BOEING DF737 AUTOPILOT

**Captain** · 03-14-2002, 04:14 PM

I've asked this question before but never got a straight answer in the fs2002 forum, now the question is: In a Real B737-400 during an ILS approach,does the autopilot completely turn off on short final?therefore not holding the approach all the way to touchdown like on the DF737. Also sometimes when I set an altitude to the autopilot it doesn't always show the vertical speed on the autopilot so I could set it as desired thats why I think sometimes it descends instead of climbing,is that also real behavior in the 737,these two problems cause minor frustration during a flight, I'd appreciate some tips.

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http://www.flightsim.com/dcforum/Use...ce0282b4ae.gif
http://www.flightsim.com/dcforum/Use...c137ca1cf5.jpg

**johndrago** · 03-14-2002, 04:33 PM

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Mar-14-02 AT 04:35PM (EDT)[/font][p]The AP stays on as long as you want/need it to, and will perform a full autoland if you set the plane up correctly during final approach. This is how the real 737 interacts. You must remember that the AP is either on or off. It doesn't work like the old FS2000 days of leaving the ALT hold on while the Heading hold was off. That was not realistic.

As for the VS, I have had one or two occasions where I have set the ALT and VS, and nothing appears. Usually all I need to do is bump up the ALT a click, then hit the VS, and it works. Not sure if it is a bug or user error.

- JD

**Ronald** · 03-14-2002, 05:06 PM

I hope I can help you a bit:
The difference between the FS2002 default 737 and the DF737 with regard to altitude is the function of ALT HOLD. Many DF737 users assume that a change of altitude can be activated by selecting a desired altitude in the MCP and then pressing ALT HOLD, as applicable for the default FS2002 737.
This is not the correct way, in the real world (and with the DF737) one would use either LVL CHANGE (climbing or descending with constant airspeed as selected in MCP) or one would use V/S. ALT HOLD can cause strange behaviour when the difference between the current FL and the selected FL is more than approx. 1000 ft. So make it a standard procedure to either climb or descend by using LVL CHG or V/S. When using V/S, you can select in the V/S window your desired vertical speed.
Try to play a little with this. Be aware the AP is only active after crossing 400 ft after take-off;-)

Good luck!
Ronald