The Aircraft Flight Parameters screen is accessed from the Aircraft Selection screen or the Flight Generator screen.

The Aircraft Flight Parameters screen provides aircraft settings for computation of the flight plan, such as cruise speed and range.

Approximate Range: Set the Range to determine fuel requirements. Increasing the Range value will decrease the apparent fuel requirement. Decrease the Range to fill up with more fuel.

Maximum Cruise Altitude, Preferred Cruise Altitude: The maximum cruise altitude is the max you want the planner to allow, not to be confused with the maximum altitude capability of the aircraft. Preferred cruise altitude is expressed as a fraction of the maximum available ceiling for the aircraft. A route may be generated that increases altitude over high terrain, but only within the Maximum Cruise Altitude ceiling. The Briefing Route Table shows the desired altitudes and the minimum altitudes at the waypoints found along the route of the flight plan.

Cruise Airspeed: KTAS. Speed of the aircraft flying level at altitude.

Ascent Airspeed: KTAS. Speed of the aircraft expected during ascent.

Ascent Rates Units, feet per minute (fpm), are set for three sections of the climb. In a Jet for example, the first part of the climb would be 0-10,000ft (the mid altitude) max speed 250 (aviation rules). The Upper altitude is the second split of the climb, often the climb rate must be reduced as the aircraft approaches high altitudes or it will stall.

Descent Rate: This determines the descent in feet per minute.

Approach Speed / Landing Speed: These values determine the time the aircraft will take to complete the final sections of the plan. The computed values are default (found in 0_Aircraft.ini and Aircraft.ini). (>augmented)

Minimum Runway Length and Width: These values determine if the aircraft can take off and land at your airport. A value of zero = any.

Instruments Display Speed in mph: Check this to have speeds shown in mph on the briefing.

Exclude this aircraft from Ai operations: Add-on aircraft are excluded by the IF traffic system unless activated here.

Jet or Victor Airways: Jet or Victor Airways preference can be set for the aircraft.

Routes follow high (Jet) or low level (Victor) airways, or with "Any Airways" plan types both airways are used to find a route to the destination.

Default Aircraft Flight Parameters: The Program Default Aircraft Flight Parameters can be recreated or restored from the Pop-Up Menu.

Payload Definitions: Set the type of load and the maximum weight allowed for each payload section. Defaults values are from the Aircraft.cfg.

The payload weight values entered are limited when applied to each flight generation, by the maximum aircraft weight and fuel requirements for the trip. The payload types are: 1=seat, 2=seats, 3=hold. The total figure in square brackets "[705]" is the useable load with maximum fuel, calculated from: Maximum Aircraft Weight - (Empty Weight + Maximum Fuel Weight).

Example Parameters

Range

Enter "Range" to an appropriate nominal distance for the aircraft.

• For example in the Baron 58 set Range to 1000Nm.
• When in the sim, cruise at an appropriate altitude and speed, and use the IF: Main Menu, Fuel Report to get a maximum range value for the present conditions.
• Update your cruise altitude and speed parameters to match these conditions.
• Arriving with too much fuel? Increase the "Range" value.
• In the flight generator set taxi minutes and reserve fuel minutes, (and holding pattern minutes >augmented), for convenience are all at cruising fuel burn rate. Taxi time is halved for runway starts.

We can for example set 15 mins for holding, and 45 minutes reserve at full cruise burn = setting 60 minutes reserve. (IF10 >augmented version has a box for Holding pattern minutes). Finally we can set taxi time to for example 20 mins, which internally becomes 10 minutes if starting on the runway since we don't have to taxi.

Maximum Cruise Altitude

Set Maximum Cruise Altitude for the highest altitude we might generally want to allow the aircraft to ascend to at an obstacle (controlled airspace or mountain range). Set the proportion of Maximum Cruise Altitude, the preferred percentage, to reflect roughly the cruise altitude we desire our aircraft to generally cruise at.

This approach to selecting altitude works better when cruise altitudes or Flight Levels must comply with rules and regulations.

• Perhaps in the Baron 58 we set Max Cruise to 15000ft.
• Then set our Preferred Cruise Altitude to 50% - if we want flight plans generated with Cruise Altitudes in the region of 7000ft.
• With a mountain range en-route, the plan will try to allow for increased altitudes up to 15000ft (in that case) for these sections before the Altitude warning is shown in the briefing.
• The altitude warning will show in the briefing when high altitude terrain is nearby, and aircraft parameters that do not allow the plan to extend to the required altitude to make avoidances.

Ascent Rates

Set your Ascent Rates for up to three stages of climb.

• Ascent Rate: The rate of ascent at the start of the climb.
• Mid Altitude Ascent: The rate of ascent in the middle of the climb.
• High Altitude Ascent: The rate of ascent during the final part of the climb.

Two stages where the rate of ascent changes.

• Mid Altitude: The altitude where the Ascent Rate (first part of climb) changes to Mid Altitude Ascent Rate for the middle of the climb.
• High Altitude: The altitude where the Mid Altitude Ascent Rate (middle part of climb) changes to High Altitude Ascent Rate for the final part of the climb.

Note: Often aircraft use a rate of thrust or per cent fan rate to climb rather than keep a speed during ascent, at higher altitudes the aircraft can stall if the airspeed is maintained (e.g. 737-800 N1 auto-throttle setting). It is not a requirement to fix the ascent airspeeds or rates, but rather, similar ascent rates/speeds should be repeated for each flight to ascertain reliable fuel and ETA estimates.

Remember to check the range calculation in the fuel report at the end of the assessment, and update the estimated range in aircraft parameters page if desired.

Minimum Runway Length and Width

Set Minimum Runway Length and Width for the smallest runway you would want to attempt to land and take off from.

• If no airports are found or are showing in searches, make sure your Minimum Runway Length is less than the actual lengths of the runways available at the airports you want to fly to.

Note: Copy Aircraft Monitor Settings, found on the Aircraft Selection Page popup menu does not copy some values:

• Range
• Surfaces
• Approach & Landing Speeds
• Wingspan

Water Runways and Parking

We have to turn off ground type surfaces on the Mission page Surfaces selection, to produce searches of airports with only water runways. With both water and ground surfaces enabled we get a list of airports with any surfaces. With float only planes, no parking places, and airports with hard and water runways, we can select Active Runway on the Flight Generator page so the aircraft starts on the water.

Aircraft.ini Files

Default Aircraft.ini File

Windows XP: see "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Ideal Flight 10\Profiles\Aircraft.ini"

Windows Vista and above: see "C:\ProgramData\Ideal Flight 10\Profiles\Aircraft.ini"

The Profile Aircraft.ini File

Windows XP: see "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Ideal Flight 10\Profiles\0_ID\Aircraft.ini"

Windows Vista and above: see "C:\ProgramData\Ideal Flight 10\Profiles\0_ID\Aircraft.ini"