I am not a pilot so I truly have no idea how landing small aircraft is but I don't think it's that easy. I fly mostly small aircraft in FS so far and with settings maxed I still find landing too easy. In both FSX and FS9 I can just about land any small plane with ease. I want it to be more challenging and more real. Maybe I should just step it up to jets?? To anybody that flies small aircraft in real life what do you think about this?? Thank you.

Do you have the 'realism' settings at max?

Set realism at MAX and land at a narrow runway no longer than 2500ft. I won't seem that easy anymore. Landings in FS9 and in real life are...kind of different. But I wouldn't say that one is necessarily easier than the other.

realism settings to max, and I suggest you check out the jets, props are much easier to land!

What is your weather settings? Have you tried a crosswind. I have a few hours logged in a real C-172. Landing in calm/no wind is a lot different that with a gusty crosswind....

"I am not a pilot so I truly have no idea how landing small aircraft is but I don't think it's that easy. I fly mostly small aircraft in FS so far and with settings maxed I still find landing too easy. In both FSX and FS9 I can just about land any small plane with ease. I want it to be more challenging and more real. Maybe I should just step it up to jets?? To anybody that flies small aircraft in real life what do you think about this?? Thank you."For me, landing is much harder in MSFS with anything other than a dead calm for a number of reasons. First, no seat of the pants feel--it helps, especially when in crosswinds. But the biggest factor for me is peripheral vision--unless I distort the view ahead by using a zoom of .5x or so, I don't get the same sense of peripheral vision that I do in the Light Sport class aircraft I have been flying. I consider a forward zoom of about 1.3x or so the closest to matching the real perspective I see in the cockpit on final, but in MSFS this all but kills peripheral vision. Don't get me wrong--real life landings present challenges and require focus. But in terms of visual references it's still easier for me--other than the "omigodwhatifImessup" factor that flying something that costs real money with real souls aboard has :)-John

considering that my peripheral vision hasn't been the greatest, my real world flight training has always had me landing using the END of the runway for all my cues. This is a significantly different feel to those who use peripheral vision for drift cues, but the end result is that it translates faster into FS. I've found I can stick and rudder 15knot crosswinds on FS no prob in my little 172.I've also found that positioning of the monitor is a BIG deal. I had my monitor up really high in one rig a few months back, and found I just plain COULDN'T land it. I rearrange some things, get my monitor back to just a little below eye level, and voila! Landings! It took me about 5 flight hours to get comfortable with landings, now, I'll go out and take just about any small aircraft, as long as you give me time to get used to it's slow flight characteristics, I'm happy, in FS, or out-Brian

Track IR enhances peripheral vision a lot..But landing a 2000 meter long runway isn't that hard with a single engine. But try landing that same runway with a twin prop and left engine failure..makes the experience more interesting indeed.Try landing a single engine prop on a dirt strip. In real life, dirt strips or grass strips are hardly notable or recognizable from above. some scenery addons do replicate in a sense that experience like photosceneries (Megascenery PWN) or they are steeped/slooped (LLH scenery stuff like CourchevalAdd in some nice weather with gusting winds, low visibilty, chop, crosswind. So you see there are a lot of challenges for landing. Rea life is most of the time not fair weather and 340/0 :)Good flying!Rob "Holland&Holland" de Vries http://fool.exler.ru/sm/fly2.gif"To go up, pull the stick back. To go down, pull the stick back harder"

Hi,I too flew normally at the ground in small planes- now I fly into the ground; into nearby shrubbery; into mountains that suddenly appear out of a 2 mile vis setting, in a large jet which has no GPS and in fact haven't managed a sensible landing yet. You want to create problems for yourself?! As the poster above suggested-set a crosswind and shear and try again!!In real life I have had 1 lesson!:-lol Andy.

Outside of what Andy just wrote above the bottom line is flying's not as hard as it seems... :-)The only difference I've experience outside of the peripheral viewpoint is the feeling of flight you only can get from a real aircraft.

Well if landings are easy, then you have now your FS licence. Upgrade to the real stuff now..JohanA LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION, AND A LITTLE MORE ACTION PLEASE

I'm working on it I'm working on itChecklist to cert:Flight Training: checkRegister to take Written: checkTake Written: checkPass Written: PendingIn light of above stated situation, these were added--Re-Register to take Written: check--Re-Take Written: PendingTake Flight Test: PendingPass Flight Test: Fingers CrossedWait for Certificate to arrive in mail: Pending previous items:D All in all though, there's nothing like flying a single engine plane and trying to land it, without the engine, in a 14 knot crosswind... SOLO!

Landing IS easy! It's made to be that way. Unless you are flying in bad weather with shifting winds, xwinds, windshear or microbursts its cake.It is no different in a jet either. Its like driving, if you don't know how to drive, it's hard...if you do its easy. If you know how to drive you can do so at 180mph and its just as easy.My suggestion, try more challenging weather situations, 0/0 vis, winds, storms, etc...

Well, actually, there is something better than the crosswind, landing a 747, like a PMDG one, with all procedures, after a long boring flight.. utter boredom, suddenly shifted to utter terror. Mix in FS passengers and you know the thrills.Check this: http://www.avsim.com/pages/contrails/contrails_ott3.shtmlJohanA LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION, AND A LITTLE MORE ACTION PLEASE

Ah yes... I've done that... not to mention had Engine 2 and the Right Autopilot fail on me half way through the flight... And the First Officer developed a coma when I could have really used his help :( (Seriously on the first officer part, guy passed out on my bed just as we were beginning the descent, then the failures hit, I tried to wake him, but to no avail!)