Packs On or Off for Takeoff?! Explained by a Real Airbus Pilot A32NX

[@ThorstenInJapan]

Yours is the only channel on youtube from which I fully watch a 25 minute video about air conditioning :D Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge with us!

[@320SimPilot]

This was meant to be a lot shorter but as usual I end up with too many things to cover! Glad you enjoyed it and thanks as always for watching and your comment Thorsten!

One more of these unbelievable valuable pieces of information of our beloved bus you don't get anywhere else. Thank you so much!

[@320SimPilot]

Very kind of you to say Thomas, thank you!

[@tvflight7858]

From what I know, in the US where high-elevation airports + hot weather are more common, instead of turning the packs off you often perform APU + bleed takeoff. The APU bleed has priority over the packs so packs are automatically inhibited and the APU bleed pressurizes the cabin - that way you get both maximum performance and air conditioning.

[@scorpian007]

Absolute gem of a channel. I'm amazed at the incredible depth of your knowledge and how much I've learned from your content over the past 10 months

[@sovietwizard1620]

Depth of your knowledge ... hes a real pilot.

[@scorpian007]

@@sovietwizard1620 obviously. Although not everyone can explain complex topics in an easy to understand way.

[@hjr2000]

@@sovietwizard1620 No need for snark ;-)

[@320SimPilot]

Thank you Scorpian, really appreciate it and glad you enjoy the videos. More to come!

[@DFW_Spotter]

Thank you for this video, I am going to the A320 level d simulators soon with one of my friends at American Airlines and I am trying to learn absolutely everything about the A320 before I go because I’ve gone to the ERJ-175 simulators and I knew literally nothing about the plane so I am trying to be prepared this time so I know what I’m talking about

[@schwig44]

Good video, I already knew what packs were and how they worked but didn't know anything about when to use or not use. I remember learning about them when I was about 15, my dad came home from work (maint for a cargo carrier) with a set of nice SK 12 point sockets in a half-melted case, and a story about a weird smell when pack 1 was on. Apparently someone at another station left their socket set in the hold after doing something in the area of pack 1, leaned up on the housing of the pack. When he checked the maintenance logs he saw they were up there for about 7 flights Edit: more details came back to me after typing, the initial maintenance guy was replacing pack 1, that's why my pops was like "wth" when the flight crew was saying they needed a new pack again cause of a weird smell. When he went up to inspect the hold he found the case still leaning on the pack, melted, with a good amount of green plastic smeared on the pack housing

[@320SimPilot]

Glad you enjoyed a video. Thanks for sharing that story, what an event! I cannot imagine the smell of plastic was very pleasant!!

[@nielsS97]

Your channel is amazing. Can't find anyone else who explains this detailled about the functions in the simulator. Keep the work going!

[@cadefoster9279]

Thanks for explaining this topic that I've heard you and the other RL pilots on youtube go through on the checklists but never really understood.

[@320SimPilot]

Thanks Cade, glad it made sense!

[@richardstalter5461]

Your videos take simulation flying to the next level. I always learn so much more when I understand the reasons behind the procedures rather than just blindly following step 1, step 2, etc. Thank you for your efforts in putting these videos together.

[@dongweimei3567]

8:40 it’s been so long that I actually forgot what it was like being in the cabin.

[@320SimPilot]

For now we have to imagine!

[@miketendler]

Excellent video - thank you. More than any other channel, you add so much to the flight sim community. I wish you all the best.

[@320SimPilot]

Hi Mike, thank you so much. Really appreciate it!

[@matthewjones9530]

Thanks for the very informative video. Could you do a video as in depth for flex temp next

[@320SimPilot]

Hi Matthew, thanks for watching and your comment. I will keep this in mind for the future!

[@jeffnorwood-brown8407]

Fantastic video - really interesting. In CRM training in a previous job we studied the failures in Helios Flight 522. Terrible times.

[@320SimPilot]

Thanks Jeff. That is why I thought it was important to show the warnings it would give. Thanks for watching!

[@SkyBlooSims]

Great video. Will be bookmarking 18:45 for others, as I wanted to know why there is a 10-second wait between Packs 1 and 2.

[@jmaviator]

Brilliant! Love your channel. Thanks for helping us understand the systems of the bus. Really appreciate it.

[@skw6410]

An absolutely exceptional video... so much education for our home sim-flying experience. Thank you 👌

[@320SimPilot]

Great to hear, thank you so much!

[@steveo1kinevo]

Lately the EGT’s have been going into the RED on takeoff. What can I do to get it to run cooler on takeoff and climb out?

[@320SimPilot]

Hi Steveo, huge fan of your channel, thanks for all the great videos over the years! We were chatting about your bullet hole video on a recent stream, amazing stuff. The EGT should never go red if FADEC is functioning properly, even if left at TOGA. The only way to overboost/heat the engines is if there’s been another failure of the engine controls. This seems to be a bug in the latest version on MSFS. To help in the simulator you could try using a higher flex temperature (using the FLEX/MCT thrust lever gate for takeoff) and turning the packs off, but this may not help with this particular bug. Thanks for watching!

[@steveo1kinevo]

@@320SimPilot thanks for the reply! I tried turning off the packs on my latest takeoff and it over temped once again. Hopefully they can fix this bug soon. Thanks for the awesome flight sim videos!

[@christiannnnnnnnnn]

I remember it from my flight from Egypt a few years ago. They turned off the packs for engine start and I was surprised how quick it was getting hot in the cabin.

[@PhilippeBorfiga]

Great informations like always ! Thank you, very helpful for better understanding of what is going on when i press a packs button and how to use !

[@gillianarmittbeer3732]

As a passenger rather than an AV geek - absolutely fascinating and really well explained. However could I have thought physics was boring, this is science in action.

[@320SimPilot]

Thank you Gillian! Very kind.

[@at4299]

I always love these videos you do of systems which would normally be overlooked or in most cases never mentioned. Because of your very informative and entertaining videos my knowledge of the a320 just keeps expanding and I can't wait to see what other systems you'll teach us on your next video. By the way, I'm sure you've heard about the recent incident involving Ryan Air being forcefully diverted, I was wondering if you could do a video explaining the procedures of diversions.

[@The1PatSmith]

Wonderful, wonderful! For a long, long time I have always been confused and wondered about bleed air and the system. - Brilliantly explained, thank you. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@320SimPilot]

Glad it was helpful Patrick!

[@rangerrick8220]

Very good! Thanks for this video! Always enjoy your explanations - very thorough!

[@garrettfarmer3830]

Easily the best informational channel for flight simulation!

[@nickde6339]

The HP valves should be open if engines are at idle, I kind of noticed they were not, but well, it is understandable why.

[@CrashEd1664]

Fascinating and informative as always. Really enjoy these in-depth tutorials - thanks for sharing your incredible knowledge.

[@aaryanramourti3081]

Need more of these !

[@320SimPilot]

Roger!

[@salokin1]

Thanks for the very clear explanation ... but you'd have to turn south much quicker than that to avoid the "Spanish Inquisition"!

[@julienrevest7933]

Very informative and a nice piece of information! :) Liked the bit about the pandemic and needing more airflow circulation in the cabin at all times! Funny how global events impact everyday ops and procedures...

[@mikebakkeyt]

Really informative and interesting background, this kind of content really is gold dust - more please...

[@JerDog1984]

"It's a bit of a cycle" That made me giggle :D I couldn't tell wether you were cracking a joke or not, but you got me :D

[@roudylex]

The video I was waiting for :D thank you so much

[@320SimPilot]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@VihanRansika]

Well explained. Every second of this video is a goldmine! Appreciate your work sir. ❤ Also please do an explanation on ''How airbus's Hydrolics and Fuel systems are work'' Thank you!

[@mikemoreno4469]

Excellent information, thanks. Do you ever have to switch off the bleed air on the engines?

[@willp358]

Really good and informative video. Just goes to show how performance can be affected.

[@changtan9531]

Thanks Cap I've always wondered on this!

[@320SimPilot]

You are very welcome!

[@ethantan3170]

Ty for sharing, very informative video. Thumbs up!

[@henrikd9369]

Thanks, great explanation!. Learning so much from your videos.

[@320SimPilot]

Great to hear Herik! Thank you.

[@hoykoya3382]

This is also has the same principle as motored vehicles. When you turn off the aircon, the engine will have a better performance. Turned on, then the AC compressor will take away some of that performance in exchange of weather control.

[@simcabin]

wow, very complete explanation about this packs. Thank you for sharing capt. I love this 😘👍

[@hugoweber5317]

Nice video captain. I was expecting to see a take of with APU though, will you show it in the future?

[@ronloveflying]

Thanks 320 Sim Pilot. Very interesting.

[@lszhspotter]

Very interesting, thank you very much! Looking forward to further videos...

[@richardsuttill54]

Another handy insight to help us simulate near real world operations - reminds me of my first ever car - it was underpowered and I had a standard operation to turn the air conditioner off when waiting at the traffic lights then back on when in the "cruise" !

[@jdub4221]

Once again, great vid! Love the channel!

[@320SimPilot]

Thanks Jeff!

[@kishansn3145]

Thank you 320SP❤️

[@320SimPilot]

You are welcome!

[@DeepFuture]

As always top class informative video. Thank you .

[@320SimPilot]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Aleksandar6ix]

I remember another channel talking about maintaining ventilation and pressurization during a packs off departure by leaving the APU on. Also, would a departure with anti ice systems on be a consideration? What's your input on these thoughts?

[@jedsithor]

I don't remember the exact airport, it might be Innsbruck but essentially there's procedure for take off where you have to do a tight 180 degree turn surrounded by terrain almost right after take off, basically turning back towards the airport to get on your flight path with mountains on either side and because of that you want all of your power going into the engines (it might even be a flaps 2 takeoff, I'm not sure). So you leave the APU on to take care ventilation and pressurisation etc so that you've got every last bit of power from the engines being dedicated to thrust etc so you can make that turn and begin your ascent.

[@CameTo]

Apu on will automatically feed the packs meaning no bleed on the engines. Surprised he didn't mention it. Anti ice is a huge drain on the bleeds, engine anti ice, and especially engine+wing anti ice. Seperate issue

[@schwig44]

@@CameTo as long as APU bleed is active ;)

[@sparkymarky68]

always informative - thank you.

[@320SimPilot]

You are very welcome Mark

[@CaptainJadenAR]

Another well made tutorial by sir. Thank you sir

[@hpharold23]

Your videos are amazing! Keep it up

[@Jet-Pack]

Can you check out the Aerofly FS 2 default A320 simulation? It's surprisingly good in my opinion.

[@ClevaTreva]

Out of interest, what temp settings do you normally set for the cabin? I usually have a good chuckle when I see some streamers religiously go through all the aircraft pre-flight settings but 'cook' their pax at 24+ degrees!

[@mikemoreno4469]

The Gibraltar scenery is excellent in MSFS.

[@delg551]

Really wish MSFS would get its act together for planes like the Toliss. Yes I know FBW are on the case, but still other devs seem to have trouble.

[@Poseidon6363]

Baby steps, MSFS is very young.

[@delg551]

@@Poseidon6363 Oh please enough with that excuse!!

[@Poseidon6363]

@@delg551 Not an excuse, do you know how long XPlane 11 got to where MSFS is now, years.

[@delg551]

@@Poseidon6363 do you know big the teams are in comparison? Please stop defending garbage.

[@Poseidon6363]

@@delg551 "Garbage" yeah, right, LOL!!.

[@murdomac22]

Great video. Are you still using the Airbus Thrustmaster joystick/throttle, how are they? Cheers

[@ShotInTheDark]

Ahhhh…. So now we know! Ps. Little history lesson about Gibraltar and my beloved Royal Marines. On 21st July 1704, the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt led some British and Dutch marines ashore near here to serve the isthmus and lay siege to the Garrison of Gibraltar following a naval assault on the New Mole, the Garrison surrendered on 26th July. Following the capture, the marines formed the largest contingent on the Rock and bore the brunt of the fighting with Spanish and French troops. Because British marines (awarded the title Royal in 1802) subsequently fought in so many actions around the globe, in 1827 King George IV decided that their colours would in future bear the symbol of “the great globe itself” and that henceforth the only battle honour on Royal Marines’ colours would be that of Gibraltar!

[@brianspruce6901]

Can you please explain the link between packs on/off and assumed temp take off.

[@olski320]

Awesome video, thanks! Just one question - if all of the engines performance is required for takeoff but I would still like to have some air-condition, can I leave the APU on for that purpose? Cheers

[@Ronald9540]

Thanks for this very detailed explanation! Is there any reason to turn off the pack on landing, or will they always remain on?

[@CameTo]

No reason

[@320SimPilot]

You are welcome Ronald! Except for very unusual reasons we would leave them on for landing.

[@zebraxman]

@@320SimPilot oh interesting, i thought they would also be turned off for any approach or landing climb requirements or go-around

[@rotaero]

Hello, can you tell me why in PARO (VQPR) they turn on the APU/BLEED for landing? It's a mountainous region in the Himalayas, the takeoff and missed app procedure has a steep and difficult climb, wouldn't it be more appropriate to have packs off? However they take off and land with Packs ON. I'm curious about that.

[@MSFSFreeware]

Lol a vertical pond in "The Rock" ... good old MSFS 2020 ;¬)

[@yogeshchandrashekhar9754]

I am about to go for my type rating this month end and your videos are sure to help me hit the ground running! Thanks a ton!

[@craigduncan4826]

Is it true the new neos take the toilet flush “contents” and compress then spray them out the fan on each engine for additional thrust now too? If so, is it up to companies where they discharge the toilets or do governments tell them only to run the afterburner over sea etc, so that homes/people/cars don’t end up covered in super-heated compressed waste fluid. I know the old jets just straight dump the toilet outside after the flush and have seen the pictures of frozen urine etc striking cars if not done over sea, but curious about the neo’s

[@ilankrt]

You missed talking about the Pack Flow!

[@alexandergalfano3187]

Quick question. When put into climb mode on the A320, does it sometimes climb at up to 4000-6000FPM at light weights, or is that just a simulator bug?

[@320SimPilot]

Depending on the situation this is possible but not for a sustained period of time. Usually when making large speed changes, or large wind/temperature changes. Thanks for watching!

[@alexandergalfano3187]

@@320SimPilot Thank you for making the video!

[@DanielDuhon]

Not the shortest runway I’ve used with the A320 😂 and I had both packs on 😂

[@Eastbirds_Lee]

Excellent video as usual! Thank you for the insight. Q: does the anti-ice also work in a similar fashion? And does it also affect takeoff performance?

[@boardingtime9587]

Thank you again

[@Sadnez]

Hi. Wonderful videos. But, just a question regarding the FBW 32NX version. Which on is the best one? I'm using the custom, and I'm liking it. The AP works really nice (autoland works impeccable). But is the most realistic? Which one do you recommend?

[@CameTo]

Xplane 11 is the most realistic for now

[@Poseidon6363]

You have the Stable, Developers and Experimental versions, Experimental works for me perfectly. for realism no other sim comes close to MSFS out of the box graphically.

[@adyx]

Dev is most up to date at the moment

[@andra7958]

Dev version is the best one it has custom AP, FBW, PFD, Engine, etc.. and the most updated one.. don't use experimental because its not being updated anymore until custom LNAV is done

[@imanero]

great video 💯

[@FlightSimPilotRockster]

hello, is the apu always required for the packs even when ground power is available?

[@Michael-zf1ko]

I wonder how it works in the 787 because I think they did away with the inefficient bleed air system on it.

[@jedsithor]

Miyagi: Daniel-San! Show me Packs On! Packs Off!

[@adsdxcv]

lol good joke! all jokes aside though, its a great film - one of the best IMO.

[@jedsithor]

@@adsdxcv Cobra Kai is good too. Much better than it had any right to be.

[@AlpayYi]

Which addon did you use for this A320? It's not the stock one is it?

[@noway9880]

I would assume, since the Boeing is APU bleed takeoff possible the Airbus should too?

[@tvflight7858]

In the US typically you leave APU bleed on if you have to do "packs off" takeoff. And the reason I put " " is that you actually leave the packs on, the APU has priority over the packs, and the packs are automatically inhibited so it works as of they were off.

[@Chikyel]

Toliss, again Toliss. Still much more ahead.

[@320SimPilot]

Yes the ToLiss had to be featured here too, I couldn't resist! It is a fantastic simulation. Thanks for watching Jordi

[@34jared]

This probably a poorly-formed question, but for those flying the MSFS, does it pick up on these types of nuances? E.g., can you get into trouble while in the air (assuming you're flying with complete realism, etc.)?

[@JosephLeeHS]

Can we have the pack off but leave the APU and APU bleed on?

[@cypher9000]

I really like your videos but I wish every one of them wasn't half an hour long. When I sit down to play the game and don't know something I often realise I have to spend another hour just learning about a button in the cockpit. 10-15 minutes would be perfect. P.S. Didn't want it to sound negative, it definitely wasn'tnt intended to. Just watched your video and it's great information 🙃 Why did you use flaps 3 for takeoff though? Isn't that for landing only? Wouldn't that slow you down massively?

[@jclad10]

If the packs are off would the passengers not die because of the 200 degree air

[@corrosiveshurikenyt]

Why does the transponder switch to TA ONLY automatically below 1000 AGL?(On the ND) Even when it's set to TA/RA? Is is due to go around performance limitations or something else?

[@MaxRank]

It’s an additional safety feature. TA is the Traffic advisory portion of TCAS. RA is the Resolution Advisory portion. In normal flight the RA portion is responsible for issuing audio warning such as climb, descend etc. However at 1000agl you don’t want the system essentially telling you to descend, this could cause a serious state for the aircraft especially in high terrain. ATC assumes some of the responsibility for traffic avoidance at these altitudes due to the proximity of the aircraft to the ground and the airspace that is under its direct control. There’s more to it than that, including GPWS, but in a nutshell that’s why it deactivates it.

[@Pr3miuM]

Mostly, I suppose, because you have limited room to perform any actual RA's. Obviously you can't descend much if any below 1000ft and at takeoff climb you're already climbing close to your maximum angle which you can't change much because of obstacle clearances/terrain. So you'll only be advised of traffic (TA).

[@ska042]

I assume getting a RA on final approach from aircraft sitting on the taxiways could be very unhelpful. Not sure if that's the actual reason, just a thought

[@corrosiveshurikenyt]

@@MaxRank ah it makes so much sense now thanks for clearing that up thanks so much!

[@TheAbdsAviation]

👏👏

[@lucaslescure8976]

Where does he get the flight charts from?

[@schwig44]

if you want to actually use charts for your flights it's worth it to spend a half hour making a vatsim account and doing the orientation so you can then sign into Chartfox (free). Alternatively you could throw down cash for a Navigraph account which I believe has access to all the Jeppesen charts (not worth it imho, unless you already have a nuts setup for flying. If you're just starting out just do Chartfox) Otherwise you can always hit the ol' google and find them the old fashioned way.

[@mikebakkeyt]

@@schwig44 I debated a long time but eventually went for Navigraph. Chartfox was a pain for non US airports - you could find them but they were all inconsistent format. And of course - now the main planes in FS are getting navigraph chart integrations so they will display on EFBs or nav screens inside the sim. For me well worth the money - basically same price as Netflix or Spotify...

[@schwig44]

@@mikebakkeyt true, I just figured for a hobby where you can expect to pay for nearly everything, maybe spend coin on better flight controls or something a little more tangible to enhance the experience, since there is a free alternative. Fair point on the non US airports, I haven't flown to any yet since using chartfox. Currently pulling my hair out trying to get windows 10 to see my flight switch panel

[@boahneelassmal]

tbh it still bothers me it's a32nx rather than a20nx :'D

[@320SimPilot]

Good spot!

[@kingabdulazizyassalam3740]

What graphic card did u using?

[@320SimPilot]

Hi I use the RTX 3080.

[@icecube919FlightSim]

Saving costs at the expense of passenger comfort. Please, Airlines. Don't do that...

[@engermy7674]

hi