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Last post 11-29-2009, 9:47 AM by Scott Cote. 36 replies.
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  •  11-27-2009, 1:01 PM 31482 in reply to 31477

    Re: like to join

    still working on landing at KDEN. trying my best. i am getting better.

    "Mikey"
  •  11-27-2009, 2:47 PM 31484 in reply to 31482

    Re: like to join

    thewrath:
    still working on landing at KDEN. trying my best. i am getting better.

    Here are a few keys to making good landings.

    • Airspeed is critical. As a general rule, you want your airspeed on approach to be 1.3 times your stall speed with flaps and gear down. Hopefully, the documentation with the airplane you are flying will have the correct approach airspeed. Nail it. A couple hundred feet off the ground, begin slowing to stall speed. You want to reach stall speed at just the time your gear touches the runway.
    • Get lined up proplerly. The easiest approaches are done by letting the autopilot fly it for you down to about 4-500 feet above the ground.
    • Make sure the plane is trimmed properly. This is one of the most common faults of inexperienced pilots. If it is trimmed properly, it will almost fly itself on the approach. To properly trim an airplane, get the right speed and descent rate, THEN and only then, trim all the pressure off the control surfaces. Remeber your plane will fly at whatever Airspeed you trim for. Trim for your approach airspeed. Then if you are getting too low, add throttle. If you are getting to high, back of the throttle. The plane will continue flying at the right speed.
    • The tutorials in MSFS are really good. They will teach you how to make good landings.

    I hope that helps.




    EVP Hub Operations, Sr. Test Pilot
    Senior Command Captain +4
    RWP SEL Instrument Rating (almost)
    FSX-SP2 + Radar Contact
    Orbiter, FaceBook
  •  11-27-2009, 7:13 PM 31493 in reply to 31484

    Re: like to join

    Mikey -

    Here's my advice based on flying FSX for a year and a half and 36 glorious minutes as pilot in command of a Cessna 172, LOL. Kim, Ken, Mike or other guys with some more water under their keel can chime in if I am wrong here...

    As always Mike Gibbs is right on.  Flying and trimming for a specific airspeed (even if it's not quite the right one) is the starting point.  If your airspeed is constantly changing nothing will ever settle out for you.

    Some other realizations I've had that have helped me:

    1) Jetliners do not like to slow down and come down at the same time.  If you want to slow down, the cost is some time in level flight to bleed off speed.  Plan for that.  Once you slow down to a desired speed you can then pitch down to descend at that speed. Planning is key though...get yourself slowed down and put out some flaps (~15 degrees) to fly level at ~200kts, 2500-3000 feet above the field well before you get to the ILS feather.  Just before you get  to where the glide slope intercepts your flight path, putting out your gear and approach flaps will get you descending at a lower speed probably without having to touch the throttle much.

    2) If you have the field in sight, you should figure out the spot on the runway that doesn't appear to be moving  This is the spot that you would hit if nothing changed! I generally try to make the two big solid white 'aiming points' on jet runways (1000' from the end I think) that unmoving spot...and then land just past them after flaring once I get there. Once you make this a habit you will find that your eye can be more sensitive to changes in glide path than the PAPI lights!

    3) The ideal landing approach has you at a desired airspeed with flaps/gear out, descending somewhere between 500-750 fpm (faster if your approach speed is fast), with your nose near level, up or down a few degrees.  If you are pitched up a lot to maintain that descent rate, your approach speed is probably too slow.  If you are pitched down a lot you are probably too fast.  The key as I said above is picking a speed and seeing how it works, adjusting power to change your descent rate.  If you make your adjustments small the plane will have time to adjust and stay at the speed you are trimmed for. There is no law against practicing this at altitude; once you can set the plane up to descend at the speed and rate of your choosing, the landing itself is nothing!

    4) Once you have a stabilized approach, the landing flare is just practice.  I try to cross the threshold at about 50', then retard the throttle as I level off with the wheels just above the surface of the runway. Then I hold my pitch attitude (should only be a couple of degrees up) and let the airplane settle onto the runway.  Be careful not to level off too high or you can build up to much of a descent rate and prang the runway. When your mains touch down deploy the spoilers (or better yet fly a plane with autospoilers and they will deploy for you) and gently but positively lower the nose. Once your nose wheel is down engage reverse thrust and brake as needed - shouldn't need much. Go to idle throttle again once you slow to 60KIAS.

    Watch the FS "instant replays" of your landings to get feedback on your flare. Sometimes the difference between what you think happened and what it actually looked like are very different :) I just landed an Airbus A340-600 (longest airliner in the world)...looked great from the cockpit, but when I watched it from the outside I saw that the back of the plane barely cleared the trees and my mains touched down just past the numbers! Once you start flying the big iron I guess you need to account for that.

    Good luck!

    Matt


    Matt Smith, WWA2218, CAT IV
    Rio de Janeiro (SBGL) Hub
    FSX Acceleration/Vista64
  •  11-27-2009, 9:33 PM 31495 in reply to 31493

    Re: like to join

    IF you have 2 monitors you can open up a spot plane view and watch your landing in real time on the other monitor,  as this will also give you a better idea of where you are in relation to the runway.
    Phil Cohen - WWA1573
    Sr Command Captain +1
    Executive Vice President - Charter Operations
    Vice President of Hub Operations - North America-West
    Currently Stationed at - Dallas/Ft-Worth
    FS9/AV6.5/FSNav/FSPax/ISG FMC Package
  •  11-29-2009, 9:35 AM 31588 in reply to 31482

    Re: like to join

    Mikey -

    I made a video of what I think is a pretty good (not perfect Embarrassed) landing flare, it's called "TomRuthA333.wmv"  and you can pull it out of my WestWind folder on Mediafire at the link below. I included cockpit and tower views.

    http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=ee4d96516fc7116019747bd91027d4ddb3a339e0a2f29720

    I hope it helps...

    Matt

     


    Matt Smith, WWA2218, CAT IV
    Rio de Janeiro (SBGL) Hub
    FSX Acceleration/Vista64
  •  11-29-2009, 9:39 AM 31589 in reply to 31588

    Re: like to join

    got it.... i landed actually twice yesterday

    "Mikey"
  •  11-29-2009, 9:47 AM 31590 in reply to 31589

    Re: like to join

    These are my two CRJ-700 videos if you want to check them out.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tixGS54aTkU

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr3vbM-zH3o&NR=1 


    Scott Cote
    Senior Captain
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