Will the new NGX have the 'Fail-Operational Autoland' option on board?Kind regards,Daniel

Will the new NGX have the 'Fail-Operational Autoland' option on board?Kind regards,Daniel

Daniel,Suppose the real plane can do it, why should it not be on board on the NGX?Regards,Harry

My guess is that it will probably be a PMDG Menu option.

My guess is that it will probably be a PMDG Menu option.

Would be very good if the options were selectable in a PMDG menu, for the companies that have this extra.Regards,Harry

What does this extra do exactly?

What does this extra do exactly?

From Wiki:Fail-operational autopilot: in case of a failure below alert height, the approach, flare and landing can still be completed automatically. It is usually a triple-channel system or dual-dual system.From the FCOM Vol - IIFail-Operational Autoland Status Annunciations: The following annunciations provide the flight crew with autoland system mode and status:• LAND3–two autopilots, three inertial sources,and the associated sensors are operating normally for an automatic landing and rollout.• LAND2– a failure has occurred above Alert Height and redundancy is reduced; but the autoland system is still capable of making an automatic landing and rollout.• NOAUTOLAND–the system is unable to make an automatic landing.With a LAND 3 (fail-operational) indication, the autoland system level of redundancy is such that a single fault cannot prevent the autopilot system from making an automatic landing.With a LAND 2 (fail passive) indication, the level of redundancy is such that a single fault cannot cause a significant deviation from the flight path.The NO AUTOLAND status is annunciated if a system failure has occurred. FLARE and ROLLOUT will not arm when NO AUTOLAND is annunciated.An advisory message is displayed on the Upper Engine Display for any fault which limits the capability of the automatic landing system. NO LAND 3 indicates the autoland system does not have the required redundancy for LAND 3 operations. NO AUTOLAND indicates autoland is not available.Should any single failure occur below Alert Height and the system is still capable of continuing the autoland and rollout, LAND 3 will remain displayed and the airplane will land and roll out normally without failure annunciation. Failure or autoland downgrade annunciations will then be displayed when the airplane has decelerated below 40 kts and the autopilots have been disengaged.I think also with the loss of an engine, a fail-operational autopilot system can continue the approach with APU as an electrical source.From the FCOM again:If an engine fails and the APU is not used to provide a second electrical source, NO AUTOLAND is annunciated and autoland with rollout is prohibited. If an engine fails and the APU is used to provide a second electrical source prior to engagement of the second autopilot, a fail-passive autoland (LAND 2) with rollout may be flown. LAND 3 will be displayed, but fail-passive minimums must be used.Automatic engine out rudder compensation is provided during A/P approach and landing.In the event of a A/P go-around, the A/P will continue to compensate for asymmetric thrust until another roll mode is selected.Hope that helps :( Dinshaw Parakh.

Thanks for the post. Very informative!I was under the impression that this kind of redundancy was obligatory for an autoland system.PS: This plane can autoland with one engine!? That's quite remarkable!

What piece of extra hardware does the Fail-Operational options has? Like the Fail-Passive mode it just has 2 autopilots. So in an event of a failure of one of the autopilots, what system is monitoring the remaining autopilot to be able to perform an autoland and rollout?Kind regards,Daniel

What piece of extra hardware does the Fail-Operational options has? Like the Fail-Passive mode it just has 2 autopilots. So in an event of a failure of one of the autopilots, what system is monitoring the remaining autopilot to be able to perform an autoland and rollout?Kind regards,Daniel

Again from the FCOM :Approach (APP) Mode Dual A/PsApproach mode allows both A/Ps to be engaged at the same time. Dual A/P operation provides fail–passive operation through landing flare and touchdown or an automatic go–around. During fail passive operation, the flight controls respond to the A/P commanding the lesser control movement. If a failure occurs in one A/P, the failed channel is counteracted by the second channel such that both A/Ps disconnect with minimal airplane maneuvering and with aural and visual warnings to the pilot.Approach mode allows both A/Ps to be engaged at the same time. Dual A/P operation provides either fail–operational or fail–passive operation through landing flare, touchdown and rollout, or through an automatic go–around. If a failure is detected, the flight controls respond to the A/P commanding the lesser control movement. If a failure occurs in one A/P, the failed channel is counteracted by the second channel such that both A/Ps disconnect with minimal airplane maneuvering and with aural and visual warnings to the pilot.One VHF NAV receiver must be tuned to an ILS frequency before the approach mode can be selected. For a dual A/P approach, the second VHF NAV receiver must be tuned to the ILS frequency and the corresponding A/P engaged in CMD prior to 800 feet RA.The first para is for a/c with only Fail Passive system. The second para is for a/c with fail operational capability.Dinshaw Parakh.

Thank you for posting the fcom text Dinshaw! But now I am confused to be honest. Hopefully someone can explain it to me. I thought that with Fail-Operational the autopilot was able to conduct an autolanding even if one failure occurs. But this isn't the case when one autopilot fails, am I right?In that case, what is the benefit of having a Fail-Operational option?Daniel

• LAND3–two autopilots, three inertial sources,and the associated sensors are operating normally for an automatic landing and rollout.

I understand LAND3 requires only 2 A/Ps since the plane apparently has 'only' two channels. Yet I wonder what three "inertial" sources should be. AFAIK there are two IRSs installed, or does a GPS count as an inertial source as well?

With a LAND 3 (fail-operational) indication, the autoland system level of redundancy is such that a single fault cannot prevent the autopilot system from making an automatic landing.

I wonder what sort of failure is meant here. Say one of the two A/Ps fails, is that still enough "redundandy" to conduct the automatic landing?

PS: This plane can autoland with one engine!? That's quite remarkable!

I believe most of today's A/Ps will do this. :( Plus the crosswind limits are usually also pretty remarkable... but then again you'd make use of automatic landings during low vis conditions mainly, where you won't have to deal with such high wind speeds.

What piece of extra hardware does the Fail-Operational options has? Like the Fail-Passive mode it just has 2 autopilots.

As can be seen above LAND3 (which is fail-operational) also seems to need only two A/Ps. Yes I am scratching my head as well. LOLOh and by the way I don't know if this is the main required piece of hardware but I do believe the older Honeywell MCP does not allow fail-operational while the newer Collins might very well do. Although I don't know what other systems need to be there in the background, it can't be the MCP itself I'm sure.Hope some knowledgable can shed some light on the topic.

Can somebody of PMDG confirm the NGX will have this option or not? Or do we have to wait for the bird itself for that? Kind regards,Daniel

Can somebody of PMDG confirm the NGX will have this option or not? Or do we have to wait for the bird itself for that?

I wouldn't worry too much about that - it comes with the more advanced approach features, Honeywell as well as Collins avionics, so the answer is most likely yes... :(