Simviation Forums

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1/Ne ... roblem.jpg

I was beginning my descent for cleveland hopkins international airport when I noticed my American Airlines MD80 looked rather odd, with the nose of the plane noticeably higher than the rear. I believe this has something to do with controlling the pitch, and I am really unfamiliar/unexperienced with this. Can any one give me advice on how to fix this? thank you.

this is a good read and very helpfull when learning http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb2 ... 1111322151 It's a different plane so some of the number will need to be adjusted, but it will get you pointed in the right direction.

If you think the MD 80 looks odd the MD 88 which is a stretch version of the MD 80 was referred to as a load planners night mere. The reason was because the plane was so long that when empty the plane was nose heavy as you know what. As long as the flight was close to being full you put your bags in the back four bins with the most weight in  the very last bin closest to the tail. Every thing would be all right. But let people start getting off the flight for one reason or the other and boy you had serious problems . You would be willing to find a cement truck to start putting it into the last bin. The more passengers that got off the more nose heavy it would become. I used to hate these planes with a passion as it would absolutely ruin your day. 8-)

okay.. for the lack of a better explanation

I'll be 10 miles out from the runway I'm landing on
and im flying a 747-400
and when Im doing an ILS landing approach, the nose of my aircraft just shoots way up, and I can't even see anything infront of me over the cock pit, and this is when I'm about 10 miles out, and even sometimes my aircraft goes into a stall.  :-/

If you still have the autopilot engaged as you begin to descend on the ILS, if you do not have the correct throttle setting (or auto-throttle engaged, if available)... OR if you do not have the correct airspeed set on the autopilot...  the plane will try to stay on the glideslope the only way it can: by pitching up.
Sounds like you're getting too slow on approach, due to one or the other factor mentioned above (or both!).

PS- upload pictures here before posting, please... click "Upload Images" at the top of the page and follow the directions.

Do you have any flaps extended in that picture?

TSC.

...looks like yet another example to leave the Jumbo Jet festering in the Hangar, and wheel out the trusty Default Cessna 172 Trainer for many, many hours practice flights with the Instructor... ...??

Paul...G-BPLF... 8-)...!

I was beginning my descent for cleveland hopkins international airport when I noticed my American Airlines MD80 looked rather odd, with the nose of the plane noticeably higher than the rear. I believe this has something to do with controlling the pitch, and I am really unfamiliar/unexperienced with this. Can any one give me advice on how to fix this? thank you.

You have to have a good understanding of what's happenning, and what needs to be done by the pilot, while landing an airplane. You can grope, and try , and crash, and grope, and try again, and again... until you get a big jet down onto the runway in one piece (not really understanding or learning much more than a "step-by-step" / "hope for the best" routine.........

Uh, yeah... I didn't look closely at the picture. You definitely want flaps deployed on approach with a heavy jet.  It can be done without, but it's not for beginners.
Come to think of it, heavy jets are not for beginners...

I wonder if any of the advice given helped at all?



TSC.