CAT III ILS Landing

[MFT1Air]

Whoa! Do I love You Tube!

I was reading on another thread about right seaters experiencing their first CAT II landings. Didn't know what it was, so you know I had to do the research.

Got introduced to CAT IIs and subsequently CAT III. Had no clue until I saw it visually. I'd probably be scared witless if I had to actually fly one. . .as a passenger or crew member.

Kudos for a job well done.

[BigGuyFlying]

Thanks for posting, incredible video! Wonder what kind of plane it is, sounds like a turboprop.

[MFT1Air]

I was wondering the same thing myself. I am oh so impressed with the skills of the crews that actually fly to these types of minimums under the ugliest of weather conditions. It's one thing to be looking out of a passenger window, but to now think of what the pilot is looking at through the windshield is intimidating at best. . .downright scary being my normal feeling most would have.

[cfii2007]

I wonder what the mins were at the time?

[USMC-SGT]

not a ton of skill involved, most of it is flown with autopilot, the rest is procedures on who is doing what and watching what and initiating the missed etc


ive never actually flown what but I did stay at a holiday inn express last night

[Ian J]

Sorry, but the video listed the weather at 150 rvr... umm... did that not seem like 150 rvr to anyone else? Looked like a lot more to me.

Besides, hand flying to 1800 rvr is where it's at.

[mikecweb]

Originally Posted by Ian J

Sorry, but the video listed the weather at 150 rvr... umm... did that not seem like 150 rvr to anyone else? Looked like a lot more to me.

Besides, hand flying to 1800 rvr is where it's at.

Thanks for that Ian.
I'll give them 2400RVR but I wasn't there so I won't say they were wrong.....but it wasn't <150RVR.

[SIUAv8r]

Originally Posted by mikecweb

Thanks for that Ian.
I'll give them 2400RVR but I wasn't there so I won't say they were wrong.....but it wasn't <150RVR.

Looks like at least 1000RVR to me. When they flew over the Threshold lights, you can make out the 1000 foot markers a bit. No 150RVR though.

[coa787]

Check out this ILS landing. Here's your 150RVR.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uigpqpDWIwE

[LoadMasterC141]

Maybe MDPilot can help me, but I seem to remember being in the JS for an incredibly scary landing in the 141, in which we never really saw the runway until we hit it.....pretty damn hard too. The part I don't remember is if the 141 was CAT3 or not. It did have an AWLS. Is that the same thing?

[MFT1Air]

Originally Posted by coa787

Check out this ILS landing. Here's your 150RVR.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uigpqpDWIwE

Whoa! Yep, that's even scarier than mine video.

Again, for this uneducated aviator with regards to instrument flying. . . what exactly is RVR again? I think I'm familiar, but I don't truly know.

Also, excuse my naiveness here, but is it easier to land this at night vice day given it's easier to see the lights at night or perhaps could peripheral lights cloud/confuse sighting the runway?

[taseal]

I got you all beat... this is a cat IIIc, all done via ap (land 3 = all 3 autopilots are armed)

[Doug Taylor]

In the 757/767, you can do approaches so low that you never even see the approach lights.

[moelost]

Originally Posted by MFT1Air

Again, for this uneducated aviator with regards to instrument flying. . . what exactly is RVR again? I think I'm familiar, but I don't truly know.

RVR = Runway Visual Range in feet. 1300RVR = about 1/4SM visibility.

[CameronF]

Originally Posted by taseal

I got you all beat... this is a cat IIIc, all done via ap (land 3 = all 3 autopilots are armed)

Ok holy s*** that is the craziest one I've seen yet!

[ASpilot2be]

Originally Posted by BigGuyFlying

Thanks for posting, incredible video! Wonder what kind of plane it is, sounds like a turboprop.

Since it is Portland, I am gonna guess that it might be a Horizon Dash-8.

[PGA07]

Those are the types of approaches that I look forward to doing one day. Scary, maybe at first I would assume. However, once you are comfortable in the situation, that would be one great feeling of accomplishment!

[MFT1Air]

Originally Posted by taseal

I got you all beat... this is a cat IIIc, all done via ap (land 3 = all 3 autopilots are armed)

You've got to be crazy! Yep, one landing like that for me in the right seat and I'd quit. . . right after I cleaned my shorts!!!

[taseal]

you don't even land it.. the plane does you

talk about 'rely on your instruements'

more like, rely on your autopilot

[Lead Sled]

If anyone's still reading this.... I'd like to hear a real airline pilot tell me how likely it may be that "hand flown" landings (or take-offs for that matter) will become a thing of the past. How well do autopilots deal with things like strong cross-winds, for instance. Not trying to turn this into a "pilotless airplane" argument or anything, but just wondering how close computers are to becoming better overall operators of aircraft than humans.

Seems to me like pilots will end up becoming more and more of flight techs than actual pilots who really get to do anything that resembles flying.

thoughts?

[JayAre]

Originally Posted by Lead Sled

If anyone's still reading this.... I'd like to hear a real airline pilot tell me how likely it may be that "hand flown" landings (or take-offs for that matter) will become a thing of the past. How well do autopilots deal with things like strong cross-winds, for instance. Not trying to turn this into a "pilotless airplane" argument or anything, but just wondering how close computers are to becoming better overall operators of aircraft than humans.

Seems to me like pilots will end up becoming more and more of flight techs than actual pilots who really get to do anything that resembles flying.

thoughts?

I rode up front J/S SWA into BUR one evening down to mins. Captain hand flew it. It was better than the autopilot, I was blown away how smooth and perfect it was..

[taseal]

Originally Posted by JayAre

I rode up front J/S SWA into BUR one evening down to mins. Captain hand flew it. It was better than the autopilot, I was blown away how smooth and perfect it was..

ahhh, i remember that....

so you liked how smooth I was eh

[DE727UPS]

QX Dash 8's, and I imagine their RJ's, have a HUD (heads up display) that allows for hand flow CatIII's. The UPS 727's had the same equipment. With the HUD, you keep a cursor in a circle by hand flying small adjustments. In the end, you can land with really low mins.

The 757/767 has CatIII autoland. It's all the autopilot and the flight crew monitoring. It's amazing stuff. Hope it never screws up, cause I pretty much trust it.

[ERfly]

Originally Posted by Lead Sled

If anyone's still reading this.... I'd like to hear a real airline pilot tell me how likely it may be that "hand flown" landings (or take-offs for that matter) will become a thing of the past. How well do autopilots deal with things like strong cross-winds, for instance. Not trying to turn this into a "pilotless airplane" argument or anything, but just wondering how close computers are to becoming better overall operators of aircraft than humans.

Seems to me like pilots will end up becoming more and more of flight techs than actual pilots who really get to do anything that resembles flying.

thoughts?

As far as dealing with winds, we have limits for our CAT II operations (we're not CAT III certified, but it's still pretty damn low). I'm not sure what the crosswinds are, but I know we can't have more than a 10 knot tail wind (9 in the XR) and there are headwind limits as well.

It's an in depth briefing and it's a bit tricky the first time you do it. Everything happens so fast the last 500 feet or so. I've done several as an FO (a few right to mins) and one as a Captain. I'd prefer not to do them, but they are cool.

Our autopilot is on for the approach and it's recommended we let it take us to 50 feet.