Approach and landing?

[Ben Drinkin]

I always descend extremely early because I feel like I'll start too late if I don't and end up too high or fast. Also not sure what my speed/altitude should be at any given point so I always slow down early as well. If anyone has any tips or guides of what my values should be at given points during approach and landing, they are greatly welcomed.

[gspectre]

Are you not landing at airports with PAPI light?

Check out the Training Center in FSX:SE and learn about them. They will help you with your glide slope.

[Ben Drinkin]

Originally posted by gspectre:

Are you not landing at airports with PAPI light?

Check out the Training Center in FSX:SE and learn about them. They will help you with your glide slope.

FSX has those?

[Ben Drinkin]

Managed to ♥♥♥♥ up 2 landings majorly in the past 30 minutes, never have I lost the will to play something so fast in my life.

[Ben Drinkin]

First one was a 2 hour flight in which my plane flipped over on the runway, second was a short flight I did in anger after to prove I'm not an idiot, which ended in me stalling..........

[gspectre]

Yes, there are quite a lot of training material in FSX. Click on "Learning Center" and I would suggest going through the "Student Pilot" course. It will cover both Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) lights as well as Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) lights to help you with landing.

[gspectre]

I think as challenging as these lessons may seem, you will be happy when you graduate each course you decide to take and earn your certificates (you can print them if you want). You do not need to take them all but I do recommend at least the 1st 2 courses.

[Ben Drinkin]

PAPI lights are useless if you can't stay on the glideslope in the first place 👌

[gspectre]

And the lessons will tell you how.

[Rhodes]

Go through learning center then do missions

[Drop]

ILS

[APUtech]

Jamaican Joe, I've been a pilot since I was a teenager (1978, at 17 years old)...read about flying an airplane from as many sources as your patience will allow. If you are patient and studious, you will do well. If you are not...you will suck. ;-)

APUtech
Pilot, SEL, MEL, SES, IFR

[TextRich]

I suggest the next time you approach an airport with PAPI lights, save your game. That way you can restart from that point and keep practicing until you are satisfied with your landings.

For me generally if the PAPIs are more white than red, I lower the throttle slightly and increase the descent rate until the colors even out. If the PAPIs are more red than white, I increase the throttle a bit and climb slowly until the colors even out. The key is to try to keep the colors the same number, then it will be impossible for you to overshoot the runway or to be too close to the ground when you are not yet at the runway.

Find out what your aircraft's stalling speed is and try to be 10 knots above it. Use trim so you can descend more comfortably and not need to pull up/down on your controls all the time. Don't forget full flaps too.

Finally, once you have passed the threshold of the runway, just idle the throttle and flare so you have more blue than brown in your attitude. Your airplane will eventually stall and land itself on the runway.

ILS is a nice guide to help you practice descents, but many airports with PAPI lights do not have ILS.

Landing is always the hardest part of flight sims for beginners to master. From my experience in flying games I always went down too fast. When you hit the runway you want your airspeed to be at or slightly above stalling speed.

[Ben Drinkin]

I don't know if I just suck, or this is hard with a keyboard. Probably the former.

[gspectre]

Originally posted by Jamaican Joe's Junkyard Jubilee:

I don't know if I just suck, or this is hard with a keyboard. Probably the former.

It's a lot harder with a keyboard, but as a few will tell you, it is do-able.

[APUtech]

Originally posted by Jamaican Joe's Junkyard Jubilee:

I don't know if I just suck, or this is hard with a keyboard. Probably the former.

Jamaican Joe, I flew for 1600 hours on keyboard only with FSX:SE (my flight controls were in storage during a move across town), I wanted to sim so badly. Yes, it is hard--especially during crosswind takeoffs and landings, but it is doable. :-D

When you can, I'd suggest getting a Logitech 3d Pro joystick for a great starter flight control. It's relatively inexpensive and durable as hell, plus it has rudder and throttle control.