Load Profiles
Load profiles define aircraft weight and balance configurations used during flight dispatch. They provide the structural data that SimBrief needs to calculate fuel loads, payload limits, and center-of-gravity envelopes. Each profile describes an aircraft's seatmap, cargo holds, fuel tanks, operating weights, and performance limits.
Backoffice path: backoffice/load-profiles
Available to roles: System Administrator, Administrator
Fields
General
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Display name for the profile (e.g., "A320-200 Standard", "B738 High Density") |
| Description | Optional notes about the configuration |
| Active | Toggle to enable or disable this profile. An inactive profile is never used for dispatch or FDM weight checks; its aircraft fall back to the next level's profile (see Assignment) |
Seatmap
The seatmap field is a JSON array of cabin sections. Each cabin entry defines:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| class | Cabin class identifier (e.g., "J" for business, "Y" for economy) |
| rows | Number of seat rows in this cabin section |
| seats_per_row | Number of seats across each row |
| aisles | The seats an aisle follows, counted from the left: [3] is a 3-3 cabin, [2, 6] a 2-4-2 cabin |
Example seatmap configuration:
[
{ "class": "J", "rows": 4, "seats_per_row": 4, "aisles": [2] },
{ "class": "Y", "rows": 26, "seats_per_row": 6, "aisles": [3] }
]
This defines a two-class layout with 16 business seats (2-2) and 156 economy seats (3-3) for a total of 172 passengers. Several cabins may share a class, for example a shorter last row; their seats add up in Seats by Class.
Cargo Holds
The cargo holds field is a JSON array. Each entry defines:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| name | Hold identifier (e.g., "Forward", "Aft", "Bulk") |
| position | Longitudinal position for CG calculations |
| max_weight | Maximum weight capacity of the hold |
| baggage_trend | Distribution bias for checked baggage loading |
| freight_trend | Distribution bias for freight/cargo loading |
Hold limits cap bags and freight per hold, but the generated load also respects the profile's MZFW. When passengers, bags and the planned freight would take the zero fuel weight past MZFW, freight is scaled down across the holds to fit; passengers and bags are never offloaded for MZFW. This needs both OEW and MZFW to be set.
The load is then checked against the profile's MLW. The fuel still on board at touchdown is what turns a legal zero fuel weight into an overweight landing, so the generator estimates it the way a dispatcher plans reserves under the FAA/ANAC domestic rule: trip fuel to the destination (A), fuel to the most distant configured alternate (B, or 100 NM when the destination has none), 45 minutes of final reserve (C) and a 5% contingency on the trip. Everything but the trip fuel is expected to still be in the tanks on arrival, and a 10% margin is added on top because pilots tend to load a little more than planned. Fuel flow and speed come from the pilot's last five accepted flights on the same aircraft type (ICAO type designator, or the sub-fleet when the aircraft has none), falling back to the airline's last five flights on the type when the pilot has never flown it; distances are great-circle. If OEW plus the payload plus that arrival fuel would exceed the MLW, freight is offloaded first and, only once no freight is left, the last passengers in the manifest together with their bags. A reduced load adds a PAYLOAD REDUCED ... note to the SimBrief OFP dispatch remarks, shows a notice on the briefing page, and sends the pilot a chat message composed by the vOCC in the pilot's own account language, explaining what was offloaded and the estimated arrival fuel, landing weight and MLW, and asking them to watch the landing weight on approach (which the vOCC's overweight-landing alert also does). When the vOCC is switched off a plain English notice is sent instead. Aircraft types with no accepted flight history skip the check. This needs OEW and MLW to be set.
Fuel Tanks
The fuel tanks field is a JSON array. Each entry defines:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| name | Tank identifier (e.g., "Left Wing", "Right Wing", "Center") |
| position | Longitudinal position for CG calculations |
| capacity | Maximum fuel capacity of the tank |
Operating Weights
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| OEW | Operating Empty Weight -- the aircraft's weight with crew, fluids, and equipment but no payload or usable fuel |
| MZFW | Maximum Zero Fuel Weight -- maximum weight without usable fuel |
| MTOW | Maximum Takeoff Weight |
| MLW | Maximum Landing Weight |
| Max Fuel | Maximum total fuel capacity across all tanks |
| OFP Layout | The SimBrief OFP format used when dispatching flights with this profile (see OFP Layout below) |
| Max Pax | Maximum passenger count |
Center of Gravity Envelope
The CG envelope defines forward and aft limits for the aircraft's center of gravity. These limits are used during dispatch to verify that the planned loading falls within safe bounds.
Performance Data
Additional performance parameters used by SimBrief for route planning and fuel calculations.
Computed Fields
The system automatically calculates and displays the following values from the configuration:
| Computed Field | Derived From |
|---|---|
| Total Seats | Sum of (rows x seats_per_row) across all seatmap entries |
| Total Cargo Capacity | Sum of max_weight across all cargo holds |
| Total Fuel Capacity | Sum of capacity across all fuel tanks |
| Seats by Class | Breakdown of seat count per cabin class |
OFP Layout
The OFP Layout setting controls the format of the Operational Flight Plan generated by SimBrief. Different layouts mimic the dispatch paperwork of real-world airlines. The default is LIDO (SimBrief's standard format).
Available formats:
| Code | Airline Format |
|---|---|
| LIDO | SimBrief Default |
| AAL | American Airlines |
| ACA | Air Canada |
| AFR | Air France (2012) |
| AFR2017 | Air France (2017) |
| AWE | US Airways |
| BAW | British Airways |
| BER | Air Berlin |
| DAL | Delta Air Lines |
| DLH | Lufthansa |
| EIN | Aer Lingus |
| ETD | Etihad Airways |
| EZY | easyJet |
| GWI | Germanwings |
| JBU | JetBlue Airways |
| JZA | Jazz Aviation |
| KLM | KLM Royal Dutch Airlines |
| QFA | Qantas |
| RYR | Ryanair |
| SWA | Southwest Airlines |
| THY | Turkish Airlines |
| UAE | Emirates Airline |
| UAL | United Airlines (2012) |
| UAL F:WZ | United Airlines (2018) |
| WZZ | Wizz Air |
Choose the format that best matches your virtual airline's brand or your pilots' preference. The layout only affects the visual presentation of the OFP -- fuel calculations, weights, and route data remain identical regardless of format.
SimBrief Integration
Load profile data is automatically converted to SimBrief-compatible format during dispatch. This conversion includes:
- Weight values are converted to pounds (lbs)
- Large values are expressed in thousands where required by the SimBrief API
- Seatmap, cargo hold, and fuel tank configurations are mapped to SimBrief's expected structure
- The selected OFP Layout is sent as the
planformatparameter
No manual conversion is needed -- the system handles all unit and format transformations.
Assignment
Load profiles are assigned to aircraft using a many-to-many relationship. A profile can be assigned to:
- Fleets -- applies to all aircraft in the fleet
- Subfleets -- applies to all aircraft in the subfleet
- Aircraft -- applies to a specific tail number
When multiple profiles could apply, the system resolves using specificity:
| Priority | Level |
|---|---|
| 1 (highest) | Aircraft |
| 2 | Subfleet |
| 3 (lowest) | Fleet |
The most specific active match wins; inactive profiles are skipped. Keep one active profile per level. For example, if a profile is assigned to both the A320 fleet and a specific aircraft VH-ABC, the aircraft-level assignment takes precedence for VH-ABC.
List View
The load profiles list displays:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Profile display name |
| Total Seats | Computed total seat count |
| Total Cargo | Computed total cargo capacity |
| Assignments | Number of fleets, subfleets, and aircraft this profile is assigned to |
| Active | Status badge indicating whether the profile is enabled |
Usage Tips
- Create separate load profiles for different seating configurations of the same aircraft type (e.g., "A320 Standard 180Y" vs. "A320 Two-Class 16J/144Y").
- The SimBrief fuel factor is not part of the load profile: it is set per aircraft (Fleet Management → Aircraft → Performance Settings) as a
P##/M##code. - Verify your CG envelope limits against the aircraft's actual flight manual data to ensure realistic dispatch calculations.
- Use the description field to note which real-world configuration or operator the profile is based on.