Landing a 737 manually

cumpaniciu_one Guest

I'm trying to learn things the hard way, so I'm using the autopilot as little as possible. When landing I'm able to keep the correct speed and on the glidepath, but the heading is the big problem.

I'm flying the 737 and I'm only doing 1-2 degrees corrections, and that works when I'm 7 n.m. out, but once I get close, I start swinging left and right. Keeping wings level seems to be the bigest problem: when perfectly level, the attitude indicator topmost arrows still have an offset of 2-3 pixels, so if you match them perfectly you will be slightly banked left.

But even when I think I'm perfectly level and flying the right heading, I almost always start drifting left or right.

Any of you hit the same problem?

Thanks!

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Pro Member Chief Captain
hinch Chief Captain

you don't mention the use of any rudder or rudder trim Wink

Pro Member Captain
Karlw Captain

If you ask me landing manually is easyer

Pro Member Chief Captain
VegasFlyer Chief Captain

press 5 on the keyboard when num lock is off to center the rudders if you don't wanna adjust them yourself.

cumpaniciu_one Guest

hinch wrote:

you don't mention the use of any rudder or rudder trim Wink

I have it on autorudder (no rudder hardware - yet), and there is no wind. So, AFAIK, the rudder is out of the picture.

cumpaniciu_one Guest

Karlw wrote:

If you ask me landing manually is easyer

Riiight 🙂

Every time I set the A/P on APP, it takes me smoothly to the decision height, it's already going exactly on RWY heading and perfectly centered, and all I have to do is flare

How are u using the A/P?

Pro Member Chief Captain
hinch Chief Captain

do you have a joystick that twists? that can be your rudder.

get off autorudder > it's a waste of time. for small adjustments to heading, or for a late line up you're you to need rudder either by stick or by using num keys 0 and 9.

Pro Member Trainee
Greyson Bassett (greystone) Trainee

I'm with Hinch. You cannot really learn to fly without using rudders. Get CH Pro Pedals. A twist stick is ok for shooting bad guys out of the sky in a combat sim (I had an MS Sidewinder for that), but to truly get a learning experience from a flying sim, you need rudder pedals for taxi, takeoff, coordinated turns, and (to answer your question), refining lineup on final approach for landing.

Pro Member Chief Captain
hinch Chief Captain
F-5E Tiger II Guest

Wanna land a Boeing 737 manually? The following are the techniques I use:

1. Don't fixate on the primary instruments especially when trying to land during daytime or during VMC. Look outside and check the horizon to get yourself oriented. Then try keep your plane level once your plane's perfectly lined up and on glideslope. When landing in a fairly strong crosswind, use the runway (when visible) or any other prominent landmarks as your visual reference to determine whether you're on course or otherwise drifting away from the runway centerline.

2. Apply small, smooth control inputs. As your DME decreases, the ILS localizer and glideslope needles tend to get more sensitive as the plane gets closer to the airport.

3. Monitor your primary and secondary instruments for trends in their indications. Stay ahead of the airplane and initiate corrections ASAP when required.

4. Lastly, always try to maintain situational awareness. Relax and just fly the plane. Even experienced pilots do have lousy landings once in a while. Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. Just learn from your mistakes and try to avoid these pithfalls next time. There's always room for improvement.

Good day!

Pro Member First Officer
TimH First Officer

^^^

Thats great advice 😀

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