Dear DVT,
I'm not interested in the opinions of pilots who keep their bank limiter set to 10 degrees in the traffic pattern and who don't know the difference between a Forward Slip and a Side Slip. Who consider a standard rate turns, "S" turns and "360's" to be the realm of aerobatics. Who "**** their pants" with the loss of their FDs. You guys can "kiss my @$$". BTW, Eli Vator, that wasn't me.
My my such language... I don't consider S-turns aerobatic, but I do consider S-turns on final approach to cause an unstable approach, and I do consider forward slipping to cause the pax to be uncomfortable, so better to go around, or to ask for a longer vector to final, then to start steering around the localizer or to get your airplane down.
As I said, on the structural level you are asking for: A rudder is made to cope with the stress in an Engine-Out-situation and for decrabbing and the like, not to cope with continuous or repetitive stress in various approaches where your own true-airman-I-use-30-degrees-of-bank-descent planning wasn't right on the spot.
I do think the opinion of less brave pilots who stick to SOPs could be very valuable, and though sidewards slipping or forward slipping is possible in a 737 it might not be ideal or worse even it might cause structural damage when done too often.
Almost all posts in this thread include the question "is it wise to perform such a manouvre near the ground?" or "why not perform a go around and try again?"; before attacking all these professionals as non-airmen, or before reducing your attention to Wild E Coyote-pilots who don't give a damn about SOPs, you could consider the experience that is behind these questions.
On top of that: Shouting 'OMG' (o my god?) if somebody talks about an engine failure during such a slip manouvre: yes the throttles are idle if you are to lose altitude, still, especially in the approach, with the throttles at idle you have about 35% N1, which is lost during an Engine Failure, and even for that amount of thrustloss you need to correct with the rudder. Might seem to be a minor detail, but not less important.
P77
PS By the way, I lost my flight director once and didn't "**** my pants", but landed uneventful.