Check landing rate in Microsoft Flight Simulator, find touchdown FPM readings, understand tool differences, and judge what the result means.
Microsoft Flight Simulator does not normally show an exact landing rate after every free-flight landing. To check it, use a landing-rate monitor add-on, an aircraft’s built-in EFB or flight-report page, or a Landing Challenge for a scored assessment. The cockpit vertical-speed indicator is not a reliable touchdown recorder.
Where can I see landing rate in MSFS?
In a normal Free Flight session, MSFS usually provides no universal post-landing feet-per-minute readout. The available method depends on the aircraft, simulator mode and platform.
| Method | What it provides | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft EFB or flight report | A landing-rate value when supported by that aircraft | The simplest option because no separate utility is needed |
| Landing-rate monitor | Usually touchdown FPM, sometimes G-load, bounce data and touchdown position | Recording and comparing normal Free Flight landings |
| Landing Challenge | A scored touchdown assessment rather than a guaranteed raw FPM value | Built-in practice under repeatable conditions |
| Cockpit VSI or replay | A rough visual indication only | Reviewing approach stability, not measuring the exact contact |
Check the aircraft’s Electronic Flight Bag first, particularly under flight data, reports or performance pages. Labels differ between aircraft, and many models do not record landing rate at all.
If no aircraft readout is available, PC users can look through our Microsoft Flight Simulator add-ons library for compatible utility panels and landing-analysis tools. Confirm that the utility supports your MSFS edition and aircraft before installing it.
For a built-in alternative, read our explanation of how Landing Challenges assess touchdown quality. Their score is useful for comparing attempts, but it should not be treated as a universal FPM measurement.
How do I record touchdown FPM?
The most dependable practical method is to arm a compatible monitor before take-off and read the first main-gear touchdown event.
- Check the aircraft’s EFB. Look for a flight report, landing analysis or performance page after touchdown.
- Install a monitor if necessary. Some are in-sim packages placed in the Community folder; others are separate PC applications. Follow the package type rather than putting every utility into the Community folder.
- Start it before the approach. Many monitors must observe the aircraft becoming airborne before they will register a valid landing.
- Land and clear the runway. Read the first main-gear contact value. If the aircraft bounced, the tool may show several separate contacts.
- Check the units and sign. Landing rate is normally expressed in feet per minute. Some tools show descent as a negative number, such as
-180 FPM, while others display only the magnitude.
If no result appears, confirm that the monitor was loaded and connected before touchdown. Slewing, teleporting, beginning directly above the runway or using an abnormal simulation rate can also prevent a clean airborne-to-ground event. A nosewheel or tailwheel contact may create an extra result if the utility detects any wheel rather than the main gear.
On Xbox, and on PlayStation 5 with MSFS 2024, arbitrary PC Community-folder packages and external SimConnect utilities cannot be used. Console pilots need an aircraft-provided report, a platform-compatible in-sim add-on or a built-in scored activity.
Why do landing-rate tools show different numbers?
Landing-rate tools disagree because MSFS does not provide one official, universal landing-rate result. Each utility can sample a different variable or moment during the touchdown.
- Sampling point: one tool may capture vertical speed immediately before contact, while another records it just after the gear-on-ground state changes.
- Reference point: the value may represent the aircraft’s centre of mass, the main gear or any wheel contact.
- Bounces: one monitor may report the first arrival; another may retain the hardest of several contacts.
- Runway slope: world-relative vertical speed is not always identical to the aircraft’s closing speed against a sloping runway.
- Update timing: frame rate and the utility’s polling interval can shift the captured value slightly.
G-load is also not the same measurement as landing rate. Gear geometry, aircraft mass, suspension modelling and runway surface can produce different loads from similar FPM values.
What is a good landing rate in Microsoft Flight Simulator?
There is no single good landing-rate number for every aircraft. Aircraft type, weight, wind, runway condition and operating technique matter more than chasing the lowest possible figure.
A very small descent rate can come from floating far beyond the touchdown zone, which is not a good landing. Judge the whole arrival: stable approach, correct speed, proper flare, touchdown in the intended area and positive directional control. Our flare and touchdown guidance for MSFS explains how to improve those parts without fixating on one number.
Use landing rate as a comparison tool rather than an absolute grade. Compare repeated landings in the same aircraft and similar conditions, and investigate obvious outliers or bounces rather than treating every small difference as meaningful.