I'm a newbie and still figuring things out. My question is why is the cargo capacity that is displayed for the plane different than specific routes for that plane. I see the example of the discrepancy below on almost every route I have. :-\
Here's the plane:
Boeing 777-200LR
Condition: 95%
Age: 16.72y
Nominal still-air range: 9050 NM
Seat config: Y176, C30, F4
Cargo capacity: 95 989 lbs / 4 460 cu.ft
Here is one of the segments for that plane.
B77L, Boeing 777
Assigned to: Boeing 777-200LR
Seat config: Y176, C30, F4
Cargo capacity: CL 15 322 lbs, CS 31 328 lbs
Light cargo (CL) Carried cargo: 15 322 lbs / 15 322 lbs
Standard cargo (CS) Carried cargo: 24 274 lbs / 31 328 lbs
Heavy cargo (CH): Carried cargo -
winds are notably reducing real range.
AWS (this game) has a model of the worldwide winds, and these winds affect the nominal range and payload of your aircraft. Generally going West takes longer than going East. So often you'll have a techstop Westbound, but no tech stop Eastbound. For long-haul it's generally best to take 20% off the range. So a 5000nm will really go 4000nm with a decent load. Also look at engine types carefully. Adding a larger/longer range engine helps with payload.
I found recently at EGPF, which has a short runway, that a DC10-030CF (combi) with 4890nm range carried next to no payload, yet change it to one with 4920nm (slightly different engine) and suddenly I get full payload!
Simon