Default A321 autopilot problem

[Tomaz]

I don't know if I'm doing something wrong (I suspect that) or that's just a "feature" of default A321 in FSX.
Since default aircrafts don't have autoland system (I probably wouldn't use it anyway, it's boring) you have to disengage the autopilot about 200ft from the ground and land the aircraft manualy when on ILS approach. The moment I do that (disengage the AP) the nose rapidly pitches down and even a slight pull back on the stick makes the plane pitch rapidly up - it's uncontrollable. I don't have any such problem with other aircraft - default B737, CRJ, ... Captain Sim 757,... thay all stay on glideslope.
I didn't change anything in A321 folder (aircraft.cfg,... nothing).
Does your A321 stay on glideslope when you disengage AP?

[BAW0343]

The A321 is VERY touchy, just have to be careful. Try disengaging the autopilot sooner, as I know it behaves differently when you get closer to the ground.. Almost like the computer gives you more control as you get ready to land.

[B-Valvs]

We've had this issue before too. I've never used the A321 so I've never tested it, but that was the answer last time too.

8-)

[Daube]

The flight computer disengages automatically when you below 500 feet from the ground if I remember correctly. You shoud try to disengage the autopilot sooner. The plane will still be touchy though, but not as much.

The A321 is very tricky to fly, I love it so much. This evening, I even managed to land it 'old style' at Kai Tak ! It's really rewarding because if you do anything wrong during the approach, the flight computer will take control of the engines and set them to full throttle to "force" you to gain altitude

[Tomaz]

But is this a feature or a sort of bug?

[Daube]

It's a feature. Maybe the sensitivity is a bit exagerated, but most of the time, the only problem is that most people are trying to control the Airbus exactely like they would control a Boeing 737, and this is wrong.
As I said above, even with the fly-by-wire computers turned ON, I could manage to land the Airbus at KaiTak, which is (was) one of the most difficult approaches in the world. That means that this plane is still controllable, don't you think ?

[Tomaz]

That's probably the case since I have around 200 hours (FSPassengersX) in Boeing 737 and about 2 hours in Airbus
I just thought this nose diving when AP off is a bit strange... a funny thing is that in RL (as passenger) I only flew in A320.. a lot of times.. and the nose never dove... thank god they use autoland

[Daube]

Actually, this precise "nose down" stuff might be some kind of bug.
But in a lot of aircrafts, when I switch off the autopilot, my plane starts to modify its horizontal situation, because the trims were moved by the autopilot or because my joystick was not in the correct position. It's very annoying, but I learned to live with that. I'm sure there's a good technique somewhere to compensate this phenomenom, but I need to test more...

[westside]

I have recently been doing the same run(CYYJ toCYZT) only with different aircraft. I have just done that with the default Airbus 321 within the last week. The aircraft didn't do anything strange when I disengaged the autopilot. I usually take control when I can see the runway at 300 to 400 ft. I suspect something is not set up right.

[topcatin]

How do you fly the A321 and how different is it from the 737? Someone commented saying that people tend to fly it like the 737. I try to land the A321 but the plane always accelerates and gains altitude when coming to land. Note that I am trying a manual landing. Is this a bug or am I doing something wrong?

[Daube]

You're doing something wrong

The A-321

[Mistro]

[quote]You're doing something wrong

The A-321

[Tomaz]

DO NEVER fly below 160 knots during your approach.

160? I thought this is way too high. My approach speed was around 145 knots, with 737 and with Airbus.

[Daube]

DO NEVER fly below 160 knots during your approach.

160? I thought this is way too high. My approach speed was around 145 knots, with 737 and with Airbus.

You can make an approach at this low speed with the Airbus... but only with the flight computers switched OFF.
If I try to fly so slowly, the computer fires the throttles to the max immediately. I fly quite often with this aircraft now, I have to say I just love it.

And concerning the 160 knots, actually it's not that fast. Once the computer gives you back the control, simply reducing the throttle and pulling back on the stick to start the glide will make your airspeed decrease very fast. In fact, after a short glide I usually touch the runway at 140-130 knots, which is fine, even for KaiTak

[topcatin]

That's interesting. I was trying to land it like the 737. How do you switch off the flight-computers on A321?

In any case, I will try to land it with the flight computers on and off. Sounds like a challenge, but 160 I thought is very fast compared to 737 where you can come in between 130-140. The correct speed to land a plane is just a little above the stall speed. Do you know at which speed the A321 stalls?