Saw this over on the msfs forums.

 

Seems pricey at 25 euros! How long do you use a pushback on a flight? 20 seconds perhaps. I'll stick to default.

Yeah I’m not paying for this.

Waiting for something free like Better Pushback to come. It is from FS2Crew, but it also seems incredibly expensive for such a minor thing - and it sounds like the only feature it really adds is rudder steering and voices...

I feel like the days of paying for stuff like this should be over considering the quality of XP freeware.

Edited September 19, 20205 yr by FlyingInACessna

Checkout 

 

25 Euros for a pushback truck... They might promise further stuff down the road for their customers but I don't pay for an addon on the premise of a "promise".

Reminds me of FSReborn selling lighting effects for AI traffic (for P3D), for 20 CHF, with one of their selling points being "Slick graphic user interface", how very generous of them.

3 hours ago, cptmetin said:

Checkout 

 

What's the difference between default Shift-P and yours, besides the graphic user interface?  Does it put a pushback truck in front of the plane?

53 minutes ago, DreamSkywards said:

25 Euros for a pushback truck...

Yeah, that sounds a bit too pricey for me as well, I don't get it that no one can make a Better Pushback, like the one from XP11, that's in my opinion the best pushback system ever made AND it's free.

As noted on a previous post about this. It isn't 25 Euros if you have any other FS2Crew products, instead being five quid less. Also worth noting is that it isn't only for MSFS, it also works with P3D and FSX.

Beyond this, it offers a much more realistic procedure, with the walkaround check, the door operation, jetbridge, also tug connection and disconnection and pushback procedure being more in line with real world operations as part of the ramp procedure rather than via the ATC menu and because this is so, it is kind of possible to simulate dispatcher issues as well, if you really want to. Not sure you'd want to get that realistic, anyone who has ever worked on the ramp will tell you that sort of thing is a real PITA, but you could if you wanted to.

In reality, the only time ATC are concerned with the pushback procedure is when you call for push and start from ground. The pushback crew monitor this from the tug to ensure they know it is a standard/non-standard push, but even then they would rarely talk to ATC, usually only dealing with the flight deck.

An exception to this is with towing, where you do talk to, and are controlled by, the ground frequency ATC. Pushback Express will also let you do tows too, so this is what it also adds beyond pushing. Tows are quite common, especially in summer when plenty of aeroplanes want to use a limited number of stands and notably when an airliner is stopping overnight, where it is towed to a remote stand to leave the jetbridge-equipped stands clear for other airliners on spins, the towed-off airliner usually being towed back to one of these stands at about 4am or so, thus being ready for a 6am departure. The flight deck crew are rarely involved in this, instead a rampie or an engineer will operate the aeroplane, to control the brakes and the anti-collision beacons etc, so they are usually on a headset to the tug in case of any weird eventualities. It's a big part of ramp operations, so it will be of interest to some people, but others may not care about this, however, if you do like all that stuff, this is something Pushback Express does cover and allow you to do.

Now of course if you are not bothered about realism, then hitting Shift+P, or using the MSFS ATC menu options will get your aeroplane pushed out, but there is far less control and much less realism if that's something you are after. Pushback Express is currently somewhat limited in absolute realism because of the state of the SDK, but this is going to change, however, even at this point it is still far more realistic than any other option, particularly in MSFS but also in FSX and P3D in at least some aspects if not all, allowing you to get 'hands on' with the tug to allow a really precise push or tow, or letting you allow the sim to automate things.

Some of the voice stuff could do with a bit of a tweak in terms of realistic procedures, such as the rampie saying the crew are clear to start the engines the moment the push commences, which would probably never happen in reality, or at least not that often since you don't normally want engines running on stand unless it is for an engine test or an GPU/FEP shutdown arrival (not that uncommon, especially on well-used airliners). But those headset calls are almost certainly going to be tweaked in this regard when the SDK is in a more stable state, and it will probably also add custom pushback vehicles and other GSE, hopefully with standard tugs using a bar as well as the default lifting pushback tug, and hopefully also allowing the tug to connect shortly after on-stand arrival as is invariably the case, as opposed to this occurring immediately prior to the push, which doesn't happen in reality much since the tug and bar connection and bypass pin is part of the pre-departure walkaround check in reality.

So the point, or rather points here, is that even in its early state here, it offers more realism - in three sims - and particularly in MSFS. It is available at a discount to previous FS2Crew customers. It is going to expand in capabilities. And it is kind of fun to drive the tug, although it would be even better if there was a cab view, since in reality, the position from the cab is what makes pushing back tricky.

For those who want to try driving the tug however, I can tell you that as with the real thing, the secret is to always try to keep the main wheels straddling the line as much as possible and watch where they are going!

Forthcoming expansions to it might perhaps include the fact that you don't use a headset in storm conditions owing to the risk of a lightning strike sending a shock down the wire to the headset person, instead using hand signals only, And if they get around to putting avatars in the sim, it might even be possible to be the headset person and make all those calls. So with all those kinds of things maybe being possible down the line, getting in on the ground floor as it were with the 20 quid price tag might be worth considering, and especially if you also use FSX and P3D, since as noted, it works with those sims too.

Of course if you are happy to use Shift+P, then fair enough, but if you want a bit more realism and some increased airport operational capabilities, plus a bit of fun doing the push yourself, then it's kind of fun to have Pushback Express.

Edited September 25, 20205 yr by Chock

43 minutes ago, jlund said:

What's the difference between default Shift-P and yours, besides the graphic user interface?  Does it put a pushback truck in front of the plane?

IN DEFAULT:

- You have to contact ground for using pushback.

-You have to contact ground again for changing push back direction.

-You have to listen radio communication for push back operations etc. 

IN Pushback Helper:

- You just control push back without contacting default ATC.

- It is like you are driving push back vehicle.

7 hours ago, cptmetin said:

Checkout 

 

I tried this but it failed at my end as the instructions state to run the '.exe' file, but there is no exe file in the package.  So I went back to the default MS pushback.  Thank your for your efforts though.

44 minutes ago, Mike S KPDX said:

I tried this but it failed at my end as the instructions state to run the '.exe' file, but there is no exe file in the package.  So I went back to the default MS pushback.  Thank your for your efforts though.

To download from github you need to go to Releases section.

Try this url:

https://github.com/metindikbas/msfs-pushback-helper-app/releases/download/1.0/PushbackHelper_v1.0.7z

That trailer is hilarious.   

 

The music makes it sound like a pushback is the most exciting part of any journey.  

 

"A NEW LEVEL OF EXCITEMENT!" 

 

lulz

3 hours ago, Chock said:

As noted on a previous post about this. It isn't 25 Euros if you have any other FS2Crew products, instead being five quid less. Also worth noting is that it isn't only for MSFS, it also works with P3D and FSX.

--- cut for brevity----

Of course if you are happy to use Shift+P, then fair enough, but if you want a bit more realism and some increased airport operational capabilities, plus a bit of fun doing the push yourself, then it's kind of fun to have Pushback Express.

Thanks for the detail..  I agree theres much more to this than just pushback....  for me I only have MSFS and no previous products of theirs.   What I do have previous of though is GFX, so for me I will wait, as I know they are doing GFX for MSFS, and then do a compare between final, or closer to final products.    

I do think this is something that will appeal to many but for me..  not yet, but again thanks for your summary and detail 🙂

Graham

56 minutes ago, cptmetin said:

To download from github you need to go to Releases section.

Try this url:

https://github.com/metindikbas/msfs-pushback-helper-app/releases/download/1.0/PushbackHelper_v1.0.7z

thank you, I look forward to tying it out.

v2.0 is now  alive. 

- UI is created from the scratch.

- Shortcut key is added to show/hide UI. Simply press Page Up.

- If you have multiple  monitors you  can press Shift + Windows +  Left or Right arrow keys to move UI to another monitor.

 

Download : https://github.com/metindikbas/msfs-pushback-helper-app/releases/download/2.0/PushbackHelper_v2.0.zip

 

 

 

Edited September 25, 20205 yr by cptmetin

Umm $25 just for a pushback feature? Has the dev lost his mind here? Certain people have seem to lose their perception of reasonable value here. Makes no sense how this addon would cost more than an airport.