaa.gov site.


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Airline / Airliner CENSUS Data

Airline TAB

AIRLINES DB.

This box allows to find an airline by country, or by a substring in its name stripped of blanks: for

instance for Ryan Air request “ryanair”. Clicking on the left of a row on the name of the airline its 2 or

3 letter code is copied as prefix of the flight number in the left hand window.

AIRLINERS/AIRLINE CENSUS

This box allows

1 When an aircraft is selected to find a list of all the airlines that operate the selected aircraft sorted by

region: AFRICA, ASMEAU (Asia /Middle East/Australasia), EUROPE; NSAMER (North/South

America).

2 When an operator is selected, to show all the airliners types currently (2014 Census) in service or

soon to enter service (on order but not yet delivered).


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The Aircraft Weights Components

Two aircraft weights must be calculated before every flight and verified to be within the aircraft

structural weight limits as established during aircraft design and certification:

1. The actual aircraft weight at takeoff: Take Off Weight Actual (TOW), that must not exceed the

MTOW (Maximum Take Off Weight)

2. The estimated aircraft weight al landing: Landing Weight Actual (LW), that must not exceed the

MLW (Maximum Landing Weight)

As both weights include fuel weight – fuel on board at takeoff and fuel still on board at landing – it is

necessary to know how much fuel is necessary and safe to load at departure and how much will be

burned during flight.

To facilitate the verification of these critical parameters and to check compliance with the aircraft

design limits, a number of intermediate weights must also be known or calculated.

Total Traffic Load (or Payload Weight). This is the weight of payload: passengers and cargo.

Total traffic Weight =

Cabin Weight of Passengers and Crew+ Baggage Weight + Other Cargo Weight

Empty Operating Weight. The weight of the aircraft fully equipped before loading in passengers and cargo. This is fixed for a certain aircraft, is updated by maintenance and depends on the design dry operating weight (DOW) plus all the equipment and fluids necessary for service. Zero Fuel Weight. The sum of Empty Operating Weight and Total Traffic Load. This is the actual weight of the aircraft excluding fuel weight.

Zero Fuel Weight = Empty Operating Weight + Payload Weight

Total Fuel on Board. This is the weight of the trip fuel –t he fuel estimated necessary to complete the current flight plan- plus reserve fuel , contingency fuel and taxi fuel.

Total Fuel on Board (at Ramp or Gate) = Estimated Trip Fuel + Reserve Fuel + Contingency Fuel

+ Taxi Fuel

Take Off Weight Actual. This is the gross weight at takeoff: it equals ZFW plus the Fuel On Board but LESS the taxi fuel, as this is supposed to be burned during taxi and before takeoff.

Take Off Weight Actual = Zero Fuel Weight + Fuel Weight Actual – Taxi Weight

Landing Weight Actual. This is the projected weight of the aircraft at landing: if everything goes as planned this is the takeoff weight actual LESS the estimated fuel burn.

Landing Weight Actual = Take Off Weight Actual – Trip Fuel


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Load Considerations for Passenger flight.

To compute the passenger payload for a flight, two average weights must be considered: the passenger

weight, including personal items, that is articles that can be stowed in the cabin under a single seat or

in an overhead compartment, and the baggage weight for the items given for handling when checking-

in for a flight. Checked items are carried in the cargo compartment and returned to the passenger at

baggage claim at his/her final destination.

Typical average weights per passenger vary between 75 and 90 kgs (165 to 198 lbs) depending on the

season (clothes) and personal item allowance.

Checked-in items (baggage) average weight varies between 15 to 25 kgs (33 to 55 lbs) per passenger,

depending mostly on flight category and route: while long distance flights may imply families moving

with heavy baggage, working days business routes between major cities even if far away

Load Considerations for Cargo Only flight.

A typical cargo flight is considered economical when the payload is at least 50% of maximum payload.

By default a cargo only flight starts with a Freight weight of 75% of published Payload. As the Max

Residual Available Weight is constantly updated subtracting the sum of Total Traffic Load and Take

Off Fuel Actual from the Maximum Take Off Weight, the user can enter other values until the Max

Residual Available (Weight) is zero, or equivalently, until the TOW Actual background turns to red.

Winds Aloft Forecast Considerations.

The fuel burn and time of flight estimates are based on a zero wind situation. If you happen to know

the forecast direction and speed (knots) of the prevailing winds aloft at the chosen cruise altitude you

can obtain a new expected time of arrival and a new value for fuel on board at destination. You must

insert the tail or the head wind component of the wind forecast.


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Quick Start Tutorial. A Typical Scheduled Passenger Flight

FLIGHT

FLIGHT DESCRIPTION Scheduled passenger flight

AIRCRAFT Boeing B737-800

DEPARTURE - DESTINATION LIME – LMML . Milano Orio Al Serio, Luqa

Malta

TRIP DISTANCE 650 NM

1 SELECT AIRCRAFT.

Click on the aircraft code

(B738) in the aircraft list.

The following data (for default aircraft profile A) will be

displayed :

Aircraft Type

Max Range (A)

Empty Op Weight (A)

Max Flight Level (A)

Max Take Off Fuel Weight (A)

Max Fuel Capacity (A)

Max Landing Weight (A)

Person Weight - default

Baggage Weight -default

Default RESERVE is set at 75’ (45’ minimum reserve and 30’ for alternate airport diversion)

Default seat configuration is set as 1-class (Y), max 189 seats.


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2 INPUT TRIP DISTANCE.

Insert trip distance in

NM. (650).

This number should

match the flight plan

distance between departure and arrival

airports.

The data sheet is updated with the data calculated data for the

“no payload” condition:

Trip Fuel (FBE)

Reserve Fuel (75’)

Take Off Fuel

Take Off Weight Actual

Landing Weight Actual

You can toggle between metric units and Imperial units by

clicking on the label “KGS” after “ALL WEIGHTS SHOWN IN”.

Leave all other values as default, but input 410kgs (or 900lbs) as TAXI fuel.

3 INPUT NUMBER OF

PASSENGERS

Insert 141 as Pass# (about 75% of maximum for select 1-cl (Y)

configuration.

4 INPUT PREVAILING

WINDS

Inserting a component of 50 knots tailwind, which is typical for

this region, the flight could arrive 15 minutes before schedule, with a consequent saving on fuel of 1.486 lbs.

4 DISPLAY AND SAVE

LOADSHEET

By clicking on the tab DISPLAY LOADSHEET, a standard Load

Sheet is presented.

When the departing and destination airports are not inserted the

file name defaults to the aircraft and the trip distance, followed

by the current day and time.

Now input LIME, LMML and LICJ as departure, destination and

alternate airports respectively and Click GEO CALC.

Then input RY9001 as flight number and set 13:40 as the

departure time.

Click again on the tab DISPLAY LOADSHEET, and notice how the

load sheet is now complete, and the file name now quotes the

departure and destination airport codes. Click on Save and the text file is saved in the subdirectory

“LoadSheets” of the FS Load Master directory.

You are now ready to load your FS aircraft with the realistic FS Load Master numbers.

5 DETAIL LOAD DATA


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Typical Scheduled Passenger Flight: LIME LMML

OTHER SCREENS

SHOW FS AIRCRAFT

OTHER FLIGHT DATA

AIRLINE SELECT


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Design Load Sheet Line By Line

Flight Description

FROM Input. ICAO 4 letter code of departure airport.

TO Input. ICAO 4 letter code of destination airport

G/C Click. Click to calculate net geographical distances between departure and destination airports - and between destination and

alternate airports

Aircraft Info. Aircraft Code followed by Manufacturer Model Name

Flight # Input. An optional Flight

Number.

Trip Distance Input. Flight Plan Distance

Flight time HHMM Output/Computed. Calculated by FBE

ETD Input. Expected Time of

Departure: Time of departure in hours and minutes

ETA Output/Computed. Expected

Time of Arrival: Time of arrival as estimated by FBE

FOB @ Destination Output/Computed. Fuel on

board at destination – equals

fuel on board at departure


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Geo Dist NM Output/Computed . Linear geographical distance between

departure and destination airports.

Alt Dist (NM) . Output/Computed Distance from destination airport and alternate airport.

Winds Forecast

Toggle and Wind Speed Input. Click on wind direction to select NONE, TAIL or HEAD

winds. Insert wind speed in knots.

FOB@DSTN Output/Computed. Wind dependent forecast of fuel on board at

destination

(excluding taxi fuel) minus trip

fuel.

P/F Toggle

P-Passenger or F-Freight

If freight passengers crew is

set to two and Pass# to zero.

Flight Configuration

P/INDEX Changes by 5

per cent clicks the Fuel Burn

Profile.

PROFILE

A B U Click Choose

configuration

A B or U. U Profile can

be associated with an FS

model

Crew Input

Crew number including

pilots and assistants.

Seat Config Click

Displays different

available seat configurations,

described as 1

2 or 3 classes followed by

max number of seats .

Pass# Input

Insert number of passengers.

Typical: 70-

80% of max

pass# in selected seat

configuration


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Payload

Unit Cabin Weight Input The weight of one Person, Crew or passenger,

including Personal effects in cabin. Values vary from 75kgs (165lb) to 90 Kgs (198lbs).

Cabin Crew / Passengers Output / Computed The total passenger weight in cabin.

= (Pass# + Crew#) x Person Weight

Unit Baggage Weight Input

The weight each passenger is allowed as check in baggage. Typical: 15 to 30 Kgs. If

Checked in Baggage Output / Computed

= Pass# x Baggage weight

Max Residual Available (Freight) INFO Output / Computed

The available freight weight still available.

This number is constantly updated, as soon as one of the numbers in the formula are updated.

=Maximum Take Off Weight –

(Total Traffic Load + Take Off Fuel) If negative is set to zero.

Freight Input The weight of cargo to be loaded.

If freighter the payload cargo weight.

If passenger the additional cargo to be loaded as cargo.

Total Traffic Load Output / Computed The total payload weight. It updates continuously in response to any change in passenger or baggage

weight, number of passengers and freight.

= Passenger/Cabin + Checked in Baggage + Freight


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ZERO FUEL WEIGHT ACTUAL

EmptyOperating Weight Config/Input

The weight of the empty aircraft. As all configuration parameters can be

changed by the user. (Configuration U is

saved between sessions).

Empty Operating Weight Output / Computed

= Empty Operating Weight

Max Zero Fuel Weight Config/Input.

The MZFW. As all configuration parameters can be changed by the user. (Configuration U

is saved between sessions).

Zero Fuel Weight Actual Output / Computed

The actual aircraft weight excluding fuel. = Empty Operating Weight + Total Traffic Load


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Fuel

Trip Fuel Output / Computed

The estimated fuel weight and the flight time for the trip according to the flight plan.

The “Fuel Burn Estimator” assumes a typical

vertical profile (takeoff, climb, cruise, descent and landing) to fly the distance indicated in the

flight plan and taking into account the type of

aircraft and the actual takeoff weight - therefore it updates continuously in response to any

change in the Total Traffic Load. = Computer by the Fuel Burn Estimator as a

function of (Aircraft, Distance and Total Traffic

Load)

Reserve (minutes) INPUT

The default is 75 minutes and includes 45’ law reserve and 30’ flight to alternate, which

is reasonable for alternates within 100NM.

For further away alternate airports consider up to 120’ for alternate flight.

Reserve Output / Computed

The actual weight of the required fuel to satisfy the reserve minutes desired, as computed by the

Fuel Burn Estimator. The part exceeding the 45

minutes reserve is computed as diversion consumption (regain altitude, fly to alternate,

execute approach and landing).

= Computer by the fuel Burn Engine as a function of (Aircraft. and the number of minutes

required by Reserve (minutes))

Contingency % Input

A percentage Trip Fuel to account for

unscheduled different contingencies (winds, flight plan diversions etc…)..

Contingency Fuel Output/Computed

The actual weight of the required fuel to satisfy

the contingency percentage.

Taxi (Fuel) Input

Fuel estimated to be burned between engine

start and takeoff run. To set look at the equivalent minutes: typical values are 5’ to 10’

for small airports, up to 20’ for large airports or

where delays are expected.

Max Fuel Capacity Configuration Parameter

Total Fuel On Board Fuel Output/Computed

The actual weight of the required fuel to satisfy

the contingency percentage.


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Final

Max Take Off Weight Configuration Parameter

Time to Empty Output / Computed The maximum autonomy

of flight of the aircraft given the total amount of fuel on board at departure.

= Trip Time + Reserve Time + Contingency Time+ Taxi Time

Max Landing Weight Configuration Parameter

Take Off Weight Actual Output/Computed

The total weight of the airplane at takeoff. =Zero Fuel Weight + Total Fuel On Board – Taxi

Fuel Weight

Landing Weight Actual Output/Computed

The weight of the aircraft at landing.

= Takeoff Weight Actual – Trip Fuel


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Loadsheet Report Information

EXAMPLE

ALL WEIGHTS IN LBS

-----------------------------------------------------------

01 FROM/LIRF TO/LIMJ NM/300 ACFT/AT75P CREW/04

02 FLIGHT/AZ456 LIRF.ETD/13:40 LIMJ.ETA/15:03

-----------------------------------------------------------

03 DEP/LIRF-Leonardo Da Vinci (Fiumicino) Intl. Apt. - Rome

-----------------------------------------------------------

WEIGHT NOTES

-----------------------------------------------------------

04 CHECKED-IN BAGGAGE/CARGO 002579 B53/042 C000353

05 CABIN / LOAD-IN COMP. 010146 Y53/178 MAX 64

06 TOTAL TRAFFIC LOAD 012725 *

07 OPERATING WEIGHT 028490

08 ZERO FUEL WEIGHT ACTUAL 041215 MAX 044000

09 TAKE OFF FUEL 005508 * EFU 2404 RSV 2509

10 TAKE OFF WEIGHT ACTUAL 046373 MAX 048400

11 TRIP FUEL 002404

12 LANDING WEIGHT ACTUAL 043969 MAX 048070

-----------------------------------------------------------

13 BLK[01:23]/RSV[01:15]/TTE[02:57] FOB 002754 @LIMJ

14 ARR/LIMJ-Genova / Sestri Cristoforo Colombo Apt. - Genova

15 END LOADSHEET [AT75] [ LIRF/LIMJ]

-----------------------------------------------------------

LEGEND.

04: B53/042: 53 items estimated at 19kgs

04: C000353: Cargo 353lbs

05: Y53/178: 53 passengers in class Y (F=First, J=Business, Y=Economy)

05: MAX 64 Maximum number of passenger in class Y

06: 012725 * : Total traffic load to match payload weight in FS

09: 005508 * : Fuel weight to match in FS (lbs)

09: EFU : Estimated Trip Fuel

09: RSV : Reserve Fuel

13: BLK : Block Time - flight time

13: RSV : Reserve Time

13: TTE : Time To Empty

13: FOB :Fuel on Board @ destination


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FAQ SECTION

Why doesn’t FS Load Master automatically load fuel and payload directly into FSX

or P3D?

Basically because every aircraft comes with its own different payload interface.

For example some aircraft require setting individual weight for each seat, some propose aggregate

weights for different aircraft sections, some have a different interface for cargo or passengers. As for

fuel, some aircraft require that fuel be set by its own load interface and would simply ignore the fuel

loaded directly into FS. Consequently the philosophy of FS Load Master is to focus on the task of

generating realistic fuel and payload values and then let him/her decide how to deal with them.

Installation Troubleshooting

FS Load Master before version 2.5 required necessarily unzipping the downloaded file into c:, so as to

create a subdirectory C:\FSLOADMASTER, so that a correct installation would produce a result like

this:

From version 2.5, although we recommend for uniformity to follow this standard, the downloaded zip

file can be unzipped to any directory, and the program will assume the install directory as root for the

Data and LoadSheets subdirectories.

For any other problem contact [email protected].

How do FS Load Master and www.fuelplanner.com compare?

A popular and reliable source of flight simulation fuel requirements is provided free by the online

service of www.fuelplanner.com . Select an aircraft, enter the airport codes for departure and

destination and fuel planner calculates fuel requirements for the flight (trip fuel and reserve) and gives

an estimate of flight time.

Main differences between the two estimates:

1. The fuelplanner.com algorithm assumes a typical load for each airplane in terms of crew and

cabin weight., and therefore returns a single trip fuel estimate for flight.

FS Load Master, in the other hand, returns a variable trip fuel estimate based on the actual load

of the aircraft.

2. The fuelplanner.com algorithm returns a single “reference” flight time, based only on distance but

independent of the aircraft performance characteristics.

FS Load Master, on the other hand, returns a different flight time based both on distance and a

different ground speed curve for each aircraft.

Obviously, when the FS Load Master aircraft load data are the same as the typical fuelplanner load for

that aircraft, the two estimates are very near.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.fuelplanner.com/

http://www.fuelplanner.com/


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In terms of interface :

FS Load Master www.fuelplanner.com

Flight distance User can input flight plan distance. Trip distance is the geographical distance between departure and destination airports.

Weights Can be displayed in lbs or kgs All weights in pounds.

Aicraft Load Can be passenger or freight. Based on a standard passenger load for the selected plane.

Passenger Load Calculated on user changeable number of passengers, cabin and cargo load

Based on standard weight and baggage.

Dry Operating Weight User changeable. Standard.

Trip Fuel Estimate depends on aircraft load. Estimate is given for standard load.

Flight Time Depends on aircraft and weight. Standard time independent of aircraft and load.

Comparison Example 1.

Let’s setup a turboprop ATR72-500 trip from Milano Linate (LIML) to Vienna Schwechat (LOWW).

The flight plan (LIML SID OSKOR UM985 NIMDU STAR LOWW) is 344 NM, while the geo distance

is 339 NM.

The difference in flight time depends on the parameters of the aircraft .

The difference between 5.248 and 4.938 is dependent on the contingency fuel and the different loads of the aircraft: 53 assengers, 4 crew at 178 lbs and 53 baggage items at 42 lbs each, while the fuelplanner standard load is 50*195 lbs.

FUELPLANNER LOADSHEET

FS Load Master LoadSheet


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NB. The PASSENGER/CABIN BAG distribution data (Y050/195) reveals that the number of standard passengers for this aircraft is fixed at 50, each stimated at 195 lbs.

Traffic Load , Operating Weight differ, but these can be user adjusted in FS Load Master . Both sheets confirm that the flight is within the safe performance limits of the aircraft.

Comparison Example 2.

Let’s setup a Boeing 737-800 trip from Kuala Lumpur (WMKK) to Da Nang Intl (VVDN). The flight

plan (VMKK SID PIBOS R208 IGARI M765 BITOD L637 TSN W1 PLK W10 BATEM DCT

VVDN) is 948 NM, while the geo distance is 885.

If we input 885 in FS Load Master we are confirmed that two estimates are very near: 21.703 vs 21.800

lbs and an estimate flight time of 2 hours and 32 minutes. By the way, the PASSENGER/CABIN BAG

distribution data (Y115/195) reveals that the number of standard passengers for this aircraft is fixed at

115, each stimated at 195 lbs.

With 135 passenger the two estimates are very near: 21.703 vs 21.812 lbs.


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With the actual flight plan distance of 948 we get from FS Load Master a more accurate estimate of

22.715 lbs and an estimated flight time of 2 hours and 43 minutes.

How to identify aircraft directory names for MS default planes and

popular aircraft add-ons ? This is a best effort list reporting the initial text strings to identify aircraft directories for Microsoft

standard and many popular payware aircraft add-ons (and relevant to FSLOADMASTER). A part from

the few addons I own myself, it’s been compiled from what is available from the internet, is not

exhaustive and can contain errors, please check with your own installation.

DIRECTORY INITIAL STRING NOTE MANUFACTURER/ PRODUCT

Aerosoft Airbus X Followed by aircraft and engine type Aerosoft Airbus Xtended (A319, A320, A321) Aerosoft Beaver ………. Followed by type Aerosoft Aerosoft Twin Otter ……. Followed by type Aerosoft Twin Otter not Extended Aerosoft_DHC6………. Followed by type Aerosoft twin Otter Xtended AS_B7878 … Followed by engine type Aerosim 787 Airbus_A321 Microsoft standard B737-800 Microsoft standard B747-400 Microsoft standard beech_baron_58 Microsoft standard Beech_King_Air_350 Microsoft standard Bombardier_CRJ_700 Microsoft standard C208 Microsoft standard C208B Microsoft standard Carenado or Carenado_

Followed by aircraft type

Carenado:(i.e.:B1900D, C208B, S550_Citation, B200_KingAir)

CLS_ Followed by aircraft type and engine type Commercial Level Simulations: (i.e.: 762,763,A330,A340, Bae146 , MD81)

CS_ Followed by aircraft type and engine Captain Sim (i.e.:B777, L1011,B737,B727)

DeHavilland_Beaver_DHC2 Microsoft standard EagleSoft Followed by aircraft type Eaglesoft:i.e.Citation X 2.0 F1_Cessna Mustang Flight One F1_Pilatus PC-12 Flight One FeelThere ERJ… Followed by Aircraft Type FeelThere (i.e.:ERJ135 ERJ145) FeelThere PIC Followed by aircraft type FeelThere (i.e. ERJ175 ERJ195) Flight One ATR 72-500 Flight One ATR 72-500 Flight One BN-2 Islander Flight One iFly B737-… Followed by 737 model iFly B737 iFly B747-… Followed by 747 model iFly B747 IRIS C-27J Spartan Iris Justflight 737-200Adv Just Flight Kodiak Lionhearts Creations Kodiak Quest Lear45 Microsoft standard mjc8q400 Majestic DHC8D PMDG Followed by aircraft type PMDG QualityWings Followed by aircraft type Quality Wings (i.e.:757, Avro 146, RJ146) RAZBAM_MetrolinerIII RazBam Metroliner III V_Col Followed by aircraft type VirtualCol (i.e.:F50, ATR42,ATR72,S340)


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FSLOADMASTER MODELLED AIRCRAFT

A306 Airbus A300-600R

A310 Airbus A310-200





A321 Airbus A321-100/200








AT42 Aerospatiale ATR 42-320




B190 Beechcraft 1900 C/D

B200 Beechcraft B200

B350 Beechcraft King Air 350

B712 Boeing 717-200 / B712 HGW

B727 Boeing 727-200 Advanced

B732 Boeing 737-200

B733 Boeing 737-300

B734 Boeing 737-400

B735 Boeing 737-500

B736 Boeing 737-600

B737 Boeing 737-700

B738 Boeing 737-800

B739 Boeing 737-900 / 737-900 ER

B744 Boeing 747-400 /747-400 ER

B748 Boeing 747-8i

B752 Boeing 757-200

B753 Boeing 757-300

B762 Boeing 767-200 / 200 ER

B763 Boeing 767-300 / 300 ER

B772 Boeing 777-200ER

B77L Boeing 777-200LR

B773 Boeing 777-300

B77W Boeing 777-300ER

B788 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner

BN2P Britten-Norman BN2 Islander

C208 Cessna C208 Grand Caravan

C130 Lockheed C-130 Hercules

C510 Cessna Citation Mustang

C550 Cessna 550 Citation S/II

C750 Cessna 750 Citation X

C27J Aeritalia/Alenia C27J Spartan

CRJ1 Canadair CRJ-100

CRJ2 Canadair CRJ-200 /CRJ-200LR

CRJ7 Canadair CRJ-700 / 700ER

CRJ7LR Canadair CRJ-700LR

CRJ9 Canadair CRJ-900 CRJ-900 ER

CRJ9LR Canadair CRJ-900LR

DH8C Bombardier Dash-8 Q300

DH8D Bombardier DASH-8 Q400

DHC2 De Havilland Beaver I

DHC6 De Havilland Twin Otter

E135 Embraer ERJ-135 / ERJ-135 LR



E170 Embraer ERJ-170 / E-170LR

E175 Embraer ERJ-175 / E-175 LR


1


E195 Embraer ERJ-195 / ERJ 195 LR

F50 Fokker 50

F70 Fokker 70

F100 Fokker 100

JS31 British Aerospace JS-3100

JS41 British Aerospace JS-4100

L105 Lockheed L1011-500 Tristar

MD11 McDonnel-Douglas MD11



PC12 Pilatus PC-12

Q100 Quest Kodiak 100

RJ70 BAe Avro RJ70 / 146-100

RJ85 BAe Avro RJ85 / 146-200

RJ1H BAe Avro RJ100 /146-300

S200 SAAB-2000

S340 SAAB-340B Plus

SW4 Fairchild Metro 23

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