737 Descent Question

[Guest]

I'm doing some airline sim flying. Going into San Francisco International. Have some questions about airliner descent rates.I'm cruising at 30,000 feet. How far out should I start the descent? What is the normal descent rate for a passenger airliner? I don't want to do it too much, want to be realistic.Are there some benchmarks I should aim for? Like so many feet altitude by so-and-so many miles out?thanks for any help!!!

[Guest Van]

Hi,You can use the 3 to 1 ratio...if you are at FL300 you should start your descent 90 nm from your destination airport usually at -2000 to - 2200 fpm until FL150 and then you can reduce your rate and speed to -1500 fpm and 250 kts. These are the numbers that my fmc equipped panels usually generate and I use them when flying the older planes such as the 737-200 and 727-200.Regards,Van LatendresseYeoDesigns/AFG Group

[Guest ba747heavy]

The above is good, but remember to adjust your decent for the arrival airport elevation.For example:Cruise - 30000 ftLanding elevation - 5000 ft30000 - 5000 = 25000 (amount you will need to really descend)25 * 3 = 75 nm out start your descent, and descend at -2000 fpm, and then -1500 fpm and 250 kts at FL150, just like Van said.