(MD-11) This has happened to me twice, and I think I must be doing something wrong: On short final, just before flare, the autopilot disconnects. The aircraft is in a green bar landing config (spoilers armed, flaps 35, speed right on, g/s captured, etc.) but it seems the last time it happened, DUAL LAND was not indicated. What would cause this?And the larger problem, what would cause the autopilot to disconnect on short final?RhettFS box: E8500 (@ 3.80 ghz), AC Freezer 7 Pro, ASUS P5E3 Premium, BFG 8800GTX 756 (nVidia 169 WHQL), 4gb DDR3 1600 Patriot Cas7 7-7-7-20 (2T), PC Power 750, WD 150gb 10000rpm Raptor, Seagate 500gb, Silverstone TJ09 case, Vista Ultimate 64ASX Client: AMD 3700+ (@ 2.6 ghz), 7800GT

If autoland is not armed (indicated by DUAL or SINGLE LAND in green), the AP will disconnect by 100ft.Paul

Paul,Sure? Need further explanation on this one.Regards,Harry

I armed autoland by pressing APPR/LAND. Was I doing something wrong?RhettFS box: E8500 (@ 3.80 ghz), AC Freezer 7 Pro, ASUS P5E3 Premium, BFG 8800GTX 756 (nVidia 169 WHQL), 4gb DDR3 1600 Patriot Cas7 7-7-7-20 (2T), PC Power 750, WD 150gb 10000rpm Raptor, Seagate 500gb, Silverstone TJ09 case, Vista Ultimate 64ASX Client: AMD 3700+ (@ 2.6 ghz), 7800GT

>Paul,>>Sure? Need further explanation on this one.>>Regards,>Harry>See the systems manual. AUTO.10.9 - Autopilot disconnects"Altitude below 100ft AGL when any mode other than autoland or GA is engaged"

>I armed autoland by pressing APPR/LAND. Was I doing>something wrong?>>Rhett>It's good that you ARMED the autoland, but if you don't see SINGLE LAND or DUAL LAND in green, it is not ENGAGED. There is something preventing the engagement. Read the autoland pages and try to see what you're doing wrong. Failing that, post a screenshot and somebody will probably be able to point out what's wrong.

A common mistake for not seeing the dual land confirmation is you have been messing with the nav pages on the fmc and the ils freq has not been accepted. So the Appr/Land button will not work as it should.If you see no "Apprland" white text on the left display at the middle top of the screen, then your apprland button has not dialed in due to probably bad configuration of your phase of flight.

Paul,Clear! Did misread your previous text.Regards,Harry

http://ops.precisionmanuals.com/wiki/PMDG_MD-11_FAQ#AutolandTo be honest sometimes I wonder why we bother writting notes since nobody reads them.===================================== E M V Precision Manuals Development Group www.precisionmanuals.com=====================================

I wouldn't interpret widespread failture to RTFM based on this incident or even the total sum of incidents on this forum. It is likely that more DO read than not. Remember that it is usually the squeaky wheels bleat on a forum - getting someone else to tell you what you could research on your own is a classic maneuver of the squeaky wheel. Of course, there are always those who don't know how to ask or seek what it is they are looking for - they lack an understanding of the basic principles and vocabulary. However, the manuals, if written well, will provide a grounding which enables further exploration. I'd say the manuals provided are good. In fact, that is the basis of the name for PMDG and I recall buying PMDGs earliest products - manuals for flightsim aircraft.

>I wouldn't interpret widespread failture to RTFM based on>this incident or even the total sum of incidents on this>forum. It is likely that more DO read than not. Remember>that it is usually the squeaky wheels bleat on a forum ->getting someone else to tell you what you could research on>your own is a classic maneuver of the squeaky wheel. Of>course, there are always those who don't know how to ask or>seek what it is they are looking for - they lack an>understanding of the basic principles and vocabulary. >However, the manuals, if written well, will provide a>grounding which enables further exploration. I'd say the>manuals provided are good. In fact, that is the basis of the>name for PMDG and I recall buying PMDGs earliest products ->manuals for flightsim aircraft.I concur. I can't for the life of me figure why people don't want to read. It may take 2 minutes to go to the manual and use the search function to find the information you need. Yet some people insist on spending hours / days waiting on a forum reply. The best is when somebody says "I'm just too busy to read the manual, so would somebody just post the answer". That always gives me a laugh.PLEASE, the documentation is a treasure trove of information.RTFMRead The F(ull) Manual

Actually, keep doing it, as people do read them. In fact I have read that FAQ before, which some of you seem to think was not the case.It's "putting it all together" that is the kicker.I am a designer first, a sim pilot second. I don't fly as much as some of you. If I have worked all day, and am tired, I think I might overlook something I've read in dozens, no hundreds, of pages of a manual or an FAQ. I think that is reasonable for any human being to do.Furthermore, I was landing at some custom scenery at KSTL I made, and I was trying to "feel it out" and make sure MY SCENERY wasn't responsible for the autopilot disconnect. I see well now that it was not.This seemingly automatic assumption that just because someone asks a question, that they have not RTFM is no way to go if you ask me, especially on a system as complex as the MD-11's. A person doesn't know if it is their scenery, or the MD-11's AP.RhettFS box: E8500 (@ 3.80 ghz), AC Freezer 7 Pro, ASUS P5E3 Premium, BFG 8800GTX 756 (nVidia 169 WHQL), 4gb DDR3 1600 Patriot Cas7 7-7-7-20 (2T), PC Power 750, WD 150gb 10000rpm Raptor, Seagate 500gb, Silverstone TJ09 case, Vista Ultimate 64ASX Client: AMD 3700+ (@ 2.6 ghz), 7800GT

>This seemingly automatic assumption that just because someone>asks a question, that they have not RTFM is no way to go if>you ask me, especially on a system as complex as the MD-11's. >A person doesn't know if it is their scenery, or the MD-11's>AP.I don't mind somebody asking a question if the answer is in the manual. People forget things. However, if the same person keeps asking the same kind of questions about things that are in the manual, it becomes obvious that the person has not gone through the documentation. This sort of thing happens on all forums, and the solution is always the same. For simulations that are this complex, you MUST read the supplied text, or else you'll NEVER have any clue what you're doing in the plane.Before I'm assaulted, I'm not attacking any particular user, but we have manuals, why not use them?