Procedure to not start engines until after pushback in icing conditions

[WebMaximus]

Now when the well-known and very popular YouTube profile flightdeck2sim (a real 737 captain working for one of the biggest airlines in Europe) has started using GSX in his streams, he has also shared some interesting information in the same way he always does for any products he's using.

As for GSX, one thing he has mentioned a couple of times now is how he never in his career have experienced the routine where an aircraft is asked by ground crew to hold off starting its engines due to icing conditions. For that reason and unless there already is an option for it I missed, would it be possible to add an option where GSX users could choose to disable/skip that dialogue?

[wingview]

he never in his career have experienced the routine where an aircraft is asked by ground crew to hold off starting its engines due to icing conditions

He's not the only one

[WebMaximus]

So, even more reason to implement the suggested option 😉

[speedbird217]

I agree - would be great if there was an option to turn this off as it’s not realistic.

[virtuali]

I agree - would be great if there was an option to turn this off as it’s not realistic.

Different airlines have different SOP even regarding when starting engines during a normal (non-icing) conditions, and the same is valid for icing. Some extra comments I found:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MicrosoftFlightSim/comments/14pzrky/dumb_question_but_am_i_supposed_to_start_the

You can start them as soon as the area behind you is clear on pushback. If you really want to be pro then you can consider starting the engine onboard of the push to reduce the force required by the tug or delaying engine start until fully pushed back when the tarmac is slippery or contaminated

One thing I'd like to add is that typically if the runway is contaminated (AKA it's dumping snow or rain outside) you wait until after pushback, otherwise it's during pushback like others have said.

On the bus we light them up on the push back and they’re just getting up and running usually as the guys are unhooking the tug. If it’s a contaminated surface, our SOP is to wait till they’re unhooked and out of the way just in case the plane starts to slide.

So no, the current option is not "unrealistic", and it's SOP for several airlines and, because of that, we already confirmed it will be an OPTION in the airplane profile, so you can even simulate different airlines using different SOPs, with the airframe-specific airplane profiles.

[WebMaximus]

This is awesome news we'll see this one coming as an option, big thanks!

[WebMaximus]

Many thanks Umberto for so quickly implementing the suggested toggle, much appreciated!

Now I'll keep my fingers crossed we'll see other things coming down the road as well I've been hoping for for a long time such as:

- avoid having to hear the "Clear left, clear right" while the ground crew still have their head stuck into the nose wheel department
- avoid having to hear the cabin crew greet the passengers with a "Good morning" at 10 PM 😉