Landing Analysis

[Guest SuperFortress]

The one thing that FSX lacks lacks is the physical "feeling" of an actual landing. Even though some of my landings look good in theory, there are many times where I wonder was that a nice comfy soft landing or did that landing knock a few teeth out of my passengers.I was wondering if there is any program out there that would give you a complete analysis of your landings? I'm particularly interested in knowing if a landing was soft, hard, or even dangerous.Thank you.

[Guest jshyluk]

This is a good question. I kind of get the feeling that landings are subjective in FSX, partly due to the game factor (where it's not so much fun to plant your aircraft like a potato after a 12-hour flight), partly due to limitations of the flight dynamics (stuff like simulated braking power versus tire traction), and a big part that most people fly their desk. If you watch the animation of the flight as it comes in, the aircraft motion looks kind of fake, at least to my eyes. The path of motion doesn't quite look like it has enough natural curves to it, so that the aircraft appears to to me to travel on invisible rails. It's a little hard to describe. It's better in FSX, worse in FS9. The sim is doing a lot of calculations besides the point of touchdown, so I get the impression that some of the stuff you see is abstract within the sim.That being said, programs like Flight Deck Commander or FS2Crew will give you broad audio feedback on your landing ("Thanks for not killing us!" stands out in my mind).You might try FSFlying School, which will grade your entire flight. Setting up proper landings can be a little tricky, especially with add-on aircraft and airports, but if I can do it, anybody can. I am not sure this program is technical enough for your needs, but it might be worth a look. The do have a free demo you can check out, which is always a good thing:http://www.fsflyingschool.com/http://www.avsim.com/pages/1207/FlightScho...lightSchool.htmThere's also FSpassenger, which simulates jetliner travel. I don't have this product, so I know next to nothing about it, although it does provide reports about your fliying and landing skills.http://www.fspassengers.com/?action=homeJeff ShylukAssistant Managing EditorSenior Staff ReviewerAVSIM

[Guest fsxmissionguy]

When landing the Wilco 737 PIC, you get a sound cue ... either a jarring sound indicating the rattling of all of the onboard equipment, or the sound of a camera taking a photo as you touchdown (picture perfect!)It's a nice touch. (I believe it's dependent on your rate of descent when the tires hit the pavement).

[Guest PPSFA]

Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing, if you can use the plane again it's a great landing, but all landings you live through are ones you can be sued for. :-)XP Pro SP2-FSX SP2AMD FX60-8800GTS-2 Gigs RAMFEX-GEX-UTUSA-FSGenesis-and a bunch of other stuffComputer optimized by www.fs-gs.com

[LAdamson 240]

The brain can actually fill in a lot of gaps & provide some pretty good sensations of "feel". But then...........you have to know what the "feel" is to start with. And for that, I suppose you'd have to be landing a real plane enough, so that the brain knows what to look for.So, based on my above theory.... :7 I actually DO get some good landing "feel", when landing my desktop simulator. In otherwords, it's very possible! :)L.Adamson

[Guest NoobPilot]

Well, I suppose if you think it's a hard landing then you could always drop a desk on your toe, that would simulate the pain. I remember seeing somewhere a while back that read out information at touchdown, like speed, wind direction, and vertical speed. It seemed to be in a little blue box... although I forget what it was.

[Geofa 108]

I agree 100%. So with our mind filling in the gaps with reality perhaps we are are not seeing reality-but it sure feels real to me-with certain aircraft of course-and that is what counts-especially with present gasoline prices... :-) what a bargain...GeofaMy blog:http://geofageofa.spaces.live.com/

[Snowfalcon 18]

A little while back I got invited up for a 20 ride in a friends plane. The plane is a Pitts S2B and he is a aerobatics instructor. I took a 2 hr nap when I got home from that ride, and no I didn't lose my lunch. Sometimes be greatfull you can't feel sh*t when your in the sim!

[Geofa 108]

I felt that way after my first lessons in a c152 almost 20 years ago.Always felt tired and a little queezy after my lesson but never lost my lunch. Was worried about this at the time-almost thought about quitting.Gained my "sea legs" after keeping with it-still get tired after long flights +-9-11 hours-but is pretty stabilized-never sea sick even in tubulence.There seem to be sea legs that occur over time.Also got sea sick to the point of feeling like dying years ago in a deep sea fishing boat for 9 hours in rough seas.Just took a whale watching boat in rough seas a few months ago-was sure I'd toss my cookies-turned out to be no problem.Seems tossing/not tossing cookies can be learned...maybe?GeofaMy blog:http://geofageofa.spaces.live.com/

[rightseater 0]

[Guest Bud]

FS Flight Keeper provides a full analysis of every aspect of your flight and will tell you exactly how you performed.Have a look at the web site - http://www.molitor-home.de/FS/FLKeeper. There is a new version currently on beta test and it should be out any time now. This is a first class product, one I would not want to be without.Bud

[LAdamson 240]

>A little while back I got invited up for a 20 ride in a>friends plane. The plane is a Pitts S2B and he is a aerobatics>instructor. >>I took a 2 hr nap when I got home from that ride, and no I>didn't lose my lunch. >>Sometimes be greatfull you can't feel sh*t when your in the>sim!Yep, when it comes to flight induced nausea and the ongoing urge to barf..........the sim fails! :-hah L.Adamson

[Geofa 108]

I feel double your pain (Baron)...but with a combo of throttling slightly back and planning stops based on fuel prices the hamburger is still doable, though certainly no longer $100.GeofaMy blog:http://geofageofa.spaces.live.com/

[Guest SuperFortress]

Once again thanks for everyone's input. I will definitely checkout FS Flight Keeper. It's definitely true that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing but I just wanna know if any of my landings are damaging the aircraft and spooking the passengers :)

[dokelly07 0]

I am replying to the poster that commented the replay landing looked like the plane was on rails during landing replay. I feel the same way, and I think I might have a good guess as to why it looks this way.I am a real world pilot, and thus am very hard on myself, especially in turns. I keep the ball centered, and they are always nice and smooth (as much as is possible in a 172). However, I have noticed during replay of some of my famed "semi-perfect" touchdowns that the replay did not show this same smooth motion that I KNOW I exhibited. So...here is my theory. I am thinking that the replay in FSX is definately not a playback of your actual flight "footage" if you will, rather it is a rough interpretation. You can test this yourself. Take-off, complete a circuit, and put her down. Now replay, you will notice in some cases that the control surfaces do not respond exactly on time with the turn, and the aircraft will tend to move in rigid ways, especially in turns. It is even more obvious with helo's. I think that FSX somehow saves resources and plays back the aircraft at certain positions of altitude and heading, therefore not having the fluidity of your actual motion experienced in real time.This is just a guess, as many times I have viewed the replay and wondered why the thing looked the be on rails, as it did not in any way feel like that during the flight or during landing. It should be stated that this "rail" look is only prevalent during spot view, at least to me...Danon O.