Manual ILS Approach

[pavelosipov 0]

Hello,

 

Can someone please advise on how to perform manual ILS approach?   :unsure:

 

I'm exactly interested how to use PFD correctly. Should I use only horizontal and vertical G/S and LOC magenta symbols or it is somehow possible to make FD bars indicate position against glide slope and localizer radio signals? Perhaps it is possible to use FD as Directors? I tried several times and with very heavy winds I could clearly see FD is not guiding me to keep LOC and G/S symbols in their central positions. 

 

Thank you! 

[FishermanIvan 110]

Nope, fly the needles, not the FD. 

 

Also, it's hard not to "chase" the ILS needles.  You end up overcorrecting the aircraft and getting very unstable.  I'll take a stable approach that has the GS needle a little high/low over chasing it trying to get it perfect. 

[Brazen 5]

Actually, flying the needles, when followed literally, makes you overshoot all the time.

 

Practice intercepting a VOR radial with a crosswind, which means, fly a heading and verify the expected outcome with the needle. Once you're comfortable doing that, intercept a localizer. You'll find it's a lot more sensitive. Once you're comfortable intercepting a localizer add the GS.

 

So, for VOR/localizer, if you have a crosswind from the right, fly a heading of a couple of degrees to the right and see what the needle does. Correct as necessary. If you like humbers ... imagine you have a strong crosswind from the right and you're tracking 90 outbound. You start flying a heading of 95 degrees (5 degree correction) and see what the needle does.

 

If it moves to the left it means you're overcorrecting. Go back to your heading of 90 degrees and let the wind blow you back until you've centered the needle and fly a heading of 92 degrees (half of your original 5 degrees) and see what the needle does.

 

If it moves to the right it means you're not correcting enough. Triple your correction or more to get back (90 + 3 * 5 = 105), and when the needle centers, double your correction (90 + 2 * 5 = 100) and see what it does.

 

If it stays centered you've found the sweet spot. This is why you practice using a VOR so you have all the time in the world. Make sure you practice not at the VOR, but 10 miles out or more. Close in, the needles get sensitive. You could try taking off from KLAX and use the VNY VOR to practice.

 

Whatever you do, don't rush it. Allow yourself to make mistakes so you are sure what is happening. Let yourself overshoot and see how fast you get back.

 

Once you're ready to do the GS, remember that AOA controls airspeed and power controls rate of descend.

 

Good luck!

[hopskip 253]

Flight Director operation to intercept ILS is exactly the same as if the Autopilot was flying.

 

Press the APP mode at the right time, and watch for the white "Armed" Glideslope and Localizer annunciators on the PFD turn into Green/Bold "Active" annunciators. The Flight Director will give you a visual cue to put the nose where the Flight Director would usually ask the Autopilot to put the nose.

 

Remember, the Flight Director makes the directions. The Autopilot follows the directions. If you deactivate Autopilot but leave the Flight Director on, all you have done is make "The autopilot" into "The pilots hand that is a little slower to react than an autopilot".

 

If you leave it in VNAV/LNAV mode or HDG mode, the flight director will do exactly the same thing as if you set those modes while the autopilot was flying.