PMDG 737-700 for MSFS - Tutorial 6: Pushback, Startup, Before Taxi Procedure

Hi all, I'm a PMDG tech team member and real life 737 pilot. Here is my next video in the 737 tutorial series.
In this tutorial we will cover the final flight deck preparation, pushback, engine start and before taxi procedures.
I apologize for the cut in the video, which actually removed the flight control check from the video.
The video has been taken using a pre-release beta version of the product, so you can expect to see some issues that will be fixed before release. There's no need to point those out as the team will be aware and working on them already. For example the textures on the outside of the plane on this particular livery in use are not yet up to the quality that PMDG aims to achieve in the final release version.
If you like my videos please consider a small donation as it's taking a lot of time and effort to create these.
www.buymeacoffee.com/737NGDriver
And if you really love the videos, consider becoming a Patron:
/ 737ngdriver
These tutorials are not designed as absolute beginner tutorials. It is expected that the viewer already has basic experience with airliners and knows the basics how to operate an aircraft.
Instead these tutorials will focus on the 737NG as an aircraft and the particularities of how to operate it.
I'll be closing this introduction by saying that I'm not a professional KZbinr or Streamer quite yet and these videos are my very first that actually get more than a hundret clicks. I have never before created such content so bear with me for doing beginner mistakes.
I record straight from the sim without any fancy stuff going on in the background.
Tools and addons used in this video:
Toolbar Pushback: flightsim.to/file/15033/toolb...
Flight Plan (OFP): magentacloud.de/s/trxpwwwofWc...
SimToolKitPro: simtoolkitpro.co.uk/
Navigraph Charts: navigraph.com/
Simbrief Flightplanning: www.simbrief.com/home/
London Stansted scenery: flightsim.to/file/18965/londo...
Dublin scenery: secure.simmarket.com/mk-studi...
Nvidia Shadowplay
Windows Movie Maker
My system specs:
Intel i9-9900k@5,2GHz
RTX3080Ti
32GB RAM
Windows 10 Pro
My hardware:
Thrustmaster Boeing Yoke and Throttle
Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog
Thrustmaster Pendular Pedals

[@casaamaril]

Man, you are incredibly productive or at least have been . Looking forward to the pmdg, what a game changer

[@pilotevulgaire9317]

your tutorials are absolute gold my friend. thank you for taking the time and energy to share your tremendous knowledge with the community!

[@A330Driver]

I appreciate that!

[@user-lz2mt5nc9e]

I just discovered your channel, and your style of explaining is really just perfect. A video with deeper explanations of the N1, N2, EGT etc. would be really interesting as well.

[@ne0trace]

Your videos have become my favorite videos to watch. And I agree, save the environment.

[@ImagenNoReligion]

I for one am glad you mention the environmental impact of such equipment. I think it should be on everyone's mind, we all share this planet. Some people still haven't quite come to terms with how much of an impact we have, which, baffles me considering the evidence is plentiful. ANYWAY, you've been making some of my favorite 737 videos, you go through your flows with confidence and it shows your experience in the real thing. Keep it up!

[@A330Driver]

I just had to mention it. Often people are like "but you're only saving 10kg with this, it's useless". The thing is, with so many daily flights it's not useless. It has a big impact if everyone does it.

[@IslandSimPilot]

Agreed! Bravo to you, @737ngdriver. I didn’t know it was such an impact and I appreciate someone who knows explaining it to us. Regardless of your political feelings there is just no reason to waste fuel and pollute needlessly.

[@batko593]

​@@A330Driverhow can I contact you regarding some PMDG minor issues?

[@longjonsilvers802]

Glad to see more! Keep it up

[@ranierisales2059]

Your videos are the best, thanks for your working

[@hairsiluet]

Cool video! You are very profesional pilot!!! 💪🏻🤩

[@Rextheslime1]

You never disappoint with the videos.

[@IAMinCOMMAND32]

Environmental conservation within aviation makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. Thank you for being a pilot that has the nads to speak up. I agree and will gladly tell people the same no matter what. Love the videos =)

[@blacknass1943]

its a very cool airplane

[@soap1230]

You are the best. mate

[@BobSmith-st2ms]

Thank you so much for all your tutorials. I've been using the PMDG 737 NGXu product for many years and I've picked up more real-world knowledge from you. I hope you can clarify a procedure that I was taught by another real captain of the 737. When the APU is started, you set the clock and wait one full minute before turning on the packs so that the reserve air tanks have time to pressurize. Is this true? Maybe this varies by airlines? Thanks again!

[@A330Driver]

It's actually two minutes waiting time from the moment the APU GEN OFF BUS light comes ON in my airline in order to improve APU service life.

[@Aceorbit]

Hey, thanks for these videos! I live watching them to learn about the aircraft. I have a question if you don’t mind, about startup procedures. I’ve seen them timed before in the aircraft? Is there a reason for that? Do they take longer to start in different weather conditions as well in reality?

[@A330Driver]

We normally time then to observe the starter duty cycle limit. You can only run the starter for so long, thereafter it has to be disengaged. I skipped that in this tutorial because the engine start sequence of the beta is not quite correct yet and will be changed with a future version. I didn't want to confuse the viewers when they see it in the future once the update is released.

[@2bgaming635]

Hello! Thank you for the tutorials! I am really enjoying them along with the aircraft!! Is PMDG going to make a Pilot Handbook for this aircraft as they have with DC-6 for download? The tutorial in the documentation is nice. But with such an immersive aircraft you might think you would find a checklist in the documentation as well. :)

[@A330Driver]

I don't know, best to ask the PMDG support.

[@TotRuAv0015]

For some reason when I push back my tug is steering but the plane isn't do you know why? Note: I use pmdg tug tpx200

[@JehanKateli]

Why does the APU use so much more fuel than the GPU? Is it just really inefficient?

[@marcelkrafczyk1570]

Love your videos and get a great introduction to the B737. One small issue you can look into. When I hear your voice in the videos, there is a somehow high frequency that is really uncomfortable for the ears. I believe you have an issue with recording your voice and you need a noise reduction by a few dB or need to filter out the high frequencys via an equalizer. Another way that can work is to reduce the sensivity of the microphone a little bit. That noise really hurt the ears for long time and maybe you can fix it. Thanks in advance for further videos. I really enjoy them.

[@A330Driver]

Thanks, I'll look into that. A few further tutorials and videos are already recorded and processing at the moment, but for any future videos I am going to check the settings and will search for a solution!

[@arnieb5826]

Thank you for all your excellent tutorials where I could learn a lot already. When you did this tutorial 6 pushback, startup, before taxi procedure you only very briefly mentioned pushback, did not explain the different options for pushback, you switched to an add on pushback instead. Why would you do that? Is that an indication that the PMDG pushback is a pain in the neck and doesn't work properly at all?

[@A330Driver]

The PMDG pushback works, but experience back in the P3D days has shown that most don’t care to use it, thus I used what was at the time of recording the most popular pushback addon.

[@lucd9174]

Thank you very much for your videos. Please tell me when do you turn on the fuel pumps. Is it just before tuning on the APU ?

[@A330Driver]

The fuel pumps are turned ON during the preflight procedure. If you need the APU during the electrical powerup you'd set the LEFT FWD pump ON once AC power is available. Then during the panel setup you will turn the rest of the fuel pumps on.

[@dutypaidrock]

This is a serious body of work - you should be proud of it. Question though - when I'm transferring power from ground to the APU, everything shuts off momentarily before coming back on again. I make sure I wait until the light comes on, BUS TRANS is Auto, followed NUMEROUS tutorials, but it keeps happening, and doesn't seem to happen to anyone else. What might I be doing wrong?

[@A330Driver]

Thanks! It's normal that the lights flicker for a split second when switching power. MSFS makes it look more dramatic than it actually is, but it's totally normal.

[@DistasterArea]

Hi, thanks for all your 737 tutorials. They are very helpful for getting a good workflow for this plane! I have a question concerning the hydraulics settings before a pushback. In a B-737 FCOM I read: "If pushback is needed and the nose gear steering lockout pin is not installed: WARNING: Do not pressurize hydraulic system A. Unwanted tow bar movement can occur System A HYDRAULIC PUMP switches-OFF System B eleclic HYDRAULIC PUMP switch-ON" Nobody flying here on KZbin uses this configuration. You also have hydraulics A+B set to ON. Is the setting of the FCOM obsolete nowadays? Perhaps because there are no more towbars but modern pushback vehicles ? I'm just curious...

[@A330Driver]

I haven't had to use this configuration a single time yet. I know it exists, but nowadays I'd say it is absolutely standard that a bypass pin is used, regardless whether a towbar or a lifting tug is used.

[@MissilemanIII]

Keep the environment comment's in your videos. It reminds us to think about it.

[@allenotis8863]

737 Engine #1 & # 2 read out isn't working anymore is there a fix for this?

[@amirbhatt2915]

Whenever I go and start the engines it says engine fail. Does anybody know why?

[@AverageDayInside]

As a person who is into aviation and biology thank you for mentioning the environment, as even tho it is a virtual game, it is very good to get it into our that we should burn fuel that we dont have to burn, thank you for using your platform to help the environment.

[@causeyt1]

These are awesome videos for a newbie like me. I also greatly appreciate you mentioning the real world issue of environmental impact of air travel. The more energy conscious we can all be the better we will all be.

[@A330Driver]

Yep, there's no doubt aviation has a large influence on our environment so the least we can do is to minimize those emissions for the time they can not be removed altogether.

[@Neo-je4bi]

Where can we find the checklist you were using?

[@kriskatabubalov1058]

Really like your videos but i have a problem with the engine start when i turn the engine start to GND nothing happens

[@A330Driver]

You got no bleed air in the starters then, check your air conditioning configuration.

[@MohammedKaafar]

thanks a lot for the hard work! Is there a way to configure the tiller or must we taxi using the rudder?

[@A330Driver]

You can configure the tiller. It's mapped to the prop 4 axis as far as I remember.

[@MohammedKaafar]

@@A330Driver Thank you so much :)

[@wallytrester3469]

With recent updates anyone else seeing N2 jump to 30% with APU turned on? Engines in off.

[@Heiko2506]

Wouldn't it be better to get the IFR clearance earlier? For example before the passengers are boarding? What if there is anything wrong with the one and only runway or there is an emergency running? Wouldn't it be better to have the passengers at the terminal than in the plan in such situations?

[@tomstravels520]

That makes no difference. You could request clearance early, have passengers board and then get told there is a problem anyway

[@MotherGoose]

Great Video! I'm just a bit confused about the whole PACK / ENGINE BLEED / APU BLEED / ISOLATION VALUE and when they should be on/off etc. Are you able to help with this?

[@A330Driver]

ENG BLEED: Always ON, unless you want to perform a No-Engine-Bleed Takeoff APU BLEED: Turn ON 2 minutes after the APU GEN OFF BUS light has illuminated (indicating successful startup of the APU), if it is required to pressurize the air systems (ie for air conditioning or engine startup) PACKs: Turn ON whenever air conditioning is required. Turn OFF for Engine Start ISOLATION VALVE: Set OPEN on the ground until engine start has been completed. Set to AUTO after engine start and until engine shutdown on the ground.

[@MotherGoose]

@@A330Driver wow! Thanks for the insight! So if you are on the ground with ground power only (to save the polar bears) and no APU bleed or engine bleed, will there be no air conditioning going in the cabin? Is this normal procedure?

[@tomstravels520]

@@MotherGoose Air Conditioning on the ground is often provided by the yellow tubes you see attached to the jetway

[@danieldiez2990]

I've some questions: 1) How do you keep other windows on top even when clicking on the sim? 2) Can you face a hot start or other issues on the PMDG when not starting up the engines correctly? 3) How do you know controls are checked correctly without checking the "ECAM" if I remember the name correctly, would you get a warining? Love your videos and the 4k quality!!

[@A330Driver]

Hi Daniel, 1) I'm using "DeskPins" which is a great tool to pin windows to the top. 2) Not entirely sure right now, I never tried as I wanted to avoid negative training. 3) The 737 control column is connected by cables directly to the controls (and their actuators). Therefore any abnormality in the system can be felt on the control wheel and no digital indicator of the actual control surface positions is needed. It is available as an option, but not many operators actually have it.

[@danieldiez2990]

@@A330Driver Thx for the clarifications!

[@gepsky9441]

When i hit recall check. That is master caution popup, and said "overhead" on FO side. Any advice ? Very thank you. And have a nice day

[@A330Driver]

Look at the overhead and see what the master caution is all about. Then run the respective non normal checklist which will guide you through the trouble shooting process.

[@trip5003]

Neither of my engines ever start yet i followed you from start to finish . Nothing happens

[@AndGamer]

Shouldn't you to keep APU running for five minutes after switching to engine generators? I heard it's a requirement to cool down APU on 737.

[@A330Driver]

No, there is no such requirement

[@tk64681]

I surprised there are no checklists via the display units.

[@A330Driver]

Thank Southwest and Ryanair for that, Bieing originally wanted to build the 737NG with a 777 styled cockpit, but the existing low cost carriers didn’t want to pay for the new type rating.

[@wild_cumulus_cloud]

I don't know if I am doing something wrong but when Switching from GND power to APU gen, the power flickers momentarily. Is this normal irl?

[@A330Driver]

That's normal, as by design.

[@philipplazarou981]

I have paid attantiond, that during pushback and engines start all hydrauliqe systems are On, is that correct?

[@A330Driver]

Absolutely, that is correct.

[@williamwidjaja850]

Sorry for noob question, which pin the pushback guys show us? the NWS pin ?

[@A330Driver]

Correct

[@naudvandenbergen782]

can i also use this for the 737-800?

[@A330Driver]

You can use it for any 737NG

[@wespeatc]

Hello, Driver) Could you clarify about HYD A off during pushback. You didnt turn off HYD A in this video, why?

[@A330Driver]

Hi, that’s not needed if the ground crew has a gear pin. In my five years flying on the 737 I never needed to turn the A pumps off for pushback.

[@wespeatc]

@@A330Driver thank you very much!!!

[@viper_maddog3922]

When is this plane coming out?

[@A330Driver]

I don't know a release date. PMDG has not published one yet.

[@aviation73780]

hi i am confused in the procedures. When I watch real cockpit videos, there are procedures that conflict with yours. For example, are the switches on the hydrolic panel not turned on after the engine starts? respectively, left pack auto, apu bleed off, isolation valve auto, right pack auto, apu off isn't it?

[@A330Driver]

Different airlines, different SOPs. The hydraulics should be turned ON before pushback already, no need to switch them ON afterwards anymore. Not sure how you'd get to the airconditioning switching as you mention it, I wouldn't see an advantage in it.

[@aviation73780]

@@A330Driver You say hydraulics must be turned on, but in some real cockpit videos, it opens after the engine starts. How do Boeing engineers explain this?

[@tomstravels520]

@@aviation73780 on some airlines and probably back in the days of the older 737’s you turned off the System A hydraulics to prevent the NWS from being controlled by the pilots and was free to move. Nowadays a bypass pin is used to disconnect the NWS from hydraulics so that procedure is not really needed now

[@CockpitSimAviation]

Is this sim update 9 ? And what do you think about the sounds Is it like in real ?

[@A330Driver]

No it's not sim update 9 yet. However I'm told from the developers that there are no new issues expected with SU9. Sounds are currently still work in progress but they are on a very good way!

[@IBabyCxrry]

Are there gonna be cool tools in the plane for Xbox users like PC users. Like navigraph charts and the iPad.

[@CockpitSimAviation]

@@A330Driver 😍

[@Yatzeck]

What simmers should do with his Spitfire or Mustang simulation aircrafts to save the planet? Do you really think that late APU ignition on PMDG digital aircraft saves the planet? Of courese technical silmulator simulates real life, but why also ideology?

[@A330Driver]

Going by this logic... Why don't you fly the whole flight at FL100 and 250kt? Gives you mich better views of the terrain and longer flights. The flights are what we enjoy and fuel doesn't matter, right? See the problem?

[@30DegreesBank]

I observed that in the checklist there is no point to turn the packs OFF, but the engines does not start with Packs running. The N2 never lifts up. I need to turn the Packs OFF, then I can turn them on. What happens if your cabin is freezing cold, then I want to run them with APU during boarding and Preflight, but I just wonder why is this never mentioned - that you need to turn them Off?

[@A330Driver]

Checklists don't cover every single step you need to do, they're used to cover the most important, critical things.

[@30DegreesBank]

@@A330Driver I agree, I learned this the hard way anyway 😀, but if they are on AUTO, why wouldn’t they switch off, when you turn the Engine Start Knobs to GRD?

[@A330Driver]

@@30DegreesBank Because this is a 737 and not an A320 ;-)

[@30DegreesBank]

@@A330Driver This is it! On the a320 everything is on “Auto”. You don’t understand what is going on in the background, what the plane is doing. This is why now I enjoy the PMDG 737 so much more! You get to understand all dependencies between the systems. Overall much more enjoyment. Thanks!

[@josecarlosmartin6649]

Packs OFF before start the Engines.

[@trpjake]

Can you maybe send me the checklist you use?

[@A330Driver]

Not possible due to copyrights, sorry.

[@trpjake]

@@A330Driver ok then could you suggest a different one that is good? I would love a good checklist! Great tutorial btw!

[@moody1946]

Nice video! Just a heads up for the next one, don’t forget to call clear left / clear right and “timing” (whilst starting the chrono) before engine start. I’m sure you know this but I think you forgot this time... just trying to help you make it as much realistic as possible 😊

[@A330Driver]

We don't call timing in my airline before starting the engines. Actually, I omitted the timer on purpose, because the engine start in the PMDG 737 will still be reworked with a future update and I didn't want to confuse users. The left/right clear is something we'd indeed do and also confirm with the ground handling agent, however since toolbar pushback already did half the conversions I felt it would look strange if I suddenly did the other half.

[@MrHolyRider]

Deine Videos sind wirklich großartig! Vielen Dank dafür!! Ich hätte einmal eine Frage zur SOP. Wenn der PF eine Flap Selection ordert, sagt der PM ja Speed Checks. Wann sagt er den Klappenstufe an, sofort oder erst, wenn der Flap Indicator die entsprechende Klappenstufe erreicht hat? Danke :-)

[@MrHolyRider]

denn die Klappenstufe an sollte das heißen ...

[@A330Driver]

Vielen Dank! Die korrekte Reihenfolge beim Ausfahren der Klappen lautet: PF: "Flaps 1" PM: "Speed Checks" Warte bis die Klappe in der korrekten Stellung ist und das grüne Licht leuchtet PM: "Flaps 1"

[@ambitiouspilots7353]

Hi Emanuel, heute habe ich deinen KZbin Kanal entdeckt. Ich wollte mich kurz für den Shout-Out in deinen Videos bzgl. meines Pushback Add-Ons bei dir bedanken. Die Videos machen einen professionellen Eindruck, sowohl vom Inhalt als auch der Gestaltung. Da brauchst du dich als Newcomer wirklich nicht zu verstecken ;) Habe deinen Kanal abonniert und bin gespannt auf die Videos die noch kommen werden, sowieso mit der PMDG 737-700. Für das Interactive Pushback Audio von Toolbar Pushback erstelle ich derzeit verschiedene Voice Packs. Wenn du Interesse hast, könnten wir deine Stimme als Pilot mit in das Add-On bringen. Gerne höre ich von dir. Stay safe and happy landings, AmbitiousPilots

[@A330Driver]

Hi, vielen Dank für dein Kompliment! Ihr braucht euch mit Toolbar Pushback aber auch nicht verstecken, ganz im Gegenteil! Schick mir doch eine Nachricht über meine Facebookseite 737NG Driver und wir können gerne schauen, was sich machen lässt! Viele Grüße

[@tk64681]

Sounds like Boba Fett is working ground

[@FezaDegirmenci]

🎉🎉🎉😢

[@harvesthunt]

Environment is not BS. AGREED

[@JuradoSP]

Necesita un pc más potente para 737 que para A320?

[@A330Driver]

Sorry for replying in English, but I don't speak Spanish. No, infact I get a couple more frames per second with the 737 than with the FBW A320.

[@JuradoSP]

@@A330Driver Awesome! Thank you very much for your answer, greetings from Spain!

[@mauricedesaxe1745]

Please release parking brake. Lol.

[@VRacing]

We all have to do our part in saving the dolphins 🐬. I call it dolphins mode. Lol

[@MosheGavrielBinkovitz]

Hi why I cant download the software? there is no icon for it...

[@SoupGuyy]

Ok so it’s coming to Xbox but can anyone tell me if it’s coming in the same day as pc or near to it at least !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@A330Driver]

It'll come at a later point as xbox does currently not have the ability to support some of the features of the 737. Microsoft/Asobo first need to sort that out in the base platform and provide an update to it before PMDG can start the conversion and testing process.

[@SoupGuyy]

@@A330Driver Ok thanks man I trust you because you are in the team but I’m glad it will come out on Xbox 👍

[@SoupGuyy]

@@A330Driver love the content aswell man ☺️

[@Senor0Droolcup]

I might be a climate change skeptic but I am here to learn from a master. So you talk about whatever you want. If somebody doesn’t like that they can go watch another channel. There are lots of them. I am deeply grateful for the time you are putting into these videos. I am a 25 year single engine instrument pilot and I’ve learned that with any flight instructor you simply listen and learn what you can.

[@A330Driver]

If somebody doesn't want to see it as saving the climate then you can always see it as saving the companys money. They go hand in hand with each other.

[@Redridge07]

It is very odd that people get upset at protecting the environment. It does not make any logical sense at all.

[@timhallock4066]

😂. Want to save the environment then turn your electricity off and live like the 1800s. But when a volcano goes off the climate will still change silly people. Great tutorial tho !