Set up landing practice in MSFS 2024 and other flight simulators with repeatable finals, circuits, runway positioning, weather and crosswinds.
To set up landing practice in a flight simulator, use one familiar light aircraft, a long unobstructed runway, daylight, calm weather and a fixed fuel load. Fly repeated circuits or begin six to eight nautical miles out on the extended centreline, then save or recreate that stable starting state for each attempt.
This is a general civilian flight-simulator method covering Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and 2020, X-Plane, Prepar3D, FSX and comparable simulators. Menu labels vary, but the aircraft, runway, weather and positioning principles remain the same.
How do you practise landings in MSFS 2024?
In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, use Free Flight when you want to control the aircraft, runway, weather and starting position yourself.
A built-in landing activity or challenge is useful for a quick attempt and a comparable score, but its aircraft and conditions are normally fixed. Free Flight is better for diagnosing one problem, such as arriving fast, drifting off the centreline or flaring too high.
The same method works in MSFS 2024 on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro. Interface and control commands differ between platforms, so concentrate on the functions described below rather than a particular controller button.
What is the best landing practice setup?
The best beginner setup keeps every variable constant except the control input being practised.
- Choose one predictable aircraft. A default light, fixed-gear, single-engine aeroplane is ideal for initial practice because its approach speed and systems workload are modest. Stay with it until the sight picture, trim and flare timing become familiar.
- Select an uncomplicated runway. Use a runway comfortably longer than the aircraft needs, with clear markings, little slope, no difficult terrain on final and preferably a PAPI or VASI. Record the runway elevation and direction for airborne starts.
- Set static, benign weather. Begin in daylight with good visibility, a dry runway and calm wind or a light headwind. Disable live weather, gusts, turbulence, icing and random failures. Remove AI traffic if it repeatedly blocks the runway.
- Fix the weight and balance. Use a moderate fuel quantity, an ordinary payload and a centre of gravity within the aircraft’s permitted range. Do not change the load between attempts: additional weight alters approach speed, inertia and flare behaviour.
- Pick the exercise. Depart from the runway and fly circuits to practise the complete sequence. For concentrated final-approach work, start six to eight nautical miles before the threshold on the extended centreline.
- Inspect the aircraft after spawning. Check trim, throttle, mixture or condition controls, propeller, flaps, landing gear, spoilers, parking brake and autopilot. Confirm normal simulation speed and set the altimeter to the appropriate local pressure.
- Create a repeatable reset point. Once wings-level, correctly trimmed and stable, save the flight or scenario if the simulator restores it reliably. Otherwise, record the aircraft, runway, weather, fuel, distance, altitude and speed so that the setup can be recreated.
Should I practise circuits or straight-in approaches?
Use circuits to learn the whole landing sequence and straight-in starts to repeat one specific part of the approach.
| Practice format | Best use | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Full circuit | Spacing, checks, configuration, turns, approach planning and go-arounds | Produces fewer landings in a session |
| Six- to eight-mile final | Glidepath, speed control, trim and centreline alignment | Does not teach circuit positioning |
| Two- to three-mile short final | Focused flare and touchdown experiments | Leaves little time to correct a poor setup |
| Built-in landing challenge | Quick restarts and comparing attempts under fixed conditions | Limited control over weather, load and starting state |
Circuits expose setup errors earlier. A downwind leg flown too close, high or fast usually produces a rushed final, even if the touchdown itself receives most of the attention. Our full beginner circuit from take-off through braking covers that sequence without turning this setup guide into a landing lesson.
Where should I position the aircraft for landing practice?
Position a light trainer six to eight nautical miles before the threshold, aligned with the extended runway centreline and roughly 1,800 to 2,400 feet above runway level.
A three-degree approach descends by about 300 feet per nautical mile. The practical setup calculation is starting altitude ≈ runway elevation + (distance in NM × 300 ft).
For example, six miles from a runway at 500 feet above mean sea level, start at approximately 2,300 feet indicated altitude when the altimeter is correctly set. This is 1,800 feet above the runway, not 1,800 feet above sea level. Confusing MSL altitude with height above the airport is a common reason for spawning far below the intended glidepath.
| Aircraft or exercise | Suggested starting distance | Configuration |
|---|---|---|
| Light piston trainer | 6–8 NM | Approach configuration, or partly configured if flap practice is required |
| Fast turboprop or jet | 10 NM or more | Enough distance to reduce speed and complete checks |
| Flare-only exercise | 2–3 NM | Fully configured, trimmed and close to the documented final speed |
These are visual-practice figures, not substitutes for a published instrument procedure or the aircraft’s own operating guidance.
Should I position the aircraft above the runway centre?
No: place the aircraft on the extended centreline before the threshold, not directly above the runway.
Point the nose towards the landing runway using its actual displayed heading where available. A runway number multiplied by ten gives only an approximate magnetic direction; the precise heading can differ. Position relative to the landing threshold rather than the airport’s map marker, which may be near the middle of the airfield.
If the simulator permits an airborne map start, place a custom departure point on final. Otherwise use slew or repositioning controls, exit that mode, return to normal simulation speed and let the aircraft settle before saving or beginning the exercise. If exact placement is difficult, start farther away and intercept the centreline normally rather than forcing alignment close to the runway.
For more detail on runway choice, circuit geometry and interpreting PAPI or VASI indications, see our guide to setting up a stable visual approach.
How can I repeat each flight simulator landing?
Use continuous circuits for complete practice, or reload a stable airborne state when every attempt must begin with identical energy and alignment.
- Touch-and-go circuits provide repeated take-offs and landings without reloading, but flap, trim and power changes add workload immediately after touchdown.
- Stop-and-go landings provide time to reset the aircraft on a sufficiently long runway. They are useful before progressing to touch-and-goes.
- Saved airborne states are best for isolating speed control, flare height or crosswind technique. Save only after leaving slew or repositioning mode and allowing the aircraft to stabilise.
- Challenge restarts are usually the fastest option when a built-in activity already matches the aircraft and conditions you need.
Complex add-on aircraft may not restore every system, automation mode or panel state correctly. Physical throttles, trim wheels and flap levers can also overwrite the saved positions as soon as the flight loads. After every reset, verify gear, flaps, trim, power, autopilot, weather and simulation rate.
Which assistance settings should I use?
Keep visual guidance if it helps you understand the approach, but disable assistance that moves the flight controls, flares or brakes the aircraft for you.
A visible landing path can teach initial geometry, and a standard four-light PAPI showing two white and two red lights provides a useful glidepath reference. Once that geometry is understood, reduce artificial markers so that runway shape, perspective and normal instruments become the cues.
Use the cockpit view for the actual approach because changing viewpoint changes the apparent flare height and centreline picture. External views and replays are valuable afterwards for checking wheel contact, drift and pitch attitude.
If the aeroplane wanders despite small inputs, check controller dead zones, sensitivity, rudder centring and duplicate bindings before blaming the flight model. Our practical advice on control calibration and repeated landing assessment explains how to separate control problems from technique.
Which setup mistakes spoil landing practice?
The most damaging mistakes either make every attempt different or create an approach that cannot be stabilised in the available distance.
| Symptom | Likely setup error | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Always high or low after spawning | Runway elevation was omitted, or the starting point is not the expected distance from the threshold | Calculate height above the runway, then add airport elevation |
| Immediate steep descent and rapid flap changes | Start is too close, too high or too fast | Move farther out and begin near the aircraft’s normal approach condition |
| Aircraft drifts before useful practice begins | Residual wind, incorrect heading or a point offset from the extended centreline | Confirm calm weather and realign the starting point |
| Controls jump after a reload | Physical axes or switches overwrite the saved state | Match the hardware positions, then recheck trim, power, gear and flaps |
| Approach feels unusually slow or energetic | Simulation rate, pause state or slew mode was not reset | Return to normal time and let the physics settle before continuing |
| Runway is repeatedly occupied | AI traffic or ATC is disrupting a closed practice loop | Disable traffic, or include ATC deliberately and accept the extra variability |
If ATC is part of the exercise, practise interpreting runway assignments, vectors and missed-approach instructions rather than treating a landing clearance as a requirement to continue. Our guide to handling simulator ATC during an approach explains when to continue and when to go around.
How do I know when an approach is stable?
For ordinary visual practice, use 500 feet above runway level as a decision gate: the aircraft should be configured, aligned, trimmed and close to its documented approach speed with only small corrections required.
Go around if the aircraft is still diving for the runway, chasing the centreline, carrying excessive speed or requiring major power and configuration changes. Faster and more complex aircraft should use an earlier gate when their procedures call for one.
Judge the landing by more than vertical speed. Record whether the approach was stable, the touchdown occurred in the intended zone, the main wheels contacted without a severe bounce, the aircraft remained near the centreline and directional control was maintained during braking. A very soft touchdown after floating far down the runway is not a good landing.
How should I set up crosswind landing practice?
Add crosswind only after calm-weather approaches are repeatably stable, then increase one wind variable at a time.
- Establish a calm baseline. Keep the aircraft, runway, load and starting point unchanged until several consecutive approaches meet your stability gate.
- Add a steady crosswind. For a light trainer, a direct crosswind of roughly 3–5 knots is a sensible first exercise. Use no gusts or turbulence.
- Increase it gradually. Add a few knots only after alignment, drift correction and runway tracking remain controlled. Stay within published aircraft limitations and use any demonstrated crosswind value as a conservative training reference.
- Practise both directions. Change the wind so that it comes from the opposite side while leaving every other condition fixed.
- Add gusts last. Gusts change both airspeed and control demand, so they should not be introduced at the same time as a stronger steady crosswind, wet runway or reduced visibility.
The crosswind component is approximately wind speed × sine of the angle between wind and runway. A wind 30 degrees off the runway has about half its speed as crosswind; a 90-degree wind is entirely crosswind. Aviation wind direction describes where the wind comes from, but simulator weather displays may differ in their use of true and magnetic direction, so confirm the result with the windsock.