Reading the various posts, quite a few people seem to be be flying final approaches manually. In case "manual approach" has a very specific meaning, in this post it means flying the final appraoch without the autopilot. Even though I can fly auto landings quite well, manual landings continue to be a struggle. My question is....in general when flying manual final approaches, do you control the A/C with manual inputs on the yoke and throttle, do you use the V/S, Heading and Speed on the MCP or some combination ? How much do you depend on the localizer and G/S ? Any suggestions/tips on when to start the flare (big challenge for me here) ? This is an open-ended question and looking for some guidance.Thanks,Zach

Zach,A hand-flown approach can still use the F/D, so you can still use the APP mode. Raw Data is following the G/S and LOC cues without the aid of the F/D.I'd start by using the F/D.Start your flare 20-30 feet. Slowly retard the thrust levers so they're at idle as you touch down. Keep your eyes on the far end of the runway (not on the V/S or the PFD).

As I've mentioned before, the standard approach is one that's flown by hand. I'm not sure why the Flight Sim community has gotten the impression the standard is letting the automagic run the approach. Therefore, flying an approach/landing by default means one flown by hand, unless someone says "autoland" or similar (coupled approach, and so on).If you're flying the approach, you should do it with your hands, not by trying to get the autopilot to do it for you (there are exceptions, but I doubt you're at that point yet - no offense). That's still an approach flown by the AP is it not? If you're flying it by hand, you can still use the LOC and GS indications to help keep you on the right track if you're visual.

Reading the various posts, quite a few people seem to be be flying final approaches manually. In case "manual approach" has a very specific meaning, in this post it means flying the final appraoch without the autopilot. Even though I can fly auto landings quite well, manual landings continue to be a struggle. My question is....in general when flying manual final approaches, do you control the A/C with manual inputs on the yoke and throttle, do you use the V/S, Heading and Speed on the MCP or some combination ? How much do you depend on the localizer and G/S ? Any suggestions/tips on when to start the flare (big challenge for me here) ? This is an open-ended question and looking for some guidance.Thanks,Zach

--Depends-- Perhaps you should do some work in the pattern with touch and goes until you have a good feel for stabilizing the approach and performing the flare. When I'm hand flying, it's typically because I'm VMC (not in the clouds) or below 5,000ft (my own preference). If I'm VMC, my eyes are going to be 70-80% outside of the aircraft. Specifically to answer your question, if you're "manually" or hand flying the approach, it means just that. No autopilot.Like Matt said, use the F/D in APP mode for guidance. That's provided the airport facility has ILS equipment.

As I've mentioned before, the standard approach is one that's flown by hand. I'm not sure why the Flight Sim community has gotten the impression the standard is letting the automagic run the approach. Therefore, flying an approach/landing by default means one flown by hand, unless someone says "autoland" or similar (coupled approach, and so on).If you're flying the approach, you should do it with your hands, not by trying to get the autopilot to do it for you (there are exceptions, but I doubt you're at that point yet - no offense). That's still an approach flown by the AP is it not? If you're flying it by hand, you can still use the LOC and GS indications to help keep you on the right track if you're visual.

What he said^.

Get some Charts and fly to airports equipped only with VOR/DME (No ILS) such as LGSA (Chania in Creete) LGKR (Kerkira in Corfu)Use VNAV/LNAV or VOR/LOC + Vert Speed. Dial in your FAF Altitude before reaching that and just before FAF dial in your MDA Altitude.When reaching MDA, disconnect A/P and your A/T and go Visual. (The ac will continue with the same degree of decent and you only haveto make very small correction. NOTE that the VOR also used to be left or right side of the Rwy centerline. Look at your chart.MDA for LGSA is 1310 for Rwy 29 and 2000 for Rwy 35 at LGKR. Dial in those figure as BARO on PFD.Normally you should ad +50 feet to those figures.Save your FSX state, so you could do several training of the same approach......The flare when manual, you do at 10 feet ( I do that anyway) If you start to early you will be floating above the rwy./ Leffe

Zach,A hand-flown approach can still use the F/D, so you can still use the APP mode. Raw Data is following the G/S and LOC cues without the aid of the F/D.I'd start by using the F/D.Start your flare 20-30 feet. Slowly retard the thrust levers so they're at idle as you touch down. Keep your eyes on the far end of the runway (not on the V/S or the PFD).

Get some Charts and fly to airports equipped only with VOR/DME (No ILS) such as LGSA (Chania in Creete) LGKR (Kerkira in Corfu)Use VNAV/LNAV or VOR/LOC + Vert Speed. Dial in your FAF Altitude before reaching that and just before FAF dial in your MDA Altitude.When reaching MDA, disconnect A/P and your A/T and go Visual. (The ac will continue with the same degree of decent and you only haveto make very small correction. NOTE that the VOR also used to be left or right side of the Rwy centerline. Look at your chart.MDA for LGSA is 1310 for Rwy 29 and 2000 for Rwy 35 at LGKR. Dial in those figure as BARO on PFD.Normally you should ad +50 feet to those figures.Save your FSX state, so you could do several training of the same approach......The flare when manual, you do at 10 feet ( I do that anyway) If you start to early you will be floating above the rwy./ Leffe

Guys,Thanks a lot for your "how to" responses, this is the type of response I was looking for.Zach

Beside bad visibility etc., when it comes to learning, the Autopilot has its uses. I found that as a newbe (still am), i did many autolands just to see how the things worked during an approach and then after that, as a meens of getting me to the stage of the approach i wanted to be before taking control. I am still using this method and will untill i am all the way back to Loc Capture.