Best advice I ever heard for landing, and I've used it quite successfully in flight simulation as well....
pick a spot on the ground about 1/2 mile away (880 yards, ~800 meters), you want to be 400 feet (122 meters) above the runway elevation over that spot, pointing at the end of the runway to begin your final approach. That will give you an almost perfect glide slope, and sufficient time to stabilize your approach. (in practice, since it's hard to estimate distances without a reference, many small airports have a runway that's 800 meters, so you just use that length off the end of the runway, if your airports runway is 1600 meters, use half the distance, etc.)
Once you've picked that spot, you continue downwind until you've just passed that spot, then turn to base. You now have gone past the spot by about as much as you will get back when you turn to final. (look out the side window, when you pass it, turn)
Now, you just aim for that spot when you turn final, INSTEAD of looking at the runway. AND try to have your altitude be 400 feet (122 meters) above the runway elevation when you pass over it. Knowing when to turn to cross over the spot will take a bit of practice, especially in a simulator, because it varies depending on aircraft speed, turn rate (do not exceed 30 degrees in the pattern/circuit), wind direction and wind speed. But you can guess based on how long it took you to turn from downwind to base.
You are now set up for a final approach that should be stable. You have plenty of time to adjust your throttle (sink rate) and rudder/ailerons (runway alignment).
Next best bit of advice...
if you miss this spot, or miss the altitude by more than about 30 feet (10 meters), go around now, it's not worth trying to make it work for 2 reasons.
1) it's much easier if you have a stabilized approach starting 1/2 mile out (800 meters)
2) you are establishing two habits, first the approach habit, make it as clean as possible, and second the go-around habit, be prepared to go-around on every landing, and be prepared to go-around at the first sign of trouble
Later on, after you know what a good, solid, stabilized approach looks and feels like, you can try shortening or lengthening the approach.
Last edited by darkroomsource; 9th October 2012 at 08:01.