Short sector today. Frankfurt to Munich is barely enough time to finish the coffee before you're already in for descent. Chose the A321LR with the Lufthansa D-AIEA livery because I wanted to run a proper cold and dark startup and just fly a clean line without overthinking it.
Grabbed the SimBrief OFP before heading to the gate. CINDY5F departure, routing via Z74, T104 down to ROKIL1B, then the ROKIL1B arrival into Munich 26L. Block time planned at 1h 06m. Not a lot of margin for anything interesting to happen, which honestly makes it a good procedural workout.
OFP at a Glance
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Flight | LH 0000 / 02 JUL 2026 |
| Route | EDDF/25C CINDY5F CINDY Z74 HAREM T104 ROKIL ROKIL1B EDDM/26L |
| Registration | D-AIEA (A321-251N / LEAP-1A32) |
| Cruise | FL260 |
| Cost Index | 40 |
| Block Fuel | 6,143 kg |
| Trip Fuel | 1,724 kg |
| ZFW | 69,480 kg / Max 75,600 kg |
| TOW | 75,383 kg |
| Alternate | EDDS - Stuttgart |
| ATD | 1410Z / 1610L |
| ATA | 1516Z / 1716L |
The fuel numbers looked conservative for such a short sector - over 1,300 kg of extra fuel loaded. Wanted no risky chances today.
ATC Clearance & Route
(FPL-DLH-IS -A21N/M-SDE2E3FGHIRWXY/LB1 -EDDF1410 -N0423F260 CINDY5F CINDY Z74 HAREM T104 ROKIL ROKIL1B -EDDM0028 EDDS -PBN/A1B1C1D1L1O1S2 DOF/260702 REG/GNELR)
Clearance was straightforward. CINDY5F departure from runway 25C, climb initially to FL100, then own navigation on the filed route. The SID keeps you on a heading track southeast out of Frankfurt before picking up CINDY and bending toward Munich.
Cold and Dark Startup
This was the main reason I picked this sector today. I wanted to run the full startup sequence from a completely dark cockpit, no shortcuts.
Worked through the overhead panel from left to right - external power, APU start, hydraulics, electrics, fuel. Got the MCDU programmed with the OFP data, performance figures from the loadsheet, and the SID. V-speeds for 25C came out at V1/VR/V2 = 71/75/76 with FLEX temp 61 and bleeds on.
Pushed back and started the engines on the tug. Taxied out toward 25C through the morning Frankfurt light.
Departure
Lineup on 25C and then rolling. The FLEX derate made the takeoff roll feel longer than usual which I actually like - it feels more realistic than a full rated blast off a short runway. Rotated cleanly at VR, gear up, and then just following the flight director on the CINDY5F.
Climbed to FL260 as per the step in the OFP. Winds were sitting around 295/019 at cruise which gave a small headwind component - nothing significant. OAT was cold up there, around -26C at FL260 according to the flight log pages.
Cruise
There isn't much to say about a 38 minute cruise on this sector. You basically reach top of climb, run through the cruise scan, check the fuel against the FMS predictions, and then almost immediately you're thinking about descent.
The fuel burn tracked well against the SimBrief numbers. EFOB at destination was sitting around 4.2 tonnes which was comfortably above the minimum.
One thing I did notice was the NOTAM for Munich - RWY 26L has WIP within the LOC and GP safety zones (A2802/26), and RWY 08L/26R was closed 0000-0300 (A3323/26). Since we were landing well within daylight hours that wasn't an issue, but good to brief regardless. Also noted that ILS RWY 26L (A2517/26) had the LOC and ILS temporarily suspended during parallel operations with RNP approach available only - something to factor into the approach brief.
Descent and Arrival
Top of descent came quickly. Pulled the thrust back and started down via the ROKIL1B arrival. The routing brings you in from the northwest, which gives a nice long final setup for 26L.
Munich weather was CAVOK all day, VRB04KT, QNH 1021. Couldn't have asked for better. Configured early on the arrival - flaps 1 at the appropriate speed, gear down abeam the threshold, full flaps established well before the FAF.
Landing
26L, ILS approach, fully stable at 1000ft. Crossed the threshold with VREF + a couple of knots, and then just let it fly on.
Butter. The mains touched first with barely a thud, nose wheel came down smoothly, and the autobrake handled the rollout cleanly. One of those landings where the aircraft basically does it for you if you just stay patient and don't chase it.
Vacated at the first available exit, taxied to the gate, shutdown, and that was it. Elapsed block time matched the OFP almost exactly.
Landing Performance (from OFP)
| Actual LDW | Dry RWY | Wet RWY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7,400 kg | VREF 139 | 3,433 m | 4,453 m |
| Factored (dry) | - | 4,679 m | 5,853 m |
| HW correction | - | -21 m/kt | -27 m/kt |
Runway 26L is 13,123ft available at EDDM with FULL flaps, packs on. Plenty of margin.
Debrief
Honestly this was exactly the kind of flight I wanted. Clean startup, clean departure, clean arrival. No holds, no diversions, no drama. The A321LR on the TCAS pack flies really nicely - the autoflight is smooth and the energy management on descent feels right.
The cold and dark startup took about 25 minutes which is about where I want to be. Still fumbling occasionally on the overhead panel sequencing but it's getting more natural each time.
Next flight I want to try a longer sector - maybe something like 3-4 hours where cruise actually means something and I have to think about step climbs.
Aircraft: Airbus A321LR (A321-251N) · Reg: D-AIEA · Livery: Lufthansa · Simulator: MSFS 2024 · Addon: TFCA Airbus Captain Pack · Network: Offline