Find the best landing rate plugins for X-Plane 12, compare Lua and native options, install them correctly and fix inaccurate touchdown readings.
For most X-Plane 12 users, the best landing-rate option is a LandingRate or Landing Rate Display script explicitly marked for X-Plane 12 and run under FlyWithLua NG. Choose an X-Plane 12-native Landing Speed or XGS-style plugin if you want no Lua dependency, and an approach-analysis tool for detailed training.
Which X-Plane 12 landing rate plugin should you choose?
Choose by the information you need, not the plugin's name: several unrelated downloads use labels such as LandingRate, Landing Rate Display and Landing Speed.
| Option | Best for | Main advantage | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| LandingRate or Landing Rate Display FlyWithLua script | Most users | Lightweight overlay showing touchdown rate and, depending on the script, speed, pitch, roll or g-load | Requires an X-Plane 12-compatible FlyWithLua NG installation and a script using valid X-Plane 12 datarefs |
| Landing Speed or XGS-style native plugin | A simple standalone monitor | No Lua framework or script management | Many similarly named packages are older X-Plane builds; verify simulator, operating-system and processor support |
| Approach-analysis or flight-tracking plugin | Training and progress records | Can retain approach stability, touchdown position, bounce and speed alongside vertical rate | More setup, and some tools calculate touchdown rate differently from a local overlay |
| X-Plane Data Output | Checking a suspicious result | Built-in flight and gear data without another plugin | Not a convenient automatic landing report |
Our default recommendation is the FlyWithLua route because scripts are easy to replace and usually have little performance impact. A native plugin is preferable when you do not otherwise need FlyWithLua, but an old XGS or Landing Speed binary should not be assumed compatible merely because it worked in X-Plane 11.
Before installing anything, use our checks for confirming genuine X-Plane 12 add-on compatibility. Look for an explicit X-Plane 12 statement, support for your operating system and any required framework or library.
What should a good landing-rate monitor record?
A useful monitor records the first meaningful main-wheel contact, not just the cockpit vertical-speed indication at an arbitrary moment.
- Vertical rate at touchdown: normally displayed in feet per minute; some tools show a negative descent value while others display its positive magnitude.
- Normal acceleration or g-load: useful because a low reported descent rate can still accompany a sharp touchdown.
- Groundspeed and aircraft attitude: pitch and bank expose excessive flare, drift or wing-low contact.
- Bounces: the tool should distinguish first contact from later contacts rather than replacing the original result.
- Touchdown position: runway location matters more than chasing an artificially low number after floating.
No landing-rate plugin produces an authoritative measure of landing quality. Aircraft weight, gear design, runway slope, crosswind technique and touchdown location all matter; our explanation of how to interpret landing rate and touchdown quality covers those factors without treating the lowest number as automatically best.
How do you install a landing rate plugin in X-Plane 12?
Install the package according to whether it is a FlyWithLua script or a native X-Plane plugin; placing both types directly in the same folder is a common mistake.
- Identify the package type. A Lua landing-rate script normally contains a
.luafile. A native plugin is supplied as its own plugin folder with binaries for one or more operating systems. - Install the required framework. For a Lua script, install an X-Plane 12-compatible FlyWithLua NG release under
X-Plane 12/Resources/plugins/. - Place the landing script correctly. Copy its
.luafile into FlyWithLua'sScriptsdirectory, following any package-specific instructions. Do not put the script loose inResources/plugins. - Install a native plugin as one folder. Copy its complete folder into
X-Plane 12/Resources/plugins/. Avoid an extra nested directory created by extracting the archive twice. - Restart X-Plane and check Plugin Admin. Confirm that the framework or native plugin loaded, then make a short test landing in a default aircraft.
Why is the landing-rate reading missing or inaccurate?
Missing or implausible results usually come from compatibility, touchdown detection or installation problems rather than an aircraft suddenly descending at thousands of feet per minute.
- No overlay or menu entry: inspect X-Plane's log for a missing dependency, unsupported binary or Lua error. A stopped or quarantined Lua script must be corrected before reloading it.
- Zero or no touchdown detected: test a default tricycle-gear aircraft. Some scripts mishandle taildraggers, helicopters, floats or aircraft with custom landing-gear logic.
- Two landing reports: the aeroplane bounced, or the detector is treating nose-wheel contact as another landing. Prefer a script that identifies individual gear contacts.
- Extreme value after replay or repositioning: many simple monitors cannot distinguish a real landing from replay, aircraft relocation, time changes or loading onto the runway.
- Different plugins show different rates: one may sample world vertical velocity at first gear contact while another uses a smoothed VSI value, rounds the result or waits for weight-on-wheels confirmation.
- Stutters near touchdown: disable duplicate monitors and check for excessive logging or script errors. Our method for isolating add-on performance problems avoids blaming the landing tool before testing the rest of the plugin stack.
For consistent comparisons, keep one monitor, use the same aircraft and disregard results generated by replay, repositioning or a scenery reload. Changing tools between landings makes the numbers less useful because their sampling and contact rules may differ.