The 146 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 EXT AC switch is set to ON on the overhead panel, 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 will automatically be connected to the aircraft if the AUTO JETWAY option is enabled on the EFB/tablet, and boarding simulation is triggered with GATE TYPE set to Jetway. Alternatively, a jetway can be called to the aircraft 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 EXT AC switch is set to ON on the overhead panel, or when the lighting bolt icon is clicked below the STAIRS 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’s EXT POWER receptacle and the jetway are not modelled in this simulation.