So far I have only went through the first two tutorials and have read some of the manuals. After loading my first flight plan from Simroutes I thought of a couple of things.How do you get your block fuel value? FMS Page 10.21 tells you what values you need to calculate it, but no formula.How do you decide what your take off flap setting should be?

1. FSBuild2. TOPCATThey're both payware, but money WELL spent. I never fly without them.Paul

How do you decide what your take off flap setting should be?

Many operators always use the same value such as 23, which is what I do.

Optimum takeoff flaps is 25.

Optimum takeoff flaps is 25.

I get the impression from your posts that you work for FDX and have some experience on the MD-11, so don't think that I'm questioning you, but...How can flaps 25 ALWAYS be "optimum"? I've never dispatched the MD-11, but on the DC-10, we calculated the actual optimum flap setting for every takeoff. Sometimes it was 12.1, other times it would be 22.3, and everywhere in between.Is the MD-11 different? Do you not use the Dial-a-Flap? Is it just company policy to always use 25? It's hard to imagine what operational benefits would be achieved by using the same flap setting on a dry 9,000ft runway at sea level, and for a wet 13,000ft runway at 8,000ft PA with high terrain.

I don't claim to understand it Nick, but during beta some of the pilots did confirm that most operators stick to the same dial-a-flap setting.

Well, TOPCAT lists different optimum flap setting based on things like weight, height and runway length, so I kinda doubt that "Optimum flap is 25".

I don't claim to understand it Nick, but during beta some of the pilots did confirm that most operators stick to the same dial-a-flap setting.

Hey Dan,Yeah, I've heard that not all operators take advantage of the Dial-a-Flap system (same on the MD-80 and 717). I guess then that I would call Flaps 15 the "standard" flap setting, not the "optimum" flap setting. Perhaps I'm mincing words...

I have a few DVDs and 2 of which are of the MD11. I was pretty surprised when I heard one of the airline captains say "Our Airline SOP is 23". It was surprising because up until seeing that I thought it would vary greatly depending on load/weight. Interesting none the less.

I have a few DVDs and 2 of which are of the MD11. I was pretty surprised when I heard one of the airline captains say "Our Airline SOP is 23". It was surprising because up until seeing that I thought it would vary greatly depending on load/weight. Interesting none the less.

I'm not surprised that some (most?) operators have decided to simplify things and have selected a catch-all takeoff flap setting that works reasonably well for 90% of departures. It reduces checklist complexity, can conceivably reduce dispatcher/pilot workload, and standardizes procedures. I have to assume that the bean counters have run the numbers and have decided that these cost saving benefits of a fixed flap setting outweighs the amount of lost revenue on the 10-15% of departures where you have to leave payload on the ramp because you didn't use the actual "optimum" flap setting.But I'm just assuming. Nonetheless, if the takeoff flap setting is limited to a single value that is dictated by company policy, then I think the proper terminology would (should) be "Standard Takeoff Flap Setting". I'd save the term "Optimum Takeoff Flap Setting" for those instances where the actual optimum value has been calculated and used.Just one man's opinion...