How do you land a Boeing 747 in a flight simulator?

To land a Boeing 747 in a flight simulator, programme the runway and VREF in the FMC, establish a stabilised final with gear down and landing flap, cross the threshold on speed, flare gently at about 30 feet, close the thrust, touch down on the main gear, then deploy spoilers, reverse thrust and brakes.

The procedure below is centred on the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. The aircraft procedure is the same on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 versions, although controller bindings and assistance settings can change how the throttles, rudder and brakes behave. The broad technique also applies to MSFS 2020, X-Plane, Prepar3D and FSX, but follow the documentation supplied with your particular 747 when its FMC or automation differs.

MSFS 2024 Boeing 747-8 landing procedure, step by step

1. Choose and programme the arrival runway. Before the descent, enter or confirm the arrival and approach in the 747 FMC. Check runway length, wind, surface condition, elevation, approach type and missed-approach route. Loading a runway draws the route, but it does not prove that the correct landing data or radio frequency is set.
2. Verify the approach data. For an ILS, confirm the localiser frequency, identifier and inbound course rather than trusting an automatically tuned value blindly. Set the course required by the simulated aircraft and compare it with the runway approach data. Our guide to setting the 747 navigation source and inbound course explains this part in more detail.
3. Select landing flap and VREF in the FMC. Open the approach-reference page, confirm that the predicted landing weight is sensible, then select the flap 25 or flap 30 speed. Set the approach target to VREF plus the wind correction required by that aircraft. Never substitute take-off weight or a memorised speed from another 747 variant.
4. Establish the approach before configuring heavily. Use LNAV/VNAV, heading and altitude modes, or manual flight to reach a shallow localiser intercept. Capture the glideslope from below. Arm APP only when the correct ILS is identified and the geometry makes sense; the PFD flight-mode annunciator, not the illuminated MCP button alone, confirms what the aeroplane has captured. See our localiser and glideslope capture procedure if the ILS setup is unfamiliar.
5. Extend flaps in stages. Select each flap position only after slowing below its displayed or documented limit speed. A practical sequence is flaps 1, 5, 10 and 20 as speed reduces, followed by gear down and the selected landing flap, but timing depends on the arrival and traffic situation. Avoid reaching the glideslope while still fast, clean and trying to descend.
6. Set the landing controls. Arm the speedbrake, choose a suitable landing autobrake setting rather than RTO, set the missed-approach altitude when appropriate and complete the landing checklist. Confirm gear-down indications, landing flap, cabin alerts and the correct speed target.
7. Make the stabilised-approach decision. By about 1,000 feet above the runway in instrument conditions, or 500 feet in good visual conditions, the 747 should be on the intended path, aligned, fully configured and close to target speed with only small corrections required. Go around if it is still chasing speed, sink rate or centreline.
8. Disconnect the autopilot deliberately for a manual landing. Disconnect early enough to settle into the control forces and sight picture, commonly between 1,000 and 500 feet when conditions permit. The autothrottle may remain engaged if the model's procedure allows it, but do not move a hardware throttle axis in a way that repeatedly overrides or disconnects it.
9. Hold the path to the threshold. Make small, patient corrections; a heavy 747 responds later than a light aircraft. Use coordinated rudder and aileron to remain on the centreline, and look towards the far end of the runway instead of directly over the nose. Do not chase every glideslope movement with a large pitch or thrust input.
10. Flare at roughly 30 feet radio altitude. Smoothly raise the nose by about two or three degrees while bringing the thrust levers towards idle. Let the main landing gear touch in the touchdown zone. Do not keep increasing pitch in pursuit of an exceptionally soft landing because that invites a float or tail strike.
11. Control the rollout. Verify spoiler deployment, lower the nosewheel gently and apply symmetrical reverse thrust. Allow the autobrakes to work unless manual braking is required, reduce reverse as speed falls, then use rudder and cautious nosewheel steering to remain on the centreline.

What speed should a Boeing 747 land at?

A Boeing 747 should approach at the FMC-calculated VREF plus the applicable wind additive, not at one universal speed. Weight, 747 variant, flap setting, runway conditions and wind all change the correct target.

Many simulator landings produce a speed somewhere around the mid-140s to mid-150s knots, but that is only a broad illustration. A light aeroplane may require less and a heavy one more. Using 150 knots for every landing can leave one flight close to a stall and make the next float far beyond the aiming point.

A common Boeing convention uses half the steady headwind component plus the full gust increment, subject to stated minimum and maximum additives. Simulator aircraft do not all model this identically, so use the procedure supplied with the model. Do not add an arbitrary ten knots merely because the weather is gusty.

How do you set landing speed in the 747 FMC?

The 747 FMC normally displays flap 25 and flap 30 reference speeds on its approach-reference page after it has a valid gross-weight estimate. Select the intended flap-and-speed pair or copy it into the landing flap/speed field, depending on the implementation, then set the required approach target in the MCP speed window.

If the displayed weight or VREF looks implausible, inspect the fuel, payload and route data before continuing. A blank reference-speed field usually means required performance data is missing; it is not a reason to guess. Simplified 747 models may instead provide a performance table or automatic landing-speed bug.

When should you flare a Boeing 747?

Begin the flare at approximately 30 feet radio altitude, adjusted slightly for sink rate, runway slope and visual perspective. Hold the approach attitude until then, make one modest pitch increase and reduce thrust progressively so it reaches idle at touchdown.

The 747 cockpit is high above and well ahead of the main landing gear. The runway can appear unusually close while the main wheels are still airborne behind the pilot's eye position. Resetting the simulator to its intended cockpit viewpoint helps; a camera positioned too high, low or far forward changes the visual cue and often causes an early flare.

For a crosswind landing, maintain the crab until the flare, then use rudder to align the fuselage while applying only enough into-wind aileron to stop drift. Avoid large bank angles close to the runway because engine-pod and wingtip clearance is limited.

Why will the MSFS 747 not capture the ILS?

The 747 usually misses the ILS because it has the wrong runway or frequency, approaches from above the glideslope, intercepts at an excessive angle, or remains in FMC route guidance without a valid APP capture. Loading an ILS in the flight plan does not guarantee that the receiver is correctly tuned or that the autopilot has captured it.

• Check the identifier. A frequency alone can select the wrong facility at airports with several approaches.
• Intercept from below. Descending through the glideslope while trying to arm APP often leaves the aeroplane above the path with no capture.
• Use a shallow localiser intercept. An aggressive intercept close to the runway can produce overshoot or repeated banking.
• Read the PFD annunciations. Armed modes and captured modes are different. The PFD should show localiser and glideslope capture before they can guide the approach.
• Confirm that the runway has a glideslope. A localiser-only approach cannot provide vertical ILS guidance or autoland.

The 747 does not use the same simple GPS/NAV switch found in many light aircraft. It normally follows the FMC route in LNAV before transitioning to APP guidance for the ILS; our explanation of FMC or GPS guidance versus radio navigation on an ILS clarifies that handover.

Why does the 747 float, land hard or veer off the runway?

A firm landing inside the touchdown zone is safer than a smooth touchdown halfway along the runway. One mistake we see constantly is adding speed to make the approach feel safer, then trying to remove that energy with a large flare. The 747 needs disciplined speed control much more than it needs a dramatic pitch change.

When should you go around in a 747 simulator?

Go around whenever the approach is unstable, badly misaligned, excessively fast, outside the usable touchdown zone or affected by a serious bounce. Do not continue merely because the aeroplane is close to the runway.

1. Select TO/GA and establish the commanded pitch. Confirm that thrust increases and follow the flight-director guidance without making a sudden rotation.
2. Verify a positive climb. Retract the landing gear only after the aircraft is climbing.
3. Set the prescribed go-around flap. Retract the remaining flap in stages as speed and altitude permit; never move directly from landing flap to flaps up.
4. Follow the missed approach. Confirm the lateral and vertical modes rather than assuming LNAV has engaged automatically.

Once reverse thrust has been selected, the normal action is to continue stopping. Do not attempt to take off again unless the documentation for that specific simulated aircraft explicitly provides such a procedure.

Should you use autoland instead?

Use autoland to practise the 747's automatic landing system or when conditions call for it, not as a substitute for an unstable approach. Pressing APP does not by itself create an autoland: the runway must support it, the ILS must be valid, the required autopilot channels must be engaged and the expected landing-status annunciations must appear.

Confirm the simulated aircraft's equivalent of LAND 2 or LAND 3 and monitor localiser, glideslope, flare and rollout modes without assuming automation will correct bad setup. Our separate 747 autoland setup and annunciation guide covers the full automatic procedure.