*It doesn't have
to be done manually, you do NOT have to control the yoke or touch the
thrust levers until on the ground. *MOST real life landings are done
with this method

??? Most?

Certainly not.

--
Duncan

Duncan

So do YOU believe a pilot of a 737 or 747 hand flys an entire STAR
approach, captures the ILS localiser and glideslope, whilst keeping
critical control of his altitude and reducing airspeed and deployment
of flaps ALL by hand. Commercial pilots use the autopilot's approach
system at the very LEAST to get established on the localiser and
control the descent on the glideslope whilst they manually reduce the
desired speed (still under the autopilots autohrottle control) on the
Mode Control Panel

Watch this video of the final stages of a 747-400 approach and landing
into San Fransisco. This is a typical landing. The pilot
disconnected the autopilot at a few hundred feet but this aircraft and
runway 28L could have enabled him to perform a full autoland.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ShBOtPiuNM

As you can clearly witness the majority of the input required by the
pilot to maintain flight, approach and landing is via the MCP on the
glareshield

Ibby


Ibby