Why is the A380 so difficult to land? I’m not talking about touch-down smoothness controls or anything like that, I’m talking about WHY is it so hard for it to slow down???
I’ve flown the A380 4 times ever since getting my subscription back, and ALL those 4 times, I never complete the flight because I’m always at like 250 knots at 3000 feet with gear down and flight spoilers extended. (Ok, kind of over exaggerating that, but still, at around 3000 feet when I somehow slow down to ~190 knots, I’m 5-6 degrees pitched down which is infuriating).
I really don’t know what I’m doing wrong… I sometimes even adjust my fuel and weight settings JUST to make my A380 heavier so it won’t look like it’s nosediving during landing, but even with those applied it still happens. I just quit my flight as I’m writing this because I’m like *7 degrees* nose down while at 250 knots at 6000 feet with spoilers and gear extended (put gear down just to add some drag yet nothing happens).
Until someone gives a solution to this problem, I will not be flying the A380. It’s so incredibly frustrating…
First of all, I understand your frustration. Now, I understand that your speed is often too high for a normal landing, correct? My solution would be to slow down beforehand, and entering the Glide Slope at roughly 180 knots or so. (I did experience the same Problem once, but then I found this solution)
I was thinking of doing this, but cmon if I’m at an active airspace with ATC and dozens of other people at final there’s no way I can initiate this procedure…
I usually don’t use step descend, but go straight to alt before the localizer and when I reach 20,000ft I immediately lower the speed to 250kts (it will be more difficult if the wind conditions are tailwind) and this is just my personal way of playing, I hope no one blames me you can try it if you want
My two cents : slow down from between 20000ft and 15000ft (idle engines, brakes if needed), plan a bit of quasi flat flight below 10000ft, reach the cone in flaps 2, well under 200kt.
Yooo the exact same thing happened to me in one of the 4 times I flew it this year lol😂 Yeah they gotta fix the A380. One of my fav planes IRL but pains me to say I won’t be flying it until the problem is resolved..
It isn’t, the “How to” tutorial mentions an early slow down to 250kts is recommended for the A380, as it’s a slippery aircraft. Use speedbrakes all the way down to your Flap 1 speed when near the airport, and then the aircraft will bleed speed without issues.
Also worth keeping in mind that the reason why the A380 Needs shallower descent than a 737 for instance is that it is much heavier! Simple fact: light aircraft can safely dive, whereas a heavy bird cannot, for speed restriction reason. Weight is power, when on the way down!
The A380 is pretty sluggish. I usually try to aim for a - 2000-1800 ft vs. after beginning my TOD. When I reach 180 FL my speed usually does not exceed 250kts. After that I constantly try to bleed speed with around -1200-1600 vs maximum. Below 100FL I’m at 200-230 kts until final approach where I always aim for 180kts when I catch the LOC. Lowering gear early also helps to even more reduce speed.
I barely use flight spoilers. it’s all about a not to steep descent rate and early lowering of speed.
So i’ve watched some A380 videos in YT and on in some recent A380 flights i had to watch the flight information screen in front of my seat during the flight. And i’ve noticed there are times where the A380 descends at a bit of a high rate and then enters a very shallow descent rate to meet speed restrictions. I think that’s how VNAV works IRL for airbus? It can prioritise speed or prioritise vertical speed.
So how i do it in IF is i have to descend at a higher rate around 2000-2500 then reach the aiming altitude (e.g. 10,000ft) earlier than that waypoint so that you have room to enter a shallow descent to that alt restriction. (Mine is about -300fpm or -500fpm) you then will loose speed. Making things smoother until your final. Thing is with A380 everything seems to be slow motion.
I experienced the same situation when I first started flying. What helped me was first reducing my workload by using the autopilot to manage speed(This might be one of the problems you’re encountering, as maintaining proper speed while navigating can be quite demanding, especially when you’re still learning.) Once I reached 10,000 ft, I kept my speed around 220–230 knots. Before intercepting the ILS, I slowed further to about 160–180 knots. I’m not sure if this is the standard procedure, but this method has consistently worked for me. It allow me to control the aircraft smoothly, and using this approach has made landing widebody aircraft much easier.
This may not be the besr recommendation but I hope it’ll works on your end too. Happy Holidays!
Ah the blessings of simulated reality, as long as one has fun, everything else doesn’t matter (doesn’t apply to the Expert Server).
What I do is to slow down to 200kts when I’m 20nm away from the airport, which is slow enough for a safe flap extension without the need to use speedbrakes. Then I extend each flap section at 10kts intervals.
