Updated 11/07/17
Every plane goes up and needs to come down, and that is the landing. In this tutorial, you will learn how to land.
Basic/Short Guide
Make sure you are aligned with the runway, and not too high or close to the runway such that you will need to descend at too high of a rate. An easy way to check this is to align the circle of your HUD (the vector indicator, A) onto the runway and check your vertical speed (B). If your vertical speed is over -1000 (feet per minute), then you are too high or close to the runway and your landing will not be smooth.
Set flaps to 30 degrees. Use the vector indicator to guide your plane to the runway by aligning it with the runway, maintaining a speed of around 130-140 knots (for jets). Reduce thrust to 0 when 50 feet above runway, pull up slightly and touch down.
Detailed/Advanced Guide
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| Detailed labels of the HUD. Credits to Mark Denton. |
From cruise altitude, descend down to 10,000 feet at a speed of 250 knots and a vertical speed of 2000-2300 feet per minute. More details on descent can be found here:
http://www.infiniteflight.tk/2014/07/descent.html
Turn on:
1.Landing lights
2.Strobe lights
Descent Checklist
Rate of descent.......................1000-2000 feet per minute
Speed.....................................Below 250 KIAS
Landing lights...........................On
Seat belt sign...........................On
Upon reaching 10,000 feet, continue descending all the way down to 2000 or 3000 feet (depending on airport) at vertical speed of 1000-2000 feet per minute, at a speed of less than 240 knots.
Maintain 2000 feet until you have the runway in sight. Lower your flaps as you get closer to the airport. Set trim to 10%.
Approach Checklist
Speed...................................160-180 KIAS
Rate of descent......................1000 feet per minute
Runway..................................In sight
Flaps......................................3 (15 degrees)
Guide the plane towards the runway using the vector indicator by aligning it with the runway.
5 nautical miles from the airport, lower your landing gear and reduce speed to 130-160 knots. Make sure you have full flaps, and arm the spoilers. You are now on final approach.
At the 500 feet callout, your descent rate should be around 700 feet per minute, no more than 1000.
At 100 feet callout, slowly lower your power to 0%. On 50 callout, gently bring the nose up and touchdown. On touchdown, lower the nose gently and apply reverse thrust until 60 knots. Use breaks at 90 knots.
When the speed reaches 20 knots( Maximum taxiing speed), turn brakes off, reverse thrust off and start taxiing to the gate, close Flaps to 0, spoilers off and park at gate.
Landing Checklist
Landing..................................Confirmed
Autopilot go around altitude....Set
Trim.......................................As needed
Landing gear...........................Down
Flaps.......................................4 (30 degrees)
Rate of descent.......................500-700 feet per minute
Spoilers..................................Armed
Shutdown Checklist
Lights......................................Off
Seat belt signs..........................Off
Parking break..........................Set
Flaps.......................................Up
Trim........................................0%
You have successfully landed and parked your plane!
Tips and tricks:
1. Common upon new players is that on touchdown, the plane bounces up and down, or the nose is pointing down on landing. This is usually because the plane is going too fast and/or descending too rapidly. Make sure you are around 140 knots on landing and your vertical speed is less than 800 feet per minute.
2. Practise makes perfect! Keep practising landing, and also experiment; you will get better.
3. You can use autopilot to maintain your speed. Simply tap on the SPD button and adjust the sped.
4. Watch videos of people landing.
Happy flying! If you have any questions, feel free to let us know.
