AUTOLANDing the 737 NG

[JSACKS 0]

Wow, how one forgets with time and a different a/c! (too much PMDG 744!)Anyway, for AUTOLANDing the NG, I think I tune the Nav 1 to the arrival ILS runway first and arm the MCP LoC function; then when I'm on the LoC, I arm the APP function; then I tune Nav 2 to the same ILS freq; then after GS capture, and somewhere before 800' RA, I activate the second AP. Then I am in "Dual Channel" mode (?) and ready for arrival and T/D.Prior to landing in Autoland mode, I position the thrust levers on my CH throttle quad to idle position so that the NG speedbrake will activate on T/D (after arming it of course!).Have I got it right?Jonathan

[Tabs 2,790]

You should probably have both radios tuned to the ILS at the start of the procedure. At 1500" is where you'll get the dual ch mode engagement for the autoland, so you want to have both active before then...Autoland procedures in general are pretty hard to be realistic with in FS for the simple reason that in real life they're almost never done and they require special equipment, there's basically only a handful of airports in the world that you can legally (and safely) conduct one at.

[teropa 4]

Ryan,I would disagree on the subject of how often autolands are done, and how many places you can do it at.Remember that any ILS facility capable of providing a CATII level ILS signal with the required signal safety zones for holding points and taxiways is suitable for an autoland. It is ever increasing policy of many airlines and training facilities to encourage pilots to use maximum available automation when needed and when the safety of the pax that suggests or requires. Generally speaking more and more airlines are flying fully automated approaches even in fairly good conditions. Of course, autoland is an entirely different thing, but the thinking of today is to trust automation as much as possible and autolanding in bad (CATII and worse) conditions is not that rare.One has to remember also that CATII approaches can also be flown by hand all the way to a manual landing. But many airlines encourage the use of autopilot to for example 50ft or 100ft AFE and then either manually landing or making an autoland.It's one of the biggest mistakes of FS pilots to think that autolands are every day ops and the first thing they should learn is autoland. That's why I think it's good to discourage that kind of thinking because it's just not true. But in the same time it's useful to realize that autolands are also done in some circumstances, and sometimes it's mandatory (CATIII) if you want to land. Of course, given that the aircraft, crew and the runway all are certified.Training autolands in CATI or even better conditions are a different story though...Tero

[ronzie 21]

In some ILS plates the DME points given from a nearby VORTAC. I keep NAV 2 on that with the ILS on standby so I know the distance to the threshold changing to ILS at about 1500 or slightly less as you say. I do not tune in the ILS on NAV2 at the start of the procedure unless it is a DME equipped ILS.Many ILS merges are performed with a VOR DME arc as well.You info is correct but I'm just clarifying your statement "the beginning if the procedure".Thanks for the wonderful designs.