Learn how to land an aircraft in MSFS 2020: choose the right speed, control the glide path, flare correctly and fix bouncing or floating.
To land an aircraft in MSFS 2020, stabilise on the runway centreline at the aircraft's recommended approach speed, extend flaps and landing gear, hold a steady descent to the aiming point, reduce power near the threshold, flare gently, touch down on the main wheels, then brake and maintain directional control.
Set up an easy first landing
Practise first in a tricycle-gear trainer, in daylight, with light winds and a long runway. Every aircraft has different approach speeds, flap limits and landing behaviour, so use its cockpit checklist or documentation rather than copying numbers from another model.
Confirm that pitch, roll, rudder, throttle and brakes are mapped before joining the approach. A joystick or controller makes small corrections easier than a keyboard. If the aircraft appears to move its controls without you, review the simulator's piloting assistance settings and disable any aids that are interfering.
How to land in MSFS 2020 step by step
- Plan the approach. Select the correct runway, identify its elevation and line up early. For initial practice, use a straight-in visual approach rather than making steep turns close to the ground.
- Intercept a sensible glide path. A normal approach is close to 3 degrees. If the runway has PAPI lights, two white and two red indicate the correct path; more white means high and more red means low. Our visual approach technique guide explains how to use the aiming point and runway perspective.
- Configure gradually. Lower the landing gear in a retractable aircraft and confirm its indication. Extend flaps in stages while remaining below each flap limit speed. Sudden full-flap selection can create a large pitch and drag change.
- Control speed and descent together. Use coordinated pitch and power: pitch mainly changes attitude and airspeed, while power changes energy and descent rate, but each affects both. Trim away steady control pressure instead of fighting the aircraft all the way down.
- Stabilise before reaching the runway. The aircraft should be on centreline, configured, near its target speed and descending steadily. For training, being stable by roughly 500 feet above the runway in clear conditions is a useful target. Go around if large corrections are still required, the runway is disappearing beneath the nose or too little runway remains.
- Flare gently. As the aircraft reaches the flare area, look towards the far end of the runway, reduce power as appropriate for that aircraft and raise the nose slightly to arrest the descent. Do not haul back or try to climb above the runway.
- Touch down and roll out. Let the main wheels touch first, then lower the nose wheel gently. Keep straight with rudder or nose-wheel steering, retain any required crosswind aileron and brake progressively. Use spoilers, autobrake or reverse thrust only when the aircraft provides them and they have been configured correctly.
What approach speed should I use?
Use the landing reference speed specified for that aircraft and weight, measured as indicated airspeed rather than ground speed. A light trainer, turboprop and airliner require very different numbers; there is no safe universal landing speed for MSFS 2020.
If the aircraft supplies a calculated reference speed, use it and apply any wind correction prescribed by its documentation. Approaching too fast produces floating and consumes runway. Approaching too slowly reduces control margin and can trigger a stall or hard arrival.
A useful check for a 3-degree approach is to multiply groundspeed in knots by five to estimate descent rate in feet per minute. At 90 knots, that is about 450 feet per minute; at 140 knots, about 700. Treat this as a starting point, then correct using the aiming point or approach guidance.
When should I flare?
Begin the flare when the runway perspective expands rapidly and the aircraft is only a short distance above the surface, not at one fixed altimeter reading. The exact height varies with cockpit eye position, landing attitude and aircraft type.
Shift your gaze towards the far end of the runway and make a small, progressive pitch change. If you flare too early, the aircraft may balloon and lose speed above the runway. If you flare too late, the descent rate remains high and the landing gear absorbs the impact.
Why does the aircraft float, bounce or veer off the runway?
| Problem | Likely cause | Best correction |
|---|---|---|
| Long float | Excess speed, excess power or a high flare | Use the correct approach speed and avoid forcing the aircraft down. Go around if too much runway has passed. |
| Bounce | High descent rate, late flare or nose-wheel-first contact | Hold a safe attitude and go around after a severe or repeated bounce. Do not push the nose down. |
| Balloon | Flare input was too large or abrupt | Relax the pitch change slightly, add power if needed and go around if the aircraft becomes slow or unstable. |
| Hard landing | Low airspeed, power removed too early or insufficient flare | Stabilise the approach earlier and arrest the descent progressively. |
| Runway veer | Poor rudder control, crosswind, uneven braking or a misconfigured axis | Use small rudder inputs, maintain crosswind correction and check brake and steering assignments. |
Repeated problems usually begin before the flare. Our landing diagnosis and improvement guide covers speed control, alignment and flare errors in greater depth.
Should I use a visual approach or ILS?
A visual approach is best for learning the sight picture, while an ILS helps establish the runway centreline and glide path in poor visibility. Following an ILS does not automatically land most aircraft; unless a properly equipped aircraft is configured for autoland, you must disconnect or take control and perform the flare yourself.
For instrument practice, follow our step-by-step MSFS 2020 ILS setup and capture instructions. Learn visual landings as well, because an ILS may be unavailable, incorrectly selected or unsuitable for the runway in use.
How can I practise landings quickly?
Use Landing Challenges or begin repeatedly from an airborne approach with the same aircraft, runway, weather and fuel load. Keeping those variables fixed makes it much easier to identify whether speed, glide path or flare timing caused the error.
Our guide to starting MSFS 2020 directly on an approach explains the quickest practice options. Change only one technique at a time, and go around whenever the approach becomes unstable rather than trying to rescue every landing.