Hello IF Community. This is my first topic post, so bear with me!
I’ve had trouble finding a true guide on climb thrust in the A320 family on Infinite Flight, so I thought I’d share the method that gives me realistic performance!
When flying the A320 family, it’s tough to find an economical climb profile that produces less thrust than takeoff power, but still continues to give a good climb rate. The topic that I’ve found for takeoff thrust is by user Kuba_Jaroszczyk (All Aircraft Takeoff and Landing Profiles (Version 20.1 Wiki!)), but the topic we’re here to discuss today is climb thrust. I’ve found that a comfortable thrust reduction from the listed N1% on the guide is about -6 or -7 percent N1. I’ve found that this percent gives a decent “virtual” noise reduction and still allows for about a 2500-3500 fpm climb depending on weight and the model of A320 family you’re using (A319 will still climb like a rocket in most situations). After reaching thrust reduction altitude and reducing N1 by about 7%, below I will attach a standard climbing profile.
Now, we will do some conversions. If you notice that Mach climb begins at FL240 for real life counterparts, on IF the Mach conversion altitude is about 28,000 feet (+/- 500 feet). We will use this 4000 foot difference for our climb rates. For this method, vertical speed and auto throttle will be used. On the initial climb it states a standard climb rate of 2500 fpm, but we will disregard that and climb by keeping the auto throttles off and using VS and/or pitching for our <10,000 foot climb speed of 250 knots. Below, I will give a step-by-step guide to ensure the most realistic climb possible.
-
Takeoff: Here you will use the N1% provided by Kuba in the guide, with Flaps 1 configuration. Spool the throttle to about 40%, wait for the engines to stabilize, then advance to your takeoff N1% and lift off!
-
Upon reaching acceleration altitude (varies by operator, you can choose this yourself, but I typically do it around 1500 feet AGL) decrease your throttle by about 6 or 7% throttle From here, you will decrease pitch to at or below 10 degrees, or about a 500-1000 fpm climb to accelerate to 250 knots. Once reaching around 200-215 knots, retract flaps 1 and continue accelerating. From there, keep the climb thrust the same and pitch for 250 knots, or use V/S to achieve this.
-
Upon reaching 9000 feet above airport elevation, engage vertical speed to 2000 fpm, and engage auto throttle. I’ve found that this keeps your thrust at or below your initial climb thrust, and still guarantees a great climb rate. Upon reaching 10,000 feet MSL, decrease your V/S to accelerate to 290 knots, and reestablish the 2000 fpm climb rate.
-
Upon reaching 19,000 feet MSL or above airport elevation, whichever is greater, lower vertical speed to 1400 fpm. You will maintain this climb rate until reaching 28,000 feet MSL, where it will transition to mach speed.
-
When reaching mach transition altitude, decrease V/S to 1000 fpm and continue climb. When approaching the low to mid 30s, your N1% may creep up to the mid 80s, but as long as you aren’t exceeding 90% N1, you’re fine; N1% from climb thrust slowly increases IRL when reaching high altitudes. If it does start to exceed 90%, decrease V/S to keep it below that. The heavier you are, the more likely this is to happen. Climb rates of 400-800 fpm in the 30s does happen.
-
Welcome to cruise! With these profiles, it normally should take about 15-25 minutes to reach cruise altitude, which is very normal in the A320 family.
Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, please respond below and I will try to answer as many as possible.