When do you disengage AP before landing ?

[ZachLW 37]

Odd poll, like Ryan said. I do things by SOPs when I can. Manually when that allows. (Most of the time)

[3-2-1-Now 126]

If I'm not auto-landing, anywhere in the approach where it makes sense, but no later than DH. Best regards,Robin.

[FSMP 95]

I am REALLY surprised by the numbers disengaging at 400' , wheres the fun in that????

+1 Does not give you much time to get "THE FEEL" of any corrections needed... There is no one correct answer, apart from "When the Captain says " Geoff

[ZachLW 37]

+1 Does not give you much time to get "THE FEEL" of any corrections needed... There is no one correct answer, apart from "When the Captain says " Geoff

I don't know... A lot of guys here in the forum seem to think that full auto lands are the "norm".

[XPX64man 130]

I don't know... A lot of guy here in the forum seem to think that full auto lands are the "norm".

They need to have a box of "JustPlanes" videos, like me. Rarely do you see a full CATIIIB autoland. Just in extremely low visibility or for keeping the aircraft's rating current.I usually shut off the AP at the 500 ft. callout, or sometimes at 1000ft. Bob

[markjans 2]

How do you guys disconnect the autopilot on final approach? If I press "Z" twice to cancel the horn, it engages the autopilot again on the 2nd keypress. What am I doing wrong? :) Also, is it normal that the autothrottle off light (just above the navigation display) has to be pressed to stop the warning? Thanks for any replies! Mark

[ajpongress 467]

A lot of airlines perform coupled approaches, in which the A/P is disengaged at decision height, usually 200ft AGL.

[badderjet 181]

Landing with HGS is amazing. I will have to do some without it, otherwise i will loose practice.

Well do some raw data NDBs single engine and with busted hydraulics at minimum weather, followed by a circle to land and eventual go around. Ehh that might give you practice... Kidding aside, it differs every time when I disco but just for the fun of it I would really rather hand fly this bird, as we now got all those nice FDE. It's a joy to watch the AFDS for sure but I'll let it handle the boring stuff like cruise haha.

[jbassue 181]

How do you guys disconnect the autopilot on final approach? If I press "Z" twice to cancel the horn, it engages the autopilot again on the 2nd keypress. What am I doing wrong? :) Also, is it normal that the autothrottle off light (just above the navigation display) has to be pressed to stop the warning? Thanks for any replies! Mark

The horn comes on as an indicator that AP is off, you press 'z' in your case once and once only, the horn confirms the disengage.

[neodigital 0]

Hello, For most flights I only use the autopilot enroute. Takeoff , glide capture, landing, no A/T or AP! I am aware about real life procedures, ILS categories, etc that demand autopilot, I like to perform that aswell, but most of the time, I like to make the procedures “by hand”. I also love to test myself flying manually under extreme dark/low visibility situations (ENBSeries to make a real night!). With time I developed the calm to be able to do that. I love the ability of PMDG airplanes to maximize PFDs. Regards!

[royski 0]

Personally, I disengage the AP moments after G/S capture. I rarely do autolands - only for IFR conditions.

[andysim 0]

the airplane has an autopilot? cool I learn something new everyday. j/k Honestly this plane is fun to handfly

[Tone89 0]

Does anyone know according to the SOP what is the correct height for AP disengage on landing? Anthony Hammond

[Rocky_53 1,605]

My old rule of thumb was around the time I lowered the gear, but on the NGX, I find I am needing to lower the gear a bit earlier in the approach to kill speed, so once I am on the glide, I will run through the landing check, get everything in order, then kill the autopilot and earn my pay. Autoland....bah

Me, the same as Scott...

[ruemenapp21 108]

Depends on WX and, sometimes I disconnect it at TOD, then I just follow the FD, other times if the WX is overcast then I disconnect it when capture the G/S and LOC, only perform at autoland if the WX calls for it