Been flying quite a lot in real life lately doing glide approaches in circuits, and when trying to replicate them in the sim in any GA aircraft, I find the plane loses speed really quickly.
There’s not enough momentum to carry the aircraft from circuit height on base all the way down to the runway by gliding. Typically I find myself approaching stall speed well before turning onto final or around that point in the sim.
Just wondering if there’s work to be done on the momentum/inertia in the physics of the sim, if its me, or if it’s an issue with default aircraft etc.
Yes, I found I had better luck with leaving the gear to the last minute. So in my case flap, gear, then more flap if necessary. But first stage was usually all I could manage. Any more and I lawn darted, or rather landed in the approach lights!
It’s probably good to remember that control forces are extremely different between real life and in the sim, and glide speed depends greatly on angle of attack. So it’s super easy to bleed speed by being slightly too nose high and not notice it in sim. It may not be an issue as I imagine you’re keeping track of your indicated air speed tightly when comparing between the two, but it’s something to consider.
That’s only one issue.
As @PZL104 many of the planes are said to be quite good. All of them, I don’t know. If you’re comparing an Arrow and a Warrior, the extra weight of the retractable landing gear would be a difference. Make sure to set up fuel and passenger weights accordingly when comparing as well.
Exactly. Especially with a low L/D ratio its essential to carry enough speed for the flare!
On the PA28 it’s definitely the very high drag due to the open nose gear doors and the open wheel wells.
On many aircraft performance noticeable decreases during gear extension/retraction cycle when the gear doors are open.
The C337 is a good example.
Some of us have done fairly extensive testing on glide ratios of different aircraft. In general, most are spot on. What aircraft are you using? Every aircraft, not just type, will have slightly different glide performance. A good exercise is to examine the glide ratio in your POH and do the math for a 5000ft decent glide. Put yourself at the prescribed distance from the airport, that you should be able to cover, at 5000ft agl, in line with the runway and see where you end up. This will give you a reasonably accurate glide ratio for THAT airplane.
Wind conditions, temperature, fuel load, pilot/instructor weights, all have an effect on your glide. Aircraft configuration, added equipment, CoG, tip tanks, wing droops, wheel fairings are all factors that have to be considered as well. Another factor that gets students in trouble when going back and forth between training and the sim is perception. It is very easy to find yourself with an extended downwind or be 1/4 mile further from the runway when on the DW leg compared to what you do IRL.
If you are attempting to do ‘simulated’ engine failure glides, make note of the power setting that your instructor uses. A dead engine, windmilling prop or just throttled back, are going to have very different glide profiles.
I do sometimes get the feeling that there is a lack of inertia in some of the aircraft and usually too much float in the flair. But it’s hard to be precise because there is so much that affects it…
Back in the day I recall doing practice glide approaches one Summer evening in a trusty Tomahawk and after failing the 3rd circuit, the instructor (loosing his patience somewhat) decided he’d show me how it was done. Well, as we approached a crash landing on the threshold (exactly where my memorial was destined to be), he put the power back in and declared that the cooling evening air was probably sinking. He went on to have a successful career flying for Cathay … so I guess he knew what he was doing!
So yes, there probably is still work to be done in the flight model, but it is getting better all the time. The difference between simulation ‘on the numbers’ and the feel of actually flying is probably impossible to replicate on a PC flight simulator.
Yes, the “feeling of flying” does make a huge difference. IRL I always thought I could “feel” what the aircraft wanted to do but in the sim I am “reduced” to flying by the numbers which I sometimes find distracting.
Thinks! Have to have a session or two practising dead-stick landings.
Welcome to flying the A320 IRL which actually feels more like playing Ace Combat.
Due to the flight path stability it ‘feels’ even more artificial than non FBW aircraft in MSFS.
I always felt sorry for the new copis when their first airliner was the A320.
They are never going to experience the ‘feel’ a real heavy aircraft.
Theoretically weight doesn’t influence glide range if flown at the correct best glide range speed (Vmd). An empty plane is able to fly just as far as a fully loaded plane .
Yes (at least within a reasonable range). That’s why we load up the gliders with water ballast up to approx 20%-40% of empty weight in order to fly faster without (almost) sacrificing glide ratio (distance).
but a naked retractable landing gear vs. a fixed gear with gear fairings does make a difference. We have a Aerospool WT9 Dynamic in our club with fixed gear and another club in the neighbourhood has the RG version which I had the chance to fly recently. It’s a very noticable difference on approach.
The WT9 is a very different airplane to the C172 but yes, it’s mostly the unclean surface when the doors are open.
In our club’s 172 there are main gear fairings but we had to remove it on the nose wheel because it caused vibrations on the pedals that made the pilot crazy. The legs were itching like hell :DD
.