How often do you have to go around?

In simulation, the simulated ATC seems to be very inefficient at
spacing aircraft, because practically every fifth aircraft on landing
is told to go around. In fact, if you are told to follow someone in
for a landing, you can take for granted that he won't clear the runway
in time and you'll be told to go around. It's tiresome and
frustrating after spending a lot of effort to line things up nicely.

How often does this happen in real life? I should think and hope that
real controllers can space aircraft better so that it's rarely
necessary to abort a landing.

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Mxsmanic wrote:
In simulation, the simulated ATC seems to be very inefficient at
spacing aircraft, because practically every fifth aircraft on landing
is told to go around. In fact, if you are told to follow someone in
for a landing, you can take for granted that he won't clear the runway
in time and you'll be told to go around. It's tiresome and
frustrating after spending a lot of effort to line things up nicely.

It's rare. I can't recall ever being told to go around at Dulles and
I can recall only once having a Gulfstream sent around because I was
on the runway. It's more common at airports with a lot of instructional
activity. People don't clear the runway or mess up the spacing, or
don't take off promptly when cleared, etc...


I suspect the flight games throw in a few more unexpected incidents,
malfunctions, etc... to make the games more interesting.

Ron Natalie writes:

I suspect the flight games throw in a few more unexpected incidents,
malfunctions, etc... to make the games more interesting.

Well, it would be nice if there were a dial to change this. You can
reduce the amount of activity with other aircraft in MSFS, but you
can't control exactly how that activity is conducted.

Indeed, it would be nice to be able to select different airport
activity scenarios for practice. The specificity of instructional
activity that you mention is one example. A simulation of Oshkosh
might be interesting. And of course accurate simulations of extremely
busy, large airports--and tiny fields with incompetent local pilots
doing foolish things, perhaps.

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I've had to go around maybe ~10 times in the last 20 years....not counting a
botched landing or two (or twenty :-). Most common case is a plane deciding to
taxi all they way to the end of the runway instead of taking an early turnoff,
but I've had two-three cases of planes pulling onto the runway when I'm on short
final.

Ron Wanttaja

Yes, go-arounds are a relatively uncommon experience at the larger
airports. Most of the pilots/controllers coming into and out of busy
airports have been doing it long enough that the flow isn't disrupted
often.

Just do what you'd do in real life - slow down. When you find yourself
closely following traffic to the runway, you can create more time
between you and the guy in front by slowing down. Of course, this may
cause trouble for the guy behind you, but that's his problem. You can
also fly S-turns to create additional spacing.



On Oct 14, 10:41 am, Mxsmanic wrote:
Ron Natalie writes:
I suspect the flight games throw in a few more unexpected incidents,
malfunctions, etc... to make the games more interesting.Well, it would be nice if there were a dial to change this. You can
reduce the amount of activity with other aircraft in MSFS, but you
can't control exactly how that activity is conducted.

Indeed, it would be nice to be able to select different airport
activity scenarios for practice. The specificity of instructional
activity that you mention is one example. A simulation of Oshkosh
might be interesting. And of course accurate simulations of extremely
busy, large airports--and tiny fields with incompetent local pilots
doing foolish things, perhaps.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

writes:

Just do what you'd do in real life - slow down. When you find yourself
closely following traffic to the runway, you can create more time
between you and the guy in front by slowing down. Of course, this may
cause trouble for the guy behind you, but that's his problem. You can
also fly S-turns to create additional spacing.

In the sim, the problem is usually that the plane in front of me
lingers on the runway after landing. Then the controller tells me to
go around. I'm not given the option of refusing (although sometimes I
just ignore the controller and continue).

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In a previous article, Mxsmanic said:
How often does this happen in real life? I should think and hope that

About twice in 15 years, both times at an uncontrolled field.


--
Paul Tomblin http://blog.xcski.com/
Speed is life, altitude is life insurance. No one has ever collided with
the sky.

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
In simulation, the simulated ATC seems to be very inefficient at
spacing aircraft, because practically every fifth aircraft on landing
is told to go around. In fact, if you are told to follow someone in
for a landing, you can take for granted that he won't clear the runway
in time and you'll be told to go around. It's tiresome and
frustrating after spending a lot of effort to line things up nicely.

How often does this happen in real life? I should think and hope that
real controllers can space aircraft better so that it's rarely
necessary to abort a landing.


Quite frequently at the small non controlled field I fly out of in
Australia. The reason being we share it with a glider operation, Although
the gliders operate from the grass beside the bitumen strip it is close
enough that we have to consider it as the same runway. And of course for
obvious reasons powered aircraft have to give way to gliders.
terry

d&tm writes:

And of course for obvious reasons powered aircraft have to give
way to gliders.

I guess one can't really ask a glider to go around.

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