Hi everyone please what’s the approach speed generally used by pilot
I was watching a video and I could hear the pilot say the approach speed into Heathrow airport was 220 knots please what’s the general approach speed to use ?
And secondly I was on decent into Johannesburg and all of a sudden I started gaining speed again during my decent what could be the cause and any help with this please ?
Depends on what phase of the approach this is at. 220kts is often a good speed around 5000-8000ft above the airport. You want to be at max. 200kts at the start of the cone.
You were probably descending too steeply for your aircraft to maintain speed - some aircraft (particularly the larger aircraft) require shallow descents (not more than -1500-2000fpm), even with spoilers set to FLIGHT mode. They require strict monitoring and good speed management.
So in such situation what do I do lowering the landing gear and retracting it when at the speed I want to be a good idea ?
You shouldn’t have to be lowering the gear to slow down from high speed. Reduce your vertical speed if you need to, or extend flaps to the first setting if able.
Sometimes Simbrief does give pretty steep descents in the smaller aircraft - but if you manage speed properly and start slowing down early, you shouldn’t have any issues.
You can check the official tutorials made by the staff on IF’s YT channel. They’ll give you a general idea on the performance of the new/reworked aircraft.
Also, try to gather all your doubts and write them down in a single post instead of posting single questions multiple times, it clogs the forum.
I usually do on final about 180-190 if winds are high then I do 200 and when im at 200FT I drop throttle to about 50% of what it was before then when I hear the 10 callout I drop throttle alltogether
General approach speed
For second question
Always start your descent at the top of descent (TOD) point, and make sure your last fix before 10,000 feet keeps you high enough to reduce your speed to 250 knots. Arm the speed brakes during the descent to help control your speed and avoid overspeed violations. If you miss the TOD, you can do a 360° turn while descending to lose altitude safely. I always use the approach chart so I know exactly where to reduce my speed and maintain an ideal descent profile.
Also this website give final approach speed for each aircraft depending on aircraft weight.
Hi, just as a rough ballpark range of speeds (emphasizing though it is aircraft and configuration dependent):
| Phase | Typical IAS (kts) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Approach | 210–250 | Entering controlled airspace, configuring descent, still relatively clean aerodynamically (mostly no flaps, air bakes, or gear) |
| Intermediate Approach | 180–210 | Start flaps extension, aircraft starts getting “dirty”; maintaining spacing with traffic |
| Final Approach Fix (FAF) | 160–180 | Gear may be deployed, more flap stages; aircraft stabilizing on glide slope |
| Short Final | 135–150 (or Vref + ~5) | Fully configured, on the glide path, approach stabilized—airspeed depends on aircraft weight and configuration |
And as already implied, start descending early, because like a car going down a steep hill, the steeper it is the harder you have to brake, but an aircraft has limited speed braking options. A go around might be the only option in cases where your descent is too late.
Lower Gear to Slow Speed
In steep or high-energy approaches where drag needs to be increased quickly, like during late ATC clearances or tight descents into tricky airports, pilots may lower the landing gear early to act as an effective speed brake. It’s not routine, due to added noise, wear, and fuel burn, but it’s a perfectly valid move when flaps and spoilers aren’t enough. Especially below 250 knots, extended gear can dramatically slow the aircraft and stabilize descent.
Bookmarked, thank you for this!
But, may I ask whether there’s a generally fixed distance from the airport, to execute each and everyone of these four phases?
It depends on the airport - for the majority of airports it will be more or less the same procedure however there are exceptions, particularly when terrain and steep descents are involved, you will find that one is needed to be at final approach speed considerably earlier than “normal”.
Cool, thanks Benny!
This means I better start collecting those (not free) airport plates🤦
It’s just that the last two phases seem to occur inside the cone and contain (what I’m guessing as) standardized terms, hence my initial question, i.e.
A short final: how “short” is actually this short final?
F.A.F: how far from the target runway do pilots must already “fix” everything in place?
…but cmiiw, I have a feeling that the answer actually concerns more about altitude rather than distance (i.e. 1000 feet)?
EDIT: Just found this link it’s so cool now I’m hooked on this subject, thanks Derrick778 for bringing this question up!
Pilot speeds change a lot! 220 knots is usually for higher up. Landing is way slower, like 135-160 knots.
As for gaining speed during descent, that’s normal. Could be Air Traffic Control, wind, or the plane adjusting its descent. Pilots are always fine-tuning things. Nothing to worry about.
