Does anyone has resources for me which explain the usage of ballast fuel in more detail (e.g. how much to load where for certain situations)?Is using ballast fuel or not a big difference in the sim?Andreas

One of the PMDG experts has posted a response to this question several times, try doing an advanced search for those threads. Basically, ballast is only necessary in certain light payload conditions. The amount designated as ballast becomes unusable fuel for that flight. The birds are normally flown with at least enough payload to pay for the flight, which means normal operation will not call for ballast.

Thank you a lot, Dan for your attempt to help me, you're a great source of information and I appreciate your answers!But in this case, I already searched the forum and only found some kind of overview of what ballast fuel is and what it does and that you need weeks of intensive training to get accustomed to it.I now question why PMDG implemented a feature so far beyond user knowledge at all: You can get your hands on real world MD-11 FCOMs and a lot of additional documents, and all in all a simmer who "knows" a 747 and a 737 will be able to "master" the PMDG MD-11 as well after some time of studying and practice, but because there's no material available about ballast fuel, he would never ever be able to master that part of the MD-11 - a big "black hole" so to speak.I for my part can live with not exactly knowing each and every part of the plane and being restricted to the more or less very limited world of flightsimming. But I don't like the idea of having something available of which I don't have the appropriate knowledge to use it correctly, and that something seems to be of a relatively high importance if it's ballast fuel in case of the MD-11.My question is very simple: In what situations do you need what amount of ballast fuel in what tank? Is there a table or something alike?I know I won't die if I load the MD-11 improperly and crash in the sim, but I'd like to do it "as real as possible" and cannot imagine each other MD-11 sim pilot is happy about the fact that he only knows what ballast fuel is in general and where he can put it in, but not how much he needs, and when he needs it, and if he loads it in the proper tanks if he decides to load it (based on what requirement?).Andreas

Again too simple an answer, but let us imagine you have a long ferry flight and your fuel load with empty payload puts the CG out of range for landing. The solution is to allocate some of the fuel in the tank as ballast such that it is not burned as normal and the CG is retained within acceptable envelope for landing. I've no idea if this is quantized in a form of a chart or table, but this is the essence of my understanding and hope it lets a little light into the black hole of your knowledge.Lacking tables, I have adopted the practice of using the FMS to calculate fuel required and the loadmaster (or whatever it is called) to assess my moments (CG).

Thank you Dan, I'll practise with the FMC.Andreas