Flying the Pattern ~ Learning to Fly for Beginners in X Plane 11~ Part 5 

Hi Firstname, Glad you found me and to hear it's exactly what you were looking for, I hope these videos help in some way. Thanks for the tip on asking for subscribers and likes but I prefer to let the videos speak for themselves and if they are liked that's great. My reward for all this is comments like yours, I don't care about making money what I really really like is knowing I helped someone learn a bit about what I love, flying. I'm not a certified pilot just a student pilot who, like you, can't afford the lessons but take one every chance I get. I'm up to 60 or 65 hours now in a Cessna 172N (The airplane I use in all my videos) and hoping to get more hours in by the end of this summer. Maybe someday I will get my certificate but that's most likely a year or two away at the rate I'm going. Thanks for you kind comments and thanks for watching, let me know how you are progressing :-) Blessings skip

Thanks Ron glad you like it! And, yes, when you fly your sim like a real pilot it's a lot more rewarding and you gain experience in real time flying. By the way, if you are interested, X-Hanger has given me the rights to their Cessna 172N, the airplane I use in most of my videos, and have allowed me to give it away to anyone who would like to use it for following along in my videos. You can learn how to download it by watching the video in the link below: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mmOxFBkgEBE.html Blessings, skip

Thanks criscusack glad to hear the lessons are helping and thanks for watching :-) Blessings, skip

Your welcome and hope your new year goes well also. More Blessings, skip

Thanks a lot John, glad you like the video hope it helps. I like your guitar picture! I have a 1997 Fender Stratocaster Collectors Edition I purchased in 97. Thought if I got a nicer guitar it would help me want to play more and get better, didn't work :-( anyway thanks again, happy flying! Blessings, skip

Hi Carlos glad you liked the video and it's helping, you are "really" flying now :-). Thanks for watching. Blessings, skip

Your welcome Geoffrey and thanks for watching glad you are learning from these videos. Blessings, skip

Hi Carlos, Glad you found the video helpful and thanks for watching. Landing should not be hard work if you are set up correctly. Here is a link to a video on landing that might help: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8MvtE8v9d_I.html Let me know how you are doing :-) Blessings, skip

Thanks Μουτσάκης, glag you ard liking my videos! By the way, X-Hanger has given me the rights to their Cessna 172N and have allowed me to give it away to anyone who would like to use it for following along in my videos. You can learn how to download it by watching the video in the link below: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mmOxFBkgEBE.html Blessings, skip

Thanks Mario, hope they helped. Blessings, skip

Hi Code, Glad to hear the videos helped! I am in the process of finishing up this beginners series, only two more videos to go if all goes according to plan which it probably won't but you never know, stay tuned. Thanks for the suggestion for new videos but it will be some time before I get out of my Cessna 172N I'm afraid, but I will check out the Panthera and DR401. Thanks for your feedback and for watching. Blessings, skip

Glad to here it, thanks Rich, Blessings, skip

Hi Santos-2024, Thanks so much really glad the videos are helping! Stick with practicing the pattern until you find it too easy before continuing and let me know how you are progressing along the way :-) Blessings, skip

@@WEHVideos Hi Skip, I have changed to FS2020, but I still use the same plane... There are lots of concepts to take into account and I have little time, but I keep going. Your videos are really great and helpful. I hope I can still learning from them although using FS2020...

Hi Santos-2024, You should do fine using FS2020 in most cases no problem and glad to hear you are learning and the videos are helpful, good luck :-) Blessings, skip

Thanks RbSims glad my videos are helping. One thing you can do, don't know if I mention this in the videos you have watched. Pick a spot on the runway like the runway number and keep that number in the same place in the windshield on you way down to the runway. If the number move up you are getting too low if down you are climbing. If you keep the numbers on the spot you should stay on glide slope pretty well and flair just before touchdown. Try this using the ILS to get you on the right glide slope then use this "visual" the rest of the way. This will also keep you on center line if the number doesn't move to the left or right. Give it a try and let me know how it works. Blessings, skip

@@WEHVideos Not so fast with the blessings. Here we go again. Just lost it upon final...again...Think I'll stop for awhile...

Love your attitude hang in there you will get it :-) Blessings anyway, skip

Looking good keep up the good work!! Blessings, skip

@@WEHVideos 3 good ILS's in a row. Now, let's try a GPS approach...

Cool looking really good Rb :-)

Your welcome :-) Blessings, skip

Thanks Hal, Glad the lesson helped and thanks for watching. You might check the Forum for airports you use there's tons of them available forums.x-plane.org/ By the way, X-Hanger has given me the rights to their Cessna 172N and have allowed me to give it away to anyone who would like to use it for following along in my videos. You can learn how to download it by watching the video in the link below: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mmOxFBkgEBE.html Blessings, skip

Hi Dennis, That's a good idea if your not "savy" with computers. Having it setup correctly will make a big difference. Thanks for watching my videos sure hope they help you, keep in touch :-) Holiday's were good hope yours were as well! God Bless you and yours, skip

Thanks for the info L Pappas. As you mentioned not all airports operate the same. I'm using what's suggested at Benton Field in Redding CA and the rules there for turning crosswind are different for each runway. They use 500ft for runway 15 but want you to cross the river before making a crosswind turn for noise abatement reasons on runway 33. So for 33 that turn altitude varies depending on when you cross the river and naturally is higher. Blessings, skip

Yea, it's been a long day, hope to hear from you tomorrow :-) Blessings, skip

Hi Flavio, Naturally you want to touch down a lightly as possible so hitting the ground hard can cause problems and damage the airplane so do your best to avoid that. The idea of "barely hearing the noise" is what you want to strive for all the time, for the airplane and your passengers. Watch your speed, if you are slow and high add a bit of power to avoid a stall and dropping, you will touch down farther down the runway but not hit the ground too hard. Naturally if you don't have enough runway then just go around and try again. What you don't want to do is pull back on the yoke or joystick when you are too slow you will definitely stall the airplane and drop. Let me know how it goes, just keep practicing it will get easier. Blessings, skip

Hi Phil, Thanks, this is a really good question! No, you don’t need to enter the pattern every time. You can do a straight in approach HOWEVER, you need to be really sure no one is in the pattern or about to be. You should make an announcement maybe 10 miles out or so to warn other pilots and then announce your intentions again when you are on a 3 mile final all the time being on lookout for aircraft because not all airplanes have radios so be ready to give way. You can enter the pattern anyway the makes sense. You can enter crosswind, downwind, or base depending on the direction you are approaching the airport and other traffic, make sure it’s safe and don’t cut anyone off. Hope this helps. Blessings, skip

Hi John, Glad you found me and hope you find the videos helpful and welcome to the fun world of simulator flying :-) Blessings, skip

Thanks John glad you liked it hope it helps. The Gauges I use are from two companies, you can get them here: www.siminnovations.com/#g-utility www.simplugins.com/html/panel_builder.html They are mostly used when you have an additional monitor so you can make your own panel with all your instruments on a separate monitor. Blessings, skip

Hi Rolando, Thanks glad you like the videos!! You asked a good question one I've been meaning to address for some time so I made a short video on settings for XP11 check it out hope it's what you were looking for. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-C3Ao7pvVEkU.html Blessings skip

Hi alexdimartino, I covered when to turn and altitude in previous videos in this series. You can check out Parts 1- 4 in this series or check the link below for a video I did on Understanding Traffic Patterns. Each airport has it's own "Pattern Altitude" that you can find listed at www.airnav.com (USA). This is where you can check out the pattern altitude and whether a Left or Right traffic pattern for the airport you are flying to. Usually the pattern altitude is 1000 ft AGL or airport elevation unless otherwise stated. You normally make your Downwind turn 1/2 to 3/4 miles from the airport. Here is a link to my video on traffic patterns you can check out: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KSV5mFs_rBo.html While the VSI is a good instrument it isn't instantaneous, there's a bit of a lag time. You should watch your altimeter and spend more time looking outside at ground references and watching for other traffic. Hope this helps. Blessings, skip

Hi Sarath, Too keep it really simple for Left traffic, when flying downwind, you will look out the left window to see the runway, the runway will be on your left. this works for any runway you are landing on. The reason Left traffic is preferred is because the pilot is usually in the Left seat so it's easier for the pilot to see the runway when he/she enters the pattern. Right traffic is used for when there's a good reason for not using Left traffic. Things like obstacles, flying over cities or populated areas, noise abatement, and safety are some reasons for Right traffic. Hope this helps. Blessings, skip

@@WEHVideos Thank you skip. It makes sense and is a very helpful answer.

Hi co, Thanks and thanks for watching. The trim indicator and all the other instruments I display that way are add-on so to speak that I purchased. There are two that I use and you can get them here: www.simplugins.com/html/inst_add_ons.html www.siminnovations.com Blessings, skip

@@WEHVideos Skip, your the best! Thanks a lot. Robin

:-)

Hi Vaibhav, Hang in there you will get it just take time and practice. What will help you is having a yoke and rudder pedals. If you are using a joystick with the Cessna it's a bit harder to fly. Keep at it you will get it! The trim control you see is actually an add on from a program called Panel Builder where you can create panels for a second monitor I just placed the trim indicator on my main monitor to make it easier for viewers to see so you do not have that option in X Plane. Blessings, skip

@@WEHVideos Hi Skip. Thank you for taking the time to respond. I already bought used saitek yoke and rudder pedals from ebay. They definitely need some lubrication I feel because they don't respond smoothly. I also read up online about the dead zones and detent issues with it. May be that explains why I am overcorrecting all the time and making it even worse. Going to try the spring/rubberband mod to see if it helps. I am also going to try the Plane Builder to see if I can get the trim panel going. If you don't mind me asking, can you please tell me how long it took for you to get comfortable with takeoffs, landings and patterns? I just want to have realistic expectations and not end up being frustrated. Thanks once again. Oh btw, I am in Fremont. And if I learn enough from x-plane, I will hopefully join the California Airways school in Hayward. Cheers.

Hi Vaibhav, Well we are almost neighbors :-) I tried the rubberband thing and it didn't work very well. X Plane 11.30, which will be released soon, should help with the new sensitivity adjustments it will have for the yoke etc. so I would wait and see if this would help, it should! The sim can be a real challenge if your controls are not too good and I find the yoke to be very sensitive. Not so much with turns but pulling back on the yoke is very sensitive and it took me a while to get used to it, even now I think it's too responsive and as I mentioned above I'm hoping the new sensitivity adjustment will correct this. As for how long it took me to get comfortable landing etc., on the sim not too long, in real life about thirty landings. That seems a lot but Benton Field in Redding Ca. is a bit tricky for new pilots. It's a small runway and when it's warm, which it almost always was when I was starting out, it can be a pretty bumpy flight even in the pattern and add a little cross wind and it's lots of fun. I actually was disappointed in how long it took me before I got a really nice landing but my instructor told me "If you can land here you can land almost anywhere". That may or may not be true but I found it very easy to land at San Carlos after coming back from Redding so there is some truth to what he said. Flying in the Bay Area is really cool. I have about 15 hours flying out of San Carlos. There are lots of airports to fly to, I had one flight where we flew to five airports so I got to take off and land five time in that one flight. It's just way too expensive for me to fly here. My sister lives in Redding and I visit her all the time and get my flying in up there. I save about $100 per flight. Rentals are about $55 less and instructors about $45 less per hour. Good luck don't wait to join California Airways I'd jump on it if I could :-) Blessings, skip

@@vaibhav_desai_137 It is not just the controls you're using but also the flight program dynamics. A real Cessna 172 is a very easy airplane to take off but with X-Plane 11 it can be a struggle and that's coming from a pilot with a couple of thousand hours in real airplanes. You might want to check to see if right rudder is needed after liftoff at 55 knots, you may discover right rudder is not needed. If you can afford to go with the Honeycomb yoke, you'll be much happier. You're able to make fine adjustments with pitch and bank without having the controls bind up on you.

Hi Trackhoe075, You are talking about Plane Maker I take it. Yes, to modify the instrument panel the airplane developer must have used a 2D panel. I'm afraid the 2D panel will shortly become a thing of the past and we will not be able to modify panels any more unless Plane Maker will, somehow, make it possible. I have very strong doubts that this will happen because of the way new airplanes for X Plane are designed. While we will get better airplanes and the simulators will improve we will have less and less ability to make changes because of the complexities or the new aircraft. With that said, if you were able to see and modify anything on the 2D panel in Plane Maker seems to me the 2D panel was used and you should be able to make changes??!! You might contact the designer of the airplane you want to modify and see what they have to say. I contacted the folks at X-Hanger.com to get permission to modify and use their airplanes in my videos and they were very helpful. I plan to stay with designers who use the 2D panel when/if I buy a new airplane so I can make changes to the panel. I've not found an airplane the is exactly right for me. Not that the airplane is bad but I want certain controls on the main screen so I don't have to scroll to see a setting or flip a switch. The Cessna 172N is a good example, I moved "things" around and added controls that make it easier to fly. Let me know how you make out. Blessings, skip

Hi Marco, Going downwind is going in the direction of the wind. You go downwind to base then final into the wind to land, you always land into the wind if possible. Lets say the wind is coming from 150 deg. we would choose runway 15 for landing. That means when we are on downwind for runway 15 we would be heading 330 deg. going with the wind. Wind reports are always giving the direction the wind is coming from. Hope this helps, thanks for watching. Blessings, skip

Hi DAM8658 Hmmmm, 2500 rpm is almost full throttle in a cessna 172N. There are no set rules for RPM or flaps in the pattern when landing. Conditions are never the same so you do what you must to achieve a safe landing. For example if you were landing into a strong head wind you don't need to go to full flaps 10 or 20% will do just fine or you may not need flaps at all and you might even need to add a little power to keep from stalling actually landing with some power not at idle. Conditions dictate everything, you make your power and flap settings based on the conditions. I typically focus on my air speed. I like to be around 70 - 80 knots when turning base and on final I adjust power to get to about 60 knots and when I'm sure I will make the runway cut the power to idle and if I timed it correctly touching down between 45 or 50 knots depending on flap settings. There are many variables you must contend with so "going by the numbers" will work when the conditions are just right but that is the exception not the rule, at least that's been my experience. Blessings, skip

So you modified your airplane in the 3D window and the changes showed up when you loaded the airplane?

HI Billy Jay, What I mean by killing power is when you are positive you can make the runway you can set the throttle to minimum power and glide down to the runway and touchdown. This works fine in the 172N but not for all airplanes so check with your Pilot Operating Handbook for the airplane you are flying if you are not using the 172N for landing instructions. Hope this makes sense, let me know and thanks for watching :-) Blessings, skip

Hi Eric, No you don't need any of these plugins I just use them to make it easier for people to see in the videos. Blessings, skip

Hi RbSims, Nice to hear from you again but sorry for your difficulties :-( Remind me again what airplane you are flying? Have you tried different airplanes and are having the same problem? What are your computer specs? Go to Settings and under "Data Output" put a check in the box for "Frame rate". This will put a little window in the upper left of your screen showing frame rate, what is yours? XP will run at 20fps but poorly. You want at least 30fps for smooth operation. Try lowering, move all the sliders to the left, in settings Graphics section of XP and then observe your frame rate. Let me know how you make out. Blessings, skip

@@WEHVideos Thank you for answering. I am currently flying the Cessna 172 Skyhawk. I haven't try any other planes yet, in that I want to master the Cessna first. My frame rates straight out the box are 60fpm. I haven't tried to move the sliders one way or the other. Others have suggested that the problem isn't the computer or the peddles...It's me. I'm giving "her" too much rudder pressure. For the life of me, I can't figure out how much more "gentle" I can be. I'm on my toes, with my heels on the floor.

Hi Rbsims, OK you don't need to make any slider adjustment 60fps is pretty good. Try this, pick any altitude and set the autopilot to hold altitude and heading. Then apply the lightest pressure you can to a rudder pedal and see how the airplane reacts, you should see little real change in yaw. If the airplane reacts too quickly right away you have a sensitivity problem. Watch a video on setting up rudder pedals in XP and see if you can get a setting that works for you, I really doubt it's all you!! Let me know how it goes. Blessings, skip

@@WEHVideos Thank you, I will try this tonight...

@@WEHVideos Well, I did it. Followed your advice about the sensitivity...Turned it almost all the way down...Hard to taxi, but that's ok. Plus, I played with the response curve. Landed kind of hard, but I'll take it. Thank you very much, sir...

Hi Dennis, Assuming you are using XP11 on the right side of the map you should see Mode and Layers, below them you should see two check boxes one for Flight Path and one for Compass Rose. Check the Flight Path check box to see your flight path. Blessings, skip

@@WEHVideos Thanks Skip, Have a great Thanksgiving! Dennis

Hi RbSims, Sorry to hear you are having problems :-( It would be pretty difficult to use AP in the pattern and at that point in you flight you want to be in complete control of the airplane. You should not be having this much trouble, have you calibrated your yoke and pedals? If there's a trim option on the yoke, make sure it's centered. When you are flying straight and level if you let go of the yoke what happens? If you drift a slowly, a very little, that's OK but anything else is a problem. Here's a test for you to try. Set the weather manually and remove any winds and everything else there that could effect the flight, you don't want anything to effect the airplane in this test. Then pick a body of water to fly over at around 1200ft. The reason for this is so you don't have any "thermals" messing with you (the temperature is very even over water). Now, after flying straight a level for a while, to make sure "things" are stable, let go of the yoke and see what happens. The airplane should pretty much continue as if you where still holding the yoke, if not your yoke could be the problem. Let me know how it goes. Blessings, skip

Hi RbSins, Really sorry to hear this :-( I'm guessing the problem may not be you, there's a possibility your computer may not be good enough for X Plane 11. (I'm assuming that's what you use). So check your frame rate. Go to Settings, and under Data Output, under "Data to Output" look for "Framerate and put a check in the first Box under "Show in Cockpit" then start a flight, In the upper left corner you will see your frame rate. If it's below 20 your computer needs help for optimum performance. Check your computer specs and compare with X Plane's recommendations. NOTE: these recommendations don't give very good performance. Next, in Settings, go to Graphics. Move all the sliders all the way to the LEFT for "Visual Effects", "Texture Quality", "Number of World Objects", and "Antialiasing". Now check your frame rate again. It should be above 20 which is pretty much the lowest you want to be, 30+ is preferred, and higher is better. Can't have too much frame rate. If it is the computer you may only need to upgrade your graphics card if your frame rate is close to 20. Let me know how it goes. Blessings, skip

@@WEHVideos Here it is...Frame Rates with settings at midpoint = 59-60 when parked or flying... Frame Rates when all sliders are to the left = 59-60...The same thing... Rig Specs... Processor = Intel Core i7-9700 cpu @ 3.00ghz Memory = 8 gb System Type = 64 bit Direct X 12 Graphics = Nvdia GEForce GTX1660

Hi RbSims, Well the computer isn't the problem! I was just reading some of our other comments about this and you mentioned you are using the streaming version of X Plane is that still true? If so, what I thinks is going on is there is a lag time between your control inputs and the response in X Plane and that delay could be messing you up. You might want to try downloading a trial version and install it on your computer to see if that makes a difference. Here's a link: www.x-plane.com/desktop/try-it/ Let me know how you make out. Don't give up!!! Blessings, skip

@@WEHVideos Actually, I stopped using steam awhile back. I downloaded and installed the regular version back in January, when I bought this new computer. That's the one that's giving me the problem. I'm thinking that I'm just not a good "lander". Some get it right away, and for other's, it takes a lot of work. I remember when I was flying FSX and FS2004, that there were problems there too. Always been my weak spot. So...back to work I go. Got a flight tomorrow. Anyway, thanks for all the help and suggestions. P.S. You know, I ran into one of your videos about the Altimeter. I admit, I've been using the default setting of 29.92, which is for 18,000 feet and above. I just wonder.....

Update...Forget about my altimeter idea. It didn't work. ATC kept saying "altimeter 29.92" even though I changed it manually. In fact, ATC almost sent me crashing into a mountain, by following their vectors. I cancelled the ATC, and tried to land on my own...And of course we know how THAT went...Hard bounce, flip, crash, into flaming pieces....

Hi calinutza33, Good question. There is no cut and dry rule for when to turn base, you don't need to fly to a designated point in space, the conditions will dictate when to turn. You will find that you almost never fly the pattern the exact same way even if you try. Your altitude and descent rate are big factor and you make your turn to base according to that. Ideally you turn base so that when you turn final you are at the correct angle down to the runway. Other factors might be other aircraft in the pattern with you. So if someone just landed and you are behind them you might need to extend your downwind to be sure they have cleared the runway before you land. This all applies to flying the pattern where there is no ATC, and will most likely be different if you are under the direction of ATC. Hope this helps, let me know. Blessings, skip

WEH Videos I have watched all your tutorial videos , I have founded them very instructive, I love to fly , I love to skydive 🪂. ! I am a qualified Skydiver , I hope one day I will be Private pilot as well , but aviation is just too expensive. ! 😢

Hi calinutza33, Thanks glad you found my videos helpful and thanks for watching. Yep, way too expensive that's why I will always be a lifetime student pilot just don't have the $$$, Blessings, skip

Hi RbSims, Not sure but I'd try re calibrating your yoke or Joystick. Let me know if that works :-) Blessings, skip