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What is your suggestion?
When an aircraft is ready for pushback, it requests clearance from the tower; the tow tractor only connects once that permission has been granted. However, in the game, once maintenance and boarding are complete, the tractor connects automatically—without any command—and remains attached while waiting for pushback clearance.
Just as with stairs, ground support equipment, refueling and cleaning trucks, etc.—which only arrive once ground operations are authorized—the pushback tractor and the personnel handling the wheel chocks should only arrive after pushback has been cleared.
How would it work in the game?
Only once the pushback maneuver was authorized would the personnel responsible for the wheel chocks proceed to remove them, and the pushback tractor would connect to the aircraft. Never before authorization.
Why is this a good idea?
It would drastically improve:
Realism: it doesn’t look very authentic to see 15 or 20 planes (for example) permanently hooked up to a tractor while waiting for clearance.
Gameplay: just as we have to acquire ground support equipment—such as baggage loaders, maintenance vehicles, buses, etc.—we could also purchase pushback tractors. This way, pushback clearance could not be granted without a tractor available, which could lead to departure delays.
Personally I don’t agree with this.
It might be airport specific but I’ve worked flights where the push was available even before we finished boarding
While other time it came after we closed the door
It depends on the availability which is why I believe pushbacks should be available just like other ground vehicles
And it doesn’t make sense for the truck to arrive after pushback clearance is given. You can’t get clearance without it.
ATC would never do that and the plane has to report ready as well so that means pushback being attached
And delays happen even though this is a game, it’s a strategy game. You have to do your part to avoid delays.
You say your idea adds realism, but actually removes it. They way it is in game now is how it is in real life. A pilot only asks clearence after the plane is fully ready for pushback, because if they don’t push within certain time they lose their clearence. And fully ready means truck attached and blocks removed
The tug wouldn’t arrive immediately after receiving authorization for the pushback; it would arrive once the aircraft was fully ready. Then, the tug would move in to connect, and once connected, it would request the pushback. It works the same way as other tasks in the game: if you don’t press the corresponding button, the task doesn’t start. This would simply be another task.
I’m not talking about the pushback clearance itself; I’m talking about having a button to request the tug, and then initiating the pushback once it’s connected. I don’t think a tug gets hooked up in real life without someone having requested it first.
I don’t think I explained myself clearly. What I mean is that, even if you play without ATC assistance, the tug connects automatically as soon as the aircraft finishes boarding—without you having to manually press the pushback button—and the aircraft can remain connected to it for the entire session if you wish. It would be like having jet bridges, buses, baggage carts, catering trucks, and so on connect automatically the moment the plane arrives at the gate, without you having to initiate the process. Normally, a tug only arrives—and not before—once the plane has finished boarding and requests pushback and engine start-up. Here, however, the tug arrives without anyone requesting it.
That’s still not realistic
Pushback trucks are assigned around departure time
It doesn’t have to come exactly when everything is ready
The pushback driver still has to do their walk around before pushing back
It’s more realistic now then what you’re proposing tbh
But I assume the tractor doesn’t hitch itself up; it only connects when commanded to do so, right? That’s what I mean: first requesting the tractor, and then, after it’s hitched, requesting it to start moving and reverse.
Well, that’s your opinion. I don’t find it very realistic to have 50 planes at any given airport in the game waiting at the gates—just to avoid clogging up the taxiways—and all of them with their tugs connected.
Everyone has different opinions on matters such as this, it’s one of the things that makes us human. But sometimes you just have to agree to disagree and get on with the rest of your life. I see both arguments and I think both are valid and I see why some people would prefer realism and why others would prefer An easier/ relaxed play style.
Your idea is not the problem but your sequence. You first ask clearence and then connect the tow truck. That can never happen in real life. You are never ever getting clearence when the truck is not connected. A truck is dispatched by a pusb back planner of the handling company based on the TOBT (Target Of Block Time) which can change during handling. I have seen flights yesterday where the truck was already parked in front of the plane more than 10 minutes before standard departure. Then it connects immediatly after all handling finished and sometime then even takes over 10 minutes before plane is pushed. When you get clearence you have to go immediatly. You can’t wait till there is a truck, because there might none be available and then othere flights that are ready can’t be pushed.
What your idea should look like is that when all handling is finished you get a button to call a pb truck and then ask clearence. Not the other way around.
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What is your suggestion?
How would it work in the game?
Why is this a good idea?
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