Random Payload Weights

[Steve Waite]

So from the .cfg the load capacity is found and IF loads up nearly full here. If the addon can handle a higher load then that should be set in the .cfg. If that's wrong there's nothing IF can do except handle planes individually in these special cases.

[Brent]

this is what I get for the 600:

...and this is 100% load?

[Steve Waite]

97% with that flight. The .cfg says what the loads are for each section. Around 90 People and luggage is going to be around 17000Lb, so it sounds about right. I think there is around 45000Lb to split between load and fuel?

[Brent]

Steve
The way I understand load capacities in aircraft, is that you can roughly determine the 'total' of fuel and payload capacity by:

MTOW - Empty Weight = fuel and payload capacity

...so for the 737-600

144,000 - 80,200 should give us a total of approx. 63,800 lb

If I load the 600 with full fuel (46,057 lb) I can get 17,700 lb of 'cargo and pax' aboard (68 pax and 5800 lb cargo) to bring me up to MTOW and I can safely take off. Of course, I could reduce fuel and add more pax with the same result.

It's a puzzle as to why you can't load that on your installation of the 600 but FSX is a strange beast!

Brent

[Steve Waite]

As far as I know PMDGs use the default loadout string of the .FLT, and the .CFG defines the max weight per cell. IF can't go inventing new values, if they are wrong in the .cfg then they are wrong in IF. I think maybe a Q. to PMDG. After all, their loadout config defines around 17500 available to load. There are equipment options on the plane and I don't think you can simply deduct the empty weight from the max weight.

[Brent]

Well I defer to your knowledge - still it seems odd that I can load 33,775 lb and your max is 16,950, n'est ce pas? The fact that we're not getting the same result is a puzzle.

I'll ask over at PMDG forum what others can max load cargo and pax. with the 600.

[Brent]

Steve,
Here's the scoop re: station loads in the aircraft.cfg for the PMDG NGX and aircraft in general:

"The values in the aircraft.cfg are just static, "default" values, and in no way represent maximum payload or structural limits. Think of them as sort of a default loading mechanism that Microsoft uses for it's aircraft modelling. A lot of people jump in FSX planes and do not adjust payload and/or fuel levels, and by specifying some sort of default variable in the .CFG,it ensures the plane always has some sort of a load to it. A developer or end user can easily change the default values by editing those numbers in the aircraft.cfg to set some sort of a baseline. You could have it set to 0, and still load an infinite amount of payload in those fields and have the plane behave accordingly. They in no way represent maximum load levels. PMDG's load mechanism through the FS Actions pages alters this value inside FSX when you make changes, much the same way editing the payload through the Fuel/Payload menu does, but, as the ones in the aircraft.cfg are "default' values, every time you re-lo"

There isn't any field in the cfg file that defines a physical max payload so I guess the best you can do is define how much payload is possible with a full load of fuel:

(max gross weight - empty weight) - full fuel weight = payload --> then adjust the payload depending on actual real world limits and the amount of fuel loaded that is 'possible' without going over the max gross weight.(i.e. less fuel can mean more payload).

Thanks again,
Brent

[Steve Waite]

Hi Brent,

IF works on FSX by the book. Stock FSX planes specify the max or general load per cell. For addon planes not specifying the max/general load per cell one can edit the .cfg since it means nothing to the addon plane other than the load represented in its default state.

Once you edited the general weight per cell in the .cfg (heres a bit from the stock 747)

[WEIGHT_AND_BALANCE]
station_load.0 = 170.0, -19.0, -2.0, 8.0 //Weight (lbs), longitudinal, lateral, vertical positions from datum (feet)
station_load.1 = 170.0, -19.0, 2.0, 8.0 //Weight (lbs), longitudinal, lateral, vertical positions from datum (feet)
etc.

now go to the aircraft flight params page in IF and from the popup menu choose Recreate Parameters.

A Loading/Seatcount/PerPersonWeight setup is part of the upgrade package planned but will not rely on the proper values specified in the .cfg. A loadout plan must be specified to save modifying the .cfg.

Steve

[Steve Waite]

I think the IF solution works well. The stock aircraft all specify general weights per cell and from those you get close to max loads and with long flights are unable to fill anyway.

In the end, as with overriding fuel in IF, it is easy to change load or fuel once in the sim to the desired amounts. It won't effect IF but IF will record your weight and fuel properly.

Look in the assessment for landing weight and fuel report.

Steve

[Brent]

Hi Brent,

A Loading/Seatcount/PerPersonWeight setup is part of the upgrade package planned but will not rely on the proper values specified in the .cfg. A loadout plan must be specified to save modifying the .cfg.

Steve

Steve,
That sounds good.