Landing Rate Questions and answers
Short answers. The guide has the details.
What is a good landing rate?
For Landing Rate, anything from 0 to −300 fpm is a smooth touch and earns five stars for the rate. Down to −450 fpm is firm, and below that it is hard. A touch at −1000 fpm or worse, 1.80 G or more, or more than 10° of bank is always one star. The rate is only part of it: G-force and bank count too, and the realistic grading also looks at your flare and the conditions.
How the grading worksWhy did a very soft landing lose stars?
Because the conditions asked for something else. On a wet, icy or snowy runway a very soft touch (under 100 fpm) means the tyres do not bite, so it costs a star. A long landing on a slippery runway, no flare, a big balloon or a long float cost one too. The report says which. If you prefer the classic stars, set Grading to Simple.
Conditions and the flareDoes it work in VR?
Yes. In VR the type is bigger, the scroll bar is wide, the controller's stick scrolls the report and the touchdown box sits at the top centre of your view.
Flying in VRWhich simulator does it work with?
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PC. It is not made for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.
Does it work with every aircraft?
Yes. It reads the simulator's own values for the touchdown, so it works with default and third-party aircraft alike. It judges the landing by the conditions, never by the type of aircraft.
Does it count bounces?
Yes. It stays the same landing until the aircraft climbs back above 50 ft, so every hop below that is a bounce of it, shown on the runway drawing. Above 50 ft it counts as a touch and go, and your next touchdown is a new landing.
Why does the report say "Runway not identified"?
Landing Rate finds the runway in the simulator's own airport data around you. It cannot when you land off a runway, on a strip the simulator does not list as a runway, or when the simulator does not answer in time. Everything else in the report still works.
TroubleshootingWill it slow my simulator down?
It is built to stay out of the way. Nothing of it is drawn during the flight, the touchdown box is drawn by a layer that is already loaded, and it asks the simulator for nearby airports only every two minutes below 3,000 ft.
Does it need the internet or collect any data?
No. It works offline and sends nothing anywhere. Your settings and your last 10 landings stay in the simulator's storage on your PC.
I still have the older Landing Rate. Do I need to remove it?
Turn the older one off in the simulator's My Library, otherwise you will get two pop-ups at every touchdown. The new Landing Rate is a separate product and does not replace the old one.