Originally Posted by
Capt Pit Bull
As a matter of interest have you actually tried this?
I've encountered a lot of people who make this claim, but when asked, offer "I tried it in the sim" as evidence.
Given that a 737 auto land is pretty agricultural at the best of times, and that simulation of things outside the certification envelope has no need to be accurate, I am not hugely optimistic!
I have done this in a 737-200, of all things. As a brand new F/O, flying with a very experienced Captain who explained the function then demo'd it in VMC. It worked great - for a single data point
In my ignorance, I assumed this was all cool, and have subsequently gotten a better appreciation of the potential risks he took, but I still appreciate the demo.
Note that this is all to the best of my recollection. I'm pretty sure it was a single channel 'autoland' (yes, I know that's not really a 'thing'!) - I remember the briefing he gave me on the fact that the aircraft would do it, even though it wasn't something that jumped out at you from the FCOM.
The Captain in question has since passed away, but in our neck of the woods he was widely respected. For reference, he commanded the B747 that overflew the stadium during the 1995 rugby world cup, also depicted in the movie
Invictus