Tutorial - two questions

[CajunRon 0]

I've been practicing the tutorial and studying the manuals and have two questions that don't seem to be addressed.

 

1.  What is the correct procedure to initiate the descent.   I assume I need to set SPD to M 0.74, deactivate the autopilot, pull back on the throttle and pitch down, then go back and activate the autopilot and put the autopilot into SPD mode.    I then adjust the throttle to get the needed/desired descent rate.  Is this correct or is there a better "real life" way?

 

2.  With the autopilot following the FMC how do I set the ILS course needle.   What I do now is set my heading selector to the current heading and go into HDG SEL mode in the autopilot.   I then change the NAV source selector to VOR 1 so I can see the VOR course value and then dial in the ILS course.  I then change the NAV source selector back to FMC and go back to NAV mode in the autopilot.  Is this "real life" or am I missing something?

[Hans Hartmann 3695]

1. Just select the altitude you want to go to, press SPEED and then select the speed you want to keep. The rate of descent is controlled by your throttle setting

 

2. For now, select the ILS frequency in the VOR1 radio. About 30 NM before you reach the destination a second course needle (in blue) will appear on the PFD. This needle is the localizer preview. As soon as you're ready to intercept the localizer, set the nav source to VOR/LOC1 and press APPR.