Start a flight on approach in MSFS 2020 using Landing Challenges, a custom airborne departure or Travel To, with fixes for altitude and alignment.
In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, the quickest approach start is a Landing Challenge. For your own aircraft and conditions, set a custom airborne departure on the World Map several miles along the runway’s extended centreline, then make that airport and runway the arrival. Selecting the runway itself starts you on the ground.
Which approach-start method should I use?
Choose a Landing Challenge for speed, a custom World Map point for flexibility, or Travel To when you already have a planned route.
| Method | Best for | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-positioned Landing Challenge starts | Immediate landing practice | Aircraft, weather and starting position are fixed |
| Custom airborne departure | Your chosen aircraft, runway, weather and distance | Position and aircraft configuration need checking |
| Travel To | Skipping ahead in an existing flight plan | Avionics and autopilot state may need correction |
How do I start on final approach from the World Map?
Set the arrival first, then place a custom departure point on the extended runway centreline.
- Choose the aircraft and weather. Set the wind before choosing a runway so that you do not build the approach to the wrong end.
- Set the destination. Select the airport as the arrival, then choose the intended runway or instrument approach where the route options allow it. Our walkthrough of setting the destination runway and procedure in the World Map explains the planner controls in detail.
- Create the airborne starting point. Click the map on the runway’s extended centreline and select that custom point as the departure. Use roughly 5–8 NM for a light-aircraft visual approach or 10–15 NM for an airliner or instrument approach. For runway 27, place the point east of the airport because the landing direction is approximately westbound.
- Set the altitude. Open the Nav Log and set a suitable cruising altitude for the airborne start. A 3° descent path is about 320 ft above runway elevation per nautical mile, so 10 NM corresponds to roughly 3,200 ft above the runway. Add the airport elevation to obtain an MSL altitude. Published procedure altitudes take precedence over this estimate.
- Load the flight and stabilise. Confirm heading, altitude, speed, active flight-plan leg and aircraft configuration immediately. Custom airborne starts often load the aircraft clean and faster than landing configuration, so allow enough distance to reduce speed and extend flaps and landing gear in stages.
Choosing an ILS or other approach in the planner does not automatically guarantee that its final leg is active or that the autopilot will capture it. Check the navigation source, frequency and active leg, then follow the correct procedure for arming and capturing APP or APR guidance.
Can Travel To skip straight to the approach?
Yes, the Travel To panel can move a planned flight to its Approach or Final phase without flying the preceding sectors.
- Create a route with a valid departure, destination and, preferably, a selected approach.
- Start the flight and open the in-flight toolbar.
- Open Travel To and select Approach or Final when available.
- Confirm the jump, take control and verify the aircraft’s speed, altitude, fuel, navigation source and autopilot modes.
Approach is usually the safer choice because it leaves time to correct the aircraft state. Final can place an airliner too close to the runway to repair an incorrect flight-plan leg or configure from cruise speed. Some activities and complex add-on aircraft do not handle phase jumps cleanly; use a custom World Map start when Travel To is unavailable or produces an unstable setup.
Why does the aircraft spawn too high or off course?
Most poor approach starts come from confusing MSL with height above the runway, choosing the wrong side of the airport or loading inside the active approach leg.
- Too high or too low: World Map and avionics altitudes use MSL. Add runway elevation to the desired height above ground.
- Facing the wrong runway end: Place the custom point on the approach side, not beyond the departure end. The runway number indicates the approximate landing heading.
- The GPS commands a turn away: The active leg may lead back to an initial approach fix behind the aircraft. Select the appropriate leg only after checking its course, or use a simple direct route and hand-fly the visual approach.
- No glideslope capture: Intercept the localiser at a shallow angle and from below the glideslope. Merely selecting an ILS arrival does not arm approach mode.
- The aircraft is not landing-ready: Start farther out. Three miles is rarely enough for an airliner spawned clean at high speed, while 10–15 NM provides time to slow down and complete the landing checks.
Repeating the same practice approach
A saved airborne flight is the most repeatable option once the aircraft is established at the desired position, altitude and speed. Use the simulator’s facility to save and reload an airborne flight, but recheck avionics and weather after loading because some aircraft systems and live conditions may not restore exactly.