Secret to a perfect landing?

[Guest airbus2]

Hey all,Ive been flying on simulator for just over a year now. My landings are not too bad but there is not much consistancy, somtimes they are smooth, other times a tad rough!I mostly fly the 737 and have now just moved on to the pmdg 737ng and would be interested if anybody had any tips on executing the perfect landing, whens the best time to flare or cut the throttles for example?Thanks in advance,Dave

[Jeff Nielsen 1,385]

My recent reply here may help you a bit. :-)http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...g_id=2682&page=

[Guest airbus2]

Thanks Jeff, I guess I should have looked harder before I posted this!Still, any other suggestions or tips are much appreciated.Dave

[Jeff Nielsen 1,385]

Now, I'm not an expert or anything, but assuming you've read through all the manuals and have all your speeds correctly set and such in the FMC, this is sort of what I do.I'm usually on autpilot down the ILS glideslope at Vref + 5 knots. I disco the A/P at about 200 feet AGL. At that Altitude you should only need to hold the attitude (not alititude), because the PMDG bird from the 2d panel perspective looks like you're looking almost straight at the ground, but you're not, you're already nose high, just right. Then at about 50 feet radio alt., just reduce to idle, adjust the rudder to maintain centerline, ease the nose down and reverse thrust as needed....clean up, and so on and so on.That's a quickie for ya. Hope it helps.

[Guest JeffPreston]

Dave:Just a thought - you can mercilessly overwork a group of unpaid instructors if you wish - just download the Beta from FSFlyingSchool...You don't need to fly a complete flight - just keep practicing landings if you wish.This will give a detailed permanent report of your landings, as well as immediate voice tips from the instructor while you are performing them. This can help polish up the whole process - and it's free.:)Cheers - Jeff

[Guest bobsk8]

I had a RA airline B767 simulator instructor coach me in an Airline full motion sim for several hours some years ago. He told me to leave auto throttle on, as he recommends to the real 767 pilots to do, set for FMC recommended short final approach speed. Use the rudder for minor corrections to maintain centerline, rather than using airlerons to avoid excessive rolling of the aircraft on short approach. Start flare at about 50 feet from a stabilized approach.... and practice... :)

[mnmon 0]

Just another thought: I never use the AP on approach (even from about 40nm out) and always hand fly all my landings unless the weather is just awful (low vis, and bad xwind), then I'll hit the Approach button and let Otto drive down to minimums. Landings and approaches are the fun part and I just enjoy doing it myself, and I think it keeps me sharper. I can use an MD80 for 2 weeks then switch to a KingAir and still make a decent (not perfect landing) the first time back to the KA. After about 2 more flights I'm back up to speed doing greasers with the KA. Mike

[StoneC0ld 5]

All it takes is practice, getting the approach speeds correct, practice, flare at correct height off the runway, practice, cutting the throttle at the correct height, practice, a stable final approach, and more practice... :(As mentioned, you want to start your flare and cut your throttle/autothrottle at approximately 50' above the runway. This is pretty much true for most (if not all) jetliners, not quite sure how this "rule" matches up with turboprops or standard props... If you were maintaining Vref+5 correctly on final and don't flare too much or too little, you should get a fairly smooth landing. Try a few Cat-III autolands (on the PMDG737NG) and watch the autopilot as it lands the plane, perfect demonstration of exactly what you need to do to get a nice smooth landing.Another key to avoiding bad landings: knowing when to abandon a bad final approach. A smooth, stable final approach is key to setup for a smooth landing. If I'm hand-flying (such as when no ILS is available) the final approach and it starts getting too erratic, I know it's going to be much more difficult to recover from the bad approach, so the smart thing for me to do is call missed approach and go around and try again. It's very difficult to get a perfect landing if it's not setup properly. So, going around and trying again is likely the better option than trying to land anyway. Most of my particularly bad landings have been from bad approaches where I chose not to go around for whatever reason... Just keep practicing at it.... :) Hope this helps...

[Guest airbus2]

Thanks people. I will practice some more, I was 'scared' of the pmdg737ng at first and let the autopilot fly the approach untill 50ft, but the other day I flew a manual landing and found it much easier.Anyway, thanks for the advice.Dave

[Johan_Dees 84]

okay then.. it comes down to a few things in the sim..- respect the line up distance, in jets 8nm is minimal!- keep an eye on the vasi/papi and such..- aim for the horizon- keep away from press-on-itis- use published speeds and suchJohanA LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION, AND A LITTLE MORE ACTION PLEASE.."The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one - but still they come!"Ulla!