Why is PMDG's MD11 so light?

[xkoote 57]

As per McDonnel Douglas' Airport Planning Manual the MD-11ER has an OEW of 132,049 kilo's. When you look at the MD-11 load manager, and choose 0 load, you get an OEW of 123,999 kilo's. That's more than 8 tons of difference. Is there a reason for this difference?For the MD-11F the discrepancy is much less. 112,748 versus PMDG's 113,849... 1 ton.Could this explain why we never reach maximum ZFW ? And while I touched on that subject, is there still the idea floating around to make pallet size editable via an .ini file ?Thanks,Xander

[mfrantz 45]

Xander,The Empty or Dry as they call it Operating Weight is not standard but different for each individual aircraft. In general, the freighters are lighter than the passenger versions because they don't have seats, galleys etc.The 132,049 weight you refer to is for the ER version and it makes sense to be higher because of the weight of the additional tanks that are fitted to allow for the extended range. We have not modeled the ER variant.About the .ini files that will allow max ZFW, yes we will provide them very soon.

[stevenp 1]

will you all ever model the er version, how many more nm can it go?

[Mace 1,902]

>>The 132,049 weight you refer to is for the ER version and it>makes sense to be higher because of the weight of the>additional tanks that are fitted to allow for the extended>range. We have not modeled the ER variant.>??In this thread:http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...54552&mode=full...Vangelis said you *had* in fact modelled the ER variant with PIP.. ??So which model is it?RhettFS box: E8500 (@ 3.80 ghz), AC Freezer 7 Pro, ASUS P5E3 Premium, BFG 8800GTX 756 (nVidia 169 WHQL), 4gb DDR3 1600 Patriot Cas7 7-7-7-20 (2T), PC Power 750, WD 150gb 10000rpm Raptor, Seagate 500gb, Silverstone TJ09 case, Vista Ultimate 64ASX Client: AMD 3700+ (@ 2.6 ghz), 7800GT

[mfrantz 45]

>>...Vangelis said you *had* in fact modelled the ER variant>with PIP.. ??>>So which model is it?>Rhett,This is a misunderstanding. Vangelis didn't actually mean the ER model. What is modelled (and is active by default for all our MD-11s) is the "H" fuel distribution option that allows for an increased TOGW. This is not the same as the ER which has additional auxiliary tanks (1 or 2) fitted. We have not modeled the that, as it would require quite a lot changes in the fuel system logic/control/displays to accomodate for the extra tanks. And we thought that the normal MD-11 range would be more than enough for your needs :-)

[xkoote 57]

Thanks for the explanation Michael. I indeed remembered being spoken about the ER model. But this is an ER only weight wise. Kind of like an MD-83 without aux tanks. Sounds great. Looking forward to both the update and the FS9 version.Regards,Xander

[Mace 1,902]

>>>>>...Vangelis said you *had* in fact modelled the ER variant>>with PIP.. ??>>>>So which model is it?>>>>Rhett,>>This is a misunderstanding. Vangelis didn't actually mean the>ER model. >What is modelled (and is active by default for all our MD-11s)>is the "H" fuel distribution option that allows for an>increased TOGW. This is not the same as the ER which has>additional auxiliary tanks (1 or 2) fitted. >>We have not modeled the that, as it would require quite a lot>changes in the fuel system logic/control/displays to>accomodate for the extra tanks. And we thought that the normal>MD-11 range would be more than enough for your needs :-)>> >>Ok, that's what I thought. So now I have a follow-up question:Since we are in a sim, we can theoretically simulate any range we want by adding fuel. But with the MD-11, I am not sure how this would work.If we are in-flight, say at cruise, could we go to the Load Manager, and add more fuel to the aircraft, and send that to FS? That would of course throw off the CG calcs and all of that, but could that all not be adjusted in-flight?RhettFS box: E8500 (@ 3.80 ghz), AC Freezer 7 Pro, ASUS P5E3 Premium, BFG 8800GTX 756 (nVidia 169 WHQL), 4gb DDR3 1600 Patriot Cas7 7-7-7-20 (2T), PC Power 750, WD 150gb 10000rpm Raptor, Seagate 500gb, Silverstone TJ09 case, Vista Ultimate 64ASX Client: AMD 3700+ (@ 2.6 ghz), 7800GT

[mfrantz 45]

Rhett,Although I don't see the point for this "unrealistic" procedure, sure you can do it. If you want to change the fuel only (and not the payload), just use the PMDG menu fuel option. ZFW and CG will be autocratically be updated on the WEIGHT INIT page.

[Mace 1,902]

Ok, thanks.I agree, it is unrealistic EXCEPT if I want to simulate an -ER model flight, it would be the only simple way to simulate the extra fuel tankage.RhettFS box: E8500 (@ 3.80 ghz), AC Freezer 7 Pro, ASUS P5E3 Premium, BFG 8800GTX 756 (nVidia 169 WHQL), 4gb DDR3 1600 Patriot Cas7 7-7-7-20 (2T), PC Power 750, WD 150gb 10000rpm Raptor, Seagate 500gb, Silverstone TJ09 case, Vista Ultimate 64ASX Client: AMD 3700+ (@ 2.6 ghz), 7800GT