A STAR usually covers the phase of a virtual airline flight that lies between the top of descent from cruise or en-route virtual airline flight and the final approach to a runway for landing.
A typical STAR consists of a set of starting points, called transitions, and a description of routes (typically via waypoints) from each of these transitions to a point near a destination airport in flight simulator, upon reaching which the airplane can join an instrument approach (IAP) or be vectored for a final approach by terminal air traffic controller. It should be noted that not all airports in flight simulator have published STARs for flight simulation; however, most relatively large or not easily accessible (for example, in the mountainous area) airports do. Sometimes several airports in flight sinulator that have the same area share a single STAR; in such case, aircraft destined for any of the airports in such group follow the same arrival route up until reaching the final waypoint, after which they join approaches for their respective destination airports.
How to do approaches with Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Naming conventions for STARs vary by country and region around the world. In Europe, they are often named after the transition waypoint, followed by a digit that is incremented with each revision of the procedure, and a letter designating the runway for which the STAR is intended. In the United States, STARs are named after waypoints, or unique features of the STAR, or geographical features, followed by a digit indicating the STAR revision. A single STAR in the U.S. may serve for multiple runways and transitions; European STARs are more likely to be independently published for each runway and/or transition.
Not all STARs are for IFR virtual airline flights. Occasionally STARs are published for visual approaches using flight simulator, in which case they specify visible landmarks on the ground and other visual reference points instead of waypoints or radio navigation aids.
STARs can be very detailed (as is often the case in Europe), allowing virtual airline pilots to go from descent to approach entirely on their own once ATC has cleared them for the arrival, or they can be more general (as is often the case in the United States), providing guidance to the virtual airline pilot which is then supplemented by instructions from Air Traffic Control.
Landing an aircraft and following a STAR procedure can be tricky in some cases, but it's the key to successful landings: Get the aircraft set up properly in advance, and the approach and landing will be a snap. In fact, when properly set up for the approach, the airplane will virtually land itself on the runway. When you power back, the nose of the aircraft will begin to drop, or fall off (the horizon line starts moving up on the windshield). As it begins to fall, start nudging back on the stick to keep it up, so as to maintain altitude as your airspeed bleeds off. You want the nose stable and just slightly raised, so that your altitude in flight simulator is maintained while the airspeed begins to fall. The horizon line will be just a hair lower on the windshield than it was in normal cruise while flying online. Keeping an eye on the vertical speed indicator in your flight simulator will help you prevent any loss of altitude during your flight simulation session. Lowering the flaps changes the airplane's trim in flight simulator. As the flaps come down, the nose will tend to rise, so you'll have to nudge the stick a few times again to keep the airplane's attitude under control with your flight simulator control surfaces.
