Maximizing the SimBrief Integration Tool

[Trey]

Happy Update Day!

I’ve noticed a few questions about inconsistencies with aircraft weights since Infinite Flight introduced the new SimBrief integration tool. After thoroughly testing this feature, I’ve found a method to closely match the weights as accurately as possible. I’d like to share this approach with you all.

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Step 1: Airframes

Before we create a flight plan, we’ll need to create airframes using the aircraft data from Infinite Flight. The aircraft in Infinite Flight differ from the default airframes on SimBrief. With this, no matter what you do, the weights will be off.

To create an airframe:

1. Open SimBrief and click “Saved Airframes” on the side menu.
2. Click on New Airframe
3. Spawn in on Infinite Flight
4. Click “Weight & Balance”
5. Edit the settings in SimBrief to match Infinite Flight

Don’t forget to match your units (lb/kg)

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Step 2: Flight Plan

Now that we have our airframes matched up, it’s time to create a flight plan. For me, I’m a little extra when it comes to the flight plan stage, so feel free to skip these tips if you wish.

For added realism here are some websites that I like to use:

FlightAware: This website will show me the real-world flights and provides useful information that I will include in my flight plan:

• Aircraft
• Total Travel Time
• Departure Taxi Estimation
• Arrival Taxi Estimation
• Route (Select Flights)
• Altitudes (Select Flights)

Flightradar24: In the event that FlightAware does not show altitudes or routes, this website and app comes in handy when creating a flight plan.

AeroLOPA: This website will show the aircraft information for each airline. I like to use this when figuring out the number of passengers on my flight.

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Step 3: Import

Once you have created your flight plan, import it into Infinite Flight. For more information on how to do that, check out the the update post by @jasonrosewell:

Infinite Flight 24.3

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Step 4: Revision

Once you have imported your flight plan into Infinite Flight, you will get a pop-up that looks like this:

Check to ensure that the weights match from your SimBrief plan:

Pay close attention to the cargo section. In the pop-up, SimBrief has loaded both cargo and bag weights, and you’ll notice they are identical. This means your cargo weight will be doubled or capped at the maximum cargo weight, whichever is lower.

SimBrief calculates your cargo weight by combining the freight and bag weights, meaning the cargo weight already includes the bags. This makes adding the bag weight separately redundant. To correct this, adjust the slider manually to match the correct weight. Once done, the total weight will closely align with what’s displayed on SimBrief.

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Conclusion

Following these steps will help match your weights and improve your experience with the SimBrief integration tool.

[Mattchew]

Great topic, nice job!

[pilot_tommie]

Thanks for this topic! Helps a lot for many people I think. Well done

[DJSunfire]

Excellent! This will be helpful for a lot of people.

[Walter]

Very useful topic, thanks, Trey!

[Axevertis]

Thanks for pointing this out, unfortunately I was so eager to fly I didn’t even check to assure if my weights were correct or not 😅

[DanilVL]

Thanks for the topic, I bookmarked it for later use. As for this issue, I hope it gets worked on in the nearest hotfix.

[AviatorVJ]

Nice tutorial, is the airframes part in the beginning really that important?

[Trey]

The airframes allow you to set the aircrafts’:

• Empty weight
• Zero fuel weight
• Max number of seats
• Max cargo weight
• Max takeoff weight
• Max landing weight
• Fuel capacity

This makes SimBrief adhere to aircraft restrictions in IF, but this isn’t required. This tutorial is about maximizing the feature.

[headstock]

I have made some custom airframes for the B738 and the A320 that can be saved to your SimBrief and used by anyone.

You may save them from the links below!

Airbus A320 - 200 - SimBrief - Dispatch
Boeing 737 - 800 - SimBrief - Dispatch

[FlightGT]

Some more tips when creating the aircraft profile:

1. Don’t use the max number available in IF. Instead, go search for the seat layout of your desired airline and use that number. This prevents the flight plan always loading nearly full passengers. You can even create different profiles for multiple airlines, or domestic/international configurations.

2. Set pax weight as 77kg and baggage weight as 10kg.
   
   This way you can get accurate (tried a few plans and they all match) passenger number in IF, and have more realistic cargo load instead of carrying way too much cargo.

Below is an example of a B787-9 profile, based on Air France seat layout.

B787-9 profile

I generated a VHHH-LFPG route, and here’s the load after reducing the carry-on luggage weight. Everything looks fine, nothing too much.

If you would like to carry more cargo, you can set the baggage weight higher. But I don’t recommend going over 20kg. And do not try to get rid of the carry-on luggage by setting its weight to 0. This way you won’t have any cargo planned.

[Nithin_Gowtham]

Usefull content ill follow this steps in my next flight.