Maintaining altitude

twistedsucker,

I am not completely sure of this but flaps are used to keep the air craft in the air. When you slow down for approach aply flaps 10-20% not sure of the amount of flaps. Flaps do not slow you down they reconfigure the wing to make it a bigger surface. Control of the air craft changes slightly because you are now at a slower speed. The air craft knee board may offer some assitance to you for configuration for landing. Please if somebody can get this more prescise please do so.

When you lower your speed to below 240 KIAS you will have to apply pitch up attitude to maintain altitude. You cannot apply a great amount of flaps at this speed because it is too fast. Therefore I'd suggest you start your descent further back and then lower your speed in the actual descent. So start your descent at around 200 KIAS as it will allow you to descend at a good rate. Keep decreasing speed whilst adding flaps, they increase the surface area providing lift as edr1073 said, but they do slow you down because they induce drag. Hope that helps 😉

Have you tried using the autopilot features as a means of studying a good approach? A lot of simmers question using the A/P ("what fun is that?") but it can be a pretty good learning tool. You can set up a full automated approach just to see how constant altitude is maintained in slow flight, and then take over the landing by turning off the A/P and A/T before flare time. You'll need to control flaps and gear, of course. Also, you'll have to practice landing on a runway equipped with ILS for the approach button to function (FEM's famous "wifebeater" post would be an excellent guide to print out).

Here's the guide if you want it. I made another guide using FEM's guide.

First of all, let me introduce you to the super, easy-to-read and understand guide of the skillful Fire_Emblem_Master:

THIS IS FOR IFR FLIGHT!

1. When ATC says something liek "WifeBeater 767, you are 32 Miles away. Turn right heading 105, descend and mantain 2,500 feet, cleared ILS runway 36R Approach". You have to click on your MAP icon in your cockipt. Then, move your mouse over the destination airport. Mind you, the airport MUST have the ILS feathers (thes are the green things that point to the runway). Double click on the airport. A list will show up. Scroll down the list untill you see a chart that shows Runway numbers. FInd 36R, or whatever your runway is. You look to the right and see a radio frequency. We'll use 100.100 because its easy to remember. Don't forget the frequency.

2. Open up your Radio Stack, and enter in 100.100 in the NAV1 Radio, usually the righmost radio number is the one that can be messed with. After you enter it 100.100, using the mouse wheel or clickin it. Press the button that looks like thsi somewhat, its in the middle of the 2 radio displays <-----> That changes the NAV1 Radio frequency from whatever it was, to what it is now (100.100)

3.Turn on the NAV1 Radio by clicking the switch at the bottom of the radio stack, unless its already on, like with the LearJet.

4. If you have Autopilot, and you are using GPS to follow waypoints, switch the NAV/GPS button back to NAV!!!! YOU CANT FORGET TO DO THAT!!! YOU'LL BURN AND DIE IF YOU DONT!!

5. Follow ATC directions to approach. Now, when you approach the Runway, you will see the pink arrows near your attitude indicator move...usually Heading first, then Altitude. Simply fly in the directon and atitude of the pink arrows intull they center themselves, that means you're on the glideslope!

6. If you wanna use the autopilot to fly the approach, simply follow steps 1-4, then click the APPR button on the autopilot panel.

Copyrights of Fire_Emblem_Master ® All rights Reserved ® Do not photocopy ( ) ©

I'm just kidding. Anyway, Fire_Emblem_Master should get an award for this guide. It helps a lot.

Well, this is your first step. There are different approaches that you can make to a runway: ILS, VOR, NDB ADF, GPS, and visual approach. I'm going to talk about the ILS approach, since Fire_Emblem_Master's guide refers to it.

When you are approaching the airport and before you contact with the Tower, you can do two different things:

1. Use the App. mode in the autopilot, so the autopilot makes the approach for you and you don't have to move a finger. Well, actually you do have to move your fingers. You need to control the speed and flaps, landing gears, autobrakes, etc. But the approach is perfomed entirely by the autopilot. To land, just disengage the App. mode, switch off the Auto Throttle an other switches if you want, and land the plane manually. That's what I usually do. But is good practice to perform a hand-approach. I've been using the App. mode since last week, hehe. I wanted to use it and that's what I'm doing now. But I also perform hand-approaches, which I'd recommend you to learn it. This points comes to the second option.
Note: To use the App. mode you should have to se the NAV/GPS switch to NAV and you also should have the ICAO code of the airport in your GPS.

2. Don't use the App. Mode and do the approach manually. I know this is hard but you just need to practice, practice, and practice.
Before approaching the airport, you should tune the ILS frequency of the runway in. That means, set the ICAO code of your destination airport, go to the frequencies page and find your ILS (or whatever approach you use) frequency. You should set the right frequency. Example: you are going to land on runway 09, look to the ILS 09 frequency.
After that, set that frequency into the radio stack and turn on the Nav 1 or 2. Also check the MRK (marker) button, which is going to make sounds when you pass through different markers, like OM, IM, and MM. Then, arm the spoilers, set the flaps, retract the landing gear and set the autobrakes.
After this, all you have to do is look at Fire_Emblem_Master's ILS guide. That would help you. Start turning towards the runway heading and try to have glide slope and the localizer needles in the center. If you have both needles in the center your are right on the altitude and heading. Just keep this and land manually.

That's it. Was it easy? Complicated? Boring? Did you get tired reading all this? I know, it's long, but helpful.

Guide made by FEM and Agus0404.

Thanks a lot guys, you've been great help 😀

Well, atleast I wasn't totally wrong or right I did something good.

LOL

🙂 😛