How do I manually land a Boeing 737 in a simulator?

To manually land a Boeing 737 in a flight simulator, establish a stabilised final approach at the computed landing speed, disconnect the autopilot once settled, make small pitch and roll corrections, flare gently at roughly 20–30 ft, retard the thrust levers to idle, touch down on the main gear and control the rollout.

In Aviation & Real-World Flying terms, a manual landing means that the pilot controls pitch and roll. The autothrottle, flight directors and ILS indications may remain available. Exact speeds, call-outs and automation behaviour vary between 737 variants, aircraft weights and simulator add-ons, so use the data generated by your aircraft rather than copying a fixed speed.

Prepare the Boeing 737 before hand-flying

A good manual 737 landing is largely decided before the autopilot comes off. Complete the descent, reduce speed progressively and avoid reaching final approach while still changing several systems at once; our guide to 737 descent and approach set-up covers that earlier workload.

• Landing speed: obtain VREF from the FMC APPROACH REF page or the aircraft’s performance data. A calm-air target is commonly around VREF + 5, but use the wind correction and procedure specified for your particular model.
• Flaps: Flaps 30 is a common normal setting, while Flaps 40 provides more drag and a lower reference speed. The practical differences are explained in our comparison of Flaps 30 and Flaps 40 landing configurations.
• Landing configuration: confirm gear down, landing flaps set, speedbrake armed, appropriate autobrake selected and the landing checklist complete.
• Stability: by about 1,000 ft above the runway, aim to be on the correct lateral and vertical path, configured, close to target speed and making only small corrections. Airline criteria differ, but 1,000 ft is a sensible conservative gate for simulator practice.

How do I hand-fly the final approach and touchdown?

Hand-fly the 737 by controlling the flight path with small pitch and bank changes while using thrust to prevent the speed from wandering.

1. Settle on the approach path. On a typical three-degree approach, the required descent rate in feet per minute is approximately groundspeed multiplied by five. At 140 knots groundspeed, that is about 700 ft per minute. For an instrument arrival, follow the detailed 737 ILS setup and capture technique before transitioning to manual control.
2. Disconnect the autopilot when stable. A useful practice window is between 1,000 and 500 ft above ground level. Acknowledge the disconnect warning, hold the existing attitude and resist making an immediate large control movement.
3. Trim away steady control pressure. The aircraft should already be close to trim after autopilot use, but configuration or thrust changes may leave some force. Trim in short taps while watching the flight path; do not chase every momentary pressure or trim during the flare.
4. Hold speed and centreline. Use gentle pitch corrections to remain on the glide path and small roll inputs to maintain the extended centreline. Correct trends early. Repeated large inputs usually produce a pitch or roll oscillation rather than fixing the original deviation.
5. Shift your view towards the far end. As the aircraft crosses the threshold at roughly 50 ft, move your visual focus farther along the runway while retaining the aiming point in peripheral vision. Do not begin a large flare at the 50 ft call-out.
6. Flare at about 20–30 ft. Smoothly raise the nose by roughly two to three degrees above the approach attitude and retard the thrust levers towards idle. This is a modest attitude change, not a light-aircraft-style hold-off.
7. Touch down positively. Let the main wheels contact inside the touchdown zone. Hold the landing attitude briefly, then lower the nose wheel smoothly rather than forcing it onto the runway.
8. Control the rollout. Verify that the speedbrakes have deployed, apply reverse thrust as required and keep the aircraft straight with rudder. As speed falls and rudder effectiveness reduces, transition gradually to nose-wheel steering and use manual braking or let the selected autobrake work.

When should I disconnect the autopilot?

Disconnect the autopilot early enough to become comfortable with the aircraft, but only after the approach is stable. Between 1,000 and 500 ft AGL works well for routine simulator practice; disconnecting much earlier provides more hand-flying time, while waiting until the flare gives almost no opportunity to feel the control response.

The flight directors can remain on and provide pitch and roll commands. If you are practising raw-data flying, switch them off only after confirming that you can maintain the path from the ILS indications or outside view. Published autopilot minimum-use heights and airline procedures take precedence when reproducing a specific operation.

Can I leave the autothrottle on for a manual landing?

Yes. A Boeing 737 landing is still manual when the pilot controls the flight path and the autothrottle controls speed.

Whichever method you choose, verify that thrust reaches idle for touchdown. Do not assume that every add-on reproduces the real aircraft’s flare and retard logic accurately.

Why does the 737 float, bounce or miss the centreline?

Most poor manual landings begin with excess speed, an unstable approach or an exaggerated flare rather than with the touchdown itself.

• Floating: excess approach speed, late thrust reduction or too much pitch in the flare keeps the aircraft airborne. Hold the calculated speed and accept a positive touchdown rather than trying to manufacture an exceptionally soft one.
• Dropping onto the runway: closing the thrust levers too high removes lift while there is still considerable height remaining. Maintain the approach until the normal flare point, then combine a small pitch increase with a gradual reduction to idle.
• Pitch oscillation: staring at the instruments and reacting to every small movement leads to over-control. Look outside, make one small correction and wait to see its effect.
• Centreline drift: use coordinated rudder and aileron rather than attempting to steer with bank alone. In wind, approach in a crab, remove the crab with rudder during the flare and use into-wind aileron to stop drift; our crosswind crab and de-crab technique explains the control sequence.
• Bouncing: never push the nose down after a bounce. Maintain the landing attitude after a very light skip, but go around after a pronounced bounce or whenever the outcome is uncertain.
• No deceleration: check that the thrust levers are at idle and the speedbrakes have deployed. Reverse thrust supplements braking but does not replace spoiler deployment and wheel braking.

When should I go around?

Go around if the 737 is not stable by your chosen gate, cannot remain on speed or path, needs aggressive corrections, or is unlikely to touch down safely within the touchdown zone. Excessive drift, a prolonged float, a warning or a significant bounce are also clear reasons to abandon the landing.

Apply the model’s normal go-around procedure: select TO/GA, establish the commanded pitch, confirm positive climb, retract the gear and retract flaps on schedule. If reverse thrust has already been selected after touchdown, standard 737 procedure is to continue the landing and stop rather than attempt another take-off.