cypher270 Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Hello All, As with many other simmers, I don't ever seem to be able to find the time to do the flights I really want. Yes long haul flights can be saved and re visited, but I'm a stickler for accuracy and consistency and love using real world weather which changes from day to day. But.... I have changed my approach to this kind of flying which, I now find far more enjoyable. The ferrying of light aircraft. This allows me to fly the distances I would love to but also allows me to fly them in legs whilst still keeping a level of realism. It's also a lot more hands on in some cases, which makes for an exciting couple of hours. The stumbling block which I would love feedback and ideas on is fuel. Ferry pilots will remove seats etc and add additional fuel tanks to improve an aircraft's range, which can't easily be replicated in FSX. I sort of have a way round this: I take assume two pilots (roughly 70-80kg each), I then add a full tank of fuel and note the weight and range that this gives. I then turn on unlimited fuel and fill up all the seats in the aircraft making sure that it is not above the operational weight range. I take this additional weight (as if it were fuel) and then calculate how much extra range that would have given me (roughly, i'm awful at maths). The downside to this is that you end up landing with a heavy aircraft even though you may technically be on reserves. Is there an easier way of doing this that I'm missing, like editing an aircraft fuel capacity though the config files? I'd happily have two configs (standard and long range) and switch between the two. Would love some thoughts and feedback on this, especially if other people have tried it. Cheers, Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turboarrow4 Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Hi Al, I suggest to have a look in the aircraft.cfg of the plane you intend to fly with. In the [fuel] section you may have the opportunity to add an aux tank, define position and capacity. For the default planes, you'll find a detailed description on msdn.microsoft.com. Be sure to backup prior to edit, so you may trial and error... I never tried this by myself, but maybe it is worth a try.... here is a link https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc526949.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cypher270 Posted July 19, 2016 Author Share Posted July 19, 2016 Hey, Thanks for the info, I'll take a look. I don't mind doing a bit of playing around if it saves me time in the long term Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr.eg Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 Hi, Have a look to ULM ? See my website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkH Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 Not quite the same but I built my own fuel panel, which lets me adjust the fuel quantities on the fly. So effectively I can refuel in mid-air... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziggy Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 52 minutes ago, MarkH said: Not quite the same but I built my own fuel panel, which lets me adjust the fuel quantities on the fly. So effectively I can refuel in mid-air... This is freaking cool!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr.eg Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 Very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodger Pettichord Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 I too fly long flights in short legs so I can see the territory without spending hours at the computer. Usually, I fly 150-300 miles per flight--depending on the airplane, that's about an hour per leg. I try to make it real by fueling according to the leg. I save each flight as "default flight" at leg-end so I can do my next start from that exact point. When I return to my plane next day, I check all specs, including fuel, in preparation for the next leg. Some days, that means a fill-up. Other days, no additional fuel is needed. Just like real. Another fun thing is to change airplanes each leg but stay within a category. For example, fly all twins across Canada, or fly all single-engine Cessnas the length of the UK, or fly all small private jets from Alaska to Mexico, etc., etc. That gives you a chance to improve your familiarity with planes within the category while also experiencing some variety. Good luck and have fun, Fat-Al. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Harmes Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 Good ideas in this thread. I was just considering the same last night; doing long flights split up in to short legs. I like your approach Rodger. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griphos Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 You can always just add to fuel while in flight to represent the extra fuel you "loaded" before takeoff. This won't get you at takeoff weight, but it will allow you to be at appropriate weight most of the flight and land at correct weight. You can add fuel in flight as often as you like. So, if you are theoretically starting with 60 gallons extra fuel, let the aircraft burn 20 and add 20 back on in the fuel management window, and then repeat after burning 20 again, and then repeat again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cypher270 Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 Thanks for all the responses, some very interesting ideas on this thread! That panel is so damn cool! I'm tempted to build my own and get it prototyped at work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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