seeking info about ILS

[scermat]

Hi,

I am looking for some information about ILS from people who do flying for a living. Basically i'm thinking about doing my Computer Science thesis this year on something that relates to aviation (if you have any ideas where you think computer science and AI may be helpful in aviation let me know!) but at the moment i'm researching the possibility of using AI techniques to do completely automated landings. I hope this is the correct forum to ask?

I understand this (autoland) is currently possible only in airports that have CAT IIIc ILS. I think the aircraft, as well as the pilot have to be CAT IIIc certified for this to be possible. also, can anyone point me into the direction of the weather limitations for such landings to occur? taking visibility out of the euqation (which i understand is what CAT IIIc is mainly concerned with solving), what are the other limitations (such as crosswind) for a landing in CAT III c ILS to not be considered and would these conditions still be good enough for a human to at least attempt to land the plane?

At this point, we're looking at using FSX as our test bed (don't worry, your lives will not be at risk - this is just research!). I am able to do ILS landings without a problem (and i can read all the parameters programmatically to let the computer have a go at it) but I'm not sure about how real it is in terms of instrument readings. so, let's say you're landing using CAT I ILS. I understand that at 200ft the pilot needs to take full control right? in this case, will you still be recieving readings on your instrument about the glideslope and localizer after the decision height is passed and you have full control? in FS you do, but i'm not sure if you do in real life.

Thanks for your help, and I apologize in advance for possibly asking some stupid questions.

[WILCO737]

Hi,

I am looking for some information about ILS from people who do flying for a living. Basically i'm thinking about doing my Computer Science thesis this year on something that relates to aviation (if you have any ideas where you think computer science and AI may be helpful in aviation let me know!) but at the moment i'm researching the possibility of using AI techniques to do completely automated landings. I hope this is the correct forum to ask?

I understand this (autoland) is currently possible only in airports that have CAT IIIc ILS. I think the aircraft, as well as the pilot have to be CAT IIIc certified for this to be possible. also, can anyone point me into the direction of the weather limitations for such landings to occur? taking visibility out of the euqation (which i understand is what CAT IIIc is mainly concerned with solving), what are the other limitations (such as crosswind) for a landing in CAT III c ILS to not be considered and would these conditions still be good enough for a human to at least attempt to land the plane?

At this point, we're looking at using FSX as our test bed (don't worry, your lives will not be at risk - this is just research!). I am able to do ILS landings without a problem (and i can read all the parameters programmatically to let the computer have a go at it) but I'm not sure about how real it is in terms of instrument readings. so, let's say you're landing using CAT I ILS. I understand that at 200ft the pilot needs to take full control right? in this case, will you still be recieving readings on your instrument about the glideslope and localizer after the decision height is passed and you have full control? in FS you do, but i'm not sure if you do in real life.

Thanks for your help, and I apologize in advance for possibly asking some stupid questions.

Hi there,

let me start with some short basics. You can do autoland even with an ILS CAT I. It is not allowed, but the airplane is capable of doing so. The earliest you have to do an autoland is with an CAT II. Well, you don't have to, but from there on it is certified and the ILS will meet the precision requirements.
I don't know about any airport with CAT IIIc at the moment. I think CAT IIIb is the highest at the moment with a minimum of 0 feet and 75m. So you don't have a decision height anymore. At 200' you have an alert hight and if everything looks fine at that point, you can land.

The minima for CAT IIIb, IIIa, II, I are different for the airplane types. I am flying the MD11F and our CAR IIIb minimum is 20' and 200m visibility. And the CAT I minium is 200' and 550m.

I hope that answers a couple of your questions.

wilco737

[scermat]

thanks for your reply, greatly appreciated!

what about weather conditions when autoland can be used but you can still land the plane? are there any conditions (for example high crosswind) when you have to take full control?

thanks again!

[WILCO737]

thanks for your reply, greatly appreciated!

what about weather conditions when autoland can be used but you can still land the plane? are there any conditions (for example high crosswind) when you have to take full control?

thanks again!

Yes, there are windlimitations. For autoland it is max 15 kts, certified by the airplane manufacturer (MD11F). Max headwind 25kts, max runway slope 2%... These values are for the MD11F, I don't know about other airplanes though.

wilco737

[scermat]

great information!

thanks a lot!