>but I've never found PC type sims to be of the slightest help for anything. >Actually I've never successfully landed an aircraft with one. It's a totally >different skill from flying the real thing.
Totally different? Did you have to push the yoke to climb ? Turn the yoke left to go right ?
I disagree with all the negative comments re "no flight skills transferred / achieved" with sims.
The
sight picture when landing is the same in a sim as the real plane.
When I was having difficulty with my landings, the chief instructor told me to stand up and look down at the table we were sitting at.
Then he said to slowly squat down while observing the "shape" / sight picture of the table, and notice how it "flattens out.".
That's exactly what you are looking for when landing.
@mewsie, what are you thinking about when you start the flare ?
A good thought is that you are just going to fly the plane along the runway as long as possible (power off or minimal) while feeling and adjusting for the sink rate.
As for your ballooning, you should be just trying to level the plane from it's descending attitude, then as you close the throttle, matching the sink rate by increasing the yoke pressure. You don't want to climb, just descend as slowly as possible.