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I've only tested the program with FS2004, but it should work fine with FS2002.
After starting up Flight Simulator, run the Fuel Planner. The program will
automatically recall the values you were working with the last time you ran it.
First, select which aircraft you will be flying using the radio buttons on the
right-hand side of the window. This affects the operating limitations of the
aircraft, as well as estimated enroute fuel burn.
Next, select the weight units you would like to use, pounds or kilograms, from
the dropdown list at the bottom right corner of the window.
Next, select your trip distance, cruising altitude, and distance to your alternate
airport from the dropdown boxes in the upper-left corner of the window. Choose
the option that matches your trip the closest, rounding up.
Next, enter the average forecast winds during the enroute portion of your trip. Select
"Headwind:" or "Tailwind:" as appropriate.
The program will calculate the increased or reduced air miles that will be traveled as a
result of the winds.
Next, press the "Read Payload Weight" button. This will read your
current settings for passenger and baggage weights via FSUIPC. The value should
appear in the list of weights at the bottom-left corner of the window. Alternatively,
you can manually enter the total weight of passengers and cargo in the box provided.
Next, enter values for holding fuel, minimum landing fuel, and taxi fuel. Reference
the PMDG documentation for good values to use here. You can enter only whole-pound or
whole kilogram amounts here, with no commas or decimal points.
At this point, you've entered all the information that is required. Each time you
changed a value, the program recalculates the required fuel and resulting weights. If
any value exceeds the operating limitations for the selected aircraft, it will be shown
in red. The resulting fuel distribution among the wing tanks and center tanks will be
shown in the boxes superimposed over the aircraft image at the top of the window. Note that
the first 1,000 pounds of fuel are loaded into the center tank, then the wing tanks are filled,
then any remaining fuel is added to the center tank. This is done to meet a manufacturer
requirement to keep the fuel pumps submerged in order to prevent vapor ignition by stray
sparks from the pumps.
When you are satisfied with the fuel load, press the "Board Fuel" button to
actually set the levels in each wing tank and the center tank. The program will fill
the wing tanks before boarding any fuel in the center tank.
That's it! Feel free to
(Ross Carlson) with suggestions or comments. Enjoy!
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