Bryan,

 

It may be possible but I may just not be saying the right things. At my local airport with the local airline they follow one of two procedures regarding ground services, depending if on stand or on gate. As far as I can figure out I can't do either of them in FS2Crew without going around it. I may be wrong and if so please tell me how. This is in regard to interacting to ground Services.

 

#1. On gate, they have integrated external power and air. However the procedure here is that after landing they act as if coming in on APU, by starting it putting it on the bus and on gate they turn off both engines and then after the beacon is off the ground connects headset and they ask them if the electrical and a/c is available and if so they ask them to connect them. After they connect them they verify the electrical is within limits and if fine and stable they bring the external power on the bus and then turn off the APU. In SP1 I set the APU as the mode for power for arrival. However when reaching the gate asking the ground units to connect GPU and A/C are not recognized in that mode.

 

For departure if all the above was performed they will turn on the APU for engine start then ask ground to disconnect. This can presently be done with FS2Crew and it switches properly to APU mode.

 

#2. On stand, GPU cart only mode. A/C (air conditioning, not alternative current) is never available. As before on arrival they come in on APU and after engines off they ask for GPU verify stability and if everything on they bring it on the bus and if A/C not required they turn off APU. If A/C will be required like on hot days they may leave the APU on only for A/C but use the GPU for power to reduce fuel consumption. In FS2Crew if you come in on APU it will not accept that you want to connect the GPU. Also loading a situation with GPU only will add the A/C in electrical powerup. The APU/EXT mode may be what I am looking for but it is unclear when the A/C is added and how is this handled when selected on arrival.

 

On departure when A/C is deemed required they will bring the APU online and then use it for power shortly before engine start and disconnect GPU before engine start. This is possible in FS2Crew as at #1.

 

--

A possible idea is to allow the discutions to ground crew be independent so I can ask him to connect either the GPU or only the A/C or ask him to disconnect either/or in any situation. Right now I can for example use the video marshalar to do this, but otherwise following FS2Crew voice commander flows much of this is not possible, especially reaching the gate on APU and then switching to GPU.

 

Thanks for your time,

Bryan,

 

It may be possible but I may just not be saying the right things. At my local airport with the local airline they follow one of two procedures regarding ground services, depending if on stand or on gate. As far as I can figure out I can't do either of them in FS2Crew without going around it. I may be wrong and if so please tell me how. This is in regard to interacting to ground Services.

 

#1. On gate, they have integrated external power and air. However the procedure here is that after landing they act as if coming in on APU, by starting it putting it on the bus and on gate they turn off both engines and then after the beacon is off the ground connects headset and they ask them if the electrical and a/c is available and if so they ask them to connect them. After they connect them they verify the electrical is within limits and if fine and stable they bring the external power on the bus and then turn off the APU. In SP1 I set the APU as the mode for power for arrival. However when reaching the gate asking the ground units to connect GPU and A/C are not recognized in that mode.

 

For departure if all the above was performed they will turn on the APU for engine start then ask ground to disconnect. This can presently be done with FS2Crew and it switches properly to APU mode.

 

#2. On stand, GPU cart only mode. A/C (air conditioning, not alternative current) is never available. As before on arrival they come in on APU and after engines off they ask for GPU verify stability and if everything on they bring it on the bus and if A/C not required they turn off APU. If A/C will be required like on hot days they may leave the APU on only for A/C but use the GPU for power to reduce fuel consumption. In FS2Crew if you come in on APU it will not accept that you want to connect the GPU. Also loading a situation with GPU only will add the A/C in electrical powerup. The APU/EXT mode may be what I am looking for but it is unclear when the A/C is added and how is this handled when selected on arrival.

 

On departure when A/C is deemed required they will bring the APU online and then use it for power shortly before engine start and disconnect GPU before engine start. This is possible in FS2Crew as at #1.

 

--

A possible idea is to allow the discutions to ground crew be independent so I can ask him to connect either the GPU or only the A/C or ask him to disconnect either/or in any situation. Right now I can for example use the video marshalar to do this, but otherwise following FS2Crew voice commander flows much of this is not possible, especially reaching the gate on APU and then switching to GPU.

 

Thanks for your time,

 

Hi,

 

Please have a look at the manuals for FS2Crew, you have to set the config panel to the power source you'll be using before landing, and follow the FS2Crew specific flows.

 

For #1, this procedure does not work if the APU is not serviceable

 

For #2, There's not GPU cart only mode, it's APU/EXT, in wich case the GPU provides electrical power and the APU air conditioning

 

Again, please follow the FS2Crew procedures. If unclear have a look at the tutorials. Be sure to set the correct mode you wish to use BEFORE landing, and you should have no problems.

All the manual options for arrival except APU only mode involve turning off one engine then connecting GPU then turning off the other. I have read the manual and implied in the OP. And using the APU mode for landing will not allow the ground services to recognize commands such as "please connect the GPU now".

Hi Eric,

 

If you follow the procedures in the manual you'll have no problems at all. The procedure to shut down engine 2, then connect External power and/or Air is the correct one,some reasons for this are the receptacle in on the right side of the aircraft and to ensure the safety of the crew you shut the #2 down first and the systems will be powered from the #1 engine (AC Power) until the GPU is connected.

 

I can't figure out why the particular airline you speak of would waste an APU start cycle in that situation,..doesn't make sense to start it for that short period of time, at any rate the current way it's modeled is correct.

That way may be correct but it is not the only way. While I know about only this airline from the SOP I have briefly seen in other airlines this procedure as well. From my own limited experience at my local airport I have never seen an aircraft ask the GPU to be connected while *any* engine was running (including only engine #1). I will check with some ground staff to confirm this but at least this is a confirmed procedure.

 

I'd like the Ground Services to be flexible in this regard and not only accept predefined situations.

That way may be correct but it is not the only way. While I know about only this airline from the SOP I have briefly seen in other airlines this procedure as well. From my own limited experience at my local airport I have never seen an aircraft ask the GPU to be connected while *any* engine was running (including only engine #1). I will check with some ground staff to confirm this but at least this is a confirmed procedure.

 

I'd like the Ground Services to be flexible in this regard and not only accept predefined situations.

 

Correct, it's not the only way, but what I'm saying is it's a wasted APU cycle, the APU isn't put on the buss until gate arrival and the parking brake is put on normally. What's the point of starting the APU if you're going to use the GPU/AIR and it's not going to be providing elec or pneumatic power ? It'll be a wasted start cycle and wasted fuel.

 

What happens if the APU is not serviceable ?,..It would have to be connected BEFORE engine shutdown or the aircraft will loose power. This is the procedure I've used at every airline I've ever been with. You don't start the APU for no reason,..airlines are very,..well,..extremely picky about this kind of stuff.

 

What airline are you referring to BTW ?

Damien,

 

Thanks for your feedback. What you say certainly makes sense to me however not being Chief Pilot for the Boeing 737 series for this company there is nothing I can do at this moment to change this procedure.

 

The company is TAROM.

 

 

Bryan,

Can the Ground Engineer be open to doing what the captain asks him rather then what he thinks is right?

 

PS. Quick bug report just so I don't forget for later: saying one of the FMAs out loud during preflight will result in the F/O replying checked. Should this be limited to before takeoff to after takeoff?

Damien,

 

Thanks for your feedback. What you say certainly makes sense to me however not being Chief Pilot for the Boeing 737 series for this company there is nothing I can do at this moment to change this procedure.

 

The company is TAROM.

 

 

Bryan,

Can the Ground Engineer be open to doing what the captain asks him rather then what he thinks is right?

 

PS. Quick bug report just so I don't forget for later: saying one of the FMAs out loud during preflight will result in the F/O replying checked. Should this be limited to before takeoff to after takeoff?

 

Hi,

 

1. Not sure I follow. You're already basically telling the ground crew what to do.

 

2. Not a bug. You'd make FMA callouts at all stages... remember they're optional. They're more of an Airbus thing, but some 737 operators use them.

Hi,

 

1. Not sure I follow. You're already basically telling the ground crew what to do.

 

2. Not a bug. You'd make FMA callouts at all stages... remember they're optional. They're more of an Airbus thing, but some 737 operators use them.

 

2. Yes, I know. *I* requested them in Mantis. But in preflight?

1. The original post describes everything. You cannot ask the ground staff to connect the GPU when under some modes. Because, what is written in the original post.

2. Yes, I know. *I* requested them in Mantis. But in preflight?

1. The original post describes everything. You cannot ask the ground staff to connect the GPU when under some modes. Because, what is written in the original post.

 

Eric,

 

If you want to use the GPU or External Air simply use select that option in the config panel. The ground crew perform the correct procedure as it is right now. We're not modeling any airline's specific procedures, and this it the procedure I selected to be modeled for many reasons (technical, logical and from experience) some of which i mentioned above.

Eric,

 

If you want to use the GPU or External Air simply use select that option in the config panel. The ground crew perform the correct procedure as it is right now. We're not modeling any airline's specific procedures, and this it the procedure I selected to be modeled for many reasons (technical, logical and from experience) some of which i mentioned above.

Damien,

 

Although I have reports that all airlines operating at this airport do this the same way and at least one other report from an airline that does not fly here (granted not double checked) what I am asking is not individual airline policy. What I am asking is flexibility on behalf of the ground crew independent of the mode you are using. If I ask him to connect the GPU on APU mode he should. To elaborate, if I am on a 30 minute turnaround I will only be using the APU (a common situation of a low cost airline operating 737s) but if due to some delay brings me over the 45 minute mark with the APU operating I will need to ask the ground crew to bring around the GPU and connect it. How do I do that now?

Damien,

 

Although I have reports that all airlines operating at this airport do this the same way and at least one other report from an airline that does not fly here (granted not double checked) what I am asking is not individual airline policy. What I am asking is flexibility on behalf of the ground crew independent of the mode you are using. If I ask him to connect the GPU on APU mode he should. To elaborate, if I am on a 30 minute turnaround I will only be using the APU (a common situation of a low cost airline operating 737s) but if due to some delay brings me over the 45 minute mark with the APU operating I will need to ask the ground crew to bring around the GPU and connect it. How do I do that now?

 

By switching the mode in the control panel to APU/EXT or which one you like and asking for it. Try that and see how it goes.

By switching the mode in the control panel to APU/EXT or which one you like and asking for it. Try that and see how it goes.

Thanks. If this works it will be the answer I was looking for all along 12 posts ago.

By switching the mode in the control panel to APU/EXT or which one you like and asking for it. Try that and see how it goes.

 

Ok. This somewhat works. After shutdown I switched from APU to APU/EX mode and asked ground "Please connect external G P U now". This time he heard me and connected it. Then he confirmed by saying "external GPU now connected and you can shut down engine #1". Of course engine number 2 was off. Also if in preflight even if switching to APU/EXT ground won't reply at this point anymore. So if after starting the 2nd leg preflight if you later decide to add GPU to turn off APU there is no way to do it except force it outside FS2Crew.

 

Bryan, thus my request as detailed above, for a true mode for APU switching to EXT PWR reaching stand remains on request.