OK465
I agree only to some extent.
I have done Autoland Cat 3 during A320 type rating training.
Yes you do not touch or fondle much till after touch down when engaging thrust reversers. The procedure is not a handling one but a SOP none the less and calls for intense monitoring and Go Around mindedness. The Pilot monitoring is especially busy with the checklist and standard call outs as well as monitoring the trajectory and yhe other pilot "flying".The approach and landing doesnt end till ypu park at the gate. The last real Cat3 approach I experienced in Zurich early morning July 2014.O wad a passrnger that day on A330.Taxing itself seemed a slow laborious challenge due tp limited visibility. Even as we were
Turning to our gate it was difficult tp see the plane parked adjacently. Getting a systems degradation or engine failure below 1000 ft requires being on top of things to make the right decision as low as 50 ft)in the flare!). It is a different ball game to conventional flying, more stressful but highly satisfactory as everything works on the money and you have no tricky crosswind close to autopilot limits for Cat3 which is not much...not to mention a slippery runway.Even Cat3 Autolands can make you sweat..albeit a different kind of sweat. I wonder what limitations were in place for the Cat3a autoland for the three holer? I expect it had have had autobrakes. For Cat2 how well did she hold the ILS? Does she tend to wonder a bit before nailing the ILS?
Originally Posted by
OK465
Vc10Tail,
Doing an autoland in a simulator is pretty much an unrewarding procedural exercise.....
,,,,,you don't get the opportunity to fondle anything or to demonstrate any technique.