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

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	Number of aisles in this cabin section

Example seatmap configuration:

[
  { "class": "J", "rows": 4, "seats_per_row": 4, "aisles": 1 },
  { "class": "Y", "rows": 26, "seats_per_row": 6, "aisles": 1 }
]

This defines a two-class layout with 16 business seats and 156 economy seats for a total of 172 passengers.

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

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
Fuel Factor	Fuel density multiplier (used to convert between volume and weight)
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

tip

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 planformat parameter

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 match wins. 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 fuel factor adjusts fuel weight calculations for different fuel types or temperature conditions. A value of 1.0 uses standard Jet-A density.
• 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.