It's a few years ago, but this is what I can remember..............
First, the flight director and autopilot are integrated in that they have common controls and (mostly) common modes - the A/P does not have a take-off mode.
Minimum altitude:
On take-off, the SOP of the company I flew for was not to engage A/P until after clean-up, about 1000ft aal, and VNAV had been selected. Reason for that was if you selected A/P with the F/D in take-off mode, the vertical mode changed to vertical speed, which was not a good idea. The Boeing Flight Crew Training Manual states the A/P is certified by the FAA for engagement at 200 ft aal.
On landing, there is an autoland capability, which with an approved ILS will provide guidance throughout the landing and rollout. You have to disengage to turn off the runway, though......................
For a non-precision approach, the modes used are heading select and vertical speed; the minimum height for A/P is a few hundred feet, though I don't recall the exact figure.
Max speed: no limit other than the airframe IAS/Mach limit.
Max climb/descent rates: limited only by aircraft performance.
Any current B757/767 driver care to correct any errors?
Last edited by kenparry; 12th July 2008 at 07:08.
Reason: expanded approach detail