#101024, "737 600/700 NG stairs"

[schachow 0]

Hi, I noticed someone else has the problem of getting the stairs to extend and retract. I only recently purchased PMDG737NG. I set up Ctrl-F10 and Ctrl-F9 to "Extend the Concorde Nose & Visor fully" and "Retract the Concored Nose & Visor fully" After many tries it extended once but could not retract again until I reassigned the "Retract....." to Ctrl-F6". But that only worked this one time. Then I reassigned the commands to Ctrl+Shift-F10 and Ctrl+Shift-F9. Nothing else was assigned to those key combinations. It has never worked. This is just a nit-picky thing in the whole aircraft...but why does it not work? I have tried this with Battery power only, with APU power,and engine power. No dice.Bill S.

[rsrandazzo 6,353]

Bill-I've read through your post a few times- and honestly- I'm not sure what you are asking- or if you are asking anything.The stairs work... But you have to carefully follow some instructions- AND (this is important!) you need to make sure you are using an airplane that has stairs installed!!!!)(Most of them do not...)Here is the piece from our FAQ on the 737 support page:I.2) Map keys to operate the Air Stairs up and down: In order to animate the operation of the Air Stairs, we installed a very complex articulated stair model into the 737NGs that use the stairs in the real world. (You can tell this from reading the information in the User Interface....) If you have an airplane that uses Air Stairs and you would like to operate them, the following are some easy steps to help you! Within MSFS, access the CONTROLS menu, then the ASSIGNMENTS menu. Assign a key to EXTEND CONCORDE NOSE and VISOR FULLY (I recommend CTRL+F10) Assign a key to RETRACT CONCORDE NOSE and VISOR FULLY (I recommend CTRL+F9)Now the air stairs are mapped to your CTRL+F9 and CTRL+F10 keys so that you can operate them within MSFS! It is important to note that not every 737 includes the stair animation, as not all airlines order the stairs from Boeing! The stairs add a significant amount of weight to the basic shell of the airplane, so many airlines choose not to have them installed. You can normally determine if you model has air stairs by reading the User Interface information about the 737 you have chosen!

[Guest Groundcrew]

I use SHIFT + SPACE AND CTRL + SPACE which works very well.http://online.vatsimindicators.net/891483/402.pnghttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/ng_driver.jpghttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpgSemper en excretum, solo profundum variat!

[schachow 0]

My apologies, simmers, I have only been flying the Continental 737s. Finally I realized what Robert Randazzo meant that certain airlines do not have air staris. And so I discovered that you have to fly the PMDG with Stairs 737 to get that effect. Thanks Robert. No wonder you couldn't figure out what I was talking about. And yes, using the Space with Ctrl and with Shift works very well. Thanks.Bill S.

[johndrago 4]

>My apologies, simmers, I have only been flying the>Continental 737s. Finally I realized what Robert Randazzo>meant that certain airlines do not have air staris. And so I>discovered that you have to fly the PMDG with Stairs 737 to>get that effect. Thanks Robert. No wonder you couldn't figure>out what I was talking about. And yes, using the Space with>Ctrl and with Shift works very well. Thanks.>Bill S.If you want to add stairs to the airlines that don't have it, open the aircraft.cfg file, scroll down to the particuar version (2d only, virtual cockpit, etc...), and add the line:model=ASIf the "model=" is already there, and it already has something like: model=VC, change it to model=ASVC. This means airstairs/virtual cockpit.I only fly the 2d cockpit, and I added airstairs to all the airlines that I normally fly. I know this isn't realistic, but for some airports that still use stairs to board (KBUR), rather than a jetway, it helps. Hence, I added it to SWA to simulate the airport having stairs.If I have made a mistake, please correct me.Hope this helps.- John

[schachow 0]

H, John. I tried your suggestion by adding AS to model=. It did not work for the aricraft I was using at that time. But I will need to look into that a little more. On another note: did you ever open the door at the rear of an aircraft and then not been abble to close it? It has happened to me several times. And I have had to fly with the door open. I hope the passengers were OK .Bill

[johndrago 4]

>H, John. I tried your suggestion by adding AS to model=. It>did not work for the aricraft I was using at that time. But I>will need to look into that a little more. On another note:>did you ever open the door at the rear of an aircraft and then>not been abble to close it? It has happened to me several>times. And I have had to fly with the door open. I hope the>passengers were OK .>BillHi Bill,Sorry to hear it didn't work. Not sure as I only had to do it once (a couple years ago), and it has worked since. Just for a test, try it on the 2d cockpit of the 700 only. See what happens. Of course, make sure you always back up your files.As for the rear door, I never open it.Good luck,John

[Vauban 0]

Thanks for the tip to add AS to the model spec. I was having the same problem - not being able to extend the stairs - and changing the model spec worked for me.Geoff