The F28 Professional’s electrical buses can be powered via three main methods when the aircraft is on the ground and the engines are shut down:

APU: The auxiliary power unit is a small gas turbine engine located in the rear of the aircraft. The APU can be operated via the controls on the APU section of the overhead panel. As the APU is built internally to the aircraft, it is an ideal power source for when the aircraft is operating out of remote airfields with limited ground equipment. The APU can also be used to supply air to the air-conditioning systems.

GPU: The Ground Power Unit is an external source of electrical power. The GPU can be connected to the aircraft via the GPU button on the EFB/tablet, or by clicking the EXT POWER door on the starboard side of the aircraft’s nose (MSFS 2024 walkaround mode only). Once the GPU is connected to the aircraft, it will start to supply electrical power to the aircraft once the EXTERNAL POWER switch is set to ON on the overhead panel (mechanical indicator will display ON), or when the lighting bolt icon is clicked to the right of the GPU button on the EFB (lighting bolt will turn green once the GPU is supplying power). The GPU cannot supply air for air-conditioning.

JETWAY EXT POWER: If the aircraft is at a gate with a jetway, external power is also available via a jetway connection. A jetway can be connected to the aircraft either by clicking the floor panel in the cabin next to the L1 Passenger Door to convert it into a jetway configuration (AUTO JETWAY must be enabled on the EFB/tablet), clicking the JETWAY button on the EFB/tablet which also converts the L1 Passenger Door into a jetway configuration, (AUTO JETWAY must be enabled on the EFB/tablet), triggering boarding or deboarding with the GATE TYPE set to JETWAY on the EFB/tablet, or via the options in the MSFS ATC menu. Once a jetway is connected to the aircraft, it will start to supply electrical power to the aircraft once the EXTERNAL POWER switch is set to ON on the overhead panel (mechanical indicator will display ON), or when the lighting bolt icon is clicked to the right of the JETWAY button on the EFB (lighting bolt will turn green once the jetway is supplying power). The jetway cannot supply air for air-conditioning.

Note: The cables between the aircraft’ EXT POWER receptacle and the jetway are not modelled in this simulation.