I've always looked at the METAR for the arrival field and then gone to airnav and clicked every approach until I've found what I wanted. What is the best time to go to flap 1 and continue configuring my aircraft (in both the 737 and 777), or is it not bad to be configured early? Flaps and gear increase the drag which mean an increase in fuel usage, so I don't think being configured that early is in any way good. Doing so though, I notice I'm fully configured way before the final approach fix, often even before the glideslope is captured (sometimes even before the localizer is captured). Right now I go to flap 1 once I pass a decel point that sets the speed lower than the UP mark on the speedtape, go to flap 2/5 when it passes the 1 mark, etc. The other question is about the landing configuration. I'd like to fly with the real world weather in FSX (I know, Active Sky is better but don't have the money for it), so where could I find the weather at the destination airport with that weather (and does it change if I'd start using ASN)? Once I know the answer to the question, I might look at ASN and other weather addons once I have the money. I know you have to pick the runway so you have the wind in the face as much as possible, but what's the best way to pick the correct STAR/runway when you're 39.000 feet up in the sky, coming to the TOD? I currently fly with the 'clear skies' weather preset, because I don't know the answer to the question. The first question is about choosing the correct STAR/runway according to the weather. There are just two questions that I couldn't really find an answer for, both related to the descend/landing phase. I've been flying with the PMDG 737/777 for quite some time now and I'm comfortable with both aircrafts.

Pmdg 777 landing altitude