Landing tips...
-
Hey, firstly, thanks a lot for this aircraft, it is a pretty cool one.
I really enjoy flying it, especially in VR, but there is one area where I struggle a bit: landing...Aside from having issues with the height of the plane (maybe there is a VR related perspective issue, maybe it is just me as this bird is on quite high heels), dealing with maintaining slow speed while not ending up with the nose wing stalling while landing feels difficult.
Maybe I overlooked the manuals, but I can't find a reference approach/landing speed.
Also, very often with my quadrant, I end up entering the beta engine regime when adjusting my speed during the approach - mostly because I don't have a 15% detent on my throttle. What I'd love instead of having this 0-15% range being "beta", is to have a toggle button making my throttle work either in the beta range or in the normal flying range (having the full throttle range being either constrained between ground idle and fly idle or between fly idle and full throttle). Is there an easy way to set things up like that ? -
Thank you for your kind words. I hope you're enjoying this unique machine! I actually thought the landings would take more to get used to, but some of the YouTubers I flew with proved me wrong by nailing the landings on the first try. I'm sure you'll be there in no time!
In the manual (and on the airspeed indicator), we can see the dirty configuration stalling speed of 92 knots. With a canard aircraft, pitch authority will be lost quickly below this speed, so we really want to stay above it, unless we're level a few feet above the runway. The approach speed can be calculated as Vso * 1.3, or 120 kts for a stabilized approach.
Here is my personal advice:
- Aim to cross the threshold at about 100kts.
- Don't plan to descend steep and pull back hard in the flare. This airplane likes a stabilized approach.
- Practice your landings with a light load and a centered CG.
As for the beta range, while I don't have the exact feature you've requested, I do have a feature (that should) be enabled by default. On the options page of the tablet interface, you will find "Unrestricted Beta". With this toggle in the OFF position, you will not able to enter the beta range until your wheels are on the ground, even if your hardware goes below that 15% number.
I hope that helps, and I look forward to seeing what other landing tips my other users have cooked up! In particular, I received a video of some STOL work a few days ago that was far better than I could do!
-
Thanks for the "unrestricted beta" trick, it was wrongfully on on my machine.
And thanks for the speed advice, I'll practice a bit more next time before triggering an OnAir job of 900nm
-
One piece of advice: watch the speed constantly. I’ve done many landings where the speed indicator is at 90 kts, if you go below, the aircraft gives you a few seconds and shakes the stick, so just make sure you’re at least at 90 and no lower, be ready to crank up the power and dial it right back a few seconds after.
It helps to setup your approach like you’re supposed to, have your flaps deployed from a few NM out and your gear down, settle on that 100 kts speed and keep the throttle steady with small adjustments. Follow an ILS if you’re not sure about correct descent angle.
-
Last few landings were successful on my side. Even with the "Unrestricted Beta" off, adjusting power to maintain a steady speed in slow flight is still kind of tricky. But it feels realistic (I always found slow flight too easy compared to real life in Flight Simulator). I suppose doing a bit of slow flight training would be super useful.
