I just use vroute premium's function for fuel planning... adding a conservative margin, I tend to have around 3-4 tons of fuel remaining on all my trips... works fine enough for me, may not be the most accurate... I use the NGX' own functions for cruise altitude and so on, the plane knows best how high it can go for its current loadout...

 

When it comes to derate, I tend not to on shorter runways, hot and high, or both... have yet to be caught out on density altitude issues...

 

May not be the MOST realistic...

 

But then again, I don't fly these things in the real world...

 

A

 

One thing to remember is that Topcat isn't a fuel planner. It gives you an gestimate of the fuel required so you have some figure to run the number with.

 

What you can do with Topcat, is calculate intersection takeoff and what speed and flaps are required to clear obstacles.

 

Agreed, perfectly correct. I use FSCalc for fuel calcs, and when I include winds aloft from AS2012 the fuel calc from TopCat can be much off, although they are often above, especially when in a tailwind sector. If you use TopCat you will carry too much but rarely go empty

I use the FMC to calculate fuel as shown in the second tutorial.

 

TOPCAT adds a layer of realism with the takeoff performance calculations without having to pore over tables and graphs in the manual (which I quickly got bored with as I can just restart the flight when I roll off the end of the runway).

 

TOPCAT encourages you to take off and land the NGX at unsuitable airfields leaving a few feet of runway.

 

Like any tool, the investment saves you hours of manual labour and TOPCAT is worth the money I think.

I use Topcat in conjustion with FsBuild for fuel planning and the take off performance data. I have edited the default figures in Topcat and get very accurate numbers with the FMC. The FMC does a great job but these programs add a lot more to the whole planning phase which i really enjoy.

@Robert

 

Yes but only problem PFPX : Navigraph is not supporting PFPX only works with Aerosoft !!!!

 

Hmm, my understanding is that Navigraph is perfectly willing to provide the data, and that we are awaiting currently Christian's decision as to whether he will support both.

 

From the point of view of providing customer choice I can't imagine why he wouldn't — unless, of course, some "commercial considerations" <*cough*> are involved. ;-)

 

Cheers,

 

Brian

The PFPX team "spokesperson" claims lack of communication from Navigraph side.

 

 

Judging by the activity on Flightsimsoft (formerly TopcatSim) forums, I tend to think problems are coming from the PFPX side.

Nope. I use the Boeing range charts.

IMO, TOPCAT is a must - how else would you know what derate and AT you would use and what your MTOW will be to avoid the obstacles around the airport when one engine quits - just guesswork? The NGX is THE most advanced airliner for flightsimulation - for me guesswork doesn't fit here at all! Sure, you could do that by going through pages of tables and data, but TOPCAT is just that much more convenient, more realistic and well worth the money!

 

edit: and of course, it is best at what is is made for: providing takeoff and landing data (the fuel stuff is just a rough estimate; i use FSBuild for that), nothing more, but nothing less.

I use TOPCAT as well

if you're flying to SAS destinations, you can use this http://todc.sas.dk/todc/index.htm

I use Topcat and love it.

It is an indispensable tool if you are a serious flightsimmer. How can you possibly make an 'educated guess' about how much runway you have left after Vr flying a fully loaded 747 from KORD-VHHH for example??

How can you possibly make an 'educated guess' about how much runway you have left after Vr flying a fully loaded 747 from KORD-VHHH for example??

Why would you need that information at all?

A must have tool for me!

Why would you need that information at all?

TOPCAT gives you a range of derated N1 thrust settings you can use with the corresponding runway you will have left at rotation. This takes the guess-work out of choosing the appropriate N1 derated thrust in the FMC.