FS2002 737 Climb Performance

[Guest]

Flying the default 737, with full fuel (simulator weight appx 136,000 lbs), I'm getting average climb-to-altitude rates of about 2200fpm. Rotating from the t/o runway, my climbs are done beginning at 90% N1, with a rate adjusted to maintain 270-280kts. I do not touch the throttles on the way up, so near altitude (FL3X0) my power's at 83-80% N1. Climbs take about 15 minutes, and as I mentioned, average 2200fpm.Is this normal? I've think I recall reading about having to do level segments when near MTOW to maintain acceptable airspeed on the way up. It certainly seems more powerful than the 737 was in FS2000. Could it be that MS kludged the aircraft's power to prevent level segments, so it would work under the simplfied IFR ATC direction (the AI controllers get mad when you slow your climb too much)?Some limited info I gleaned from Boeing's website mentions that the 737-400's MTOW is 136,000 lbs, with a high weight version reaching 150,000 lbs. Inspecting the aircraft.cfg shows the empty weight at about 78,000 lbs (according to the [General] section). But the empty_weight value further down the config is set to about 100,000 lbs, equivalent to about 140 people @ 170 lbs, a/k/a a full passenger load. Fuel adds the rest of the weight to bring us to MTOW (I suspect MS did this to avoid a complex seation station spec in the config file. I mention this to point out that even though there are no seating stations listed in the weight and balance section, the empty weight value and empty weight MOI's represent a fully loaded aircraft.Any information on real-world climb performance would be appreciated.-Andrew KGFK

[Guest]

Hi,It is interesting to see you've posted this because I've noticed that the weight of the aircraft doesn't seem to affect the climb at all. Does FS not take into account the weight of the aircraft in relation to the climb performance? Or are you getting even higher rates of climb with an "empty" aircraft?Thank you,Kurt