Why are my landings on Flight Simulator 2004 always bad or bumpy?

You are probably flying too high and too fast before landing. That's the classic mistake made by flight simmers. It's easier to make this mistake with airliners, and since simmers usually start their flying with airliners, they are more likely to make this mistake than real pilots.

(Real-world pilots start out on tiny airplanes and work their way up to airliners, so by the time they are flying airliners, they've already learned all the basics with smaller aircraft.)

The key to landing a large airliner safely and smoothly is a stabilized approach. Long before you reach the runway, you must ensure that your approach speed is correct, and that you are aligned precisely with the runway, and that you are descending along the correct path for landing. If any of these is incorrect, you'll have trouble landing safely and smoothly.

Large aircraft are fast and slippery, so you must anticipate everything. You must set the aircraft up for a stabilized approach far in advance of reaching the airport. You cannot correct mistakes at the last minute. If the approach is not right, you must go around and try again. If you are blazing along at 290 knots a mile from the runway, there's no way you're going to slow that airplane down to a proper approach speed before you reach the threshold of the runway. If you're still 8000 feet above the field two miles from the runway, there's no way that you'll be able to descend to the runway in time to land correctly and safely.

Runway alignment is a bit less critical, since you can turn the airplane at any time. But you'll find that turning airliners and lining them up with the runway at the last minute is really, really hard, and requires a lot of experience. It's best, then, to line yourself up way in advance, while you still have plenty of wiggle room. By the time you get close to the airport, you need to be following an arrow-straight path that's precisely aligned with the runway centerline. Systems like ILS are designed specifically to help with this.

Descent rate is also important. Changing your descent rate at the last minute is very bad. If you are constantly pushing the yoke to and fro or constantly retrimming wildly with the approach lights looming in the windshield, you're on the fast track for a rendezvous with destiny, so to speak.

Another key thing to remember: In an airplane, you can descend quickly, or you can slow down quickly … but not both. So if you're coming in too high, but at the correct speed, there's no way you can get down to the correct altitude without picking up speed. And if you are at the right altitude but coming in too fast, there's no way you can slow down and still maintain that descent rate. Tiny adjustments can work, but if you try to descend and slow down significantly at the same time, the laws of physics are going to get in your way.

So set up your approach carefully and early. By the time you're on short final, or before, the airplane should be able to continue the approach smoothly down to the runway even without you touching the controls, and even with the autopilot off (provided there are no wind changes). If this is not the case, you've done something wrong.

Practice makes perfect. Eventually you can shoot approaches easily.

And yes, all of this applies in real airplanes, too. There are obviously differences between a sim and a real airplane, but all of the basic principles are the same. The reason airline pilots do approaches so well in real airplanes is that (1) they've done it thousands of times in airplanes of all sizes, and sometimes (2) they know how to use automation to help (but there's a learning curve for that, too, so beware).

I have to say that I am definitely very biased against simulators, especially the kind on your home PC. The first problem with beginners using a home simulator is that they are self-taught. Many of the bad habits will come from trying to learn how to fly without the supervision and guidance of a flight instructor. You may be doing things very wrong while thinking that you are actually doing them properly. There are also so many possibilities and considerations related to safe flight that an experienced pilot has to teach you. The next thing I would point out is that there is a huge difference between the sophisticated simulators used by professionals and the computer program you have at home. If you ever have a chance to use a "real" simulator, you will immediately see the difference. I have also noticed that the physics of the aircraft (specifically for helicopters) are pretty terrible in FSX. I understand that there are additions you can download that more closely simulate the helicopter, but it's still not very good. Plus, most of the time you don't even have real flight controls to use. The last thing of course is the feel you get from actual flight. Your sight, hearing, and touch will detect many cues from the aircraft that will allow you to anticipate the required control inputs so you can make them smoothly and with finesse. Without those sensory inputs, you will be reacting to the aircraft, rather than anticipating. An aircraft will also often alert you to difficulties before they even happen. If you train using a simulator, you will not benefit from learning those subtle but critical feelings. I will say that there are a few specific cases where the benefits of simulator training are incredibly valuable. - When experienced pilots learn the systems and procedures when transitioning to a new aircraft. They can take their time learning every detail about that new aircraft at a much lower cost. - When a new instrument student has mastered the basics of attitude instrument flight in an actual aircraft, they can benefit tremendously by studying instrument navigation, procedures, and approaches in the simulator. You really have to learn the steps backwards and forwards so you can stay 12 steps ahead during actual flight. The simulator helps do this. - Emergency procedures can also be practiced very effectively in the simulator. Furthermore, you can reproduce emergency situations in the simulator that would be impossible to practice safely in flight. So basically, the real benefits of simulators come when learning new procedures and new systems. They are, in my mind, only beneficial to pilots with experience in real aircraft first, and only under the supervision of instructors.

You are probably doing too much adjustment at the last moments before touching down.

Get lined up about 10 miles out, and go as slow as possible. Forget about trying to "flare" just before touching down, in a 2D flight sim, flaring at the end is ridiculously difficult and unnecessary... you need to hit the runway at some kind of angle (you can't hit it at zero degrees), and your descent angle is fine for landing.

The angle you descended at should be the angle you hit the runway at. Again, forget about trying to flare it. If your approach angle was correct, you won't need to adjust anything much at all for touchdown. And if your approach angle was incorrect, you should go around.