Just wanted to ask, are 100kt headwinds during most of the cruise portion of the flight realistic? I took off with over 320,000 Ibs of fuel, which I thought would have been plenty for the 8 hour flight from EDDF to KEWR. I'm still 2500nm from the airport, and my FMC is telling me my fuel state at KEWR will be about 11700IBs, which means my fuel consumption was decimated by those headwinds. Can anyone advise?

Depends on where you fly, I often see 100 knot headwinds/tailwinds or even in the 150 knot range over Saudi Arabia,pacific,Atlantic.Definitely not abnormal, you can obtain free charts online to help with your planning if you use real world live weather updates.Regards

Depends on where you fly, I often see 100 knot headwinds/tailwinds or even in the 150 knot range over Saudi Arabia,pacific,Atlantic.Definitely not abnormal, you can obtain free charts online to help with your planning if you use real world live weather updates.Regards

sorry, newbie question, but 320,000 ibs is close to the 744s max capacity according to the PMDG load manager, so I can't fly >8 hour routes?

100kts+ is realistic, There's a photo on airliners.net (can't post link because Mods don't allow it) of a MD-88 doing 600kts groundspeed with a 133kts tailwind.In real life you would enter forecast cruise winds in the FMC prior to departure and during flight if available. The FMC will then spit out information which you would compare periodically to the flight plan.

sorry, newbie question, but 320,000 ibs is close to the 744s max capacity according to the PMDG load manager, so I can't fly >8 hour routes?

Request another altitude, or in real life call dispatch on HF or ACARS and re-dispatch on a different route. Or divert with a fuel stop. In reality no flight dispatcher will give you a route that has constant 100kts+ headwind, unless there's nothing else available.Finally headwinds/tailwinds affect range, not endurance.

100kts+ is realistic, There's a photo on airliners.net (can't post link because Mods don't allow it) of a MD-88 doing 600kts+ groundspeed with a 133kts tailwind.In real life you would enter forecast cruise winds in the FMC prior to departure and during flight if available. The FMC will then spit out information which you would compare periodically to the flight plan.Request another altitude, or in real life call dispatch on HF or ACARS and re-dispatch on a different route. Or divert with a fuel stop. In reality no flight dispatcher will give you a route that has constant 100kts+ headwind, unless there's nothing else available.Finally headwinds/tailwinds affect range, not endurance.

okay, i understand that but why am I left with barely any fuel at arrival? I'm sure 8 hours isn't max flying time for a 744?

there's a difference between range and endurance, cost index, cruise alt, routing, aircraft gross weight and a host of other stuff will affect the range and endurance. This is why airlines have dispatchers.Regards

ok thanks..well i'm using a cost index of 100, gross weight at TO was 830000Ibs

Cost index 100 = fastest way to get from A to B irrespective of fuel burn. The only times people use it is when fuel is so cheap that it's cheaper to fly faster when maintenance costs per flying hour is taken into account. Or perhaps you must get to some place fast. e.g. Beat the destination airport night curfewCost index 1 to 20 = more realistic figure, aircraft flies at a more 'economic' speed, lower thrust, lower fuel burn, more range and endurance.

i will give 20 a go, thanks :)

liampilot: come back and let us know how that works, ok? I've never gone below an 80 with PMDG as all demos I've seen seem to stay in the 80-90 range. That really didn't seem right to me.

I use 100 or 120 normally since fuel is cheap in FS :) when I did fly ultra long haul a few time I would use 20 and select Long range cruise in the FMC.

 

Sounds more like an issue with flight planning, choosing the correct flight level etc, sometimes opt alt is not the best altitude if headwinds are bad. Also carrying too much fuel will cause you to burn extra fuel due to excess weight. It's all a fine balance.

 

Regards

Not That This Has AnyThing To Do With 100KT Head Winds But You can Use Simroutes For Your FlightPlans

I use 100 or 120 normally since fuel is cheap in FS :)

Im Glad Its Free Or I Wouldn't Be Able to Fly As Much :P

 

Just wanted to ask, are 100kt headwinds during most of the cruise portion of the flight realistic? I took off with over 320,000 Ibs of fuel, which I thought would have been plenty for the 8 hour flight from EDDF to KEWR. I'm still 2500nm from the airport, and my FMC is telling me my fuel state at KEWR will be about 11700IBs, which means my fuel consumption was decimated by those headwinds. Can anyone advise?

http://hint.fm/wind/ This Will Give You Idea Of The Winds In The U.S. :)

I generated a typical route (in FSBuild) at FL400 (40,000 feet) just to get a plan at a typical TCAS of 450 kts with today's winds aloft report at 20Z from Active Sky 65. As you can see as you approach the area over the last legs in the US you've got some very strong winds down to FL240 (24,000 feet).

 

Here is the report:

 

Let's say your flight distance is 3200 nm. Your zero wind GS is 500 kts. It would normally take you 6.4 hours.

 

If you have a 100 kts headwind, your GS is now 400 kts. It will now take you 8.0 hours.

 

The 747 can fly for some 14 hours fully fuelled, so as long as you aren't trying to be airborne longer than that, you're good.

 

Best regards,

Robin.

Okay guys im sorry if there is something really simple that im not getting, but I now have a X-wind of 271/25, track 166, I have 315000Ibs fuel, and my fuel state at KEWR is similar to what the FMC reported when I had 100 kt headwinds, 20500Ibs. Help? Im using cost index 25.

 

The flight I am doing i thought was well within the endurance of the 747, which is 8 hours 30