You definitely have a point in the missing field of view. That has been THE limitation to virtual flying from day one.
Some say VR eliminates that since you can look as you would in the real airplane. I have never tried it so I do not know.
Next best is probably a head or eye tracker. That I have tried and it is a big improvement but also annoying at times, because the view also moves when you want it to be stable.
I have three curved monitors and with them I pretty much have enough of a view to the left and right to not need any virtual head movement. That is usually good enough to fly a visual pattern.
But for the longest time I simply used the POV hat-switch to look 90 degrees to the left and right, similar to what you do in the real airplane. In the traffic pattern the head must be even more on a swivel, so you don’t look in one direction for too long.
And finally, and that is the beauty of FS you can practice with no wind until you get the timing right. Make standard turns and try to set yourself up at the same point, altitude and speed for every attempt.
In the airplanes I flew the most I could fly the pattern on a calm day from mid-downwind to short final without even looking, simply by timing and engine sounds.
Add in the wind and of course the whole thing is a lot more dynamic and you do need visual cues and be able to react to these changes.
Believe it or not, its actually jsut as tough in real life when a high wing aircraft blocks your view and you have wind. Takes a lot of practice and judgement. BTW, 70% of my landings after base turn I am not lined up with runway. Perfectly fine, just need to be lined up on touchdown. How to fly a Cessna 152 - YouTube
Hah, I have my Track IR and eye position set so well in the sim that I have to do the same little “duck under” maneuver with my head to see under the door frame and/or wing that I do in real life.
But I’ve been flying Pipers more than Cessnas lately, and for whatever reason, most likely it’s that I have hundreds more hours in Pipers, I feel more comfortable with the seat and perspectives in those.
To be perfectly honest, I spend more time in aircraft like the Diamond Katana because the visibility is better. I don’t really know why, but the Cessna 172 just gets under my skin and I’m ready to sacrifice it to the fire gods of aviation by the time I land.
But my turns to final still vacuum hugely.
A corollary question is:
If I am at point “A” and I start a standard rate turn, how far forward will I travel when I’ve made a 90° turn to final?
In other words, how early do I have to start the turn on final to be lined up with the runway?
This purely depends on wind, and it is not when you turn its how steep you turn. See if you can find youtube videos on ground reference maneuvers. On downwind you should be close enough to runway, that if you lose an engine you can glide down and land safely. Roughly when threshold is will behind your shoulder on down start your base turn, the steepness of it depends on wind. Do not exceed 30 degrees though or you could stall spin.
Good question… first of all - you don’t need to limit your turn to standard rate in your pattern turns. Honestly, that’s too slow. Bank angles of 30* or less is usually taught in primary flight school, but in reality, you can bank a bit steeper depending on airspeed… I think instructors like to keep student’s turns to less than 30* out of fear of dying (students get too slow, increase the bank, stall spin, yada yada yada) so this tends to stick in students’ minds even after getting through the checkride.
In terms of when to turn - The proper time to lead your base-final (or any turn) is really dependent on your airspeed and the bank angle of the turn. This is one of those practice-makes-perfect situations.
One thing that is certain - stay coordinated in these turns - use your feet, too!
Nah… Pipers are just better
Could not let that one pass. But seriously having flown quite a bit in both high and low wing GA, that wing blocking my view at the crucial points in the pattern, always made me a bit uncomfortable with that concept.
Though to be fair not all high wings are created equal. The Cessna Cardinal was a much better platform than the early model C-210s I flew
I’ve come to the same conclusion. I enjoy flying Cessnas as well, but Pipers just feel like home. I’ve always wanted a ‘toga or a six or something similar.
Did you try to use the VFR Map to see your position related to the Runway? With this map there are no need to look around.
If you have problems flying visually - fly with instruments, use your ADF finder and NDBs at the airport. There are NDBs at UUEE (sheremetevo) and UUDD(Domodedovo). Fly NDBs until you feel you have got the point. The only problem here is time - your “NDB pattern” will take more time than visual.
For your visual patterns make them as simple as you can. Take off, climb a bit, turn downwind without crosswind climbing to the pattern altitude, fly 1 or 2 or 3 minutes and turn towards the runway without the base leg, just turn until you see the runway, descend aligning with the runway and land.
Well I have about 1250h in a PA32-301 and I still think it is the perfect airplane for me.
The only one that I would have traded her for, would have been a friends PA24-Comanche 400.
Hence I stated to start with a standard rate turn….I have unfortunately seen the result of someone thinking a few more degrees don’t hurt.
Of course this is a thread about simulated flight, hopefully nobody is dense enough to take this straight into a real airplane without supervision
Short of VR or head tracker the situation awareness is going to be hampered, so it helps to choose a field and runway that has a nearby road parallel to the base and parallel to the final (like KLNA rwy 10). (Sea level field also helps)
Try to nail your climb speed to Vy,
Turn crosswind at 500 ft
Keep Vy, then at 1000 ft power back, point the nose level, turn downwind
(Again KLNA helps - should be between two lakes at start of turn to downwind, and along a road at the end of turn)
Look left the runway will be pretty close
Even with the numbers set descent power, 15 deg flaps, hold -200 FPM and don’t let speed get away from you.
(When end of runway is 45 off your tail) when get to the turn to base visual reference (KLNA has a road there too), turn base
keep speed and descent under control till get to that road parallel to the runway, then turn to final
you will be aligned to runway, at 400 AGL or so and you will descend in slow motion to the end of the runway
change your focus to the other end of the runway and set down gently watching speed
Raise the flaps, increase power, hold centerline, and take off for another circuit - 10 to 12 patterns in an hour then land and review your paths. (In Volanta)
I’m like this more often than not, but it does improve your landing skills banking in at 45 degrees right on the edge of the runway. Maybe it makes the small Bush runways easier - I remember the Corsair pilots had to do these approaches on carriers.
On a serious note, I guess it’s sort of mathematical, add 90 degrees to your compass bearing, fly the bearing for exactly 10 seconds, add 90 etc
Flew one in the Boeing 247 yesterday where when I turned onto final I was a full 90 degrees off. Should have been monitoring the runway position out of the side window. Flew a hard left and just got it level as wheels touched down. Great fun.
Looking out of the side windows for position helps me a lot though. Wait until the runway is a comfortable 45 degrees behind you when looking out of the side window before turning onto Base leg. Then watch out the side window to make a decent approach onto final.
Like I say, coming in at a lousy angle and too high is great practice for Bush flying.
The flight instruments are there to help you, use them.
Use the Aircraft Heading Indicator.
When stationary on the runway ready for takeoff look at the AHI,
1-Straight up is the runway heading.
2 - 90 degrees left or right on the AHI will be the Crosswind heading you take after the takeoff climb to 500
3 - 180 degrees is the Downwind heading
4 - The opposite 90 degree left or right to 2 is the Base heading
5 - Final is the heading noted in 1
Make allowances for wind.
To turn onto base the end of the runway should be in the 5 or 7 o’clock position depending upon circuit/pattern direction. Or when on Downwind and level with the end of the runway maintain heading for 20/30 seconds then turn onto Base.
Simple
Flying a real light aircraft can be far easier than a FS model
