Fuel planning advice.

[Aleks]

Hey fellow pilots.  I've had very inconsistent fuel planning experiences on the A310 with Simbrief and would love to hear how some of you overcome them.  Some flights the planning worked out great, and others I was running on fumes / totally ran out.

As an example: Flew from Amsterdam to Anchorage and programmed the single step climb in the FMC to give me a 4000' step.  I THINK I selected no step climbs in SimBrief and I ran out of fuel just in time to glide to the airport.  In theory, the A310 should have been more efficient than the SB planning.  Perhaps an Active Sky deficiency in weather?

There have been times where I DID plan SB step climbs and I stepped to an intermediate level based on the nav logs and the fuel planning worked out on medium range legs.

As a third example....two flights from North America to Europe....one worked the other didn't (don't recall details).

I've played with SB fuel profiles from stock to Plus 15% burn adjustment.  

What are your thoughts?

[Max]

Hi @Aleks,

Could you possibly post some of the flight plans that didn't work out for you?

Cheers.

[Aleks]

Hey Max, it's been a while so it may be difficult to find a flight plan.  As of late, I have been adding +1 hour fuel to all my flights and it seems to be ok.  I'll keep an eye on it, and as soon as I come across a discrepancy, I'll let you know right away!  Currently flying EHAM-OMDB; Simbrief had programmed a route with steps.  I stepped from FL330 to FL370 (max) about 2/3 of the way along the route due to being at work and FMC is predicting 10 Tons on arrival (2hrs to dest) with the +1h extra reserve (SimBrief predicted 9.5 Tons at destination based on it's calculation with various step climbs).  So it doesn't seem to be a systemic problem.....I'm thinking either very narrow margins on a long route combined with unexpected wind changes or step climbs not taken properly into account.

 

P.S. I read about the updates to the A300, including the cargo improvements.  Wonderful job! I guess I wasn't the only one asking.  But....no details released for the same work on the A310.  Are we just concentrating on MSFS version for now? Thanks.

[Max]

Hi @Aleks,

Okay awesome, do let me know.

Thanks for the kind words on the update release 🙂

The A300 V2 was mainly to bring the A300 in-line with the A310's upgraded standard to where the A300 was at launch, therefore meaning the A310 doesn't require such an update and won't be getting one.

Cheers.

[Aleks]

@Max I've stretched my legs on the A310....like 6000nm and no cargo with a single step climb and fuel planning was fine, which leads me to the conclusion that I was flying with PW engine option and SimBrief profile is GE engines.  

So...new question.  If PW does indeed have the higher fuel burn, what adjustment should I make? (I keep forgetting to switch engines for my livery).

[Jehudale]

Oops, I guess the PW engine has less fuel burn. There must be a reason that the later A310 were more build with the PW eninges (source: Airbus A310 | Aircraft Wiki | Fandom)

[Max]