That's the beauty of flight simulators. You can experiment a bit, and find the flying style that suits you best :(

And..... aside from what shortcomings FSX does have.. it DOES do a good job of rewarding proper piloting,, and punishing poor piloting.

I set the trim for take off (and never touch it again), keep the flaps at the "approach" setting at all times (through take off, turn through 180 degrees to the downwind leg, and then turn again for final approach and landing), and never bother to retract the undercarriage. That allows me to determine the power required to keep the plane in level flight, and then how much to reduce it to get a nice glideslope to touchdown. I really hate pulling and pushing the joystick when I am flying, which is why I have learned to control the plane entirely with the throttle. It's great for creating really smooth flight videos :(

It is sometimes unavoidable using the elevator to push the nose over during an approach. Take for instance a (RW) approach I flew a couple of months ago. I had the power set, flaps out to the first notch, and trimmed for my approach airspeed, and because of updrafts, I was flying level when I should have been descending at 480-500 ft/min. I love when I can set things up and leave it alone from the FAF to the runway, but it doesn't always work out that well.

Try this one sometime. It'll keep you on your toes:

The pilot's mantra... "Stay ahead of the airplane", is really illustrated when you see an approach like that. SO much has to be done, SO far ahead of time, always keeping the big picture in mind. If it's not all second nature, you find yourself in over your head in a hurry.New sim-pilots do themselves a huge dis-service, and set themselves up for frustration; when they jump head-first into jet flying, and then try to piece it together, one question at a time... never really understanding the difference between joysticking a jet to the runway, and piloting it there. The first method might end in "success", now and then, but rarely with any sort of consistency or confidence learned.Now.. imagine flying that approach at minimum visibility !? :( If you've learned the techniques properly, it's not all that much more difficult.

Throttle response in those big jets is way too slow for my style of flying. I need to be confident that my plane will react quickly to control input, even if the corrections are only minor.

Throttle response in those big jets is way too slow for my style of flying. I need to be confident that my plane will react quickly to control input, even if the corrections are only minor.

Wise and humble words. Big jet piloting (even in the sim), is outside of every pilot's style. That's why those who jump right into it, flounder. To fly sim-jets soundly, and realistically, takes a lot of practice, and instincts long-since honed in smaller, slower aircraft. Or like you (and me), .. just avoid it, knowing that we're not proficient :(

Wise and humble words. Big jet piloting (even in the sim), is outside of every pilot's style. That's why those who jump right into it, flounder. To fly sim-jets soundly, and realistically, takes a lot of practice, and instincts long-since honed in smaller, slower aircraft. Or like you (and me), .. just avoid it, knowing that we're not proficient :(

It also takes a lot of button punching, and very little flying...which is why most air carrier pilots I know own their own Ga aircraft.

It also takes a lot of button punching, and very little flying...which is why most air carrier pilots I know own their own Ga aircraft.

Yeah .. if you do end up getting proficient; it's pretty sterile flying. A properly executed descent, approach, and landing in a big jet, is kind of like directing a movie. The idea is to get it all to come off exactly as rehearsed.. no "seat-of-the-pants" decision-making. All the fun in jet-flying comes from the learning part. "Show time", is anti-climatic.. :(

It also takes a lot of button punching, and very little flying...which is why most air carrier pilots I know own their own Ga aircraft.

Yup, I know a lot of airline pilots who fly gliders for the same reason. They're easy to spot on landing too, they're the ones who flare a Duo Discus when it is still fifty feet off the deck LOLAl

Yeah, you'll want the approach plate so you know what the minimums are and what altitude(s) you can descend to on final.If flying USA, here's the charts:http://avn.faa.gov/index.asp?xml=naco/online/d_tppIf flying world, use VATSIM's links:http://usa-w.vatsim.net/charts/#NorthAmericaTake a look at this chart from KAXN, MNhttp://avn.faa.gov/d-tpp/0904/00014V22.PDFIt's a non precision approach and there is no glideslope to follow. The only way you'll know when to descend and at what altitude is by reading the chart. The bottom half shows all the vertical planning information you'll need to know prior to starting the approach. All US charts have this and I think most worldwide approach plates have something similar.

It would be worth your while to carefully observe the sight picture when on an ILS approach, and mentally take a photograph of how the runway looks when you are 'in the pipe'. The classic advice you get is if the runway is moving down the windscreen, you are going too high, and if it is moving up, you're dropping below the ideal path, but to really nail that, you need to know what shape the runway looks when correctly on profile, or else following that moving up/down advice could still steer you wrong.

To better develop the "sight picture," the Slew Mode can be your best friend...Dial in your NAV1 for an ILS freq, then enter Slew Mode and move your a/c to align with the rwny at the five nm position. Slew up/down and observe the sight picture.Adjust the pitch angle while still in Slew Mode and see how it affects your sight pictture. Note the position of the rwny relative to the glareshield and instruments...

I like flying all kinds, from smaller GAs to large commercial jets. I honestly feel the default planes, especially the jets, handle so poorly that they're a waste of time messing with. The difference is night and day going from a PMDG 747 to the default FSX or FS9 747. I can land the 747 perfect but the MS 747 is a mess on final and ridiculous to land. The smaller planes are decent, but I don't even like them too much. After a while you'll become used to how it should look in sim and be able to visually land anything. The trouble comes when you're forced to go faster and it becomes easy to fall behind. I have to say that the PMDG has made my landings perfect in nearly all aircraft. The reason? You're having to maintain about 160 knots on final to the TDZ, so it requires some skill to keep it on path. Landing in a 737 after the MD-11 makes the 737 feel like a Cessna...slow.IMO, PMDG and the Level-D 767 make flying heavies much easier and enjoyable because of their great FDEs. The MD-11 is my favorite so far and for some reason I find it easiest to handle. I think because the LSAS (auto-trim) for pitch, plus the CWS for roll help when making adjustments to roll and bank. Some planes in the sim are so sensitive to changes in controller input that the slightest movement sends the aircraft in a dive or steep bank.Just keep in mind that learning to hand fly is best done using one plane so you are able to maintain the feel of things. Jumping around between planes will slow your progress. Another thing is to know the altitudes you need to be for each phase of flight. Using the ILS is fine for visual reference.