How do I use the Aerosoft Airbus X Fuel Planner in FSX?
Use the Aerosoft Airbus X Fuel Planner in FSX: enter route, cruise level, payload and reserves, create a loadsheet, then import it in the MCDU.
Use the Aerosoft Airbus X Fuel Planner as an aircraft-specific pre-flight loader in FSX or FSX: Steam Edition: select the exact Airbus variant, enter route distance, cruise level, payload and reserves, calculate block fuel, generate the loadsheet, then import it through the Aerosoft loading page and verify the cockpit figures.
How to use the Airbus X Fuel Planner step by step
The reliable order is route planning, fuel and payload calculation, loadsheet generation, cockpit import and final verification.
- Plan the route first. Obtain the actual airway distance rather than relying on the direct airport-to-airport distance. If needed, create the route and read its distance in FSX Flight Planner; use its route data, not its generic fuel estimate, for the Aerosoft Airbus.
- Open the supplied Aerosoft Fuel Planner. It is a separate utility installed with the add-on, not the fuel calculation in FSX Flight Planner. Its shortcut may be in the Aerosoft program group or the add-on’s installation folder, depending on the edition and installation method.
- Select the exact aircraft variant. Choose the A320 or A321 model and engine or configuration option offered by your Airbus X installation. Related Aerosoft packages may list other variants, but the planner selection must match the aircraft actually loaded in FSX.
- Confirm the units. Check every label before entering fuel or weight. Aerosoft Airbus products commonly work in kilograms, while FSX may show pounds, percentages or fuel volume depending on its settings and the screen being used.
- Enter route and cruise data. Supply the planned distance, initial cruise level and flight time where those fields are available. Add wind or alternate information if your edition provides those inputs.
- Set passengers and cargo. Enter the intended payload and review the resulting zero-fuel weight and centre of gravity. Reduce or redistribute the load if the planner marks a limit in red or reports an out-of-range value.
- Calculate the required fuel. Review trip fuel, reserve assumptions and total block fuel rather than accepting the first number without a plausibility check.
- Generate the loadsheet. Use the planner’s final loadsheet, export or save control after making all changes. Merely calculating the figures may not create the file that the aircraft reads.
- Load the Aerosoft Airbus in FSX. Park with the engines shut down and open the add-on’s loading page, normally found through the right-hand MCDU in Airbus X Extended. Initialise or read the loadsheet, then select the gradual or instant loading option supplied by that edition.
- Verify the result in the cockpit. Compare fuel on board, ZFW and ZFWCG with the planner. Enter or confirm ZFW/ZFWCG and block fuel on the applicable MCDU INIT page before engine start, then check the predicted fuel at destination after the route is complete.
What route distance and cruise level should I enter?
Use the planned airway distance and the initial flight level you genuinely expect to fly, not the great-circle distance and not the highest altitude the aircraft might eventually reach.
Departure procedures, airways, arrival procedures and vectors can make the flown route appreciably longer than the direct distance. Add a reasonable allowance when the final departure or arrival routing is unknown, but do not add the alternate distance to the main route distance if the planner already has a separate alternate field.
A cruise level is written as hundreds of feet on standard pressure: FL350 represents 35,000 feet. If the Fuel Planner field expects a flight-level number, enter 350, not 35000; follow the format shown beside the field. On a short sector, an excessively high level can produce a poor estimate because much of the flight will be spent climbing and descending.
For a flight with planned step climbs, enter the initial cruise level. Once the aircraft is loaded, compare it with the MCDU’s optimum and maximum levels if those predictions are modelled by your edition. Recalculate when a major payload or cruise-level change makes the original plan unrealistic.
Wind matters as well. A strong headwind increases time and trip fuel; a tailwind reduces them. If your Fuel Planner edition has no wind input, treat its result as a still-air estimate and use the fully programmed MCDU’s destination prediction as a second check.
Which fuel and weight figures matter?
Block fuel, payload, zero-fuel weight and expected take-off and landing weights are the figures that need to agree before departure.
| Figure | Meaning | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Payload | Passengers, baggage and cargo | It must fit the aircraft’s loading stations and weight limits. |
| ZFW | Operating aircraft plus payload, excluding usable fuel | Confirm it with ZFWCG in the MCDU; do not enter total gross weight here. |
| ZFWCG | Centre of gravity at zero-fuel weight | Keep it within the range accepted by the planner and aircraft. |
| Trip fuel | Fuel expected to be consumed from take-off to landing | Do not mistake it for the amount loaded at the stand. |
| Block fuel | Total fuel aboard before start or pushback | It normally includes taxi, trip, contingency, alternate and final reserve fuel, plus any extra fuel chosen. |
| TOW | Expected take-off weight after taxi fuel is consumed | It must remain below the applicable take-off limit. |
| Landing weight | Expected weight at destination after trip fuel is consumed | Check it against the landing limit, especially on short flights with a heavy fuel load. |
A mistake we see constantly is loading only the displayed trip fuel. That leaves no allowance for taxi, an alternate, delays or final reserve. Our FSX fuel-calculation method for trip, reserve and block fuel explains those components without duplicating them here.
Another common error is mixing kilograms and pounds. One kilogram is approximately 2.205 pounds, so treating a pounds value as kilograms produces a very large overfuel or overload. Never infer the unit from the size of the number; read the field label.
Why does the loadsheet not appear in the MCDU?
A missing loadsheet usually means it was not generated after the final calculation, it belongs to a different aircraft product, or Windows prevented the planner from writing where the add-on expects it.
- Generate it again: select the correct model, recalculate, then use the final loadsheet or save control. Closing the utility after calculation alone may leave the previous flight’s file in place.
- Match the loaded aircraft: an A320 calculation should not be imported into an A321, and loadsheets from different Aerosoft Airbus generations are not necessarily interchangeable.
- Refresh the loading page: reopen the right-hand MCDU or equivalent loader and use its initialise or loadsheet-read function before selecting the actual loading command.
- Match Windows privilege levels: run FSX and the planner with the same administrator status. If one process is elevated and the other is not, they may not see the same generated data.
- Load at the stand: set the parking brake and keep the engines shut down. Some editions restrict loading or access to the relevant INIT page after engine start.
- Check the installation: a protected, moved or incomplete add-on installation can stop the external utility writing its output. Use the package’s own repair or reinstall process rather than guessing a loadsheet location.
Why do the Fuel Planner and cockpit weights differ?
Large differences point to a unit, aircraft-variant or loading error; very small differences can result from rounding and FSX’s conversion between fuel mass and volume.
- Compare like with like. ZFW excludes usable fuel, take-off weight includes fuel but normally excludes fuel already used for taxi, and gross weight changes as fuel is consumed.
- Confirm that kilograms have not been entered as pounds or vice versa.
- Check that the aircraft loaded in FSX matches the model and engine option selected in the planner.
- Do not change fuel or payload through FSX’s default Fuel and Payload interface after importing the Aerosoft loadsheet. That can leave the physical loading stations, gauges and MCDU entries out of agreement.
- Allow for minor rounding, but investigate any difference large enough to affect take-off weight, centre of gravity or destination reserve.
If the add-on loader is unavailable and you must alter fuel manually, follow the precautions in our guide to refelling in FSX without conflicting with an aircraft-specific loader. For the Aerosoft Airbus, its supplied utility remains the safer method because it manages payload distribution as well as total fuel.
Does the Aerosoft Fuel Planner replace FSX Flight Planner?
No; the Aerosoft utility is an aircraft-specific fuel calculator and loader, while FSX Flight Planner creates the route and provides route distance and estimated time.
| Tool | Use it for | Do not rely on it for |
|---|---|---|
| FSX Flight Planner | Creating and saving a route, reading route distance and obtaining a broad time estimate | Final fuel and payload loading for a complex Aerosoft Airbus |
| Aerosoft Airbus X Fuel Planner | Calculating aircraft-specific fuel, payload, weight and balance, then generating the loadsheet | Building or loading the airway route into the MCDU |
| Airbus MCDU | Holding the flight plan and checking weight, performance and destination-fuel predictions | Replacing the pre-flight payload and reserve decision |
| FSX Fuel and Payload menu | Manual loading for default or simple aircraft | Changing an Aerosoft load after its own loader has been used |
Like any flight-sim fuel planner, the Aerosoft result depends on the quality of its inputs. After entering the full route in the MCDU, compare the predicted fuel at destination with the planned reserve. If the prediction is too low, resolve the cause or add appropriate fuel before departure rather than ignoring the discrepancy.
Can I use the same planner with Aerosoft Airbus Extended or Professional?
Do not assume that Fuel Planner utilities and loadsheets are interchangeable between Aerosoft Airbus X, Airbus X Extended and Airbus Professional.
Airbus X Extended generally uses the right-hand MCDU loading workflow described above, although exact button names vary. Earlier Airbus X editions may present the equivalent controls differently, while Professional has package-specific tools and procedures. Our comparison of Aerosoft Airbus Extended and Professional identifies the product differences that matter when following loading instructions.