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Guest JacobKoziarz

PMDG 747-400 visual approach landing tips

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Guest JacobKoziarz

Well, after finally learning the LAND3 autoland landings, I guess the next step would be to learn how to really fly and land this thing non-autoland style. As much as beautiful and perfect they are, sitting there and watching phase is over for me.Could someone post some starting pointers here ? As in, at what point while flying the FMC flightplan do you start the descent/approach procedure, which parts of autopilot do you disengage/control and when etc. A step by step guide would be nice. And where is the boundary between auto and manual ? From what I read so far it looks like most landings always have some part of autopilot engaged - like A/T for example.Thanks in advance...JacobKoziarz...

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Eat an elephant one bite at a time.Try cutting off the A/P at 500 ft AGL, hit Z and it will allow A/T to remain engaged. Land from 500, then once that is going okay you can try it from a straight and level just before glideslope intercept (some flaps and gear already out) to practice intercept and setting up a descent on glideslope manually.I assume you can land other simulated airplanes, and you know about the picture (keeping the landing spot from moving away or closer). If you need to learn to land, I recommend something not so heavy and slow to respond.


Dan Downs KCRP

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>Could someone post some starting pointers here ? As in, at>what point while flying the FMC flightplan do you start the>descent/approach procedure, which parts of autopilot do you>disengage/control and when etc. A step by step guide would be>nice. Actually you will find a wealth of information on this very topic if you only spend some time searching this forum.You can use advanced search options and search for example for the following combination of words:1. 747 touch and go2. 747 touch & go3. FMC preparing circuits3. hand (manual) landing techniques4. manual landingand similar combination of words, etc, etc.Pay special attention to a user "cowpatz". He is a real 747 pilot and information he provides is of top quality but that doesn't mean that you should skip input from others.Michael J.http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/9320/apollo17vf7.jpg

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Guest JacobKoziarz

I tried DISENGAGE bar to disconnect autopilot (Z didn't result in any action, although it is selected in FSX controls settings). A/T controls approach speed just fine (SPD green on PFD).LNAV and VNAV PTH still green on PFD as well, until I finally disengaged F/D.LOC needle was tracking fine and allowed me to fly to the centerline more or less (or on the runway I should say), but G/S tracking needle although active and tracking initially stopped tracking and went non-active. Reverse didn't activate (maybe I forgot to arm speedbrakes if this is the reason why).Shouldn't LNAV/VNAV disengage with LOC/G/S tracking instead while I control flying except for A/T maintaining the final approach speed ?Upon touchdown, do I disengage the A/T, reduce throttles to idle and apply reverse thrust ? With speedbrakes automatically deployed as they're armed and autobraking applied as it is pre-selected ?After reading thry forums and manuals - that would be my understanding.So, assuming that I'm on final approach with approach speed and gear down and approach flaps setting with full A/P engaged and LOC/G/S active and tracking - what is the final series of steps ?

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>LNAV and VNAV PTH still green on PFD as well, until I finally>disengaged F/D.>>LOC needle was tracking fine and allowed me to fly to the>centerline more or less (or on the runway I should say), but>G/S tracking needle although active and tracking initially>stopped tracking and went non-active. This is strange. Either you have VNAV and LNAV engaged or you are on the ILS i.e G/S and LOC engaged. You would not want to turn F/D off. This is *your* flight director once the A/P is turned off.>Reverse didn't activate (maybe I forgot to arm speedbrakes if>this is the reason why).Check your throttle. Needs to be in idle before reversing.>So, assuming that I'm on final approach with approach speed>and gear down and approach flaps setting with full A/P engaged>and LOC/G/S active and tracking - what is the final series of>steps ?If all the above applies (and no WX) you disengage the A/P at 500 ft AGL. Steer according to ILS cues and/or visuals. Keep landing spot in focus until over the threshold. Shift focus to end of runway. Disengage A/T and throttles to idle. Bleed of speed and flare at 50 ft AGL. Once on ground check speed brakes deployed. Reverse thrust. Steer down the centre line. In a nut shell.Hope it helps,

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i disengage the A/T and A/P from about 1000 feet to get full control of the aircraft and then RETARD about 50, i make sure i have enough speed to play with when im manually landingive also manually flown her from 3000 feet she is an incredibly obedient girl to fly!!


I7-10700F RTX 3070 32 Gig Ram

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Guest JacobKoziarz

Thanks !!!Wow - what a rush - far from perfection yet - but what a rush.Was my original sequence ever wrong. So, you only disenage A/P and A/T once fully established on LOC/G/S !And I do prefer to do it both at the same time at around 1000 ft - so I can get the feel for controls and don't have to disengage A/T when I'm almost down - otherwise I lose being lined up when I'm busy flipping that A/T switch down.Also, I do prefer Virtual cockpit, but I find hard to see the LOC needle through the control column and I'm forced to use 2D cockpit.How do you do it ?I keep getting audio warning - WIDEFLOW ???!!!Was is that ?

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Guest JacobKoziarz

OK - I can put the PFD on the screen by clicking on it - forgot about that ! That way I can watch the needles without obstructions.But, my reverse will not engage even with the throttle down. Autobrakes stop the plane really fast - even at setting of 1. Spoilers deply just fine.Hmmmm...Thanks again. But I think will have to invest in the real controls - Saitek Cyborg Evo just doesn't cut it - or maybe i need more practice...

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Guest phil1234

on discovery wings some time ago there were training pilots doing touch and go's on a 747 afterward the bloke asked how it like to land it....the pilot said it was 'just like his cessner....' (not the 172 but the one with the 5 seats i think)

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You know you can also move the yoke down by clicking on it about halfway down the shaft.Ron


Ron Service

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>I keep getting audio warning - WIDEFLOW ???!!!"GLIDESLOPE"... :-)- Bill


- William Ruppel, CYTZ, VATSIM 816871

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Keep in mind that you can do whatever you want. If you want to fly without any automation at all (AP, A/T), then don't feel it's a bad thing. You don't want to pick up any habits, but remember that every airline will have a slightly different way of doing things. In most cases, if the pilots want to fly a visual approach by hand, then it's likely okay to do so. I believe in most cases they use the A/T on these planes, but any amount of manual input you learn is a good thing. You will become a much better pilot in terms of controlling the aircraft if you hand fly the last 20 miles or so to the field.Also, the ILS makes a good visual cue, but if the conditions permit, then using the runway is an important part of the landing process. In the VC, you can lower the yoke by clicking on it. The warning was probably the "Glideslope" warning telling you that the glideslope is out of sync. You might get this during the final part of your approach since you might have to drop down below the G/S to land on the TDZ and not eat up runway.


- Chris

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