Tri-Cities/Bristol, Tennessee ILS or LOC Runway 23

The ILS or LOC approach into Tri-Cities/Bristol in Tennessee offers several key areas of interest for instrument rated pilots to study for proficiency.

Jason Blair

Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 02:44 PM ET

Verified

Bristol, Tennessee, offers a wide range of activities for pilots and their families. [Adobe Stock/Eifel Kreutz]

Key Takeaways:

The ILS or Localizer Runway 23 approach into Bristol, Tennessee, requires careful navigation due to mountainous terrain, including an initial approach segment from the Glade Spring VOR where pilots must maintain 6,000 feet.
This approach is notable for still utilizing both an Outer Marker (OM) and an Inner Marker (IM) to identify key points, such as the Final Approach Fix (FAF) and a location near the runway.
Due to the absence of DME on this approach, pilots flying without a glide slope must use cross radials from the HMV VOR to identify intermediate step-down waypoints and the FAF.
The missed approach procedure directs pilots to the BOOIE NDB, requiring an operational ADF receiver or a suitable IFR GPS for navigation.

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Whether you’re flying in for country music of a lap around the speedway, a visitor to Bristol, Tennessee—billed as the birthplace of country music—might drop into the museum focused on that fact, or perhaps for the several yearly NASCAR events at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Nestled in a deceivingly mountainous locale on the Tennessee-Virginia border, the approach plate hints at some terrain in the area, especially to the south and east.

This Article First Appeared in FLYING Magazine

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