1) Do you have the correct ILS frequency tuned in your NAV 1 radio and is it active?
2) Do you get picked up on the localizer?
3) When asked to fly "straight in", is the auto-pilot auto-approach activated?

lol Brett you're still not tired of having to say that? Or are you just being a nice guy?

You should probably go check out the procedures that there are in this site. I'm sure they will help you out.

Yeah.. I'm a nice guy.. just ask me,  I'll tell ya  

Seriously though.. If somebody takes the time to ask about stuff like that, I'll assume they taken their investment (hardware/software/time) seriously enough to want to fly realistically...  right ?  If they don't take it seriously and just want to play.. well.. I guess they can ignore the advice, and if they get upset, 'cause they think I'm snobbishly sarcastic; so be it.. because there'll be that one person who takes it to heart and ends up getting so much more out of simming than he thought possible...

Look at the words in the topic of this thread. Chances are that dozens if not hundreds of people will hit this thread while searching... most will not respond. I'd rather take the opportunity steer them down the realistic path, then to just give them a handful of instructions so they'll be able to eventually get a big tube down a glidescope, crashing 100 times along the way..

I know the urge to start buzzing around in big jets as an "instant airline captain" is tempting.. but you find out quickly, for one, it aint that easy.. and more importantly, it gets boring pretty quickly  

There is SO much happening during a flight.. from takeoff to landing. Big jets move fast and it IS realistic to fly them by autopilot and GPS..// But it's way more satisfying to wrestle a big tube full of virtual passengers, from one airport to another, fully understanding each phase of the flight, knowing why you're doing what you're doing, and knowing that you can, and have, done it manually. If you're striving for realism... do you think you'd be in a position to monitor and autopilot, ILS approach in a 737, before you're able to do it by hand in a C172 ?  Do you think you'd be able to go blasting into contrloled airspace in a Lear, before you've been able to do it in a Baron; in 1 mile visibilty; with one engine out ? Do you think you should take off from JFK, bound for LAX, with a bunch of virtual souls in your charge before you're able to find your way cross country, by VOR/NDB, in a Mooney ?

Take your time... learn the basics... move on when you're ready. You'll find that setting up an airliner for a realistic approach comes easier when you understand the whole concept, and understand both sides of a power curve, because you've been there  

FSX is a simulator. It simulates real life airplanes. There is a reason real life airliner captains start out in a trainer like a Cessna and work their way up to airliners. It's the same thing in a simulator. You are simulating real life so you need to simulate real life training and progression of your skills. FSX isn't a perfect simulator. It's watered down quite a bit so your training doesn't need to be as complete and lengthy as real life but there is a little to learn and unless you learn that you'll never be proficient flying large aircraft.

I'm not saying to park the 747 until you complete every certificate in the Flight Lessons. Actually the lessons are about as buggy in FSX as they have been in earlier versions but the concepts are relevant and real. Take the time to learn them and flying all aircraft in the sim will be much easier. Have fun with the airliners but take some time to go through the lessons and learn about real life flying. You'll be amazed at what you will learn in a relatively short period.