PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Can You Do A Late Runway Change On An Airbus Without Disconnecting The Autopilot ?
Old 14th Sep 2003, 04:43
  #8 (permalink)  
earnest
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: UK
Posts: 108
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
The answer is yes, and it is a well laid down and practised procedure on circling approaches when you know you are going to be discontinuing the approach to the RW set up in the primary flight plan. You will also be discontinuing the approach quite late on, at least you always will be in the sim where you frequently have to practise this manoeuvre, because Capt TRE IRE sets the weather to minima which is usually below 1,500 ft AAL.

At 100 ft above the MDA (H) you select V/S to zero and pull the knob (or just push the V/S mode knob on newer spec FMGCs) and it levels out almost perfectly on your circling MDA. Then use heading mode to steer the aircraft onto the landing runway’s downwind (which as other contributors have said will take it out of whatever approach mode it’s in). Activate the secondary flight plan (2 button pushes) and the other RW’s data is instantly ready for use, as is the Mini GS.

If it’s a late RW change (for example that still wind turns out to be too much tailwind for comfort), then the same technique will get you on the D/W of the other RW. It’ll take a few seconds to put the landing RW into the primary or secondary flt plan (whichever you decide is quickest to use), and to put the landing RW’s data into the performance page (but you don’t have to put this data in, the aircraft doesn’t sulk and stop you from landing despite what some people will tell you).

I think there is a big distinction between hand flying and being “heads in”. Breaking off an approach to a RW is often high workload and if the automatics are used correctly both guys can be eyes out and "ears out" as much as possible. Some would argue if you’re changing your mind about the landing RW below 500 ft then a go around may be the safer option.

It’s all described in fluent Airbus-speak in the manuals.
earnest is offline