Problem On Approach

[Bubblehead]

Whenever I make my final  approach and just before touch down, I keep experiencing diffiuclty getting the nose of the plane to line up with the runway despite efforts to control the aircraft with the rudder and aileron. This happens when I'm about a mile from the runway at about a thousand feet. The end result is I end up on the grassy area or between runways. I have a MS Forcefeedback II joystick and it is properly calibrated. One more thing, I seem to experience this more so when flying civil jets as opposed to smaller private planes  or military fighter jets. Any clue why?

Bubblehead

[gw]

When I first started flying the jets I had a similar problem.  The jets are bigger and heavier than the smaller plans and take longer to react to the controls.  I had to learn to think ahead of the plane and make adjustments sooner rather than later.

gw

[MichaelH]

I agree with GW's advice.

I don't think there is anything wrong with your joystick. It just takes a lot of practice. ..

[Nav]

Bubblehead, I wouldn't use the rudder too much on approach.  Gentle banking is all you need.  Give the aeroplane plenty of time to react, and, as gw says, think ahead....

Other ideas that should help are:-

1.  Save an approach - then practise with it, fly it again and again until you gain confidence.

2.  Check the wind as you line up (Shift-Z twice brings it up at the top of the screen, keep pressing Shift-Z to clear).  Don't be afraid to 'aim off' to allow for it - quite often, in any kind of crosswind, you have to aim 5 or 10 degrees off the runway line.

3.  Look at the WHOLE runway, particularly the far end, so you can judge its direction better.  Don't just look at the threshold.

4.  Difficult to get this over - but 'don't panic'!  Early on in an approach, the runway looks tiny, it doesn't seem possible that you can land on it - so you tend to over-correct.  Be patient, don't get too bothered about being a bit off line early on - once you're closer the perspective snaps into place and it's a sight easier to stay straight....

5.  If the runway you are using has ILS, turn on the 'Visual Flight Path' (click on 'Aircraft', rectangles are best).  It'll show you the flightpath all the way down, help you practise.

6.  Remember the basic rules for landing - 'pitch for speed, power for height'.  If you're going too fast, trim the nose higher; if you're losing height too fast, add a touch of power.  Keep checking the ASI and the 'rate of climb/descent' and the Attitude Indicator, and make sure everything stays steady.  What you should aim for is the aeroplane settling into the approach and pretty well holding the right speed and rate of descent 'hands off'.   It's a nice feeling.......

[commoner]

Hi Nav....Is there something wrong with putting the AP in Appr. mode and letting that lock onto the localizer until just before touch down........it seems to work almost 100% of the time if you set it up right and there doesn't seem a lot else you can do at night in thick fog. Or am I missing the point somewhere here?  ;)

[Nav]

Hi commoner!

No - nothing wrong with that at all - the professionals use every aid going, all the time, for good reasons.

But I think you miss a lot of the fun that way, in the end.  As I said, 'coaxing' and taming an aeroplane so that it slides neatly down the approach and almost lands itself, WITHOUT using the ILS, is a nice feeling.

My personal 'thing' is the oldies, too, vintage aeroplanes.  Most of which don't have autopilots.

[Nav]

This sort of thing - landing the DH88 Comet at Reagan National in Washington DC.  Wouldn't have missed it for worlds!  :)

[commoner]

WOW that sounds good!.."coaxing and taming".........must be lurve I guess!  ::)

Guess I'll have to unload the passengers and get practicing!

[Nav]

Just as a matter of interest, commoner, what do you do if the airport you want to go to doesn't have ILS?

[commoner]

Hi Nav..........I never said I did't or couldn't land without the AP on....... but FS can be,

[Nav]

Fair enough, commoner.   Sounds like we both 'mix and match', I reckon it's the best way.

Speaking of bad weather, the Northern Hemisphere seems to be having a lousy summer.  

My current 'project' is flying a B25 round the world north-south, in 'real weather'.  I thought I'd done the hard bit - Melbourne to NZ and across Antarctica.  And then I pottered up through the two Americas - and yes, using ILS some of the time!

But today's 'leg' was from Churchill on Hudson's Bay to Pond Inlet on Baffin Island.  Only a 4,000-foot runway, no ILS of course, not even a VOR - cloud down to 2,000, and only about 2 miles visibility below that, and a 20-knot wind......

Thank God for GPS - found it and landed OK.  I was thinking about this thread!  And also thinking that if the weather is like that over Canada, God knows what it will be like on the next leg, over the North Pole to Svalbard on Spitsbergen......

[commoner]

Hi Nav........some trip you a making  ;D Maybe I'll take the King Air 350 out for a spin and try your "today's leg" ....sounds interesting.....400 ft you say...should be no problem.

Gps ...yes I love that too....those little green feathers are a real comfort eh?

 Enjoy your flight..commoner

[Nav]

Er - four thousand........

I'm crazy, but not THAT crazy!

It's a fun trip.  The Mitchell only has about a 1,600-mile range, so you have to plan your route carefully.

[commoner]

Ooops..sorry Nav