EZ Pushback 0.4.2

EZPushback is a lightweight pushback utility designed for X-Plane 10.20 or later. It simply moves the aircraft backward or forward. It can be controlled by menu, keyboard, joystick, or from other plug-in.

EZPushback is a pure C plug-in with no significant dependencies (i.e. Python, Gizmo, OpenSceneryX, etc.). It is open source and MIT licensed, so hopefully it can be maintained (by me or others) for years to come as X-Plane changes and evolves.

EZPushback was written to provide similar functionality to Snailpup's SimplePushback, which is no longer maintained and does not work with 64-bit X-Plane versions. Please use SimplePushback if you need something similar that works on X-Plane versions prior to 10.20.

EZPushback aims to be small and dependency free, and therefore does not provide pushback truck animation. Check out Ground Services from Joan if you want a full featured utility and do not mind the dependencies.

Beta

This is beta software. The following environment was used for build and test.

• X-Plane 10.21 (32 and 64 bit versions)
  
• Operating systems tested:
  
  • Windows 7 x64
    
  • Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (x86_64 with 32-bit multiarch libraries)
    
  • Mac Mini running OSX 10.8.3
    

  [*]Test aircraft:

  • EADT x737
    
  • Stock 747
    

Changes

Version 0.4.2

• Add Linux support (32 and 64 bit).
  
• Stop push / pull when parking brake deployed.
  

Version 0.3.2

• Initial release
  

Prerequisites

On Windows platforms, EZPushback requires the Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (x86 and/or x64). These packages provide the necessary C runtime libraries for the Windows version of the plugin. There is a good proability that this is already installed on a Windows system. See the README.pdf file for details.

Installation

The EZPushback.zip file contains a "FAT plugin" that supports both 32 and 64 bit versions X-Plane.

1) Download and unzip the EZPushback.zip file to a temporary location. At the top level there will be one "EZPushback" folder.

2) Find your X-Plane Resource/plugins folder.

3) Copy or move the EZPushback folder so that the EZpushback folder and contents reside within your X-Plane Resources/plugins folder.

4) Start X-Plane (32 or 64 bit).

5) Mouse over the X-Plane main menu and click "Plugins".

An EZPushback menu will appear on the Plugins menu if successfully installed.

Troubleshooting

If you do not see the EZPushback menu on the Plugins menu, check the Log.txt file in your X-Plane top level folder. All EZPushback messages are logged to this file.

• If you do not see any messages from EZPushback in Log.txt, make sure you installed the EZPushback folder in the correct location in your X-Plane folder. It should reside in the Resouces/plugins folder.
  
• On Windows, if you see an error 126 when X-Plane tries to load EZPushback, you probably do not have the correct Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable installed. See the prerequisite section above for guidance.
  
• Verify you are using X-Plane 10.20 or later. EZPushback has not been tested with earlier versions of X-Plane. See the alternatives section later in this document if you are looking for a pushback utility that will run on earlier versions of X-Plane.
  

Usage

EZPushback provides two services: pushback (reverse) and tug (forward). The EZPushback plugin menu provides one way to request services:

X-Plane Main Menu > Plugins > EZPushback

• Start Pushback (reverse)
  
• Start Tug (forward)
  
• Stop
  

A transparent status window appears when an EZPushback command is invoked. If you move the window around, EZPushback will remember the location. If the X-Plane window is resized, the EZPushback status window may reposition itself to ensure that it is visible.

A STOP button will appear in the status window when a pushback or tug is in progress. This button can be clicked to stop a push or tug operation.

Pushback or tug will not start if the parking brake is engaged or if the aircraft is already moving.

Engines may be started during pushback or tug (this is a common practice by some airlines).

Once moving, you can steer normally (i.e. via rudder pedals).

Avoid sharp turns while steering -- this may induce skidding.

Application of toe brakes or thrust should be avoided during movement -- this will fight against the imaginary pushback truck.

An EZPushback push or tug operation will stop if the parking brake is deployed while moving.

Commands

In addition to the menu options described above, EZPushback provides five custom commands that can be used to request services. These commands can be assigned to keys, joystick buttons, or invoked from other plugins via the X-Plane plugin API. See the README.pdf for details.

Configuration File

The EZPushback plugin directory contains a configuration file named ezpushback.ini. You may change acceleration, deceleration and target_speed by editing this file.

Datarefs

EZPushback provides several custom datarefs that may be used to monitor and control EZPushback from other plugins. You can also use the datarefs to monitor EZPushback using Dataref Editor. See the README.pdf for details.

Source Code

EZPushback is free and open source. The source code can be found at:

https://github.com/thePuffyPuff/EZPushback