CAT ll/lll questions and input needed(a320)
 

Have been reading and trying to understand the concept in detail.
I'm only just getting qualified for these low VIS approaches so please go easy on me. It all seems very demanding.

So basically we always do an autoland (atleast in my company).
We always aim for a CATlll B NO DH as long as the airfield supports it.

We can downgrade to a CAT ll or cat lll with DH if we have lost aircraft capability, provided that we have the weather ofcourse for it, and this all happens BEFORE 1000 feet, is this correct?

Below 1000 feet we discontinue for any of the following :
1- alpha floor. 2- autopilot off. 3- triple clic 4- master caution 5- eng failure.

EXCEPT in a cat lll B where below the alert height of 100 feet u ONLY discontinue in case of autoland warning or a NO flare.

Now I don't understand why we can't hand fly a cat ll or maybe even cat lll with DH manually if autopilot trips and continue if runway is in sight at DH?

Also. If you don't see "FLARE" at 30 feet, is this an immediate go around or can you disconnect and flare?

I will continue to ask questions when I can think of them, as it is quiet a confusing topic for me still.
Please do correct me if any of what I have said is incorrect.
I appreciate any help.

Thanks guys.

So even if it's a CAVOK beautiful day, you never land the aircraft yourself?

If you have RW in sight,you may continue manually

Just follow your SOP. Do not forget that a lot of other experienced people, manufacturer and rule makers did write these damn rules.

The book says at least 1 AP for CAT II ( unless you have runway in sight at that point or you have to perform a go around) . There are for sure reasons for this. Do you think that manufacturers or operators want to divert ? They would have written continue manually and land if you have necessary visual cues at DH. One of the reasons is you can not fly the damn thing like the AP.

Regarding FLARE . You can land but most probably it will be hard landing. Try it even in CAVOK weather to disconnet AP at 50RA and you will realize it is very difficult adn consider this in real CATIII visibility ?

First of all in cat III conditions you cannot Hand fly because your visual cues are insufficient for this purpose ! Remember in cat II or cat I a lateral element threshold light, approach light barrette or tdzl is required to provide "bank information" while looking outside ... In cat III conditions only the centerline lights are sufficient to confirm the correct position of the aircraft ! So it's a question of visual cues and not a condition of aircraft or rwy capability ! You always plan for the higher category supported by your A/c and your rwy because you dont want to waste an approach just to change your minima and your briefing if the conditions have change (you start with 300 rvr and you setup your catiiib a /c for a cat II only app ... Then at 900 your rvr falls to 200 :) )
According to airbus : if no flare at 30ft
If visual reference are sufficient
Disengage the autopilot and complete manually the landing
Nevertheless some operators SOPs order a go around in case of "no flare"
BUT ! If you have an emergency for ex a fire on board use your airmanship during your briefing to decide about your action in case of no flare....

If in doubt always go around - esp when you have no time to correct as in any CAT 3.

I was doing a 3A into a popular place in China and got visual at 50ft - with the right
RELs directly on the nose! No reason given from ATC of course, they just changed us
to a different runway.... :hmm:

Most operators realise that it just isn't humanly possible, to recognise no flare, disconnect, and arrest the rate of descent before the inevitable hard landing. Try it in the sim.

Even doing immediate go-around you will still touch the runway, just a little lighter. Saves some maintenance and paperwork.

The key is in the interpretation.

To me, "if visual reference are sufficient" means that the vis is not really a CAT III vis, because if it is, visual cues will not be sufficient.

Conclusion, in actual CAT III vis, if there is no FLARE, don't hesitate, don't assess, just go around.

If actual vis is CAT II, the has captain already been seeing the visual cues well before the time you reach 40 ft, he will disconnect and land if you call "NO FLARE".

So there is really no decision as such. It is a direct thing. You should know wellbefore the FLARE mode activation height if you have sufficient cues or not. If you don't, a GA will be necessary if there is no FLARE mode.

In the 320 alert height is 100 ft, which is the same as the minimum CAT II DH. It has been stablished that any lower than that you will not have enough visual references the sufficient time to make a landing.

Therefore I consider that as the last chance to condiser myself able to visually land. If by the AH I don't see enough lights to be able to land, from then on there are only two options for me: autoland or go around.