How do pilots calculate their rate of descent so that they’re at ground level when the reach the runway?

Question

How do pilots calculate their rate of descent so that they’re at ground level when the reach the runway?

In: Other

Answer 1

Mostly they don’t: the plane does that for them. But outside that, they know the distance to the runway and their speed, so they know how much time they have. They know their altitude so they know how far they need to descend. So they know the distance they need to travel and the time needed to do it. That’s the rate of descent.