Hi all,I know that there is a big problem about the fuel prediction in the MD-11 for the miss of the charts and the informations about fuel prediction...I have found this Fuel Planner tool, and i found it very useful; the only problem is that it not take account of the winds and of the FL.I think that with some calculations you can resolve the wind problem, but for the FL i have no ideas.Here's the link:Fuel Planner ToolI hope this can help you...;-)Paolo Bianchi

Hi all,I know that there is a big problem about the fuel prediction in the MD-11 for the miss of the charts and the informations about fuel prediction...I have found this Fuel Planner tool, and i found it very useful; the only problem is that it not take account of the winds and of the FL.I think that with some calculations you can resolve the wind problem, but for the FL i have no ideas.Here's the link:Fuel Planner ToolI hope this can help you...;-)Paolo Bianchi

Before I bought FOC, I gave this freebie tool a whirl. It was off by tens of thousands of pounds. It wasn't even remotely close.Perhaps if you flew a Great Circle route with no wind, it might be in the ballpark, but thats it.Regards,Nick

Before I bought FOC, I gave this freebie tool a whirl. It was off by tens of thousands of pounds. It wasn't even remotely close.Perhaps if you flew a Great Circle route with no wind, it might be in the ballpark, but thats it.Regards,Nick

What's FOC?

I am aware of FOC and have pondered it but it is highly complex...is it worth the cash?

I am aware of FOC and have pondered it but it is highly complex...is it worth the cash?

There's another thread wandering around here, or perhaps in the FSX forum where people discussed the various flight planning programs currently available. I contributed my thoughts there.But to recap:FOC is worth the price if you're a die-hard simmer, and you want something that looks, feels, and acts like real-world dispatch software does. Yes, the interface is clunky and "Windows 3.1-ish", but then, so are most real-world dispatch suites. Initially, the learning curve is high, but like everything else, with a bit of practice it gets much easier.FOC will plan your MD-11 flights with very VERY high levels of accuracy. To be honest, a little too accurate...if you can believe that. I cannot personally vouch for the 747, but I have no reason to think it would be any different.The documentation is a little sparse in places, and it has been translated from another language (German, I think) so spelling and grammar could be better.It is also expensive. The base program is well worth its price, however the Nav Data subscription service is a real PITA. I decided to buy only one AIRAC cycle, and I froze all of my add-on AIRAC's with it. I'm all about realism, but trying to update 13 different programs and add-ons with current AIRAC's is just too much for me. Once every 6 months or so is enough for me.Bottom line: It's the real deal, and if it's realism you want, its worth the price of admission.Nick

FUELJABBER PLANNING REPORT * SBGL -(MD11)-> LFPG (4955.9 NM)-------------------------------------------------------------------Departing: Galeao Antonio Carlos JobimArriving : Charles De GaulleEquipment: McDonnell-Douglas MD-11Fuel Planner: JAR, distance-------------------------------------------------------------------Description Fuel (lbs) Fuel (lbs) reserved Hours:Mins--------------------- ---------- ---------- --- --- ----------Estimated Fuel Usage:.............. 105165 12:29Reserves Holding 5260 Diversion 3507 Contingency 5258 Total reserves:................... 14026 01:59 ---------- ----------Fuel On Board:..................... 119191 16:59 - (???? should be 14:28 !! - just adding 12:29 and 1:59 !! )-------------------------------------------------------------------FuelJabber is Copyright 2008 by Garen Evans and AeroTexas.com I feel those figures are NOT correct . . . not even near reality! -------------------------------------------------------------------This is the result of the linked fuel planner - here my calculation ( based on wx Jun04 )Dist 5050 NM W/C plus 10 equals 4950 NAM ETE 10:21Est burn 164242Cont fuel 5% 8212TTl Altn ( LFPO ) fuel incl. 30 final res 10138Min ldg fuel 7715Min T/O fuel 190307All lbs as above .Homemade fuel calculator - so far I reach my dest within +/- 1500 lbs ( when the winds ( ASA ) are correct as planned )

Dist 5050 NM W/C plus 10 equals 4950 NAM ETE 10:21Est burn 164242Cont fuel 5% 8212TTl Altn ( LFPO ) fuel incl. 30 final res 10138Min ldg fuel 7715Min T/O fuel 190307All lbs as above .Homemade fuel calculator - so far I reach my dest within +/- 1500 lbs ( when the winds ( ASA ) are correct as planned )

Hi Karl Heinz,Just for my info can you give me more info on your input ie. the pax/cargo load you used as well as the number of legs and the weather data for each leg. I would like to replicate your calculation.ThanksCheers,

Hi Michel,excel sheet coming with e-mail

Hi Michel,excel sheet coming with e-mail

Hi,Yes, my fault, the "planner" sucks a bit... :( I'm wondering to buy FOC, because the Airac cycles are very expansive...Can you gently give me the information about your type of planning??Sounds very interesting... :( :( Cheers,Paolo Bianchi

My planner is homemade with EXCEL - you need to have some experience with flightplanning - it is NOT automated likeFSBuild or FOC - somebody wrote me that my planner is for "hard-core user " only.Send me your e-mail adress via PM and I will send it to you

Hi,Yes, my fault, the "planner" sucks a bit... :( I'm wondering to buy FOC, because the Airac cycles are very expansive...Can you gently give me the information about your type of planning??Sounds very interesting... :( :( Cheers,Paolo Bianchi

Hi Paulo,As it was said in a previous post you do not need to actualize the airacs every 28 days. FOC is primarly as a dispatch engine more than a true flight planner. Having said that, its flight planning qualities are excellent. As far as I know from a number of FOC users most do not subscribe to airac updates but they do subscribe to the online weather data. For dispatch purpose the actualization of airacs is secundary in the sense that very few amendments are made to existing waypoints. I remember a few years back when DAFIF airacs were freely available and used by Richard Setphan's Navdata we made some statistics which showed that monthly updates generated less than 0.02% changes of the total waypoints and genrally were minor adjustements. So if I were you I would not hesitate.Cheers

Hi Paulo,As it was said in a previous post you do not need to actualize the airacs every 28 days. FOC is primarly as a dispatch engine more than a true flight planner. Having said that, its flight planning qualities are excellent. As far as I know from a number of FOC users most do not subscribe to airac updates but they do subscribe to the online weather data. For dispatch purpose the actualization of airacs is secundary in the sense that very few amendments are made to existing waypoints. I remember a few years back when DAFIF airacs were freely available and used by Richard Setphan's Navdata we made some statistics which showed that monthly updates generated less than 0.02% changes of the total waypoints and genrally were minor adjustements. So if I were you I would not hesitate.Cheers

Hi,thank you for the help; I think FOC will be the next in my "list"... :( Cheers,Paolo Bianchi

@Karl Heinz,Sent you a PM yesterday. Am interested in the Excel sheet :)

Hi all,I know that there is a big problem about the fuel prediction in the MD-11 for the miss of the charts and the informations about fuel prediction...I have found this Fuel Planner tool, and i found it very useful; the only problem is that it not take account of the winds and of the FL.I think that with some calculations you can resolve the wind problem, but for the FL i have no ideas.Here's the link:Fuel Planner ToolI hope this can help you...;-)Paolo Bianchi

Hi this tool is totally wrong!! I've tried quickly check based on my last MD11 flight: from EKCH to KIAD I burnt 67400KG of fuel. The tool reports to fill only 75294lbs :( RobBlueSkyVirtual Captain

I think FOC will be the next in my "list"... :(

Hmm, I'm not stupid but FOC appears to be over-complex for our needs, very steep learning curve!I think TOPCAT is sufficient.