A good way to work out the ammount of baggage your passengers take I read on a forum (cant remember which) but essentially;Passengers: 140 x 1.2 (bags per person)Ammount of bags: 16825lb per bag: 4200For working out how much to distribute between the forward and aft compartments, you want 40% in the forward cargo hold and 60% in the rear so in my example this would be:Aft. 2520lbs (4200x0.6)Forward 1680lbs (4200x0.4)This is the method I use every single time I fly the ngx, but I do not take credit for this as I say I read it in a forum. it works wonders having a realistic payload!You can load these exact figures into topcat vroute fsc and so on you can get a really acurate fuel load and loading it in the ngx is very easy and well done thanks PMDG!With these weights you should be pretty close to maximum range on a good day (wind, temps and so on)

i just came across the post i was talking about in the westjet forums, credit goes to Shane Walker, thought i would update here :)

Fun Fact: Aloha (gone now) was the first airline to certify the 737-700 for 180 minutes ETPOS service.John Floyd

The Swiss/PrivatAir flight is indeed BBJ2 i think they have extra fuel tanks.Range: 7'590 km / 4'100 nmhttp://privatair.com/aircraft/bbj2-lufthansa-32c-60y

Swissair does not fly a 737. Privatair operates on behalf of Swissair, but those aren't "just" 737-800s, those are BBJ2s that have much longer range.

Anyone with these ranges/loads take into account that your APU will be running during the ETOPS leg (and the associated fuel usage)?

I haven't heard of running the APU during ETOPS? A single engine generator is supposed to be able to take the load of all the aircraft systems. Not checked the docs but an APU start might be in there somewhere if you lose a gen, just for redundancy in case the other decides to quit later on, but otherwise it is off until that eventuality occurs.From reading around, pilots are required to do a cold start of the APU once per month at altitude during which it must start on the first attempt, but otherwise it is OFF for most crossings unless required. The NG doesn't have a RAT or HDG (Hydraulic Driven Generator) so the APU is required if BOTH gens are lost to maintain flight controls via the electrical hydraulic pumps, as well as to power the electrical systems, otherwise you are down to 30 minutes standby power, and standby rudder and pitch trim for flight controls!Best regards,Robin.

I haven't heard of running the APU during ETOPS? A single engine generator is supposed to be able to take the load of all the aircraft systems. Not checked the docs but an APU start might be in there somewhere if you lose a gen, just for redundancy in case the other decides to quit later on, but otherwise it is off until that eventuality occurs.From reading around, pilots are required to do a cold start of the APU once per month at altitude during which it must start on the first attempt, but otherwise it is OFF for most crossings unless required. The NG doesn't have a RAT or HDG (Hydraulic Driven Generator) so the APU is required if BOTH gens are lost to maintain flight controls via the electrical hydraulic pumps, as well as to power the electrical systems, otherwise you are down to 30 minutes standby power, and standby rudder and pitch trim for flight controls!Best regards,Robin.

The two 737 operators I've flown for required APU on for ETOPS. One of the airlines is working on APUOD certification which would mean they could start the APU On Demand.

Aloha use to fly ETOPS with the APU running because it was required by the FAA. The APU could be turned off one hour from destination to save some wear. The reason it was keep running during cruise on ETOPS flights is because it may be hard to start or may not start at all at high altitudes.John Floyd

The one airline I am familiar with that has ETOPS runs their APU as well. (European carrier)

Its an ETOPS (FAA) requirement for the APU to be running with the generator available for immediate use during the ETOPS segment of the route.

Westjet flies -800 from CYVR to PHNL as a scheduled flight.

I've been onboard Westjet CYVR-PHNL multiple times, the westbound flight from CYVR is almost always non-stop, the east-bound flight sometimes need to do a refueling stop at KPDX. It seems Westjet has to limit the number of passengers to maximum of 120 for additional fuel.

Peter,Is that Swiss International Livery shown above available as yet - looks stunning!!Gerry

Gerry: at this time it is not completely complete, but I will probably just bite the bullet and put it on avsim.For now, http://cvi.ic.cz/dl/PMDGNGX_800WL_LX.zip should work.

Peter,Thanks very much. Downloading now!Unfortunately it says that the zip file/folder is empty and cannot proceed further.Am I missing something?best wishes,Gerry

Peter,

 

Got it working - it looks beautiful - many thanks for such a wonderful looking 738.

 

best wishes,

 

Gerry