FSX-MS Turbine Duke fuel planning "tool"

[RockOla 233]

This is a little thing I have been working on lately.

 

I fly a lot (if not only) the RealAir Turbine Duke.  B)

 

The only thing that I was lacking was a convenient and simple tool for fuel planning.

 

So I decided to create a Google Spreadsheet.

 

It began simple and, as often in my case, turned pretty intricate.

 

There are several limits (see below) : keep in mind this is more a kind of "proof of concept" than an operational fuel calculation. 

 But it does its bit. And with the help of the simmers communauty, it could be much more powerful.

 

 

What you have to do

 

- insert your flightplan in the first sheet

 

- fill-in some data in the second sheet (departure altitude, cruise level etc)

 

 

What you get

 

A kind of "fuel planning data sheet" which consists of : 

- a planned fuel table 

- a navigation log (with estimated time, altitude and fuel on board)

- an altitude & fuel left chart (which illustrates and allowed me to gain skills with Google Charts)

- icing on the fuel tank : you can print this whole sheet on a good ol' paper sheet which you can write on with your good ol' lead pencil

 

 

 

 

What are the limits at the moment

 

- the format : this is a spreadsheet, not a nifty exe tool

 

- no wind influence at the moment. I plan to add this feature soon, as fuel planning is wrong without this information

 

- fixed flying conditions : 2000 ft VS for climb & descent, climbing @ 160 KIAS, cruising @ 195 KIAS, descending @ 190 KIAS. This is because collecting performance datas for a given flight already takes time, so under various conditions it is a task my 3 children will not let me the time to accomplish

 

- precision of the performance datas : it took me hours flying the T-Duke and collecting fuel flows, distances, altitude, ground speeds, at various altitudes 

 

 

 

The good news is that performance datas can be updated and refined without any other modification (all the other fields are calculated from these datas).

 

I plan to release this spreadsheet soon, hopefully with wind component integration (based on user input in the first sheet).

 

Please tell me what you think, what you would like, what you suggest.

[RockOla 233]

I just finished adding wind integration.

 

- wind direction and speed is entered on the same sheet as the flightplan (I use Routefinder and Simroutes to generate my FP and ASN to get wind information for each point)

 

 

 

- I slightly enriched the complementary data sheet, which now displays the total fuel burnt : you can now see on the same sheet how CRZ level affects fuel burn

 

- and finally you get your Navigation Log with estimated FOB, timings and altitude (look at the FOB chart shape due to winds shift while cruising !)

 

 

I need to :

 

- rework the layout of the sheets, to make it more "user-friendly"

 

- sort out some Google Spreadsheet-related quirks

 

But the main framework and calculations part is ready.

 

I will update this topic when this file will be released to all of you Turbine Duke enthusiasts  :wub:

[Superpilotv2 2]

Excelent work!

[ryanbatc 12,821]

Holy schnikes!  Awesome

[RockOla 233]

A little teasing about the output state (some fields are not still populated but you get the idea)   B)

 

[kama2004 74]

Seems very interesting. I'm flying right now the Duke with my homemade spreadsheet. Yours seems much more elaborated..  looking forward for the release...

[RockOla 233]

Okay fellow Royal Dukes
 
I reworked most of my spreadsheet output. I gave up the above Nav log for a "simpler" one.
 
This will be, at least in the first public version, your result :
 

 
I still have to work on fields names to make the whole spreadsheet clearer and simpler to update.
 
It should be released within the next 24 hours.

[RockOla 233]

Al'right gentlemen.
 
If you do not have a Gmail, it's time to create an account.
 
http://goo.gl/XJuZ3F

PLEASE DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE

Add the whole folder to your account, clicking on "Add to my Drive". This will create a copy in your Drive, which you will be able to use as you want.



This spreadsheet has been created and updated with Google Sheets. I cannot guarantee its proper functionning with MS Excel or any other spreadsheet application. But, hey, I do not guarantee it is bug free under Google Sheets soooo  :rolleyes:
 
Do not use it for real operations, I do not want to be responsible for a new Azores Glider  :ph34r:
 
Please give me your feedback and suggestions.
 

How to:

- copy-paste or manually fill in the 1st sheet "1- INSERT FP HERE" (I use Routefinder then Simroutes to generate the FP and export it to FSX format. Then Active Sky Next to load the FP and get wind informations)

- fill in complementary data in the 2nd sheet "2 - FILL IN DATA HERE". You can modify Reg Number, Cruise level and fuel reserves settings (ALTN, TAXI TIME, HOLDING REQUIREMENT)

- all other fields in this sheet are fixed : check DEPARTURE and ARRIVAL AIRPORT informations (ICAO and altitudes). If these fields are not updated, the spreadsheet may be refreshing. Try to hit F5.

- then you should get an updated Navigation Log on the 3rd sheet "3- GET YOUR NAV LOG". Check informations consistency. You can print it (CTRL+P) : this page is formatted to be printed without gridlines, portrait, fit to width.

 

KEEP IN MIND THE UPDATE MAY TAKE A FEW SECONDS, HIT F5 IF IT SEEMS TO BE NOT REFRESHING

[RockOla 233]

I am preparing version 1.1 of my spreadsheet. I reworked 95 % of the calculations.

 

I did a test flight to compare planned climb and cruise altitude / fuel. The results are quite spot-on :

 

 

- Cruise altitude reached 0.4 nm before calculated TOC distance (40 nm, this is a 1% error)

 

- 51,4 Gallons of fuel on board after 180 miles, versus 51,9 planned (< 1 % error)

 

I also added wind smoothing between fixes, and an immediate fuel consumption chart.

 

The new version should be released in the next 48h. It will be dedicated to the innocents who lost their lives aboard flight #4U9525.

[RobdeVries 28]

Very nice!

[RockOla 233]

Version 1.1 here

 

http://goo.gl/Cz9pe6

 

I chose to change the sharing method. This link will allow you to download the spreadsheet. Please upload it to your Google Drive to use it with Google Sheets. I can not guarantee it will work as it should with MS Excel or any other spreadsheet application.

 

[Boeing or not going 578]

Thanks this looks great any chance you could create a profile for pfpx for the Duke?

[arnobg 0]

Fantastic work thanks so much for your time and efforts! I've just been using fuel burn/hour averages for my flights which has left me cleaning my pants a few times......

 

I would be more than willing to volunteer for additional performance info if you want to expand this thing such as various climb/descent rates and speeds.

 

This would be easy as I primarily only fly the turbine duke and I fly almost daily with it in prepar3d.

[RockOla 233]

Thanks to both of you.

 

@777200LRF : I am sorry but I really do not have much time these days. So I focus on polishing the TDuke spreadsheet and do not plan creating profiles for a tool (PFPX) I do not know, nor own. But if you look at my spreadsheet maybe could it give you ideas to create a pfpx profile ?

 

@arnobg : adding various climb / descend profiles is the next step. I think I will add 1000 / 1200 / 1500 / 1800 to the current 2000. This should cover 95 % of our flights. And do not prevent from pushing the Royal Turbine to a good 4000 ft/mn for a few minutes  :wub:

[arnobg 0]

Thanks to both of you.

 

@777200LRF : I am sorry but I really do not have much time these days. So I focus on polishing the TDuke spreadsheet and do not plan creating profiles for a tool (PFPX) I do not know, nor own. But if you look at my spreadsheet maybe could it give you ideas to create a pfpx profile ?

 

@arnobg : adding various climb / descend profiles is the next step. I think I will add 1000 / 1200 / 1500 / 1800 to the current 2000. This should cover 95 % of our flights. And do not prevent from pushing the Royal Turbine to a good 4000 ft/mn for a few minutes  :wub:

 

 

Awesome, let me know if you need help gathering data like I said, I fly the thing every day IFR and wouldn't mind logging some things during my flights. I have actually been logging fuel burn in my log book every flight already.

 

About to go hop in now and do some flying now actually!