20 hours ago, Krakin said:

Gate/Ramp cold and dark. Starting to learn Jet airliners and I use GSX with them. The immersion/verisimilitude is much more enhanced that way.

You can take that to the next level w/ Self Loading Cargo which works very well w/ GSX 👌.  I've recently begun adding yet another layer of immersion by literally walking up the airstairs in the Fenix 320, opening the airplane door, walking in and opening the flight deck door, then sitting down.  I love it and wish it were possible in other planes I use.  After starting the electrics I leave the FD door open until just before PAX starts arriving as SLC will penalize you for leaving the FD door open when PAX enter the plane.  

On 2/17/2026 at 3:22 PM, Todd2 said:

I think loading the plane at the gates is a good part of the simulation, but sometimes I just start on the flightline with engines running. What do you guys prefer?

at Gate

9 hours ago, Nemo said:

Does it suppord 3rd party a/c like pmdg 737-800 or Blacksquare TBM 850?r 

You can use any aircraft.

I guess to answer the question: I prefer starting wherever best facilitates what I'm trying to do.  If I'm going for a flight on Vatsim it'll be a start at the gate or ramp.  If I'm just testing RNP procedures, it'll be a start on the runway or using FSIPanel to start in the air anywhere I need to be.  V1 cut day?  Runway start.  Etc.

It's a simulator.  The whole point is you aren't bound by rules.  You can do whatever makes best sense in the moment.

On 2/18/2026 at 3:17 AM, Simon_C said:

Funny thing about the realism at the gate and cold&dark... at least for a long distance flight, pilots entering the flight deck will never find the cockpit to be cold&dark, at least I read/heard about that for B777. From that I conclude that most likely A350 too. Not sure about short haul, though.

Well, it is true that most airline pilots will come on board with the plane already powered up by maintenance.

Starting up with engines running, ready for take-off would also not be very realistic.  Some planes do have a turn around mode, they can load up in, so that would be the most realistic if you have that option.  I just like going through the motions of starting up from Cold and Dark and watching the plane come to life, then back to cold and dark at the end of my flight. It sort of gives me a satifaction of completion from start to finish.

Thats the beauty of flight simulation,  you can do what you like and what gives you the most enjoyment. 

It doesn't depend so much on long haul vs short haul as it does on whether the flight requires an ETOPs pdc.  If there's an ETOPs segment, then yes the mechanics will always have been there first (of course, nothing says they couldn't shut it down again but they usually don't).  On a non-ETOPs flight that doesn't require MX action before dispatch, the state the airplane is left in entirely depends on how long ago it arrived.  You can easily find an airplane cold and dark for a 7 hour transcon for instance.  Even a leg like SEA - KEF doesn't actually require a pdc though I believe the plan is to do them anyway on that one.