How to calculate the best VS for aircrafts?

[anon99845028]

I always have a question about how to choose my VS when I’m climbing and descending. Can anyone tell me about the VS selection of aircrafts? Thanks.

[George_Anastasis]

Hello.

If you want to do some maths then check this one

How to compute the TOD (Top of Descent) - Thumb rule

Hi There, there is an easy thumb rule for descents, that is important to know for pilots and ATC Controllers as well: subtract the current altitude from the target altitude, eg 30000ft - 10000ft = 20000 divide the result by 1000 and multiply with 3 and you will get the miles 20000 : 10000 = 20 x 3 = 60 miles so you have to start the descent 60 miles away from the point where you plan to be at 10000 IMPORTANT: descent rate is no less than 2000ft/min speed is not higher than 280kts til 10…

and if you want a quick and easy way then use this

Precision Descent Profile Online Calculator

[KaiM]

As a general guide, this is what I use
Climbing

Aircraft	VS
GA	800fpm
Military (Non-Fighter)	1500fpm
Commercial	2200fpm to 8000 then 1200fpm
Fighter Jet	2500fpm

Descending
-300fpm and TOD calculated using http://bit.ly/TODcalculator

[Charles_B]

While I cannot say exactly how it is calculated, many of the aircrafts have operating manuals which specify the V/S for a given aircraft. I know that for a Boeing 737-800, V/S is 2300 below FL100, 1500 below FL150, 1000 below FL200ft, and 500 above FL200. It depends. To add to what George kindly provided, here’s a link to different operating manuals for several aircraft.

The manuals specify climb and descent profiles. Happy flying!

IF Aircraft POHs (Pilot's Operation Handbook)

This is a collection of all IF POHs. Use these to get operational data such as V- and Landing speeds, Weight requirements, Checklists, emergency procedures and more. Note that many of these are for simulator use and not the actual handbooks. Still invaluable and correct though. FCTM = Flight Crew Training Manual QRG = Quick Reference Guide Airbus A320 series: [Brief] (http://www.despair.ch/staff/library/thc003.pdf), [FCTM] (http://www.737ng.co.uk/A320%20321%20FCTM%20Flight%20Crew%20Trainin…

[N319CL]

Well I would recommend this if you haven’t yet but it’s something that may help as a courtesy

In-Flight Assistant - Bring your Infinite Flight experience to a new level! V-Speeds, GPWS, PA, and more!

oh my. That will be amazing and will literally make everyones life easier!! I hope this might help and stop the amount of tail strikes I see… 😂 Thank you for the hard work and effort!

#2367 (reply #2367)

[azeeuwnl]

For calculating your descent rate, search in your Play or App store. There are some cool little apps for it. The trick here is to determine a waypoint relatively close to your destination airport, where you would like to be at 11,000 feet. In your flightplan determine the distance to this waypoint, enter this in your descent app and voila - a descent rate :-)

For your climb:

Climbing To Initial Cruise

My climb to initial cruise altitude in an airliner: Up to 10,000 - 3000 feet per min 10,000 - 20,000 - 2200 feet per min 20,000 - 25,000 - 1500 feet per min to 30,000 or 32,000 - 800 feet per min After that, maintain altitude and burn fuel for a while. When I’m not fully loaded, I keep climbing to 35,000 feet and hold there.