Change fuel and payload units in Microsoft Flight Simulator, choose metric, U.S. or Hybrid, and fix EFB or add-on unit mismatches.
To change fuel and payload units in Microsoft Flight Simulator, open General Options or Settings, find Units of Measurement, and select Metric, U.S. System or Hybrid. Apply the change. If an aircraft’s EFB still uses different units, change its separate unit preference; many add-on aircraft do not inherit the global setting.
How do I switch the fuel and payload units?
Use the simulator-wide unit setting first, then confirm the unit labels in the loading panel rather than assuming the change has taken effect.
- Open the simulator settings. In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, follow
Options > General Options > Misc. In MSFS 2024, open Settings and locate the general simulator preferences. - Find Units of Measurement. Searching the settings for
unitsormeasurementis the safest approach because category names can move between interface revisions. - Select a preset. Choose Metric, U.S. System or Hybrid.
- Apply or confirm the change. Return to the loading screen, Weight & Balance panel or EFB and inspect the suffix beside every value.
- Refresh a stale panel. If it still shows the previous units, close and reopen the panel. A custom aircraft may need to be reloaded.
The stock simulator generally uses a system-wide preset rather than independent switches for fuel and payload. If the aim is to change the quantities rather than their displayed units, follow our separate guidance on entering fuel and payload without upsetting the aircraft’s balance.
Which unit system should I choose?
Choose the preset that matches the load sheet, flight-planning data or aircraft documentation you are using.
| Setting | Choose it when | Main check |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. System | Your payload is in pounds and fuel is supplied in US gallons or pounds. | Do not interpret gal as Imperial gallons. |
| Metric | Your payload and fuel calculations use kilograms and litres. | Check whether the aircraft requests fuel mass in kilograms rather than volume in litres. |
| Hybrid | You want a mixture of common aviation and regional measurement conventions. | Inspect the actual kg, lb, L or gal labels before entering data. |
Fuel volume and fuel mass are not interchangeable. One US gallon is about 3.785 litres, while one kilogram is about 2.205 pounds, but converting fuel between volume and mass also requires its density. Jet fuel and aviation petrol do not have the same density, and temperature can change it.
Why does the EFB still show different units?
Many aircraft tablets and flight-management systems have their own unit preference, so the cockpit may continue showing kilograms after the simulator has been changed to U.S. units.
- Open the aircraft’s EFB or tablet settings and look for an option labelled Units, Mass, Weight or Fuel.
- Check the unit selected by any imported loading or performance profile.
- If no unit option exists, the aircraft may use a fixed real-world convention.
- Use either the simulator loading panel or the aircraft EFB as the main loading tool; entering data through both can cause one system to overwrite the other.
MSFS 2024 places much of the loading workflow in its tablet, so our explanation of the fuel, payload and performance controls in the MSFS 2024 EFB covers the next steps. The FlyByWire A32NX is a common special case because its tablet manages its own loading; use the guide to matching the A32NX flyPad’s loading and unit options.
Does changing units alter the aircraft’s loading?
No—the global measurement option normally converts how an existing quantity is displayed without adding fuel, changing payload or moving the centre of gravity.
The danger comes after the change. Entering 500 into a field that previously meant pounds but now means kilograms more than doubles the intended mass. Likewise, entering litres into a gallons field produces a major fuel error even though the number itself looks plausible.
Avoiding fuel and payload unit errors
Most serious mistakes happen when a pilot copies an unlabelled number from one system into another.
- Read the unit suffix immediately before entering each value.
- Keep payload mass, fuel mass and fuel volume separate.
- Confirm total aircraft weight and centre of gravity after loading.
- Check that an EFB import has not replaced values entered through the simulator.
- Recheck take-off performance after correcting a pounds-versus-kilograms error.
If the total weight or balance limits still look wrong, our explanation of how fuel, payload, total weight and centre of gravity interact shows where unit-conversion mistakes usually appear.