Pushback direction menu

[Keight]

Hi. Currently it takes some time from choosing the pushback direction to connect the tug and being ready for push while atc expects us to start pushback immediately after obtaining the clearance. And as per the rw procedures the ground crew should be fully ready by the time pushback requested. Could you consider making so that the pushback direction window pops up when the tug connected pin inserted and the crew fully ready?

[Keight]

anything on this one?

[virtuali]

GSX worked like this years ago but, some users said it wasn't realistic, because pushback instructions from ATC might change or arrive later (runway change, for example), so they wanted to have the direction being asked at the last possible time, otherwise they might be stuck with a direction they choose earlier which might be no longer valid, with the only way out being restarting GSX.

See the release notes, this change was made after following users' requests, in 2019:

December 5th 2019

Change: - GSX - Pushback Direction decision moved at the last possible moment, just before asking to release Brakes.

Some pointers to user's suggestions:

https://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,20767.msg149201.html#msg149201

- Wouldn't be even easier, in this case, to simply ask the direction as the last thing we do, just before releasing brakes ?


- I am using my flightsim (including GSX) exclusively online. The change you are describing here would make GSX the perfect addon for online flying. Do you have any plans to include this change in an upcoming release?

[Keight]

Not sure if I follow.
That is exactly what Im suggesting: to ask pushback direction at the latest possible time i.e when the tug connected the pin inserted and everything ready, just prior to asking to release brakes.

[virtuali]

That is exactly what Im suggesting: to ask pushback direction at the latest possible time i.e when the tug connected the pin inserted and everything ready, just prior to asking to release brakes.

But that's how it works now. However, on a Towbarless tug, there's some extra time in between, which is the time it takes to raise the airplane so, on those, is not "exactly" at the very last time, but it's late enough.

Before, GSX asked for a direction immediately after you request "Pushback and departure"

[Keight]

yeah its late enough.. for ATC to complain 

[virtuali]

yeah its late enough.. for ATC to complain 

Do you mean you got the ATC changing the runway on you *exactly* while the airplane was raised? Is this so common?

If ATC wanted to complain, it could do it even if we moved the direction request to be before releasing the parking brakes on towbarless tugs as well, because you might take some time to release parking brakes after you chose the direction, and ATC might still change pushback/runway instructions during that time, same as they can do it now while the airplane is raising.

And yes, while somebody even suggested changing the direction *AFTER* releasing parking brakes:

https://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,22836.msg153943.html#msg153943

Which I (and other users too) don't think it's either realistic or appropriate.

[Keight]

No. I mean ATC expects us to start pushback immediately after clearance received. It can be an issue at congested airports such as Heathrow or Schiphol. Some busy airports even specify this on the charts: request pushback only when fully ready and start pushback with no delay.

And no, "after" releasing parking brake sounds weird.

[virtuali]

request pushback only when fully ready and start pushback with no delay.

And again: this "delay" we are discussing is either:

- The delay in raising the wheel for towbarless tugs. We are talking about 20-25 seconds max, is this already a reason for ATC to complain?

- The delay you might take from when you see the release parking brakes, to the moment you release them. This can't be anticipated , either we ask for directions before asking to release parking brakes, as we do now, or we ask it after, which doesn't make much sense.

[Keight]

- The delay in raising the wheel for towbarless tugs. We are talking about 20-25 seconds max, is this already a reason for ATC to complain?

this

[Darewell]

- The delay in raising the wheel for towbarless tugs. We are talking about 20-25 seconds max, is this already a reason for ATC to complain?

this

+1

This is the reason I prefer the towbar tug ATM, because we don’t have this extra delay after choosing the direction.

[Captain Kevin]

- The delay in raising the wheel for towbarless tugs. We are talking about 20-25 seconds max, is this already a reason for ATC to complain?

The briefing materials with Cross The Pond would seem to indicate that when you get clearance to push, they want you to push right away. So yes, those 20-25 seconds would be a reason for ATC to complain when they have hundreds of other planes wanting to do the same thing.

[virtuali]

This is the reason I prefer the towbar tug ATM, because we don’t have this extra delay after choosing the direction.

Fact is, I found this issue so minor (and hardly a reason for not using GSX), that I even forgot to list in the in the release notes because, in fact, in the current version, the Pushback direction is asked AFTER the airplane has been raised on a Towbarless tug, which eliminates even that inconsequential delay due to the airplane being raised.

We always take all suggestions seriously, and sometimes minor fixes like this might even end up not documented.

[Darewell]

I don't know if it could be related to an issue I got recently, every time I would ask for pushback after closing the window the airplane would be raised again, leading to an uncomfortable situation.

[virtuali]

I don't know if it could be related to an issue I got recently, every time I would ask for pushback after closing the window the airplane would be raised again, leading to an uncomfortable situation.

How do you close the window ?