Definite Room for Improvement!  Uggghhh!!!  I'm beginning to hate Mr. Smith. 

He's got his standards...

Has there ever been reported fight with Mr. Smith in the front seat?  You know how you can see "you" the FSX pilot from an exterior view?  Maybe in a future "upgrade", you can have Mr. Smith "wavying his arms wildly and and finger pointing at you"?

Hmmm - this is an idea with some spice...! Perhaps we need a checkbox for
[x] "Want in-cockpit violence?"
or
[x] "Background anger?"

Dang it...just when I think I finally nailed a good one I get robbed of scoring.

Sounds like the devil is in the details - let's see what we can do...

Do you lose points if for example he has to say on more than one occasion to line up with the runway?  Or you are a little high or little low of glideslope?

With regard to the glideslope and localizer, the last 500 feet before touchdown are analysed in great detail. The program uses a formula which tracks how much the pilot was off the ideal GS or LOC and for how long. So - being a little off for a long time will lose points and being a lot off for a short time will also lose points. Being massively off for a long time will likely score zero points   for whichever of the GS or LOC it applies to.

The scoring for GS and LOC is described in words as being "out of a hundred" and then added as a factor of the overall score for the landing. So if you have a perfect LOC then this would be spoken as "100 for the localizer", but this would simply get you the max possible bonus (rather less than 100) for LOC in the overall landing score - not 100 points.

Practicing is always easiest with ILS as you can see on the needles exactly what you are supposed to be doing. Practice without wind and you should quickly be able to get 100 on the LOC (sure other factors can apply, but zero wind makes it much easier when you are learning).

Watch those VASI or PAPI lights - keep 'em the right colours.

The judgement is pretty fine, but that is not to say that you have to be perfectly on the GS or LOC to score 100 points for each. There is a little slack in the system.

I do have a question about this...I've been practicing over and over again the rectangle patterns (not the circuit yet) and I haven't seemed to learn my lesson yet.  While on the downward pattern and 45 degrees off back shoulder, I'll start my decent to airport, the program will change over to "landing" mode.  I'll start on my base part of it, and on many occasions Mr. Smith will start saying get lined up with the runway, and while I realize I need to get lined up with runway, it would be too early to make turns, which will get him saying "get lined up with runway...".  I know that Mr. Smith, but give me a chance too.  So that's where the question of do you lose points for him repeating to many times to me. 

I do see your point - MrSmith could be pressing the issue of getting lined up with the runway before turning onto final, and you should not turn too soon. I think the key point here will be that he will evaluate your GS and LOC for the last 500 feet and he wants you to end your turn onto final at 500 AGL. So... anything he says about being lined up before descending through 500 AGL is just advice (sometimes a bit too much) and will not count against you.

I'm trying to fly more with heads up versus looking at the "needles", but I'll put more concentration on the 500' or less and see what happens.

Sounds good.  

How in the heck do you get a 150 score for landing?  I was tickled pink when I broke the 80 mark, and 100 point mark for overall flight....

Best scores - no autopilot, strong crosswinds, very low visibility, biggest plane you can manage. Introduce as many of these as you can into the mix and the scores will go up, so long as the landings are still good.

I know in real flying you want to be at or a little above glideslope capture, but for gaming purposes, do you have to be dead on to receive a "great" landing score.  Seems when I get a good report from Mr. Smith, I still get the "needs improvement".  I will not let this man beat me as I pound the computer table.

One of my favorite methods  - which I recommend - is to set no wind and to set yourself up a few minutes out from touchdown, exactly lined up, and on the GS, about 1500 AGL and save the flight. Bring her in and get a score - think on it - and then just press "reset flight" in FS, tell FSFS to connect again, and do the landing again. 

In this way you can do a landing every 5 minutes or so and get a detailed evaluation of what you did. You could do, what, 7 or 8 an hour easily. You'll soon realize what the instructor is after and how to provide it.

JoeMini