I was attempting my first IFR flight with FSFS and was battling Mr. Smith and then trying to appease the ATC Tower.  One of the things I noticed was he thought I was landing while I was still well over 50 miles or so out...Do I just keep hitting Shift-CTL-X until ready.

What are some secrets out there to help me out?  I'm going to need all the help I can get for this world wide cometition?

Joe Mini

Joe Mini

President/CEO/Chief Pilot for Joe Mini World Wide Tours, LLC. 
"If we get you to your destination in one piece, it's a miracle"  

First - thanks for being a frequent poster to the forum - it all helps, and it helps everyone.

Your question is a compelling one.

As far as FSFS is concerned, if you've been cruising and you've started descending... you are in landing mode. You can fly without a flight plan and so FSFS has no idea how long it'll be until you touch down.

I think I am correct in saying that there is no problem with being in landing mode when you are still a long way or a long time from the runway. It is only in the last stages of a landing that the instructor will look for flaps, reduced speed, gear, alignment with the runway and capture of the glideslope. This all kicks in when you are getting pretty darned close to the ground.

As to secrets... the manual has a lot of information in there so everyone should read it and have it handy.

The forum is a great place to look and remember you can use the search feature here.

We are planning to release some new documents with cheat sheets for landing airliners for example - they will be right here and coming soon.

Hope this helps...

Jeff Preston ('Squadron Leader') - FSFlyingSchool Publisher & Lead Developer


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I'll try the 737 again on a short flight and see what happens. 

Thanks again for all the help!

Joe Mini

President/CEO/Chief Pilot for Joe Mini World Wide Tours, LLC. 
"If we get you to your destination in one piece, it's a miracle"