Learn how to land an aircraft in FlightGear: choose the right speed, control the glidepath, flare, handle crosswinds, and stop bouncing.
To land an aircraft in FlightGear, establish a stabilised final approach at the aircraft’s published speed, align with the runway, use pitch and power to control speed and descent, lower the landing gear and extend flaps as required, then reduce power and flare just above the runway before touching down.
That is the basic method for a conventional tricycle-gear aeroplane. Taildraggers, gliders and large jets require different flare, touchdown and braking techniques, so the aircraft’s own checklist and documentation take priority.
What landing speed should I use in FlightGear?
Use the published final-approach speed for the specific aircraft and configuration, shown as indicated airspeed rather than GPS groundspeed. A mistake we see constantly is copying a speed from another aeroplane or trying to maintain a particular groundspeed in a headwind.
Apply any gust correction specified by the aircraft documentation, but do not add an arbitrary margin. Excess speed causes floating, bouncing and longer landing distances. If the model has no trustworthy checklist, learn on a well-documented trainer; our Cessna 172 landing and circuit walkthrough provides a practical starting point.
How do I fly a normal visual landing?
- Select the runway. Use the runway most nearly aligned into wind unless airport procedures require another one. Check that the runway is long enough, the parking brake is released and the flight controls respond correctly.
- Join a sensible circuit. For a light aircraft, roughly 1,000 feet above aerodrome level is a common training circuit height, although published procedures can differ. Keep the runway in sight and leave enough distance to configure without rushing.
- Configure in stages. Reduce speed, extend flaps only below their limiting speed and lower retractable landing gear early enough to verify it is locked. Trim away sustained control pressure rather than forcing the aircraft down with the elevator.
- Turn onto final while coordinated. Avoid a steep, low turn or using excessive inside rudder to tighten an overshoot. If the runway alignment cannot be recovered with a normal coordinated turn, go around.
- Choose an aiming point. Hold a point in the touchdown zone stationary in the windscreen. Where PAPI lights are available, equal red and white lights indicate the nominal path; more white means high and more red means low.
- Control speed and glidepath. In a light piston aircraft, treat pitch primarily as the airspeed control and power primarily as the descent-path control, while remembering that each affects both. Correct early with small inputs, then retrim.
- Flare as the runway approaches. Look towards the far end of the runway, reduce power as the landing becomes assured and smoothly raise the nose enough to reduce the descent rate. Do not pull to a memorised pitch or force the aircraft onto the runway. A tricycle-gear aeroplane should normally touch on its main wheels first.
- Maintain control during rollout. Let the nose wheel settle without pushing it down, keep straight with rudder and apply brakes progressively once the aircraft is firmly on the ground. Hold increasing aileron into a crosswind as speed falls.
If the aircraft is high or fast, do not dive at the runway and then attempt to lose all the speed in the flare. Reduce power early, extend permitted drag devices, or go around and fly a better circuit.
How do I land in a crosswind?
Use either a crab followed by a de-crab in the flare, or a wing-low sideslip with opposite rudder, provided the aircraft permits that technique. The objective is to touch down aligned with the runway and without sideways drift.
Lower the upwind wing only as much as needed and use opposite rudder to keep the nose straight. The upwind main wheel will often touch first. Continue holding aileron into wind during rollout because its effectiveness decreases as the aircraft slows. If full control input cannot stop the drift, the crosswind is beyond what that approach can safely handle.
Will an ILS or approach mode land the aircraft automatically?
An ILS guides the aircraft towards the runway, but selecting an approach mode does not automatically provide an autoland. Unless the FlightGear aircraft documentation explicitly says that autoland is modelled and explains how to arm it, plan to disconnect the autopilot, stabilise visually and flare manually.
For instrument arrivals, follow our FlightGear ILS set-up and capture instructions, then make the decision to continue or go around at the applicable minimums.
When should I go around?
Go around whenever the approach is unstable, the runway is obstructed or a safe touchdown is no longer assured. Useful warning signs include excessive speed, large alignment corrections, an unresolved warning, severe floating, a major bounce or reaching the runway without the required landing configuration.
- Apply go-around power as specified for the aircraft and maintain directional control.
- Set a safe climb attitude without allowing the aircraft to stall or striking the tail.
- Retract drag devices gradually. Do not remove all flap close to the ground because the sudden loss of lift can cause the aircraft to sink.
- Confirm a positive climb before retracting the landing gear, where fitted.
- Rejoin the circuit and correct the cause of the unstable approach before trying again.
Why does my aircraft bounce, float or veer off the runway?
Most poor FlightGear landings come from excess energy, an unstable flare or incorrect control assignments rather than a single bad touchdown input.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Correction |
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft floats along the runway | Approach speed too high, tailwind or power left on | Do not force it down. Go around if the remaining runway is doubtful, then fly the next approach at the documented speed. |
| Hard touchdown | Power removed too early, low airspeed or flare started too late | Keep the approach stable and reduce power progressively rather than closing the throttle while still high. |
| Aircraft balloons during the flare | Abrupt elevator input or excessive speed | For a small balloon, hold a controlled landing attitude and add enough power to arrest the sink. Go around after a large balloon. |
| Repeated bouncing or porpoising | Nose-first touchdown, excess speed or pushing forward after the first bounce | Go around after a large or repeated bounce. Do not drive the nose wheel back onto the runway. |
| Aircraft veers sideways | Crosswind, poor rudder technique, asymmetric braking or an incorrect axis assignment | Check the wind and control indicator, then use our checks for FlightGear rudder and nose-wheel steering faults. |
| Braking is weak or uneven | Toe-brake axes are missing, reversed or partially applied | Inspect the control assignments and calibration. Test both brakes at taxi speed before another landing. |
What is the best way to practise FlightGear landings?
Begin in a light trainer during daylight, with calm weather and a long runway. Fly complete circuits rather than repeatedly starting on short final: the downwind and base legs teach the speed, spacing and configuration management that determine whether the landing works.
Once calm-wind approaches are repeatable, add moderate wind and then crosswind. Judge each attempt by the stability of the final approach, runway alignment and available stopping distance—not merely by how softly the wheels touched.