Descent Planning Made Easy - NO VNAV or Calculator Required

[Nels_Anderson]

 

 

Descent Planning Made Easy - NO VNAV or Calculator Required

By thecorporatepilotdad

 

Two methods used in descent planning are demonstrated.

 

The first method is extremely simple and shows when to start the descent based on time.

 

Method 2 shows when to start the descent based on distance and what rate of descent is required.

 

VNAV makes descent planning easy, but for jets like the FlySimware Lear 35, there is no FMS, and no VNAV. Descent planning is easy without VNAV, and after watching this video, you will be able to plan a descent without the aid of VNAV.

 

One thing to consider when descending is true airspeed (TAS). TAS will drop significantly from cruise altitude to altitudes below 10,000 feet (in a jet). Will descent rate stay the same during the descent or will it change? A combination of methods 1 and 2 will make descent planning easy.

 

The simple math for both methods are shown at the end of the video.

 

 

 

 

The Corporate Pilot Guys Podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/show/3CGTyNGt0hGG9nlSDElOlj

 

Join this channel at the Private Pilot tier or higher to get access to AD-FREE guides and tutorials on the Citation Longitude, CJ4, Flysimware Cessna 414, Concorde, and more.

 

These videos are informative and are entertainment, but in no way are they meant to replace actual in-person flight instruction from a Certified Flight Instructor.

 

@thecorporatepilotdad

 

thecorporatepilotdad
Youtube channel
The Corporate Pilot Guys Podcast

About The Author

This video is produced by thecorporatepilotdad. He has been a FlightSim.Com member for close to twenty years and using Flight Simulator since back in the day of FS98 and FS2000. He is also a professional pilot with over 8000 hours of real world flight experience ranging from Cessna 152s to super-mid size business jets.

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

Thank you!

Nice simple gouge that does the trick, each and every time.

I've used this for real and it helps keep you ahead of aircraft as you are preparing for the approach.

One of the issues I discuss with so many sim pilots (and a few real ones) is don't get system dependent.

This is one of many tried and true tips to keep you in charge.

[lnuss]

Beautifully done, as always. I've always told my students that it's simple things that use rules of thumb, as shown here, that can so often simplify your tasks, and can often also act as a reality check, that is, an approximation that you quickly do in your head gives you an estimation that you can use to be sure that any other source/method is at least in the right ball park. A quick double check like this can save problems from mistakes, whether yours or that of someone else. This is true in many areas of life, not just aviation, even just checking on your change received when you pay cash for something.

 

So thanks for again helping folks to simplify their tasks...

[StringBean]

I think he missed a step. His cals were based on cruise altitude where they should be cruise altitude minus landing field elevation. Not a problem if you are landing in Miami, Denver is a different story. 

 

Other than that it was well done.

[thecorporatepilotdad]

On 2/15/2024 at 3:29 PM, StringBean said:

I think he missed a step. His cals were based on cruise altitude where they should be cruise altitude minus landing field elevation. Not a problem if you are landing in Miami, Denver is a different story. 

 

Other than that it was well done.

No steps were missed provided the viewer can do basic math learned as a child to compute the total altitude loss.  If they have that figured out, then everything else is identical.