How do I enter fuel and CG in the MSFS Airbus A330?

In Microsoft Flight Simulator, load the A330’s actual fuel and payload with its EFB or the MSFS Weight and Balance panel, then enter ZFW/ZFWCG and BLOCK fuel on the MCDU INIT B page. The MCDU entries calculate performance; they do not put fuel in the tanks or move passengers.

Which fuel and CG figures does the A330 MCDU need?

The normal pre-flight entries are zero-fuel weight, zero-fuel centre of gravity and block fuel. Copy them from the aircraft’s final EFB or loadsheet after applying the payload and fuel.

If ZFW is unfamiliar, our explanation of what zero-fuel weight includes and excludes shows why it is not the same as gross weight. ZFWCG is usually shown as a percentage of mean aerodynamic chord, written as %MAC.

How do I enter A330 fuel weight and centre of gravity?

1. Use one loading tool. Load passengers, cargo and fuel through the A330’s own EFB where one is provided. Use the MSFS Weight and Balance panel only if the aircraft instructions require it or no integrated loader is available.
2. Apply the load. Press the EFB’s applicable load, set or apply control and allow any simulated refuelling or boarding to finish. Merely importing a flight plan does not guarantee that the aircraft has been loaded.
3. Copy the final values. Record ZFW, ZFWCG and block fuel from the EFB or loadsheet. Check whether mass is displayed in tonnes, kilograms or pounds.
4. Open INIT B. With the aircraft powered and the engines stopped, select the MCDU INIT page and move to INIT B, usually using NEXT PAGE.
5. Enter ZFW and ZFWCG together. Type the pair in the scratchpad with a slash between them, such as 170.5/27.0, then press the line-select key beside ZFW/ZFWCG. That example shows the syntax only; it is not a recommended load.
6. Enter block fuel. Type the fuel mass, such as 42.3 when the MCDU is using tonnes, and select the key beside BLOCK. Do not add unit letters or thousands separators.
7. Cross-check the result. Before fuel is consumed, the calculated gross weight should be approximately ZFW plus block fuel. Confirm that the EFB’s CG marker remains inside the permitted envelope.

Most Airbus-style MCDUs use tonnes with one decimal place, but add-ons can follow their own unit settings. For example, 42300 kg becomes 42.3 tonnes; it does not become 42300 in a tonnes-based MCDU.

For the rest of the setup, our complete Airbus MCDU data-entry order covers the shared INIT, flight-plan and performance logic. Individual A330 implementations may label a few controls differently.

Which A330 loading tool should I use?

Use the loader designed for that particular A330 whenever possible. Mixing the aircraft EFB with the simulator’s loading panel is the most common reason fuel, payload or CG changes unexpectedly.

• Headwind A339X: use its flyPad-based loading functions and let them synchronise with the aircraft. Our guide to flyPad loading and synchronisation logic explains the underlying workflow, although individual A330 builds may use different labels.
• A330 with a dedicated EFB or load manager: make that tool the master source for passengers, cargo and fuel. It is normally connected to the aircraft’s own fuel and FMGS logic.
• A330 without an integrated loader: use the MSFS Weight and Balance interface, then enter the resulting MCDU figures manually.

If you must use the simulator panel, adjust individual passenger and cargo stations rather than forcing an arbitrary CG number. Our guidance on loading fuel, distributing payload and checking the CG envelope covers that process.

Why does the MCDU reject or overwrite my figures?

A rejected entry usually comes from the wrong format, wrong units or the wrong type of CG figure.

• FORMAT ERROR: enter ZFW and ZFWCG as one pair separated by a slash, with no spaces or unit letters. Use the decimal format accepted by the MCDU.
• ENTRY OUT OF RANGE: check for kilograms entered as tonnes, pounds entered without conversion, or a CG value that is not percent MAC. The aircraft may also be genuinely outside its loading envelope.
• Figures change after loading: applying the EFB load after programming INIT B can replace the earlier values. Finish loading first, then verify or re-enter the MCDU data.
• Gross weight does not equal ZFW plus block fuel: compare ZFW with the aircraft’s present fuel on board. Once the APU or engines have consumed fuel, current gross weight will be lower than ZFW plus the original block figure.
• Fuel appears in the MCDU but not the tanks: entering BLOCK is planning data, not a refuelling command. Apply the fuel through the EFB or simulator loading panel.
• Tanks contain fuel but INIT B remains blank: physical loading and MCDU programming are separate in many add-ons. Enter the figures manually unless the aircraft provides a working uplink or initialise function.

What if INIT B is no longer available?

Airbus FMGS logic normally hides INIT B after engine start. The cleanest fix is to complete the page before starting the engines; some A330 add-ons instead permit a current GW/CG entry on the FUEL PRED page.

If the available field says GW/CG, enter current gross weight and current CG—not ZFW and ZFWCG. Implementation varies, so follow the field label rather than assuming every A330 uses the same post-start workaround.

Does fuel burn change the A330 centre of gravity?

Yes, fuel quantity and tank distribution affect total CG, and the A330’s fuel system may transfer fuel during flight. The ZFWCG entry remains the payload-based reference; the FMGS combines it with sensed or predicted fuel to calculate gross weight and flight CG.

Do not move passengers or cargo merely to make a planned take-off CG match ZFWCG—they represent different conditions. Also check any take-off trim or THS value requested by the performance page, because entering the CG does not guarantee that every A330 add-on fills the trim setting automatically.