Why is it almost every landing challenge promotes one of the worst things a pilot can do. This trying to touch down almost 0 FPM descent and right at stall speed. I get it that there will be a bunch doing this with X Box controllers on a console, But it courts a scenario that traditionally kills pilots. Getting slow and stalling on final. Being so slow and limited on final so you can’t do a go around Is stupid and dangerous. Trying to pull a landing like that IRL…
15 Likes
Speed is not affecting the score, or am I wrong?
Vertical speed does.
The Landing Challenges are obviously a nod to the competitive gamers. I agree with the OP, but the same thing can be said about a lot of things in the sim that are different to real life.
1 Like
I mean… I’ve watched spot landing competitions and the goal is to plop her down… The difference here is that we’re basically Bush Spot Landing in any kind of plane the sim has available. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPakbghLe38
1 Like
Exactly correct. But it’s just for fun purposes
For sure in a Cessna 152 landing on a normal runway in good weather it could be a sign of good airmanship to touchdown at the brink of a stall with the lowest rate of descent possible
Sometimes extra airspeed and extra rate of descent can be an insurance policy to protect you if the weather doesn’t comply . (Eg gusty winds and high crosswind component when landing )
In the sim world things are simpler than real life (aerodynamics, weather, winds, gusts, wake turbulence, dust devils )
1 Like
As a pilot I don’t think so. In a simulator - these are challenges against many other people around the world, to beat them is the goal. Good airmanship is knowing the difference that the only challenge that matters is landing safely.
7 Likes
The landing challenges are just for fun, but you are quite right.
What doesn’t help is that Asobo have highlighted the “Aiming Point” runway marking as the definitive touchdown zone, which is incorrect and encourages a bad habit of low approaches.
3 Likes
The landing challenges are a juvenile arcade game. They bear little resemblance to safe aviation.
6 Likes
Agree, also stable approach is not a requirement, landing on the aiming point markers is not something we do in real life either. A 3 degree flightpath should be flown passing the threshold at 50 ft, starting flare over the aiming point markers and touching down slightly after. And indeed a soft landing is the least important parameter of a safe landing.
2 Likes
This is a simulator in title only… It is a game, nothing more and if you treat it as such, it will make a whole lot more sense.
Take this as it is… a game. And a challenge to do in a simulator. I wouldn’t land on full flap , approach 50 fr AGL and 2200rpm on the Cessna as this is clearly stressing the aircraft but… yes it is fun!
Oh dear how I miss the FsX challenges. Those were addictive, like the one flying and airliner in the midline of the ocean and suddenly losing all engines and you need to diver to an alternate one . Those were real challenges!!!
3 Likes
I remember one where you had to land a helicopter on a boat that was swerving left and right. Took a while to pass that.
1 Like
It’s just a game guys. And 90% of the people who play it will see it as just that and nothing more.
I sometimes fly in between the buildings of NYC. Sometimes I land with a tailwind. Sometimes I even… Can’t believe I’m admitting this… But sometimes I don’t get take off clearance. I just fly.
Hoping these habits don’t rub off next time I fly IRL.
8 Likes
we fly single engine aircraft through the Grand Canyon in the sim… nobody who is right upstairs would do that in RW. That’s what a sim is for. One of my first actions in the sim was flying slalom through Chicago next to Meigs… It’s just because we can. Try to land your R22 in front of the White House in reality or your C172 on the Red Square in Moscow… oh wait… :DD No, it’s just a sim and we can do all kind of stupid and dangerous things. As long as those of us who drive to the airport after that don’t do the same things in the real airplane.
Apart from that, there ARE landing competitions in RW too. I’ve watched one a couple of years ago. The goal was to fly a 1hr triangle (photo ralley) and land with as close to 50% fuel as possible as close to a runway marking as possible and on your main wheels first. Every bounce led to a penalty, as well as some other things.
The only thing that bothers is the bad habits that come with sim pilots when they decide to get their real license. But it’s nothing that can’t be cured with some extra hours 
It’s actually pretty easy to switch from real to sim and back. Same like when you drive automatic transmission today and manual transmission tomorrow. You just shut off that left leg or use it.
1 Like
That’s exactly it. For me as well, one of the appeals of a flight sim is, that you can do things you could never do in real life. On flightsim.to someone posted a race course for the Grand Canyon 
But that doesn’t keep anyone from flying 100% realistically. So I think it’s good there’s something for anyone.
1 Like
My little review of the landing challenges in MSFS 2020: if you have even an iota of respect for realism and flying in real life, forget about these challenges. They are meant purely for absolute newcomers, video gamers and for people who wanna have some quick fun but want nothing to do with aviation.
If you want some genuine challenges that show some respect to aviation, check this out Generate random failures in MSFS with RandFailuresFS2020 - MSFS Addons
Link I posted above might be of interest to you
2 Likes
The single-engine SF50 jet is billing itself the world’s first personal jet, specifically designed for the pilot/owner and filling the gap between the piston plane and business jet. More powerful than a prop plane, it can reach speeds of 300 knots, which comes in handy when you’re taking off from Las Vegas’s Henderson Executive Airport (HND), passing over the Hoover Dam, and then flying through Grand Canyon National Park, all in a couple of hours.
Oh boy. Confession time. Aren’t you a rebel at soul. ;-).
Guess what all the pros switch on after a long haul flight… just to let it out. 
Apparently flying under bridges IS frowned upon.
Wait…??
Is there an upvote for this?
Butt, flying thru buildings is often cool!!.. 
Oh yeah. They need to fix that ASAP ;-). I want to relive that RedBull air race start flying underneath the Chainbridge in Budapest.