Landings - Lining Up Help

[AlexisV]

Hello everyone. I'd like to start off by saying I am 100% new to Flight Simulator 2004 and use it for 'fun'. (I know some people get upset when it is referred to as a 'game').

Usually when I use FS2004, I fly around on the big 737 Boeings. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or if there is a tool to help me with this, but when I am in the air and spot an airport, I will tune into the tower and request landing permission. So that all goes fine and dandy, until it comes to the actual landing. How do you know if you are on the right bearing or are lines up correctly with the runway? Most of the time I have to judge it and end up crashing into the airport. Is there a tool for newbies or something?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Alexis

[Brett_Henderson]

There are a dozen answers to this question..

Everything from proper flight planning (knowing what runways are at your destination, and setting up your arrival / approach to be lined up with them) ...

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Remember that the biggest clue is in the runway number you have been assigned to land on, the number indicates the orientation of the runway rounded to the nearest two digit number.

EG: A runway on heading of 123 degrees (round down to 120 then divide by 10 = 12) would be numbered as runway 12, if the runway was on a heading of 127 degrees, (round up to 130 then divide by 10 = 13) then it would be runway 13.



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[beaky]

I'd also advise you to learn the basics in something smaller and slower... there's a reason why flight training is done this way in real life.  ;D

[Fozzer]

Flight Training?

Boeing 737....Not a very good idea!.... ...!

Cessna 172...A very good idea!... ...!

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

A little Cessna 152 is even better, but its not listed as a Default aircraft...unfortunately!.... ...!

[Vuikag]

The piper cub is good but the first time I ever flew the piper in the game i ended up in a falling leaf approach  :(

I learned to land threw CFS 2, that game has the best training out of any Flight Simulator ever!

[Nav]

AlexisV, couldn't agree more with those who've said that you should start with something small and basic. FS is a 'simulator,' not a game - you'll find that you will need to master the basics of actual flying, including learning how to climb, turn, and descend etc., and getting familiar with the instruments.

Don't disdain the 'flying lessons' at first. No need to do them all, but the first few - lessons 1-7 - don't take long, and will teach you the basics quicker than any written posts on here will. And check the Learning Centre for a briefing on each aeroplane before you try to fly it - just 'B' for 'Boeing' in the case of the 737.

You don't say whether you have a joystick? That's the first essential - if money's a problem a simple two-axis one will be fine at first.

As to the specific case of landing a 737, with the aid of the Instrument Landing System, this may help; but I couldn't put EVERYTHING in, I had to assume that people had learned the basics of flying before they tried landing a biggie.......

http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?board=COF;action=display;num=1111322151

There's also a tute on manual crosswind landings in the FAQs for later on.

[Gringo6]

Dear AlexisV - I'd recommend you start with the default Cessna 172.

You might want to go to Views. view options, and turn on the axis
indicator. Probably  use the small V. This indicates the direction the centerline of the aircraft is pointing only and not the path you're traveling but you can use it to align the aircraft to the runway.

If you are flying into an airport with ILS, you can also tune in the ILS frequency and  set the OMI to the heading of the runway you are going to land on.   Next go to the aircraft menu and turn on the visual flight path  and then just fly thru the hoops or whatever. This is kinda cheating to me - but it works.

Keep at it

Billa (aka Griingo6)