Approach and ILS Landing

This guide will explain the correct procedures to fly a final approach and conduct an ILS landing.

Disclaimer

The level of detail in this guide is meant to get an Airbus A380 beginner currently on approach to intercept the ILS and land the aircraft safely on the runway.

A beginner is defined as someone familiar with flying a GA aircraft or different types of airliners. Aviation terminology and know-how is a requirement to fly any airliner, even in Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Prerequisites

The aircraft is on approach shortly before intercepting the ILS and is still in phase and state DES as per previous chapters.

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Chapters / Phases

This guide will cover these phases:

Intercepting the ILS Localizer
Intercepting the ILS Glideslope
Preparation and Checklist for Landing
Landing
Vacate Runway

1. Intercepting the ILS Localizer

Situation:

Aircraft is in DES phase.
Aircraft is set up for flight <10,000ft (seat belt signs on, landing lights on, etc.).
We are within the IAP (Instrument Approach) and either:
- at the altitude and speed from the chart (Final Approach Fix altitude and 250knots if there are no other speed restrictions on the chart).
- or we are at a heading vector, altitude, and speed instructed by ATC.

During Instrument Approach

During the Instrument Approach, (or by ATC vectoring) we will be on a path to the Final Approach Fix and/or a path to intercept the ILS localizer and eventually the ILS glideslope.

As a last instruction from ATC Approach we are usually instructed to contact Tower ATC when fully established on the ILS localizer.

To intercept the ILS Localizer, we follow these steps:

ILS FREQUENCY ..................................................... VERIFY

ILS Frequency

Verify that the correct ILS frequency is tuned in the MFD-RNAV page. We find the correct frequency on the pproach chart.

TODO: verify RNAV page location in MFD

Check ILS frequency

TODO: update screenshots for A380

LS (Landing System) ............................................. CHECK ON

LS Button on Glare Shield

Turn on the ILS localizer and glideslope scales with the LS button on the glareshield if not already done before. There is an LS button on both the captain and F.Os side of the FCU.

Turn on ILS scales

TODO: update screenshots for A380

ALTITUDE .......................................................... VERIFY

Verify Altitude

Make sure we are on the correct altitude (5000ft in this example) and we should not have an approach angle larger than 30°.

TODO: update screenshots for EDDF

Optional: Turn on ROSE LS Mode for the ND (can also be on F.O.'s side). The ROSE LS Mode shows the deviation from the localizer approach heading path.

TODO: update screenshots for A380

After ATC Clearance

Once ATC has cleared us for the approach, we will fo the following:

ATC CLEARANCE FOR APPROACH ...................................... OBTAINED

APPR Phase and Speed

Check if the APPR phase is activated. This is usually automatically done by the aircraft at a certain point during the approach, but we make sure that at this point at the latest it is activated.

TODO: update screenshots for A380

When in the APPR phase, the Autopilot together with "Managed Speed Mode" relieves the pilot of a lot of stress by managing the speed according to flaps setting automatically (S-Speed after FLAPS 1, F-Speed after FLAPS 2, V_app after landing flap selection).

SPEED MODE ....................................................... MANAGED

Managed Speed Mode

Set SPEED to Managed Speed Mode (push the Speed Selector). The aircraft should now decelerate to green dot speed.

APPR MODE .......................................................... PRESS

Activate APPR mode

Turn on APPR in the FCU to command the aircraft to intercept the ILS localizer. The aircraft will keep the current heading until the localizer is captured and guides the aircraft towards the runway. The lateral ILS localizer scale shows the deviation marker moving towards the middle of the lateral deviation scale. Also, the lateral FMA shows LOC in blue (armed).

TODO: update FCU screenshot

TODO: update screenshots for A380

What is the blue-dashed line?

You might ask what the blue dashed line is. It is part of the FIX INFO feature which allows drawing distance rings or radial lines from navigation fixes. For this illustration, it helps us to visualize the localizer signal path at 261° into the runway, which we are going to capture with the APPR mode.

TODO: update screenshots for EDDF

Arming APPR

Using APPR also arms the glideslope descent (G/S) and the aircraft will descend as soon as it captures the ILS glideslope signal.

Do not descend without ATC clearance and only when directly on the ILS localizer path as only as obstacle clearance is guaranteed.

To help with this you can use the LOC button first (only localizer capture) and when cleared for approach press APPR

AUTOPILOT 1+2.......................................................... ON

Autopilot 1+2

Turn on AUTOPILOT 1+2 to have same additional redundancy in case of a failure.

FLIGHT MODE ANNUNCIATOR (FMA) ...................................... CHECK

FMA

The pilot can verify on the flight mode annunciator the approach capability (CAT2, CAT3 SINGLE, CAT3 DUAL, or AUTOLAND) for the selected approach.

Also the lateral FMA should show LOC in blue (armed) and the vertical FMA should show G/S in blue (armed).

FLAPS 1 (at V~FE~ -15)................................................ SET

Flaps 1

Set FLAPS to 1 at about V_FE -15 knots (but never before speed is below V_FE) for the first slat/flap configuration (CONF1). The aircraft will then decelerate further to prepare for the next flaps configuration. Our target is to be in CONF 1 and at S-speed by the time you need to set flaps 2 (CONFIG 2) before the glideslope intercept (S-speed will be slow enough to set flaps 2).

TCAS MODE .......................................................... TA/RA
LOC CAPTURE ...................................................... MONITOR

Capturing the Localizer

It is recommended to pay close attention to the LOC beam capture. Verify that during the capture phase, the LOC deviation is within the LOC scale. The deviation should be displayed on the primary flight display and on the navigation display.

The aircraft will turn towards the localizer and the deviation marker will move towards the center of the lateral deviation scale. The lateral FMA will show LOC in green when the localizer is captured.

TODO: update screenshots for A380

ATC CONTACT ........................................................ TOWER

Contact Tower

When we are established on the ILS localizer (the lateral FMA shows LOC in green) we will contact Tower ATC and report that we are established on the ILS localizer (including call sign and runway).

Tower ATC will then give us clearance for the ILS approach to the target runway. This clears us to descend on the ILS glideslope.

Do not descent without explicit clearance from ATC.

This concludes Intercepting the ILS Localizer

2. Intercepting the ILS Glideslope

Situation:

Verify these items:

APPR MODE ......................................................... ACTIVE
AUTOPILOT 1+2 ......................................................... ON
LOC CAPTURE ...................................................... MONITOR
ILS LOCALIZER ................................................ ESTABLISHED
FLAPS 1 .............................................................. SET

After ATC has given us clearance for the ILS approach, we can also start descending using the ILS glideslope.

ILS Glideslope

Check that the APPR button is activated on the FCU to arm the ILS glideslope descent mode.

The vertical FMA now shows G/S (glideslope) in blue.

G/S CAPTURE ...................................................... MONITOR

Capturing the Glideslope

The aircraft will start descending when the deviation marker is in the middle (we have captured the ILS glideslope). The vertical FMA will now display G/S in green.

TODO: update screenshots for A380

We are now descending along the glideslope. The radio altimeter comes alive at 2,500ft above the ground to display the actual precise height above ground.

ATC instructed approach speed

The A380 Autothrust will manage speed during approach automatically and will reduce speed further with each flap setting. In real life and also when flying with Online ATC like VATSIM, we need to expect that ATC instructs us to stay at a certain speed (e.g., 160knots until 5NM to the runway).

In this case, we would use Selected Speed Mode (select a speed in the FCU and pull the knob) until the instructed distance to the runway where we would then go back to Managed Speed Mode and drop the gear then as well as setting flaps to 3 and flaps to full - see below.

GO AROUND ALTITUDE ................................................... SET

Go Around Altitude

Set the Go Around Altitude in the FCU to the altitude where we would go around if we don't see the runway or are not stable for landing. This is usually the Missed Approach Altitude from the approach chart.

FLAPS 2 (~2.500ft and below V~FE~).................................... SET

Flaps 2

Verify that the aircraft is decelerating toward the F speed. If the aircraft interception of the ILS/GLS glideslope is below 2 000 feet above ground level, It is recommended setting flaps 2 at one dot below the glideslope. If the aircraft is above the glideslope, or the aircraft does not decelerate, it is recommended to extend the landing gear. It is not recommended to use the speed brakes due to limited effect at low speed.

TODO: update PFD example

This concludes Intercepting the ILS Glideslope

3. Preparation and Checklist for Landing

Situation:

Verify these items:

ILS LOCALIZER & GLIDESLOPE.................................... ESTABLISHED
FLAPS 2 .............................................................. SET

2000 feet and below

LANDING GEAR ........................................................ DOWN
AUTOBRAKE ........................................................ CONFIRM
GROUND SPOILERS ...................................................... ARM
EXTERIOR LIGHTS ...................................................... SET

FLAPS 3 (after L/G down and below V~FE~).............................. SET
WHEEL SYSTEM DISPLAY PAGE .......................................... CHECK

SD WHEEL Page

Verify the wheel system display page appears below 800 feet above ground level or at the extension of the landing gear. It is recommended to verify the five landing gear green indication, as well as at least one green triangle on each landing gear. This indicates the landing gear strut is locked at the down position.

FLAPS (below V~FE~).................................................. FULL
AUTOTHRUST .................................... CHECK IN SPEED MODE OR OFF

Ready at 1000 feet

We need to be fully set up and stable at 1,000ft above the ground.

What does that mean? Flaps fully extended, Autothrottle in speed mode or off completely, and the landing checklist is complete.

TODO: update cockpit example

TODO: update landing lights example

LANDING MEMO ................................................ NO BLUE LINE
CABIN .............................................................. READY

Cabin Crew

In real life, the cabin crew will have been asked to prepare the cabin for landing during the descent. The exact moment and process might differ between airlines, but most seem to do this when the Seatbelt Signs are turned on during descent (typically at the latest at 10,000ft).

The Cabin Crew will notify the pilots either by a "Cabin Ready" button (A380) or by a call to the cockpit (---) once they are ready and strapped-in themselves.

In the Microsoft Flight Simulator, we simulate this by pressing the CALLS ALL button on the left of the overhead panel. This will set the "Cabin Ready" status as shown in the ECAM and there will be a short announcement playing "Cabin Crew take your seats for landing".

TODO: update calls panel

LANDING CHECKLIST ............................................... COMPLETE

Landing Checklist

A/THR MODE ........................................................ AS REQUIRED
SIGNS ...................................................................... ON
LDG GEAR ................................................................. DOWN
FLAPS ..................................................................... LDG
SPLRS ..................................................................... ARM

Thrust levers during landing

For the landing, we have our hand on the thrust levers for a potential go-around, so we can quickly push the levers forward into TO GA.

We do not move the levers until the last seconds before landing.

This concludes Preparation and Checklist for Landing

4. Landing

Situation:

Aircraft is fully set up for landing as per previous chapters.
Configuration is FLAPS FULL.
Aircraft is at about 1000ft above the ground.
Wind is calm (no crosswind for this beginner guide).

Verify these items:

LANDING GEAR ........................................................ DOWN
NOSE LIGHT ........................................................... T.O
RWY TURN OFF LIGHT .................................................... ON
AUTOBRAKE ........................................................ CONFIRM
GROUND SPOILERS ...................................................... ARM
EXTERIOR LIGHTS ...................................................... SET
FLAPS ............................................................... FULL
AUTOTHROTTLE .................................. CHECK IN SPEED MODE OR OFF

Autoland

Although the A380 can do an automatic landing (Autoland) we will do a manual landing as this is more common and also more fun.

For an advanced guide on Autoland, see here.

Clearance

We MUST get landing clearance from ATC before we actually are allowed to land. Without landing clearance, we must do a go-around (not part of this beginner guide) before touching the runway. Usually, ATC will have given us clearance at this point. Late clearance is rare and communicated to us beforehand.

AUTOPILOT ............................................................ OFF

Autopilot OFF

Next, we turn the Autopilot OFF at about 500ft above the ground by pressing the green lit AP1+2 buttons on the FCU.

We leave the Autothrust on, so we don't have to worry about thrust and speed at all (Leaving Autothrust on for landing is common for the Airbus).

TODO: update cockpit screenshot

PAPI lights

At the beginning of the runway you will notice an array of lights to the runway side. These are called PAPI lights and act as a visual indicator as to whether or not the airplane is on the correct glideslope. The lights also indicate whether the plane is too high or too low off glideslope. For example, if you see 4 white lights, that means the plane is too high. If you see 4 red lights, that means the plane is too low. We want two white lights and 2 red lights.

5. Vacate Runway

Situation:

Aircraft has landed and is moving along the center line of the runway.
Speed is <40knots.

At Taxi Speed

REVERSE LEVERS ...................................................... STOW
AUTOBRAKE ......................................................... DISARM

Auto Brake Disarm

The autobrake can be disarmed at the pilot’s discretion. It is recommended to use one of the autothrottle instinctive disconnect pushbuttons to disarm the autobrake. If BTV mode was used, the autobrake will disarm automatically at 10 knots.

Vacate the runway

We look for the next runway exit and slow down to about 10knots before we start turning off the runway.

We continue rolling forward until we passed the runway entry marker with the full length of our aircraft.

TODO: update aircraft exterior screenshot

We can now safely stop the aircraft and do our "After Landing" checklist - see next chapter.

If ATC did not already contact us on the ground, we would contact them now to let them know we have vacated the runway.

They will give us taxi instructions, so we can continue taxiing to our gate once we have completed the after landing tasks.

After landing tasks in simulation

In real life, the A380 will have two pilots which can actually do things in parallel, such as talking to ATC, taxiing the aircraft and doing the after landing tasks. In the simulation we are typically alone, so it is perfectly fine to stop once we have fully vacated the runway and do these things one after the other.

This concludes Vacate Runway

Continue with After Landing Steps