Informing users that Pushback Express Express has been updated to Version 1.4.

Last week we added Voice Control as an option...

This week we added the ability to directly control the MSFS Ground Service vehicles.

You can control the service vehicles directly or you can run an automated "Pre-Flight Events" script which automatically controls the ground service vehicles in the form of a timeline to simulate pre-pushback events.

It's a free update.

Enjoy 😉
 

 

Edited November 7, 20205 yr by byork

Nice. 🙂

3 hours ago, Chock said:

Nice. 🙂

I think your voice is the UK voice, no?

3 hours ago, Chock said:

Nice. 🙂

Chick how realistic would you say this is? Worth the money?

It ha

4 hours ago, Carts85 said:

Chock how realistic would you say this is? Worth the money?

I think it is worth the money, particularly since there is (or was when I bought it) a discount if you owned any other FS2Crew product. It has to work within the confines of the sim of course, but the fact that it works with multiple simulators also adds value. The fact that you can now also drive the other service vehicles means you can make the procedure sequence more realistic too. 

Things that I like about it: 

You get to drive the tug - this means you can take your airliner to the proper Tug Release Point for a particular stand (for reference if you want to do that, the TRP is usually with the airliner's nose wheel adjacent to the centreline of the next stand along), or do a non-standard pushback too, or you can do tow on and tow offs, which are quite common procedures at most airports, especially at night.

Sequentially, it is more like the real procedure, where the airline crew let the rampies do a walkaround before they call for push and start, whilst all the GSE is cleared from the aircraft and the bridge gets retracted, so the rampie then knows all the doors are locked and the chocks are removed etc, and can then tell the crew to they are clear to pressurise, release the brakes and then commence the push etc.

Things which are less realistic (but in fairness, somewhat limited by the simulator mechanics):

In real life, the tug is connected whilst the rampies are loading the aeroplane bags/fuel etc, whereas in the sim, when you call for the push, that's when the tug is connected. This could happen I suppose if the crew were struggling to find a tug to use (not unknown), but it would be a poor bunch of rampies who left it that late to do it most of the time. Usually the tug is on stand before the plane even arrives and whilst waiting for the baggage to arrive, that's invariably when the tug gets connected. A good ramp crew will have the thing all locked up with all GSE clear of the aeroplane, have the tug connected, have done the walkaround check and informed the crew before they have called for push and start, so they will usually be listening on the radio in the tug for the call for push, at which point they'll get a guy in the road to stop traffic and be ready to push back the moment the anti-collision beacons go on.

In the sim, the crew release the brakes too early. In reality, the headset guy calls the crew when they are cleared to push, the crew put the anti-collision beacon on, then the headset guy asks for the brakes to be released, the crew do this, advise the headset person, he repeats this to confirm, then he says push commencing and signals the tug driver to put his brakes on as the aeroplane brakes come off. He gives it a look behind to make sure all is clear, then he signals the tug driver to release his brakes. At this point if I am headsetting, I say 'push commencing, standby engines one and two' this lets the crew know that I will tell them when they are clear to crank the engines since I am the one who can see when we are clear of FOD and clear behind. This is because the headset guy is in charge of the aeroplane at this point, since he has to do all the disconnecting of stuff and also has to monitor the engines in case there is a fire or a hot start because the crew cannot see the engines and there may possibly be a fire with no warning in the cockpit.

Unlike the real procedure (if it is done right) the voice in this add-on clears the crew to start the engines too early on the pushback (which is another sim limitation I think). In reality, the headset person would never let the crew start the engines until the plane had pushed completely off the ramp and had crossed the road behind the ramp and was turning in line with the taxiway. This is for a few reasons. First, that's what the airport want you to do since you need special clearance to start engines on stand, but it is mainly because there is a FOD ingestion risk from the litter on all stands (it is supposed to be picked up by the rampies, but there is always the risk of something being missed, a luggage tag with a twist wire, a padlock which has fallen off a suitcase etc) these are found all the time on ramps. Not only this, you want the engines completely clear behind before they are cranked as the jet blast can damage things and blow equipment over if it is within about 250 feet of the exhausts, but also you want the aeroplane pushed past the road guy who is stopping traffic from passing behind the aeroplane as it pushes out, who stands in the road with wands to make this happen. Waiting a few moments before clearing the crew to start also helps the tug since it can take quite a bit of power to push an aeroplane with the engines running if the ramp is sloped, which many are, and they are often also slippy from anti-icing fluid being on the ramp, or rain and snow.

The only exception to that procedure is if the APU is broken (in which case you can start an engine on stand (with the permission of ATC), or if the aerop-lane has no APU (ATR-72 for example). In the case of the ATR-72, an engine is started in hotel mode (propeller not engages to the drive shaft), the ground power is then disconnected and then when the aeroplane is off the stand, you clear the crew to engage the propeller. After that it is the same procedure as normal.

When you have done that stuff for real, you appreciate that this add-on can make the procedure much more like the real thing and let you have a stab at this kind of thing a bit more realistically. Having said that, if you aren't too bothered about realism, the default pushback system does the job okay, but let's be honest here, driving tugs is fun and can be challenging in real life as from the cab it can be difficult to see the centreline of the taxiway under the aeroplane (especially on smaller airliners with low ground clearance such as the 737 and ATR 72). The trick incidentally (in real life and in the sim), is to keep the airliner's main wheels straddling the line as much as possible, since that is the central point where the airliner pivots.

4 hours ago, byork said:

I think your voice is the UK voice, no?

Could be. I know I'm on a few FS2Crew things doing the voices. I seem to recall doing the 737 NG pilot's voice for the checklists for one add-on. 🙂

Edited November 7, 20205 yr by Chock

24 minutes ago, Chock said:

Ithink it is worth the money, 

Thanks for the detailed explanation mate. Ever fancied doing a review/tutorial on it with your real world knowledge I know I’d be interested in it.

Random one, you ever witnessed an engine fire during pushback/startup

8 minutes ago, Carts85 said:

Thanks for the detailed explanation mate. Ever fancied doing a review/tutorial on it with your real world knowledge I know I’d be interested in it.

Random one, you ever witnessed an engine fire during pushback/startup

Nope. Only thing I've ever had like that was that an Embraer 145 was cranking the engine in a tailwind on the push. There was smoke blowing through the intake, so I told them to wait whilst we pushed it around the other way to get wind blowing through the front of the engine. Since they had to crank the other engine first to let the one which was smoking calm down a bit, they crew were a bit puzzled when they got a warning message on the ECAM about a rudder hardover limitation override not able to be cleared, which puzzled them.

I was able to tell them that it was an emergency system which kicks in if the aeroplane thinks you've lost an engine to allow you to use full rudder with no limitation in order to counter asymmetric thrust at certain RPMS, and that it would clear from the ECAM when they got the other engine cranked and up to speed, which it did. Somewhat surprised, they asked me how I knew that about their aeroplane's systems, to which I replied 'P3D flight simulator', and laughed.

Edited November 7, 20205 yr by Chock

20 minutes ago, Carts85 said:

Thanks for the detailed explanation mate. Ever fancied doing a review/tutorial on it with your real world knowledge I know I’d be interested in it.

Random one, you ever witnessed an engine fire during pushback/startup

I never had an engine fire on pushback but I did have a wheel come completely off the pushback tug when I was pushing back a 757. The tug jump and I thought I ran over a chock so I stopped. The captain called me on the headset and said, "I think you lost a wheel." Fun times.

Edited November 7, 20205 yr by mwilk

22 minutes ago, Chock said:

Nope. Only thing I've ever had like that was that an Embraer 145 was cranking the engine in a tailwind on the push. There was smoke blowing through the intake, so I told them to wait whilst we pushed it around the other way to get wind blowing through the front of the engine. Since they had to crank the other engine first to let the one which was smoking calm down a bit, they crew were a bit puzzled when they got a warning message on the ECAM about a rudder hardover limitation override not able to be cleared, which puzzled them.

I was able to tell them that it was an emergency system which kicks in if the aeroplane thinks you've lost an engine to allow you to use full rudder with no limitation in order to counter asymmetric thrust at certain RPMS, and that it would clear from the ECAM when they got the other engine cranked and up to speed, which it did. Somewhat surprised, they asked me how I knew that about their aeroplane's systems, to which I replied 'P3D flight simulator', and laughed.

Haha that’s brilliant and slightly unsettling that you knew this and they didn’t.

12 minutes ago, mwilk said:

I never had an engine fire on pushback but I did have a wheel come completely off the pushback tug when I was pushing back a 757. The tug jump and I thought I ran over a chock so I stopped. The captain called me on the headset and said, "I think you lost a wheel." Fun times.

Haha wow I’d imagine them wheels do not come over easily aswel.

2 hours ago, Carts85 said:

Haha wow I’d imagine them wheels do not come over easily aswel.

They're not supposed too. Sure shocked the heck out of me.

Regarding some of the technical "realism" aspects.... my favorite subject 😉

We know of this of course, but given the current state of SDKs for MSFS (which are very very limited and will probably remain so for quite some time) we've done the best we can absolutely do within the current technical limits of MSFS.  

Of course, once the SDKs improve these little bits of technical realism (like the tug connecting prior to pushback, etc.) will be addressed. 

But for 99 percent of all users, the current system is totally fine and it's the best you're going to have available for a long time to come.

We're working to get animated passengers and ground crew in Pushback Express, but again, we're bound by the current limits of Simconnect.

But it'll happen... someday 🙂

Cheers,

 

Edited November 7, 20205 yr by byork