Several planes are configured with an autoland function.
I know that pilots fly on autoland during bad weather CAT III I suppose,
but I've heard that they also use it on regular days where the weather is nice ???
Is this true ??? If yes isn't the fun of flying gone if you perform only autolandings ????
Captain wrote:Do all major plane types have auto land feature available? (i.e. Boeing and Airbus).
Nearly every plane has it nowadays. The first widebody with the autoland function was the L-1011 Tristar.
But to be able to do a full automatic landing, I believe that the plane, the crew and the Airport has to certified for that kind of operations ( 0 visibility)
Indeed the aircraft has to be approved and the crew needs the proper training but the airport just needs to be Cat II or III. 0 Visibility is not correct, you just need the minimums for the applicable operation (Cat II-III). Also some carriers demand that the crew does always auto landing as it is more profitable then manual as a computer flies more precise.
i dont think so, theres still alot to do. And they also have to practise using it during good weather, cause 0 visibility doesnt really happen that much. So in case it happens, they must be able to use it and that can only be done after training. Besides, if there is really that low visibility that you can only see the rway as soon as you are already over it, it gives you the greatest kick ever to touchdown exactly where you have to - at least it does to me in the sim.
Next to the two ways i described above (visual and autoland) theres also a third way to approach/land, and that is a manual ILS. That means that you do use the ILS and fly on instruments, but not with AP. So you fly manually following the ILS.
Also remark that not all planes have an actual autoland system. Mostly you will have to disconnect the AP at 100 feet or so, and flare, brake (well, not with autobrakes on of course) and steer manually. Airbusses have an actual autoland, this means that the plane will flare, brake and steer automaticaly. I think the 737NG has it too, but not the older 737s.
killerwhale65 wrote: Besides, if there is really that low visibility that you can only see the rway as soon as you are already over it, it gives you the greatest kick ever to touchdown exactly where you have to - at least it does to me in the sim.
Of course it gives you a kick if you do it in bad weather but I was talking about the ones doing it always during nice weather. Like pilatus mentioned, some crews always use the autoland. Well I know that it isn't a relaxing thing either, but I would have thaught that it would be more fun to have the controls in manual for the final. That's what I would like to find out.
Airbusses have an actual autoland, this means that the plane will flare, brake and steer automaticaly. I think the 737NG has it too, but not the older 737s
There are a lot of different autlanding systems. I don't know them all in details that's why it would be great if someone could give us some more information about them.
Avro wrote:
There are a lot of different autlanding systems. I don't know them all in details that's why it would be great if someone could give us some more information about them.
explained above ...
and i guess commercial pilots dont fly for fun indeed!!!
oh yes they do!!! but André's comment is spot on. Pilatus is very right too.
Just one thing that has to be added : besides safety, company SOPs and weather related issues, as a trained CAT III pilot, you are required to fly a certain number of CAT III approaches in a certain period of time to remain current. That explains why we sometimes fly full-auto approaches when there's not a cloud to be seen.
About the Flightsim, that's where you do all the naughty stuff like a fully manual ILS and landing with near 0 vis.
The only place where you can "legally" bust the minimums is the French Aéropostale. If I'm not mistaken they have a special procedure that allows them to initiate the go-around later than others.
about the 737ng autopilot. It does have a full automatic landing system but as soon as the wheels touch the ground, the pilot takes over. The aircraft can't stay on the centerline of the runway on it's own, like the airbus, after touchdown. off course there are autobrakes but from my experience the pilots don't use the autobraking for a long time. Untill they are sure the the aircraft stays firmly on the runway, they brake manually.
