Updated 30-JUN-2024:
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Helipads, which are a distinct spot type in airports, AND heliports only allow engine running starts. What parameter(s) would allow a cold & dark start at these pads? I’ve consistently tested this in both World Hub submissions cleared for the AIRAC updates as well existing sim stock airports. Edited to add - I tested this using stock sim Cabri.
I did it by adding a parking spot on the helipad, not sure if that’s best practice though…
Thanks. I’m hoping for a more systemic solution as I’m not going to be editing airports for this to work.
I’ve been making lots of these for a while now, and there are two conditions: 1 You are creating an entirely new airport (heliport) and 2. you are editing an airport.
Adding a ramp parking spot will allow you to start there cold and dark. For 1. you will also need to add a helipad just to get there from the world map. Just make it transparent and locate it somewhere out of the way. This is still a pain, but it works. The compiler will complain that the parking spot is not connected to a taxiway, but you can ignore that. Now you will have a white dot on the map at your parking spot.
If you’re modifying an airport, follow the standard procedure for doing that and all you really need is to add one or more parking spots of your own. All your file will do is simply “add” this spot to the existing airport based on the ICAO.
Warning: If 1. you should make the spot MIL_CARGO or you’ll have random AI vehicles and sometime even fixed wing aircraft parked gratuitously in you spot. Imagine a 172 parked at your tiny new helipark! If 2. you still get gratuitous vehicles parked there no matter what you do.
It’s time they fixed that, don’t you think?
Seb acknowledged this is likely a bug and implies it’s as simple as turning a flag off/on in the sim. It seems that this was a convenience setting for internal development so they could bypass C&D and get right to helicopter testing.
See the FS Expo 2024 Helisimmer Interview below for details (timestamped to question and answer):
https://youtu.be/l--azHLacYc?si=dRUH0R8S0oAb6DNa&t=278
Also I filed Zendesk Ticket # 217122.
I just checked two dedicated bespoke heliports, one in Tokyo and one in Rio de Janeiro. I spawned at both of these in the Guimbal Cabri G2 and in both cases, the helicopter was running on the pad. So, I don’t know if being able to start cold and dark at heliports was a thing and it no longer is, but that’s my experience.
I recently submitted LSZR to the World Hub and got rejected for putting a spawn point on top of a helipad (real-world airplanes do park on top of the helipad). So the official stance on that appears to be, don’t do it. (Although, nobody’s going to stop you if it’s your own personal project.)
(Also, @PhysicsTeacher2 , if you’re the same “PhysicsTeacher” that released a bunch of POIs for Long Island and Westchester, thank you for all your contributions!)
Thank you! Subject line, post in Official Forums, and Zendesk ticket corrected.
Did they back track on this in the last Dev Support call (August 2024)?
I was confused by their answer in it
For me the answer sounded like they either haven’t looked into it, forgot about it, or had no clue about the reports on this topic.
They walked it back. Seb said it was just a flag, but now the inability is a feature 
SMH 
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