Ive been thinking about using on the 3 methods to reduce speed while descending.
) slow down without the speedbrakes and extend flaps when needed
) slow down with speedbrakes, retract them and bring down the flaps
) extend flaps WITH speedbrakes
I’ve always 3 but I was kind of iffy about it since it has never happened on any flight that I can recall being on and kinda seemed “too quick” I began experimenting with the 1st option but it feels too long and the 2nd feels a bit awkward.
So I was wondering, How do you guys like to do it?
I always slow my descent with the primary usage of the speed brakes. This is where my issue with Infinite Flight begins…the “flight” mode isn’t enough sometimes. I wish we can update the game to return full usage of the aircraft back to the pilot. I’d like to extend the speed brakes to my liking…not to a predetermined setting that is present in today’s game. But if VNAV starts having issues with steep descents I’ll amend my routing to make a 360 if able or divert from my flight route to accommodate for reducing my descent rate.
I use the 2nd method mostly, I also find some planes easier to slow down than others. For instance the 777 slows down relatively easily compare to the A380 which seems to not slow down at all.
I use a mixture of all of the above depending on my speed and altitude and I also use the trim to help if the plane isn’t slowing down. If the VNAV descent rate is too steep I take manual control of VS and then make it more shallower allowing my selected speed to catch up.
I tend to slow down a bit right before descent stats and then speed brakes before I begin transitioning to flaps at around 12,000 feet. Though it depends on aircraft.
The thing is, you can’t go against gravity. So for most jets, I always start slowing down at 11,500-12,000ft by deploying only speedbrakes (it’s 18,000ft for giants like A380/B747). If it doesn’t work, I’d deploy flaps to 1-2 (Airbus) or 5°-15° (Boeing), but sometimes it’s more than that if the rate of descent is too steep. The most important part is the trim. Together with the flaps, applying positive trims for a few seconds helps stabilizing the plane, so the overall speed vector doesn’t go down but instead in a more horizontal direction, parallel to the earth surface. That way, gravity will have a little to no effect towards the speed for a brief moment and it’s more effective to reduce IAS to 250kts. If any of that doesn’t work, I’d simply disarm VNAV, increase V/S to 0, and reduce IAS to 250kts, them arm VNAV again while keeping the speedbrakes deployed.
One of the things that bugs me about the speed brakes is that coming from every other sim I’ve touched I can extend them to my liking but not here for whatever reason
I use speedbrakes depending on my VNAV descent rate. When the plane doesn’t seem to slow down, or do it fast enough, I use my speedbrakes. The use of speedbrakes depends on the plane. Some might slow down easier, or my descent rate isn’t too high. I try to slow down gradually, so I’m at 250kts IAS at 10,000ft. I start extending flaps at appropriate speeds, which I slow down to just before the final approach. I don’t use flaps to slow down. My method probably isn’t very professional, but I like it ;)
I rely on the speed brakes only. If you fly an aircraft long enough, you will familiarise yourself with it. I start using the speed brakes between 12,000-12,500ft ASL. Depending on your load it will take longer or shorter time to slow down. I see how fast or slowly it slows down initially and then adjust accordingly. I’m used to descending with VNAV. SO the descent rate is always between 1,800-2,000fpm.
If the distance between 2 waypoints is too short for the plane to descend and it ends up going down faster than 2,200fpm, I do either one of these…… I either turn off the VNAV and get into a holding pattern if the distance between both waypoints is much too small. OR the next thing is I use the trim to pitch the nose up and effectively let the aircraft drop but while monitoring the speed and rate of descent making sure that the aircraft doesn’t go below 220kts and the rate of descent doesn’t go between 2000fpm
Usually I’d use method 2 or 3, but sometimes I would also adjust my vertical speed by lowering it and turning my aircraft in a circle or bump formation to adjust the speed and get my aircraft at the right altitude and speed before landing at the airport. It’s not really ideal but it gets the job done!