Fueling an airliner might seem a little intimidating to some people, but it is a very simple process for the Airbus A320. Airbus aircraft tend to be a lot more automated than their Boeing counterparts. The embedded video below shows you How to Fuel an Airbus A320 using AirportSIM. It is very easy indeed, including the calculations.
The Fuel Panel Power On Procedure
When you arrive to fuel your A320, the fuel panel needs to have power on to display the fuel onboard. If the aircraft is completely shutdown, as shown in this video, the power needs to be switched on. This is done by selecting the battery power switch to the “ON” position. Without any power to the fuel panel, you will not be able to fuel the aircraft.
If you watched the “How to Fuel a B737” video, you would know selecting battery power on a B737 is not an option. The Boeing 737 is required to be powered either by a Ground Power Unit or the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU).
Configuring the Fuel Panel
The fuel panel on the Airbus A320 is identical to the fuel panel on an Airbus A319 and the A321. Now that the fuel panel has power, we can see how much fuel is currently onboard the aircraft. Now we go to the preselect switch located on the lower left side of the fuel panel. Select the amount of fuel we are expected to put onboard the aircraft. In this video the amount requested was 47,350 lbs. The fuel panel does not give you the option of 50 lbs increments, only 100 lbs increments. Therefore the fuel amount was rounded up to the nearest 100 lbs, which is 47,400 lbs.
Setting Up the Fueling Equipment
Once the fuel panel has been configured for fueling. We setup the fueling equipment in a particular order. First is always connecting the grounding cable. We connect the grounding cable to the aircraft so the static charge between the truck and the aircraft remains the same. This will prevent any potential sparks jumping from the aircraft to the fuel hose when connecting. This is to prevent the chance of a spark igniting a fire.
Once the grounding cable is connected, we connect the hose to the aircraft. The fuel hoses are always connected underneath the right hand wing.
Although it is not shown in the video, there is no way you could do this in real life without a ladder. Typically fuelers use a 10 foot ladder to comfortably reach the A320 wing to connect a fuel hose. However, I can see why they did not bother including ladders in the AirportSIM.
The Deadman Switch
Although it is not depicted in AirportSIM, fuelers use what is called a “Deadman Switch”. In AirportSIM it is depicted as a lever located on the truck which allows the fuel to flow. In reality, fuelers hold a Deadman Switch with the handle pressed in for fuel to flow. If for whatever reason fueling needs to stop immediately, the fueler simply lets go of the Deadman Switch.
Once again I can see why that was not simulated in AirportSIM. It would be annoying having to hold down a button to simulate the Deadman Switch.
Fueling in Automatic Mode
In AirportSIM, it is configured so you can only fuel the Airbus in Automatic mode. In reality, when fuelers have an option, they tend to fuel Airbuses in Manual mode. It is easier for fuelers to perfectly balance the wing fuel tanks in Manual mode than Automatic mode.
Most A321s balance the fuel load between the two wings quite well in Automatic mode. Older A319s and A320s on the other hand, not so much.
It is a shame you do not have an option to fuel in Manual mode in AirportSIM. Perhaps that is something the AirportSIM developers could update in the future?
The time it takes to fuel the aircraft in AirportSIM is a lot quicker. I can see why the developers have sped up the actual fueling process. You don’t want your players to get bored and move on to another game.
Packing Up the Fueling Equipment
Once the fueling is completed, you take note of the fuel in each fuel tank. Close the fuel valves by switching it from Automatic Mode back to Off and close the switch guard. Shutoff the battery power switch and then close the actual fuel panel. Check to see the fuel panel has closed properly and is secure.
Once the fuel panel is closed and secure; disconnect the fuel hose from the aircraft and re-secure the fuel cap. Pack the fuel hose up back into the truck. Disconnect the grounding cable and wind it back up into the truck. The grounding cable is always the last device to be disconnected from the aircraft.
Essentially all you do is pack the equipment up in the reverse order it was set up.
The last thing you do before walking or driving away from the aircraft, you take one last look to confirm the fuel panel is closed and secure. Also check to see if the fuel cap has been re-secured.
Submitting the Fuel Data
Once the aircraft has been fueled and all of the equipment has been packed up, it’s time to send the fueling details. The data you send via an electronic device consists of the before and after fuel load on the aircraft, the total fuel loaded and the tail number. All electronically signed off by the fueler.
That’s all it takes to fuel an Airbus A320. It’s quite straight forward.
Minor errors that need correcting
There are still a few little errors with the A320 fueling, which are pointed out during the video.
These are the main errors with the A320 fueling process:
- ~Decrease the A320 wing fuel capacity limit to 13,800 lbs (6,260 kg).
- ~Update the graphic to indicate LBS instead of KG on the actual fuel panel. (Only when LBS are selected in the game setup)
- ~Give the fueler an option to use Manual Mode, not just Automatic Mode.
If it’s possible for MS Games and MK Studios to make these updates, that would be awesome. Although I would expect both MS Games and MK Studios to be more focused on other projects now. Either way, Thank-you for creating AirportSim, it’s fun to play.
Hopefully you’ve gotten something out of this video; How to fuel an Airbus A320 using AirportSIM. If you enjoyed the video, please consider liking, commenting and subscribing to the Ground Speed Gaming channel. Remember, The learning never ends; Thank-you.
