Thanks for the excellent advice (Comanche 250)

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A month or so ago, I had preordered 2024 and was looking for a suitable add on aircraft. Coming from DCS I had no clue as to what is good and what to avoid.
Criteria was complex single piston GA with detailed systems and an excellent, verified realistic flight model.
Overwhelmingly, the answer the Comanche 250.

I installed it today and boy, what a peach. You boys did me proud.

I conducted a very windy, choppy flight from (north of england) leeds bradford international, to spurn point, headed for Hartlepool and back to leeds bradford, a big triangle with roughly 80 mile legs. By the time I was headed home, I had figured most of the systems out and feeling good about the comanche.
I found the sweetspot for me was 20 squared on RPM and Manifold, very smooth.
This in fact was the qualifying cross country flight I was working up to in real life during my flying training at LBA back in the mid 90s. Nope, no need to get excited, I was knocked off my motorcycle with severe injuries just before i was ready to take it.
Starting back at square one 2 years later was not appealing. Not because of the effort, it was because I had become mic shy again (I hated talking on the radio, flying was easy peezy, being a quiet guy, I found pressing that PTT switch was the very hardest thing to do).
I digress.
Coming in on finals, it was obvious that the 40 knot headwind I encountered when I was flying back to LBA was way off runway heading and my was she creaking and groaning, panels drumming and banging.

No choice but to go around, I was crabbing hard down the pipe. I was going to put her down by hook or by crook, if I trashed her by landing way beyond crosswind limits and wethercocked onto the grass I would be in a spot of bother by a sniffy CAA investigator.

Looked at the old runway (was still a runway in use when I was training there, now a taxiway) found it clear, came in over the POL farm and put her down. I logged three landings in one, but not bad for a first ever try in horrible real time weather. No damage to airframe. Might have been different if I had not deselected the tip tanks. A big inertia moment with those fitted.

Thanks again guys, I love it.

BTW, I find the GPS moving map displays on MSFS a little sparse. Is there some way of getting a more detailed moving map that replicates the proper charts on DCS nav systems?
I could dig out my 30 year out of date 50 mil chart, but I fly exclusively VR and it is not practicable.

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Try Gotfriends Wilga. Already sorted for 2024 works great.

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EFB GPS tracking needs help but relying as usual on the mighty little-navmap

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The moving maps in the panel are pretty realistic for what we use in real flying today. We really don’t have any panel-integrated devices that display satellite imagery as such. For that, we’d have to use an EFB running ForeFlight or something similar.

I’d recommend the TDS GTN750Xi add-on for a more modern, very well featured and well integrated device. However, I don’t think it’s useable in the panel for MSFS2024 yet. And it doesn’t use satellite imagery, just the internal depiction of navigational data and terrain features.

LittleNavMap is a good, free external option, but lost their connection to real-world charts last year. Good for referencing Google Maps, though. They are having issues integrating with the MSFS2024 scenery database, though. There are a few other programs like this that perform similar functions.

The MS2024 EFB will show satellite data, however the flight planning functionality is buggy at the moment.

For the best all-around option, I’d recommend Navigraph. They have real-world charts, their own VFR chart depiction, VFR sectional charts in the US, and worldwide instrument enroute and approach charts by Jeppesen. The downside is an annual subscription, but well worth it for a quality product. It can run in a separate app, including on an iOS device that isn’t even on the same network. The charts can also integrate into the TDS GTN as mentioned above. It also has an in-sim “EFB-like” display that works in 2024, which should work for VR.

If you have a ForeFlight subscription from the real world, you can also send position telemetry from the sim into that.

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Amended title & added tags for better searches.

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Still having trouble with bouncy landings. I dont break anything but it is galling

I fly 100mph aproach, drop to 85 over the fence. 2 reds 2 whites on the PAPIs and let it drift down to the runway. Then chop power.

Only thing i can think of is with close to 1000hrs on the DCS Hog, I am too high when cutting power.
Head level above runway in hog is about 12ft.
Head level in the comanche is about 3ft.

Unless anyone can see something glaring in my approach…

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How heavy is the plane? Your final speed will be dependent on that. The Comanche likes to float if you carry too much speed. You want to touch down just as the stall horn chirps so she no longer wants to fly.

As you suspect, eye height may be part of the issue as well. “Chopping” the throttle quickly, as with most PA-28s, will incur a pretty quick sink rate. So if you’re still 6-10 feet up when you do that, and you’re out of airspeed, you’re going to prang it on pretty good.

I’d take it out to a practice area, 3-4000’ AGL and practice slow flight. Get it in landing configuration, power idle, and let the speed bleed slowly in level flight until you’re just tickling the stall horn. Immediately add power to gain a couple knots and then maintain altitude using engine power (make sure you add right rudder to counteract left-turning tendencies).

Get used to where that stall horn is and what the attitude looks like just before you added power to maintain altitude. That’s the sight picture you want to see when you touch down.

Transitioning from a power-idle glide into a flare so it gets to the stall a few seconds after you level off a foot or two above the runway is the goal. The difference is on touchdown you just let the speed bleed a few more knots so it no longer flies. Hold it level (nose a bit high) and let it stop flying on its own. But yeah, do it too high and it can get spicy.

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Thanks CF. I will give it a try.

Other problem with military stuff is you can too reliant on the donut for correct on speed attitude.
Military flying the donut also tend to drop it on a fair bit more " positively" than maybe the comanche can soak up.

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Looked at it again from your point of view CF. Glad to reveal everything you said has real merit.

I have reduced my approach speed to 85mph and my fence in speed to 75 with the intention of letting her settle slowly to the runway and holding her off until she stalls the last couple of feet.
Very different to the military flying I am used to.

I have also tried the advice of my former flying instructor re the height to hold her off till she sinks of her own accord.
Look to the runway edges and when they line up with your shoulders, chop the power and hold her there.

Works like a charm. I still have a way to go to get my landings in the PA24 polished, but a 500% improvement.

As for leeds bradford, I doubt I will ever get a perfect landing there as the runway is not flat, it is significantly up and down with a large hump. The runway is either falling away frim the aircraft, or suddenly rising up to meet it.

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The Wilga series is very temptingly priced on 2020 MP for Black Friday. As is the Comanche!

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