DVA1641
Captain, B777-200
Joined on March 22 2004
Everett Century Club
Globetrotter
Double Century Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
"NATCA - FAA Controller" Hartford, CT
292 legs, 1,319.5 hours
66 legs,
235.0 hours online 222 legs,
1,105.0 hours ACARS 5 legs,
35.2 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
February 17 2014 19:06 ET by Rob Hernandez
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Hey everyone!
I'd like to see how many people would be interested in making a slight modification to the flight assignment feature on the website. I enjoy the fact that I am able to pick and choose my flights and keep them nice and organized until they are ready to be flown. One thing that I feel is lacking is the idea of a sort of load sheet provided for the flight. I know that there is an option on ACARS that allows the number of passengers to be edited on the flight or have ACARS randomly select a number of pax. The only problem is by the time I hit "Start Flight", all my payload calcs have been completed and a randomly generated pax count is useless to me at that point.
So, here's my suggestion; develop a way that when a flight assignment is chosen, a loadsheet is generated for that flight. This loadsheet would include some of the information that you typically see in a real loadsheet. One figure in particular I would like to see generated is a ZFW. The reason for this is what I said before; by the time I'm ready to start my ACARS flight, it is pointless for me to make the adjustments for the number of pax ACARS wants to assign to the flight. Instead, if that number can be converted to a ZFW before the flight, I think it would greatly improve the flight planning experience for everyone. I feel like this adds more realism to the entire experience since you not fly fully loaded 100% of the time. Moreover, this loadsheet can omit the fuel on board, since that is the responsibility of the PIC (per DVA SOP).
What are everyone's thoughts on this?
Rob HernandezCaptain, B777-200
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DVA11882
Captain, L-1011-100
Joined on December 23 2013
50 State Club
Century Club
Midwestern United States
102 legs, 189.8 hours
101 legs,
187.6 hours ACARS
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Posted onPost created on
February 18 2014 09:49 ET by Bob Baur
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DVA11781
Captain, MD-11
Joined on October 03 2013
Everett 250 Club
Million Mile Club
DVA Two-Year Anniversary
Quatercentenary Club
Northeastern United States
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Posted onPost created on
February 18 2014 10:14 ET by Joe Cappelo
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DVA1641
Captain, B777-200
Joined on March 22 2004
Everett Century Club
Globetrotter
Double Century Club
DVA Fifteen-Year Anniversary
"NATCA - FAA Controller" Hartford, CT
292 legs, 1,319.5 hours
66 legs,
235.0 hours online 222 legs,
1,105.0 hours ACARS 5 legs,
35.2 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
February 18 2014 11:41 ET by Rob Hernandez
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Thanks for you input Bob and Joe.
I use PFPX, TOPCAT and FSC to plan my flights. On my LDS 767, I use TOPCAT to inject the payload amounts right into the sim. With the PMDG products however, the NGX and MD11 do not take too kind (if at all) to you inputing payload through any other method except their FMC or load manager software.
So my thinking is that if we get a randomly generated ZFW prior to the flight, we can input those into our sims whichever way we choose. This also adds to the whole flight "assignment" concept. The airline would know how many pax and cargo it would be taking into the flight. It wouldn't be the pilot's job to figure that out. It would just be to verify it.
Just my two cents - what does everyone else think?
Rob HernandezCaptain, B777-200
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DVA11021
Captain, B757-200
OLP
Joined on September 13 2012
B757 100 Club
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
Online Triple Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
Milford, NH
375 legs, 620.5 hours
365 legs,
604.5 hours online 374 legs,
618.9 hours ACARS 21 legs,
51.4 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
February 18 2014 12:02 ET by Sean Zarella
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DVA11021
Captain, B757-200
OLP
Joined on September 13 2012
B757 100 Club
Everett 250 Club
Triple Century Club
Online Triple Century Club
DVA Five-Year Anniversary
Milford, NH
375 legs, 620.5 hours
365 legs,
604.5 hours online 374 legs,
618.9 hours ACARS 21 legs,
51.4 hours event
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Posted onPost created on
February 18 2014 12:13 ET by Sean Zarella
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