How do I manage aircraft speed during approach and landing?
Learn how to manage aircraft speed during approach and landing, calculate VAPP or VREF, fix speed drift and avoid fast, unstable touchdowns.
Manage aircraft speed during approach and landing by calculating the correct indicated target for weight, flap and wind, decelerating and configuring early, then making small, coordinated pitch-and-power corrections. Hold VAPP to the threshold or flare point, let speed decay in the flare, and go around if the approach cannot be stabilised.
We treat this as Aviation & Real-World Flying guidance, then apply it to realistic simulation, including Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. The error we see constantly is treating one figure as “the landing speed”. In practice, configuration limits, final approach speed, threshold speed and touchdown speed are different things.
Which approach speed or landing speed should I use?
Use the aircraft-specific speed calculated for the actual landing weight, flap configuration, wind and system condition.
Light-aircraft manuals normally publish a recommended final approach speed. Transport aircraft commonly use VREF as the landing reference speed and VAPP as the target after applying the manufacturer’s approved wind or system correction. Airbus aircraft also display VLS, the lowest selectable speed, which must not be mistaken for VAPP.
Fly the target as indicated airspeed, normally shown in knots indicated airspeed or KIAS. Do not substitute groundspeed: a headwind lowers groundspeed without reducing the airflow indicated by the pitot system, while a tailwind raises groundspeed without justifying a lower IAS.
Flap and landing-gear extension limits are maximum permitted speeds, not targets. For a repeatable method using weight, configuration and wind, follow our guide to calculating the correct VREF or VAPP.
A330 landing speed and E145 approach speed examples
Neither the Airbus A330 nor the Embraer ERJ-145, often shortened to E145, has one fixed landing speed.
| Aircraft | Speed to use | Typical simulator reasonableness check | Common trap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A330 | The computed VAPP for the selected landing configuration, normally confirmed on the approach performance page and PFD | Often roughly 130–145 KIAS in normal operation, though weight, variant and configuration can put it outside this range | Flying VLS instead of VAPP, adding wind twice, or fighting a managed target that is changing through Airbus wind-compensation logic |
| Embraer ERJ-145/E145 | The published VREF for landing weight and flap setting, plus any prescribed approach additive | Often roughly 120–135 KIAS, with reduced flap and higher weight requiring more speed | Expecting FADEC to hold speed; the real ERJ-145 has FADEC engine-limit protection but no autothrottle |
These ranges are only cross-checks, not performance data. An A330 at one landing weight may have a VAPP several knots different from another A330, and the E145’s flap selection makes a material difference. For both aircraft, please use the value computed or published for that specific flight rather than copying a number from a video, another add-on or a different variant.
On an A330, managed approach speed may move above the entered VAPP as the aircraft compensates for changing wind. Follow the aircraft’s displayed target and active automation mode unless its documented procedure calls for selected speed. On an E145, the pilot must actively manage thrust to hold the bugged target.
How do you control speed on approach?
Control approach speed by removing excess energy early, configuring in stages and correcting the developing trend before the aircraft leaves the permitted speed range.
- Prepare the landing data. Confirm landing weight, runway, final flap setting, VREF or VAPP, wind correction, landing distance and flap and gear limits. Set speed bugs where the aircraft provides them.
- Decelerate before configuration is due. Reduce power early enough to reach each configuration speed without levelling unexpectedly or making an abrupt pitch change. Being high and fast is much harder to repair than being slightly fast with distance available.
- Extend flap and gear in stages. Make each selection below its published limit. Anticipate the extra drag and any pitching tendency instead of waiting for the airspeed to depart before correcting.
- Establish the final path. Once on the glidepath or a stable visual descent, coordinate pitch and power rather than treating them as independent controls. In many light aircraft, pitch for speed and power for descent path is a useful starting model. In a jet, small thrust changes commonly control speed while pitch follows the desired flight path, but both controls affect both results.
- Trim after the response settles. An out-of-trim aircraft produces repeated fast-slow oscillations and makes a small speed correction feel much larger than it is.
- Monitor the trend. Do not stare only at the present number. Airspeed trend indications, thrust, pitch attitude, vertical speed and flight path show whether the aircraft is accelerating or decelerating.
- Apply the stabilised-approach gate. Speed, path, landing configuration, thrust and checklist status must all meet the applicable criteria. On-speed alone does not make the approach stable.
If extra drag is required, use landing gear, flap or speed brakes only as permitted by the aircraft procedure. Speed brakes are not a substitute for planning, and some aircraft restrict their use with particular flap settings or near landing configuration.
Which correction should I make?
Make the smallest correction that fixes the trend while preserving the desired flight path.
| Aircraft state | Normal response |
|---|---|
| On path but fast | Reduce thrust and use approved drag if required; avoid pitching above the path merely to lose speed |
| On path but slow | Add thrust promptly and prevent the sink rate increasing while the engines respond |
| High but on-speed | Increase the descent in a controlled manner while protecting airspeed; use approved drag if needed |
| Low but on-speed | Add power and reduce the descent rate without allowing speed to build excessively |
| High and fast near the stabilisation gate | Go around rather than diving and making late configuration changes |
| Low and slow near the ground | Apply power and correct immediately; go around if a normal path cannot be recovered |
Jet engines do not respond instantly, especially from low thrust. Anticipate the lag, then wait long enough to assess the correction. Rapidly alternating large throttle and pitch inputs usually turns a small error into an oscillation.
What changes the target approach speed?
Landing weight, flap setting, wind treatment and abnormal conditions can all change the correct approach speed.
- Weight: A heavier aircraft generally requires a higher reference speed. Recalculate if the expected landing weight changes materially.
- Flap configuration: Reduced-flap or flapless approaches normally require more speed and runway than the standard landing configuration.
- Wind and gusts: Apply only the correction specified for that aircraft. Do not add a gust factor again if the avionics or performance tool has already included it in VAPP.
- Tailwind: Keep the required IAS. A tailwind raises groundspeed and landing distance; it is not a reason to reduce the indicated target.
- Icing and system failures: These may require an increased speed, restricted flap setting or different landing-distance calculation.
- Density altitude: The target IAS normally remains unchanged, but true airspeed and groundspeed increase. The runway therefore appears to arrive faster and the landing roll may be longer.
Do not add an invented safety margin. At the same mass, crossing the threshold 10% faster means carrying about 21% more kinetic energy. That extra energy produces float, increases landing distance and makes a runway overrun more likely.
How does speed management work in MSFS 2020?
In MSFS 2020, use the same KIAS targets and stabilised-approach principles, but verify that the simulator, aircraft and controller inputs are doing what the cockpit indications suggest.
- Check the speed source. Identify whether a readout is IAS, TAS or groundspeed. The PFD airspeed tape is normally the primary reference on an airliner approach.
- Use data for the simulated aircraft. Default and add-on aircraft vary in systems depth. Use the aircraft’s supplied performance tool, avionics or documentation rather than assuming every A330 or E145 implementation calculates speeds identically.
- Remove control conflicts. Piloting assistance, AI control, duplicate bindings or a noisy throttle axis can change power unexpectedly. If the virtual levers flicker or move without input, inspect controller assignments and dead zones.
- Return to normal simulation rate. Accelerated simulation makes aircraft and automation responses difficult to judge during configuration and final approach.
- Allow for simulated weather. Gusts can move IAS rapidly. Correct the average trend with small inputs instead of chasing every one-knot fluctuation.
MSFS 2020 was released for PC and Xbox only and was never released on PlayStation. The handling principles here apply on both supported platforms, although controller precision and available aircraft systems may differ.
What should I watch when using autothrottle?
Autothrottle must be in an active speed-controlling mode with the intended selected or managed target; being armed does not necessarily mean it is controlling thrust.
Read the flight-mode annunciator after intercepting the approach, changing speed mode or selecting flap. If thrust remains at idle while speed decays, or increases while the aircraft is already fast, identify the active mode rather than assuming the automation will recover. Close to the ground, an unexplained mode or speed excursion calls for a go-around, not prolonged troubleshooting.
Should I hold approach speed until touchdown?
No; hold the prescribed approach target to the specified threshold or flare point, then let speed decay as you flare and reduce thrust according to the aircraft procedure.
Touchdown speed is normally an outcome, not another number to chase. Reducing power too early can produce a hard sink. Carrying excessive speed or thrust into the flare causes a long float, while forcing the nose down to end that float risks a hard landing or nosewheel-first contact.
If you need the complete sequence from final approach through flare, our airliner landing technique guide explains how VREF, VAPP, thrust and pitch fit together.
Is a go-around the right speed correction?
Yes. A go-around is the correct response when speed and flight path cannot be restored within the permitted limits using normal, unhurried corrections.
Many airline procedures use stabilisation gates near 1,000 feet above aerodrome level in instrument conditions and 500 feet in visual conditions, but those heights are not universal. Use the aircraft, operator or training procedure applicable to the flight. A stabilisation gate is also separate from the decision altitude or minimum descent altitude; our explanation of approach minimums and missed-approach decisions covers that distinction.
- Airspeed is outside tolerance and still diverging.
- The aircraft is high and fast with too little distance for a normal correction.
- Speed or path requires repeated large pitch and power changes.
- Landing flap, gear or checklist items remain incomplete at the required gate.
- The aircraft is unlikely to cross the threshold normally and touch down within the intended touchdown zone.
Do not salvage a fast approach by diving, extending equipment above its limit, retracting flap unexpectedly or forcing the aircraft onto the runway. Once the available height and distance have gone, another approach is the safer and usually quicker solution.
What happens to speed after touchdown?
After touchdown, stop chasing an airborne speed target and transition to spoiler, reverse-thrust, braking and directional-control procedures for that aircraft.
Approach speed still determines how much energy the brakes and runway must absorb, which is why touching down fast cannot be fixed simply by using maximum reverse. Our guide to managing the landing rollout and stopping safely covers the next phase.