Simviation Forums

I'm having problems landing aircraft in FS2004. I usually fly my favourite the 737 and can make a beautiful approach to th e runway. However, when it comes to raising the nose for the landing flare nothing happins and my plane lands nose first.....then the airplane jumps in the air with the nose raised very high (like the key stroke buffer is suddenly dumped into the program) and the plane only slowly returns to earth despite cutting the engines etc. It's very annoying. Is this a common  problem? Is there a patch? The problem is constant and remains regardless of aircraft or display settings. I'm running it on a 2GHz machine/768RAM/ATI9200PCI graphics card.

Cause could be almost anything, nmrbear.

I'm using the ILS. I usually cut the autothrottle just as the autoP catches the approach (above 2000 feet). I've got a couple of years experiance with FS2002 and maybe 4 months with FS2004. The trouble I had with 2002 was the ILS would put me in too close to the airport, now I have lots of time to line up with the runway but now there is a delayed reaction with the nose! I usually (try) to raise the nose around 300 feet. With the 737 I try and land around 165-175 knots. Using this strategy would always give me a nice landing in 2002.  I think its a buffering problem as the nose always rises dramatically after the landing regardless of what other key strokes  I've used to try and supress the problem.

Glad I asked some questions, nmrbear!

Easy steps for the 734

Be established at least 7nm out.
Normal landing flaps are 15 (engine out), 30(noise abatement) and 40.
Fly the approach with a 2 degree upward pitch, and maintain around 140kts, like Nav said.
Don't pay too much attention to the N1 indicators, just make sure you have the 140kts and the upward pitch.
Now follow the glideslope, you may need to adjust power a little bit. A rate of descent should be in the 700's or else you'll be too high on the glideslope.

At 50ft, gently move the thrustlevers to idle as you pull the yoke back so you have a landing attitude of 5 degrees. Thrustlevers should hit "idle" as your maingear touches the ground.

Practice this with 3% fuel in centre tank, and 20-25% in each wingtank.

One little trick I use when using the autopilot to fly the approaches is to keep triming the plane nose up.  I find that when getting closer to the runway the nose tends to dip lower than I would like causing the nose wheel to touch first.  Keeping the auto-throttle off and adjusting the power manually, as I get within about 500 feet use the trim to keep the nose up and off the ground.

Using the autopilot (a/p) to land the default FS9 B734 is very simple and works well. As the plane follows the glidepath downward, just reduce the speed using the mouse on the panel control. Before reaching the threshold, reduce speed to 120KIAS and the crate will land itself. Hit SHFT-Z to disengage the a/p and disengage the FD with the mouse and jump on the binders.

bill

p.s. no spoilers . . . full flaps, gear down and locked, three-in-the-green

whenever i land on autopilot i always take control of the airplane about 1nm out because the bounce problem
and im not to experanced with landing and i do fine  (the thing i do diffrent is i put my flaps out like example (220 posiion 1 200 pos 2 170 pos 3 and then i usualy just land with that) and dont cut throttel all the way until your on the ground or your nose will come down 2 fast  

and once yer under 120 put spoilers out. and then pull back on the stick (unrealistic but it does help kill speed )
and at about 70 breaks ... hope this helps ya

dont have realism set really high  ;D

anywho

I've experienced the same problem in the default 747 and crashed like a million times

so Practice hehe

I have also learned that just disengaging the auto pilot DOESNT disengage the auto throttle, so you have to make sure the auto throttle is also disengaged, few times I forgot to do this and still kept zipping on down the runway  :o

Thanks for the info. I have to admit I dont like reading the manuals and worked out the landing in FS2002 by trial and error  and trying to note the flap positions on take off and landing when I'm in a 737 (I still dont know to use the "backslope" or know the differernce between HDG or NAV in the autoP :-D. As FS2004 seems a little more tricky I'll do some reading but I'll start off with the advice listed above. I like the way the 737 flies so I'll stick with it.

I have a friend who works as a pilot for British Airways (transatlantic flights mostly) and he can't land a 747 manually in MSFS (something about not being able to control the rudder  realistically) and says the autolanding works a charm in real life (doesn't seem to be modelled in FS2004) anyways!

What makes me think it's a software problem is that even when I bounce and then trundle along the runway (with all wheels on the ground) for say 5s and the plane will slow down, then the  plane's  nose will jump in the air and it rises the plane steeply off the ground. With small planes they can rise a hundred feet in the air despite having rolled along the runway!

Thanks for the advice I'll try some of the approaches you suggested tonight

[quote]even when I bounce and then trundle along the runway (with all wheels on the ground) for say 5s and the plane will slow down, then the

Hi There

I'm not a real pilot but I get the feeling you're putting too much emphasis on a landing flair for a jet. I never completely land any of my 400 planes with an AP assist. As soon as I pick up the ILS at 30nm I'm off the AP and flying the ac down manually. At 12 to 10nm I'm right on the ILS, wheels down, full flaps. Angle of attack gauge reading slightly below center. From then on it's just a matter of hanging on and hanging in. Heavy fogs etc create a different situation of course. I wouldn't use the AT normally for anything other than climbs, normal flight, and the first three quarters of your descent.

cheers / Nek