AUTO LAND...Well nearly.
Auto Land. Well nearly.
Just a quick error correction, I got my Brownings and Colts mixed up. Sorry for the error. So now back to the main saga.
As I progressed up the ladder to my I R I decided to upgrade the Bonanza to full airways 1978 version as it then allowed me to practice in my own aeroplane many of the test procedures while in VFR or IMC.
As the instalation of all the new stuff proceded I added a two axis autopilot. This allowed for heading lock and wing leveller but not height hold. So even in IMC conditions after take off and established on a heading I could just set up a nice climb and let the aero climb into the bright blue up there until we broke out into sunlight, And of course the opposite also applied on descent.
In addition to this it could be locked onto a VOR radial and slowly intercept that radial from about 45 degrees off. It would then set up the heading to allow for drift due to side winds etc.
Now this ability made me think how else could I use it.
Basically an ILS is just a local VOR so could I just lock the AP onto it and it would take care of drift, and if I set up the correct rate of descent to stay on the glide path all would be well.
It was at this time that the HSI was starting to come into play, but I had already got used to the seperate intstruments. I just liked keeping the needles crossed in the centre circle. OK even then I was a bit old fashioned.
To run through an ILS approach, even a practice, one would follow the pattern. For example into Liverpool arrive overhead, fly out , turn to port 45 deg (I think, not having the chart to hand) get the gear down and the flaps set, then the turn onto finals, at which time the auto pilot would be locked into the 26 radial. Pass the outer and inner markers and get the rate of descent settled then monitor the height and adjust as needed until descision height. Runway in sight, switch the AP off and land by hand.
I tried this many times and it worked well even through cloud and some iffy weather.
I suppose it worked best after radar vectoring to the localiser rather than doing a full patten.
Whilst thinking about this it crossed my mind to mention that while out for a jolly or going somewhere intersting we woukd get permission to loiter at an NDB at a height no one else would be at for half an hour or so to get to grips with a holding patern.
IMHO the STACK is probably the hardest thing to fly accurately when you have to include dropping down a 1000 feet every time until it your turn to get onto finals.
That's about it for this time so I will close with just one more comment When I was demostrating the plane to a buyer, yes that tme comes to us all, he had never seen the AP intercepting a radial. I think that one item let me get the asking price without argument. He just sat there wide eyed muttering ''What a mighty machine''. When I deivered the plane to his home field the last part of the finals was between trees that were traller then the height of the plane, at the end of a grass mown runway. The gap seemed awfully narrow from above, but all ended well.
Cheers chaps, happy flying, and the weather might just be getting a bit better soon.
EG