Hi. Anyone here knows what is the fuel factor to select on simbrief for IF ?
It varies depending on how accurate the fuel burn in Infinite Flight is compared to Simbrief’s profiles.
For example - the 777-300ER burns about 15% less fuel on average than Simbrief’s default profile. So I put M15 as the fuel factor (and that works out well most of the time).
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Is it the same factor for all planes or that really depends of aircraft types ?
It varies by aircraft type. Most of them are close enough.
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Best way IMO is to take your block time plus 2.5 hours reserve and multiply it by the fuel flow.
For example the A350-900:
Block time: 8:37hrs
Reserve: 2.5 hrs
Fuel flow: 5800 kg/h
(8.7+2.5)5800= 64960kg of fuel
If your using simbrief your final generated plan would have already selected the wind factor for you.
Knowing your ground speed is critical for fuel planning. Your airspeed is useless for navigation as that is a function of how fast you are traveling over terra firma. I will generally plan stronger head winds. I also us a 20/20 minute Block time on each end. Also knowing the prevalent direction of the winds will help. To me those wind factors are ignored.
This method has worked well for me as I always have enough fuel to get where I am going. Though you may find that when expecting head wings and you get very strong tail winds you may have a little too much for landing after 16 hrs of flying. That recently happened. I ended up dumping 29k of fuel over the Pacific ocean and over California.
It also helps if you fly it by the numbers, as load factor is critical here. Taking the A350-900 as an example again if your load factor is between 100-30% westbound you will get best range @ FL280. The step climb is key to maximizing your range and flight time. You should start at a altitude that is most efficient for your load.
As an example I find that with the A220-300 I get the best fuel flow at FL310-FL320. It comes down to know your aircraft and it’s capabilities.
I do hope this helps. I will have to do a video on this topic one day as there is a lot to consider.
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Thanks you !!
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