crosswind landings in 737?

[Guest]

I've been practicing landing a 737 for a bit, and I got it down (except for some reason the Approach button doesn't work! It always descends too fast or too slow. Anyone know what my problem is?) and now I'm trying to do some crosswind landings. The problem is I usually let the autopilot take care of setting up the approach and I just do the last 1000 feet or so manually, since I'm horrible at aiming straight at the runway. When I do this in a crosswind I always drift to the left or right when I'm at the middle marker. WHen I'm out far, I'm on the glidescope (horizontally) and I have the horizontal needle centered, but when I get to the middle marker, it moves away from the center. I'd figure the autopilot would compensate for that but apparently it's not. Anyone has any suggestions on how to do this? Thanks.

[MikeAdamo 51]

Hey SaintK,First, which 737 are you using? There are so many 737's out there, I don't want to assume anything :-).Something I've used in the past to help me "train" using the ILS glideslope is the built in EFIS in FS2K2. What this does is when you tune your NAV radio to the ILS frequency and enable the EFIS "Lock to ILS/LOC", little red boxes (or T's if you prefer) will appear in the sky exactly on the glidslope for the runway you're flying to. This way, you can manually fly the ILS approach and get used to the visual queues from the instruments. Also, as an added bonus :-), you'll be able to tell quicker if you're below, above, to the right or left of the localizer. It took a while for me to learn the whol ILS appraoch procedure and there are times I use this feature especially flying into an area I'm not familiar with. A word of caution. Flying in overcast conditions, this feature is worthless as the little red boxes (or T's) seem to not displayed in the overcast and if they do, they show up for a milasecond.To enable the EFIS go to the Aircraft menu, select Navigation then EFIS. Click on the EFIS master switch and you're ready to go. Just make sure as you get closer to your destination airport that the EFIS is in the Lock to ILS/LOCHope this helps your ILS approaches!!!Mikehttp://www.members.shaw.ca/madamo/boeingsig.jpg

[Guest]

Thanks for the reply =) I'm using the default 737 that came with FS2002. So is there any way for me to let the autopilot adjust for the crosswind or I have to do it manually? If manually then I guess I better go start practicing. Thanks for the EFIS tip =)

[MikeAdamo 51]

Hey SaintK,The default 737 that shipped with FS2K2 is weak to say the least when it comes to how the autopilot handles things. I would highly suggest downloading the improved flight model for the 737-400 from RealAir Simulations. The update was created by Rob Young and Peter Sidoli. Here's the direct download link:LINKYou should see an improvement in the handling.The most fun I had with Flight Sim was simply shooting ILS approaches. If you fly under FS2002's ATC guidance, try taking control and fly manually when the controller vectors you for final approach. It'll be a pain in the beginning but as time goes on, you'll master the procedure, I'm SURE of it ;-)Good luck!!Mikehttp://www.members.shaw.ca/madamo/boeingsig.jpg

[N562Z 4]

Are you using rudder pedals? If not, you should be. If you are, you need to establish your landing configuration and crab angle, that is, compensating for crosswind component further out, so that no large control inputs are required within the middle marker. Now, sometimes gusting conditions will challenge this approach, and you have to be paying attention and making many quick but usually small control inputs. Sometimes aileron, sometimes holding a little rudder pedal pressure, until you are over the threshold, where you then kick the nose in line with the runway center line until the mains hit. On a particularly gusty final, I disengage the autopilot as soon as I am visual and have a good view of the VASI lights and the runway threshold. Then its a series of many small inputs as described above. I saw a 747-200 cockpit video shot by the captian on the flight deck during numerous phases of flight, including gusty approaches. He was working that yoke none-stop in all directions. Granted the movements were small, but they were many and frequent. Just like what the autopilot might be doing to produce the same result.Good Luck, http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/c-130-ani.gifAlex ChristoffN562ZBaltimore, MD

[Guest]

Looks like I just need to practice more. Thanks for all the tips guys and seems like I might have to invest in a pair of rudder pedals (right now I use the twist rudder on my sidewinder joystick. Not too accurate). Well better get to practicing!