bcdozier

I set aileron and elevator trim on buttons on the yoke. Then I set the rpms on my practice flight for -500 fpm descent. While adjusting the rpms I added one click of up elevator via the yoke button. Smooth as silk. Plane went to -500 fpm and never bobbed once. Now, I'm eager to try landing tomorrow. Thanks again for the help.

FSX. Cessna Skyhawk. Fixed pitch. Attempting a straight-in landing to KERV, a non-controlled airport, from about 13 miles out at 5,000 ft.

Thank you for your time and detailed explanation. I have a flight set up to take me into my home airport, KERV. Initially I'm at 2000 rpm, 85 KTS, VSI:0, 5800 ft. and about 18 miles from KERV. I reduced the rpms to 1800 and touched nothing. Airspeed went to 80 KTS. The VSI vacillated between these values: -400 -200 -350 -150 -300 -200 -300 -200 -250 and apparently settled on -200. I didn't time it, but the excursions took a couple of minutes. The straight-in RNAV (GPS) RWY 12, for KERV, as I understand it, stipulates I should be at 4000' at waypoint OBUCO 12.3 NM from the airport to begin the descent. But how can I make an accurate descent if the plane is pitching up and down? That was only a -200 rpm excursion on the rpms. If I wanted to descend at, say, 500 fpm at another airport I would have to reduce rpms further inducing greater swings on the VSI. How in the world could I do something more complicated, like stay on a glideslope? In round numbers I've got about 10 minutes of descent time at 80KTS at KERV. I've just blown about 2 min. of that because of the plane's wild up-down gyrations. It's obvious I'm not understanding something. bcdozier

New to FSX and FS2020. I've crashed trying to land more times than I can count. Isolated the biggest part of my problem to the descent. I can never get to the runway or I'm way past it. I've changed the rpms by 50 rpm or changed the trim by one 'knob' on the trim wheel. The plane always starts the phugoids. By the time the plane settles down I've destroyed my descent profile. Changing in increments to start a descent is nuts. So, what is the secret to changing the speed or attitude (or both) of the plane without having it oscillate up and down?