Free alternative to TOPCAT

[lassekronborg 43]

Hi all,

 

During the past few months I have developed an excel sheet to be used for weight and performance planning. I've designed it at tested it with the NGX. The sheet has been updated quite a few times and by now it can do almost everything that TOPCAT does (with much better fuel calculations). It can be downloaded at avsim. (use link below).

 

The sheet can be used for fuel and weight planning and the latest versions can also calculate reference speeds V1, Vr, V2 Vref and Vapp, and takeoff performance (derates and assumed temperatures). The sheet is build around an airport and runway database.

 

- Enter departure, destination, and alternative airport as ICAO codes

- Select from the available departure and destination runways

- Enter weather for departure, destination and en route. (can be found online or with most weather software)

- Enter departure and destination runway conditions and slope

- Enter number of passengers and luggage weight

- Enter criteria for fuel calculations (holding, taxi, contingency....)

- Read optimal and max cruise altitude and select cruise altitude

- Read wind components for takeoff, en route, and landing

- Estimate fuel and time usage based on many factors as altitude, weights, weather, and COST INDEX or long range cruise.

- Read aircraft approach classification based on expected landing Vref

- Read ZFW, TOW, LW

- Find optimal landing flap settings and autobrake settings

- Calculate effects of derates at takeoff

- Weight can be entered as Lbs og Kg

- Barometric pressure can be entered as InHg or MB (HPa)

- Plan for 737-600,700,800,900 with or without winglets and short field package.

- Calculate effects on takeoff performance based on engine and temperature derates, environment, anti-ice settings, PACKS on/off, flaps setting, and more

- Calculate effects on landing roll based on approach speed, environment, flaps, autobrake, and more)

- Read V-speeds for your specific airport, runway, and route selections

- See a graph showing the flight profile

- All information is combined in a briefing sheet to be used for reference during flights.

- Briefing sheet contains comm frequencies for departure and destination airport

- Documentation included for optimal use.

 

 

I have used all available free performance information found online as well as the PMDG NGX documentation to create the background calculations. Some of the performance data was only available as poorly scanned graphs, so I had to try to design functions that would closely give the same results as the graphs. Most performance tables are rewritten to some kind of function. Thus the result might differ slightly from what you'd get from reading the tables/graphs. I have found, though, that when testing with the PMDG NGX I get very close to the "real" values. I.e. predicted fuel usage is pretty close to the actual fuel usage.

 

I've designed the sheet using excel2007. I haven't tested on earlier versions of excel, but it might work okay, as I have only used standard functions. No macros are used.

I have no professional experience with either dispatch planning or real life flying. So I might have made a few mistakes here and there. But again: I've found the calculated values to be very close the what I've actually experienced conducting flights with the NGX.

 

 

 

Any comments, request for improvements or pointing out bad calculations are greatly apprieciated

 

 

And the link:

 

http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxutil&DLID=176426

 

Cheers,

Lasse Kronborg

 

[killkenny1 22]

Wow, looks a bit confusing, but I'll definitely give it a try during my next flight.

[ilane72 0]

Hi Lasse,

 

I have been thinking about generating this type of spreadsheet for some time.  Looks like you've beat me to it and you've done it better and in far more detail than I ever could!  I (and more than likely many more) really appreciate all your hard work.  Many thanks.

 

Ian Lane.

[asanal 32]

Lasse,

 

Thanks.  This is an excellent tool . You must really spent many hours/days/months to put it together. I will try tomorrow and will inform,

[lassekronborg 43]

Hi all,

 

 I have learned that flight planning is not close to as simple as I thought at first.

It all started with a simple sheet that combined information from route planners. performance planners (TOPCAT) and weather software. Then I thought "hey it could be fun to see if i could do some of the functions in the sheet itself. I started with a very simple fuel calculation, that step by step evolved into a complex calculation. But it wouldn't be really good, if it couldn't take cost index into account. Then I did the cost index, then the option to step, then, then, then... and before i even knew it it became what it is: big!. When I found a place on the internet, where I could get the airport and runway databases I could't resist taking it one step further and do the performance part also.

 

I'll be looking forward to your feedback.

 

//Lasse

[killkenny1 22]

Lasse, I've began using your work and so far I'm amazed what a great work you've done!

I would totally recommend everyone to at least trying it out!

There is however one thing you could improve. Let's say that someone doesn't fly in two class configuration, he/she might have troubles with your sheet, since I sometimes have more than 160 passengers aboard myself.

I would recommend you dumping all that complex passenger load sheet stuff you have now and just go for a simple ZFW. Much easier.

[lassekronborg 43]

Hi Dmitrij

 

Thanks for the kind words. I hope you are a little less confused by now.

In the upper section of the sheet, where you choose the aircraft type, you can also choose the seat configuration. So you are only limited to the number of seats that is the maximum of that type of aircraft: 736 = 130 seats, 737 = 144 seats, (PMDG has place for 146, this will be the limit in the next version I'm working on), 738 and 739 = 189 seats.

As for the BBJ I got the max seat numbers from Boeings sales webpage. I'm not sure they are true.

 

you can combine the classes of seats as you want. You can even have three classes: Y,C,F. So you should'nt be limited at all.

 

I'm going to stick with the passenger stuff, as I'm working on a way to calculate Center of Gravity. It's getting complicated, but I'm getting there :-). Besides aircraft performance is very much defined by load weights including PAX. So to make accurate calculations this information is needed.

 

Thanks again for your feedback.

 

Lasse

[zmak 331]

this looks good however for me when I download and then try to install I get an endless loop of saving

eg click it auto chooses documents so I press save and then go to docs click it and it does the same again

 

very odd, must be my end though.

[killkenny1 22]

Hi Dmitrij

 

Thanks for the kind words. I hope you are a little less confused by now.

In the upper section of the sheet, where you choose the aircraft type, you can also choose the seat configuration. So you are only limited to the number of seats that is the maximum of that type of aircraft: 736 = 130 seats, 737 = 144 seats, (PMDG has place for 146, this will be the limit in the next version I'm working on), 738 and 739 = 189 seats.

As for the BBJ I got the max seat numbers from Boeings sales webpage. I'm not sure they are true.

 

you can combine the classes of seats as you want. You can even have three classes: Y,C,F. So you should'nt be limited at all.

 

I'm going to stick with the passenger stuff, as I'm working on a way to calculate Center of Gravity. It's getting complicated, but I'm getting there :-). Besides aircraft performance is very much defined by load weights including PAX. So to make accurate calculations this information is needed.

 

Thanks again for your feedback.

 

Lasse

Whoops, missed that one.

That makes it even better in my books.

Would have still preferred the ZFW, but that's not a biggie.

[Gregg_Seipp 568]

I just finished a spreadsheet that does fuel calculations based on the instructions in Tutorial 2.  Does yours already handle that?  That'd be cool.

 

I should add that I have Topcat and pretty much like it but I think there are a lot of folks that don't that could really benefit from a spreadsheet like this.  They'll definitely need one for the T7 too.

[lassekronborg 43]

In toturial 2 fuel and reserve fuel is estimated based on a few basic guidelines. This sheet splits the flight in small bits or phases and calculates fuel and time for each bit. There's a lot more factors going in to the equation than the estimates in the tutorial. You'll probably find the fuel prediction in the sheet to be very close to actual usage. The fuel usage is not based on the tutorial but on actual fuel performance information.

 

But it uses the same rules for fuel requirements: contingency, holding, taxi fuel... and so on.

 

TOPCAT is really great. The airport database has much more information than the freeware database I have used. Hence the performance calculations are more precise. But TOPCATs fuel calculations are not very good. 

 

I can only recommend TOPCAT. And I'm really looking forward to the upcomming PFPX from the same developer. 

 

But try the sheet and see if it suites you.. It's free :-)

 

Lasse

[William J.S.S 173]

Thanks!

[Gregg_Seipp 568]

Gonna give it a try tomorrow.

[lassekronborg 43]

I just finished a spreadsheet that does fuel calculations based on the instructions in Tutorial 2.  Does yours already handle that?  That'd be cool.

 

I should add that I have Topcat and pretty much like it but I think there are a lot of folks that don't that could really benefit from a spreadsheet like this.  They'll definitely need one for the T7 too.

 

Well, as soon as I can get my hands on the PMDG777 and the full range of performance documentation, I'll start working on a new sheet. But it's probably not only a question of changing a few max and dry weight from the NGX. The whole logic has to be reviewed and tested again and again.

 

Lasse

[lassekronborg 43]

Hi

 

I've updated the dispatch sheet to version 4.3

 

http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxutil&DLID=176737

 

Revision 4.3
- Improved landing distance calculations
- Choose between autoland or manual landing
- Now possible to enter IATA codes for airports as well as ICAO (i.e. EKCH = CPH)
- Optional unit for runway distances. Can now be read either in feet or meters
- 737-700 now accept up to 146 seats total.
- Added total estimated fuel burn to the flight statistiscs section
- Opposite runway end displaced threshold is no longer calculated as stopway and subtracted from TORA. TORA is now allways the full runway lenght. The database does not include stopway information.
- Added a third sheet to simulate a standard loadsheet. 

 

Thanks for all your input on the forum, PM and mail.

 

Enjoy,

 

Lasse Kronborg