PMDG737 - right rear door doesn't open for catering.

[Ray Proudfoot]

I've only had GSX for a few days but have been hugely impressed with it. Well done to all involved.

My setup is different to most people's. I am using the PMDG737-900 designed for FS9 in FSX. I have removed the panel as Project Magenta controls the aircraft's autopilot.

I cannot find a way of opening the right rear door used by catering vehicles. So I have the odd sight of a caterer walking through the closed door delivering food and drink. 

I have used Shift+E followed by 3-9 but the door remains closed. Is there any way the door can be made to open?

[virtuali]

I cannot find a way of opening the right rear door used by catering vehicles. So I have the odd sight of a caterer walking through the closed door delivering food and drink.

This because your airplane doesn't have a proper configuration, because normally GSX is supposed to wait for a condition ( the door opened/closed ) before trying to have someone walking through the bulkheads. But in order to work, GSX must know this condition.

While this is easy enough to figure out on a default airplane, it might be more complex on a complex 3rd party add-on, that usually have custom variables to control their doors, so you will have to figure out the name of that variable, and write an ( easy ) XML expression to add the check.

Look the GSX manual at Page 28, there's an example of this, of course it must be adapted by the variable name used in the PMDG airplane.

I have used Shift+E followed by 3-9 but the door remains closed. Is there any way the door can be made to open?

An important note: GSX DOES NOT control your doors in any way. It only wants to *know* what variable is used to hold their current status, for the precise reason not having servicing people running through closed doors, but the actual operation of opening/closing a door, it's entirely outside the GSX control.

I don't remember how the PMDG 737 for FS9 was but, if it's similar to the FSX version, they control doors from the airplane FMC. The 747 used a menu with settable custom keyboard commands instead so, you might want to check the airplane documentation. In any case, having GSX installed or not, doesn't change in any way how you operate a door on any given airplane.

[Ray Proudfoot]

Hi Umberto,

Thanks for that very helpful reply. Yes, I'm fully aware that GSX doesn't cause any of these things to happen. It simply reacts to events that occur on the aircraft in question.

I still have FS9 installed on a PC so will try your suggestion about checking the CDU for door operation. If it works with the right rear door (or even the front right) I'll take it from there. But I thought the only way of controlling the doors was via the mdl file and according to my searches there are no utilities available to the enthusiast to edit it. That makes sense since PMDG (and others) need to protect their interests.

But if it's possible to write an XML procedure to open a door then I'll investigate the GSX manual.

[Ray Proudfoot]

Hi again,

I've just fired up the PMDG737 in FS9 and checked the CDU. There are no options to control the doors unfortunately. However, in the PMDG menu options there are keyboard customisations for the doors. But, only Shift+E (for the front left door) and CTRL+Shift+E for the rear left passenger door plus the two cargo doors on the right operate. There are no controls for the remaining doors.

I may look at the Posky 737 as an alternative because their 777 in FS9 does have controls for another door on the left behind the main door. This could conceivably be used for catering. But the most important consideration is how it flies compared to the PMDG.