Correct landing approach. (or lack there of....)

[GusChops]

I am having trouble lining myself up with the runway, does anyone have any tips? it seems that when I bank around its either to early or late.

Anything you can offer would be appreciated.

Gus

[TornadoWilkes]

Hi Gus

Welcome to the forum.

Try this... look at the runway and imagine putting a massive rule along it, a ruler that stretches for miles in both directions. Near to where you are trying to turn onto final approach, that ruler will be lying across a house or a tree or something else. That house is on your final approach, so if you were to turn over it, you'd be pretty much lined up.

If you use the "goto airport" feature to get to Meigs Airport in Chicago (still available in FS2004 although it is now closed) it is perfect practice as all you need to do is follow the coast line.

Hope this helps.

[AJW]

In addition to the advice given above, it is a matter of following the same advice given a driver who asked how he could get to Carnegie Hall: "Practice, practice, practice."

Your control errors will become smaller and less frequent as you perfect your hand-eye coordination. There really is no short cut.

Anthony

[FSDKT]

>I am having trouble lining myself up with the runway,

I know what you mean, having been there myself many times. Here is what I do, it works for me and I don't care what all the other armchair pilots say. I do not have a good joystick, that's 100% of the problem, but I can't justify spending big money on one either. Having said that I use the Autopilot in the HDG mode to line myself up with the runway. For example if a runway has a 90 degree magnetic heading I set my heading indicator to 90 degrees about 30 n.m. or so from the runway. The AP will hold me on the 90 degree heading. Now as I approach the runway I adjust the heading indicator according to what I see (1 degree to the left or right whatever is appropriate). I'll be lined up with the runway every time. Now just adjust your descent based on VASI lights or if there aren't any you have to know how high you can be for a safe landing (I have an altitude versus distance from runway schedule for the Cessna) and you are a happy pilot. Good luck.

DKT

[GusChops]

Thanks for your advise guys. I will give that a go. I use an X52, it must be said, it's a wicked peice of kit, but like the man says, practice Practice, practice!

[Boeing_747]

I think in the end its all down to practise. It takes a lot of patience and practise to get it done right. Landing is no easy task but it isn't hard either. It depends on how much you practise and how you practise. Always, try and align yourself with the centerline of the runway. With every practise, it will be much easier than the last try. I had a really hard time landing the aircraft. I used to be all over the place and most of the time crashed. But, eventually I got the hold of it. Try and make very small changes to the joystick or yoke. Do not make large adjustments. Try it out without winds at first and when you master it , you can do it with winds, gusts, etc. It always takes a long time to practise and master landing. As you practise , and practise.. the landings become smoother and smoother. I remember , after I had mastered landing, my last part, the flare was not very good. The aircraft usually bumped on the runway , a few times but now with much more practise it doesn't happen anymore.. so i guess its all down to practise.. And I recommend going through all the lessons and the handbook provided in FS9 if you haven't done so.

[stpatrick]

Practicing is excellent advice, and here's a method that worked well for me. Create a "landing practice" flight.

Fly to an airport of your choice with the aircraft you're most comfortable with. When you're on final and everything appears to be lined up, save the flight at that point.

You will then be able to practice landings over and over just by loading that flight. If you want to make changes to the way the flight begins, simply make the changes and re-save it. Or, you can save it with another name. I once had several "landing practice" flights saved, all with different situations.

It also helps to have your frame rate as high as possible. Low frame rates make landings even more difficult.

[GusChops]

Cool, another couple of great suggestions (I didnt know you could save flights!!) I will give that a go.

Frame rate is no issue at all though, no idea what it is but must be 50+ as everything is silky smooth and never slows down (of course a gig of ram, with a 3Ghz CPU and a 9800 pro help with that)

[cianpars]

Here's an idea that might help. Fly towards your approach with NAV1 set to the runway of your choice, then turn on approach on the autopilot and see how the autopilot does it. Then by watching this, you can learn to line up yourself.

If yu are talking about the final turn in the circuit, then the best way is probably to turn in a little early with a little less bank, then gradually take off the bank as you come towards the center line.

IAN

[burnside]

If you are doing a visual pattern, pick an aircraft with a good virtual cockpit and a landing strip which has a VASI (red and white approach lights). Fly downwind at 1000 ft AGL (Above ground level) Drop the landing gear and one notch of flaps and stabilize the airspeed and altitude. If your plane has an HSI (Horizontal Situation Indicator) dial in the inbound course (runway approach heading). This will help you stay parallel to the runway on downwind.

Look back over your left shoulder - when the Vasi lights turn white over red, start your turn to base (This should be about the time the end of the runway is aligned with the back portion of your wing).

Now look at the end of the runway and do a smooth, coordinated turn to bring you in line with the runway. Gradually reduce power to keep the VASI white over red. Drop flaps to landing position and adjust your throttle to hold a steady descent at approach speed. Concentrate on a point at the beginning of the runway (I pretend I'm going to crash the plane into the runway numbers). Once on final approach, the secret is to make small corrections. If you have rudder pedals, use them to move the nose a few degrees to stay aligned.

Now do this with the same aircraft at the same airfield, about 20 times - it takes practice, but once you have a feel for it, it will come without having to think about it. Well, at least until you have to work with crosswinds!

Dale