User Guide

Flight Simulator
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Microsoft
3. Fly this approach at 65 knots all the way to touchdown.
4. Adjust power in small amounts to modify the glidepath for a landing beyond the runway
numbers (the large white numbers painted on the beginning of the runway).
Even though the wing leveler is active, you can still make small (2-3 degree) bank changes with
the joystick. Remember, the wing leveler prevents you from overcontrolling the airplane. Please
keep it activated.
5. When you’re over the runway, slowly reduce power to idle and maintain 65 knots until touching
down (hold the attitude for 65 knots all the way to the ground). Make sure the wings are
perfectly level before landing.
6. Press P again to stop the simulation when finished.
7. After touchdown, rerun this simulation at least two more times by pressing Ctrl+;.
Feeling more confident about getting an airplane on the runway? Good. Now let’s work on the finer
points of landing. Then I’ll show you how to get down if you’re too high.
The Landing Flare
Until now you’ve flown the airplane onto the runway at a final approach speed of 65 knots. You could
do this because, at 65 knots, the simulated airplane is in a minimally acceptable landing attitude (i.e.,
the airplane is pitched nose-up, putting the nose gear above the main gear). Additionally, the descent
rate in this simulation isn’t excessive at this speed and doesn’t put undue stress on the landing gear.
But this isn’t the way it is with all airplanes. Nor is it necessarily this way with the same airplane when
flaps are extended for landing. Therefore, to land properly under all conditions, you must learn to flare
the airplane to ensure a soft, safe touchdown.
The landing flare begins at approximately 10
to 20 feet above the runway. At this point,
raise the nose with a slight and gentle pull on
the joystick. How much of a pull? Once again,
that’s a matter of experience. The objective is
to “shallow” your descent angle and decrease
the airspeed for landing. Now the airplane
can settle onto the runway at a smaller
descent rate and at a slightly higher nose-up
attitude. This makes for a softer touchdown
and keeps the nose gear higher than the
main gear (Figure 6).
What if the airplane stalls during the flare? No problem, as long as it stalls a few inches above the
ground. If you try to flare at 50 feet above the ground, plan on settling into the runway instead of onto
it. (Ouch! Deductible!) Big difference. As you’ll soon see, the flare requires a little timing but there’s a
lot of latitude in how it’s accomplished.
Figure 6