i need help on How to land a plain strate

[christos103]

can anybody tell me how to land coz the lessons isn't working i can manage to take off but when it comes to landing i don't knw witch way is down wind because i come to the airport diagnaly across

please help

[commoner]

Hi Christos...sorry you are having trouble with your landings.... unless you set the wind speed and direction in the Weather section then the default wind speed in FS9 is is zero, so no need to worry there. If you mean you are directed by ATC to approach downwind then just assume they mean the opposite direction to the runway they have appointed to you for landing...if they say land at runway 09 (90 degrees) then 270 degrees will presumably be downwind.

Practice makes perfect regarding the actual landing, just try to make sure you have the correct landing speed and flap setting well in advance....best advice though is DO THE LESSONS....good luck..commoner

[beefhole]

Buddy, I'd help you if I had any idea what the hell you just said.  ???
I think you're talking about landings.  Make sure wind is zero (it should be default, like commoner said) and practice, pracice, practice.  The key to me learning to land was keep up airspeed.  Don't get too slow, keep that power in.

[Chris_F]

can anybody tell me how to land coz the lessons isn't working i can manage to take off but when it comes to landing i don't knw witch way is down wind because i come to the airport diagnaly across

please help

Assuming you're not a native english speaker:

There are lessons which teach you how to fly the pattern.  This will explain what ATC means when they say "fly right downwind" or "fly left downwind".  If I recall it's not in the same lesson where they describe how to land, it's a later lesson.  Go though all of the lessons in order and all your questions will be answered.

If you are a native english speaker then your question "how to land a plain straight" probably referrs to poker.  All you have to do is hold the cards which will make  a straight, discard the cards which don't, and hope you get a lucky draw.  In the popular Texas hold'em it's pure luck.

[Fozzer]

[quote]

Assuming you're not a native English speaker:

.......If you are a native English speaker then your question "how to land a plain straight" probably refers to poker.

[Tom_M]

The FS landing lessons taught me how to land a Cessna, the next step was a standalone flight taking off and landing.

After that, move on to the DC3 because it's easy to fly and reasonably large.

Once you're confident-ish, I'd say the 777 because it is easier to fly than the other 7x7s. Don't expect a perfect on-runway landing though.

I wouldn't recommend the 737, 747 or any fighter jets because they're difficult with your experience.

The most important things on approach are: landing gear, flaps, airbrake. Before you hit, flick on the parking brakes (Ctrl+Period) and once you're on the ground hold F2 for dear life to activate reverse thrust. You should stop comfortably on the runway.

[Chris_F]

The FS landing lessons taught me how to land a Cessna...

After that, move on to the DC3...

Once you're confident-ish, I'd say the 777 ...

I'd recommend moving to the Beachcraft Baron after the Cessna.  The DC3 isn't a tricycle gear plane and behaves totally differently then the Cessna on touchdown.  Plus the Baron is the easiest twin engine to fly, something critical if you want to move to the big iron.

After the Baron learn to fly the King Air.  Then try jets, starting with the Lear.  Once you nail the Lear try the bigger iron.  I like starting small (737) and working up.  There's a lot less inertia to deal with.

Get proficient with every plane before moving on.  Be able to stick fly the plane (no autopilot), be able to climb to altitude, hold altitude airspeed and heading, decend from altitude (not as easy as it sounds) and finally land the plane.  Learn all the controls, displays, etc.

It takes time before you can fly the big iron effectively.  Don't rush it, that's half the joy of the game.

[wilderobb]

Dont feel bad, When I first started simming I considerd myself lucky just to get it on the ground without crashing! What I did was begin a flight around the world. Yes I crashed at first but after pratice, and by the time I got home ( a week or so later I was amazed at what I had learned.) When I did crash I started over at the last airport I landed at.  A bit hard on myself, but then I was rasied by French Canadian Nuns! I thought I was a terrable student untill I got to high school. Grade point average, 4.0. I still can't spell very well on paper but then knowing where to get the information is far more important than knowing the answer off the top of your head. Now then, if there was a spell checker on the forum would help a lot of people including me. Untill then I'l keep my trusty 1943 Dictionary.

[beefhole]

Assuming you're not a native english speaker:

That's what I thought, so I checked his bio-it says hes from the uk...

[Skligmund]

I prefer to use beta (reverse thrust) of a KingAir when I'm about 100 yards from the threshold, makes for some nice shortfeild landings.

The Kinair and 1900 don't have squat switches on the gear, so reverse thrust can be used at anytime.

[TacitBlue]

...What I did was begin a flight around the world.

Thats what Im doing now. I got myself comfortable just flying, and then to get good at things like landing, and navigating, I started an around the world flight in the default Mooney Bravo. It is a good way to learn, because you have that "I have to do this" feeling. Im just starting though, I started in Blaine WA, and Im about 1/2 way across Alaska.

[MattNW]

can anybody tell me how to land coz the lessons isn't working i can manage to take off but when it comes to landing i don't knw witch way is down wind because i come to the airport diagnaly across

please help

I'll take a stab at this. The lessons will teach you but maybe an added explanation will make it easier to learn.

A common VFR traffic pattern is in the form of a rectangle with the runway being one of the long sides. The direction you take off is considered "upwind" even if there isn't any wind blowing. In real life if there is wind then the take off runway will be the one where you are facing into the wind (if the airport has one. If not then the closest one to facing into the wind is used).

Now that you are in the air you follow the rectangular pattern fly upwind about a half mile and then turn either left or right depending on the pattern. This is why you will hear ATC say, "Fly left downwind, runway 33". This simply means all your turns will be to the left (I'll assume during the explanation that you are flying a left hand pattern) following the rectangular traffic pattern. Once you have turned left or right you will then enter the "downwind" leg of the pattern. This is parallel to the runway and the opposite direction of the one you took of from.

About a half mile past the downwind end of the runway (where you intend to land) you turn left again. This is called turning "Base". If you pick an airport without a tower you will see the ATC menu items "Announce Upwind, Announce Downwind, Announce Base, Announce Final".

[stevewilson]

It sure helped me. Thanks.

[codered]

If I am coming to an airport that has no ATIS, I will use cntrl+z to pull up the wind data to give me the direction to land.  In real life at an uncontrolled airport you would be able to see if anyone is monitoring the unicom frequency to give you wind direction or runway usage.  FS9 does not give you this option.  Or you would be able to as FSS what the current weather is.  You can also fly over the airport to see what direction the windsock is blowing, but one is not always available.  Cntrl+z is the best alternative I can think of.  

[beefhole]

If I am coming to an airport that has no ATIS, I will use cntrl+z to pull up the wind data to give me the direction to land.

Shift+z is the default assignment for this.