Hi all,Anybody manage to do that. I see in movies when they land, the nose wheel is always on the center line of the runway. I just can't do it. Is there any trick to do pull that off?

In real life it would be rare for a pilot to hit the centre line. The passengers wouldn't appreciate the bdum,bdum,bdum as the nose wheel hit the lights.It is also more likley, for the same reason, that an aircraft will be lined up just right or left of tghe centreline for take offs.AB

It takes experience/practice, basically. Also, let me add that most runways do not have the center line lights. Always remember that the majority of the world is not airliners and large airports.If you are going to learn to fly with precision, nail that center line. Then, when you're flying the big iron, you will have the precision to keep the nose gear a foot away or so.I get on the center line almost all the time, and there's no bump, bump, bump, and my passengers are always happy.... as long as I get them down in one piece! :-lolRegards,http://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...R_FORUM_LOU.jpg

the keyword is "in the movies"in real life, nobody is perfect and everybody is human. all it takes is practice and then you will be able to land everything from a cessna to a 742

>Hi all,>>Anybody manage to do that. I see in movies when they land, the>nose wheel is always on the center line of the runway. I just>can't do it. Is there any trick to do pull that off?There is actually a pretty simple way to do this. Go to view options and enable the axis indicator. I prefer to use the large V. The center of the V corresponds to the nose of your aircraft as well (as nose gear). Simply line up the middle of the V with the runway centerline and you'll have a "movie" quality landing almost every time (unless you have some seriously bad crosswinds). After some practice you will be experienced enough to do it without the axis indicator.

Practice, practice, practice. It helps as the previous writer said to use the axis indicator. At first I began with the large V, switched to the smaller one, then only the 4 dots. Also using an ILS which is right on helps in the beginning. Now with so much practice, I know just where the panel should line up with the centerline. But, even after all that practice, it still does not mean I can do it every time. A good smooth landing, is more important than being on the centerline. I think of "greasing" it in, as if landing on a surface smooth as a mirror. Without even a squeak of the tires, touching down just as the Stall Horn sounds. That was one of my goals when learning to fly, and the biggest thrill came when landing at Oakland, CA in heavy overcast, with ground fog. Landing a Kingair, with visibility of only 200 ft, landed right on the centerline. But, my intention at the time was not to do that, the ILS just led me down onto the line. (I never use autopilot when landing.) How did I learn? Practice, practice, practice. When I received my first copy of the Flight sim in 1985, knew that landing was the MOST important part of flying. So, I shot landings 20-40 times each time I loaded the flightsim, before flying anywhere else. One way to make it easier to practice. Take off, and fly the pattern, but before landing go out at least 10+ miles. Make your turns, then press Pause. Now you are far enough you cant see the airfield, but in an approximate area to land. Save it, and make it the "default" flight. Then turn pause off, and land. Click on "Flights" and "Reset Flight" . . . Land again.This saves the time it takes to repeat after a full stop landing.It may not be the same on all controls, but on mine, each time it loads on a new day. I had to move the throttle a couple of times full movement, then back to about the position it was when saved. If I didnt, I'd lose a lot of altitude, before making my approach. First time about 2 thousand feet. ;-) As I enjoy landing so much, even today, have a flight labled "Practice" and from time to time load, and practice. Bob

Axis indicator? I need to try that out. Thnx

As everyone else has said, it comes with a lot of practice.I've never polled my passengers as the are leaving the plane onto the jet way but I'm 99 and 44/100ths percent sure they would prefer the thump of the centerline lights as opposed to the banging of the runway marker lights hitting the engine cowling or even worse, the spinning around and violent stop after dropping a set of mains off the edge of the pavement and the ensuing chaos once it sunk in.Besides, out of all the airports I normally operate at in the RW only three have centerline lights and out of those three, only one is moderately bumpy if you get one of the two front tires directly on the lights themselves. (If one were to truly get the exact center, there would be no bump from the lights as they would pass between the two front tires.)

It

BTW, did anybody see the horrible 747 landing in the movie Cody Banks II?. It happens when "petit" 007 decides to fly to London. The plane virtually falls appart after a terible bang on the runway. It has nothing to do with the plot so I recon it was just some spotter getting lucky. Made my crappy landings suddenly seem purty smooth }( . It definitelly is NOT even in the movies.CheersMauricio

The key to a good landing is a good approach, a good approach a well managed join/downwind, a well managed join is due to good planning.The planning gets easier with practice, as you learn how to organise the myriad of information one need's to absorb for each trip. The join and approach gets easy when you learn to do only what your told to do by your instructor. Sure, practice helps, but if it were just down to that it would be a very hit and miss afair. In good conditions it is more a science than an art. In bad...that's another story!However, saying that, my local a/d has a big long fat runway. Another I often visit has a long pencil thin runway. Guess which of those I always hit the centre line?

Pitch for speedPower for altitudeIt's all in the stability of the approach...stay on the V Ref and bring her in...and you will hit the centerline 99 % of the time! At least in the big iron anyway.

All of the above and even more practice.In some ways it's really it's no different from backing a car into a very narrow space-the first time ever it's so difficult - after a few years you do it without thinking.Just spatial awareness extended to 3 dimensions rather than two.But still- more practice- particularly when landing smaller aircraft in strong or gusty crosswinds.Dave

>There is actually a pretty simple way to do this. Go to view>options and enable the axis indicator. I prefer to use the>large V. The center of the V corresponds to the nose of your>aircraft as well (as nose gear). Anyone know why some aircraft will not show the axis indicator??How to fix??thanks, Randy A

I'd also like to add that you use ailerons to correct for drift and rudder to center the longitudnal axis with the centerline. "Bank into the wind, opposite rudder."----------------------------------------------------------------John S. MorganReal World: KGEG, UND Aerospace Spokane Satillite, Private 130+ hrs.Virtual: MSFS 2004"There is a feeling about an airport that no other piece of ground can have. No matter what the name of the country on whose land it lies, an airport is a place you can see and touch that leads to a reality that can only be thought and felt." - The Bridge Across Forever: A Love Story by Richard Bach