Hello,
Does anyone else have the occasional inconvenience of porpoising in infinite flight? I have noticed that with the controls, ( using motion to control the aircraft) I often end up bouncing along the runway and occasionally crash. Does anyone have any tips for me. I know now that my airspeed should be bled off in the flare as much as possible however due dodgy movement of my hands I find it difficult.
I would love some tips!
Thank you,
Concorde
Lower your sensitivity and while on final use the heading hold and vertical speed hold on auto pilot and recalibrate by your device. Make sure you are trimmed correctly so that when you disconnect the autopilot you don’t drop 30,000 feet per minute :)
Thanks allot, really helpful!
Your welcome it always happened to me on landing when I first started on infinite flight. Then I learned to trim and recalibrate before landing and it never happened to me again ;)
Thank you, I was finding it really frustrating!
Get autopilot off as soon as you can visually see the runway. Get the plane configured early so you get a feel for it. Too many people hold autopilot on until 500feet and then have to wrestle the aircraft under control.
What aircraft are you having these dramas with?
Most people’s problem is their airspeed. Remember on final, your throttle is controlling your descent rate. You need to keep the nose up, and find the ‘sweet spot’ on the throttle. Everyone thinks they will drop from the sky under 180 knots… They are wrong. As an example, in IF, i touch down in the 737 at around 130 knots. My entire last 3 miles of my final is at around 135 - 140 knots, making soft 1-2% adjustments on the throttle. Pretty much every time I see people mowing me down at 180 knots also in a 737 and bouncing down the runway landing nose first etc.
So, my advice, autopilot off early, slow your speed and get a feel for the aircraft. Aim for the threshold, and don’t be scared to overshoot it. Choose long runways to practice, you’ll be surprised how fast aircraft pull up to a stop. Get a nice flare in early and gently, and let the plane ‘float’ just above the runway if you have to. Don’t be in a rush to get it onto the ground
Thanks so much for that detailed explanation. I am delighted that people are so kind and helpful! I will practice as much as I can. I mainly have my problems with most light aircraft.
Thank you again,
Concorde
You’re not alone, I find the Cessna 172 the hardest to get a perfect touchdown in!
Not mentioning the Spitfire!
I used to have a habit of diving for the runway and then flaring at the last moment. I learnt that from gliders and it does not work with jet liners!
Switch to manual throttle at about 100 - 500 feet above ground level, so you don’t get a sudden increase in thrust as you are nearing touch down.
At approximately 10-30 feet about the runway, cut your throttle to idle.
Some planes have a tendency for the nose to easily bounce for a number of different reasons. This can be reduced or eliminated by enabling your auto brakes prior to landing.
You can turn off the auto brakes at any time above 80-90 knots.
After that point you can use your manual brakes to exit the runway and for taxing, by pulling your rudder slider downward.
To avoid diving to the runway, you can keep an eye on your glideslope indicator, as well as the PAPI lights next to the runway. You want to see a red and white light, two reds indicate you are to low and two white lights indicate you are too high.
Thank you allot for you advice! I did look out for the pupi lights.
Concorde
I used to have a bad habit of coming in to high. If you level off a couple hundred ft altitude before touchdown it helps. I just re-read that and it doesn’t make any sense.
Basically fly as low as you can comfortably and hold it before touchdown. That way you just need to throttle down and flare before landing.
Thank you, really helpful.
I used to have a habit of coming in too low!