Two Up, Two Down

jwanwest

Thursday, April 13, 2023 at 06:54 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Navigating non-standard IFR procedures, such as complex ODPs or approaches with offset final courses, requires meticulous briefing to anticipate "gotchas" like specific radial intercepts, the distinction between arrival holds and HILPTs, and challenges in runway acquisition.
Pilots must understand the nuanced integration of GPS with legacy procedures, including using OBS mode for NDB tracking and discerning when an ADF is truly required based on approach titling (e.g., "NDB or GPS-A" vs. "NDB-A").
Advisory vertical guidance (+V) on LP approaches may not guarantee visual acquisition at minimums, often necessitating a pre-planned landing strategy (e.g., dive-and-drive vs. continuous descent to MDA, or diversion) due to factors like visibility and runway offset.
Challenging approaches often involve significant altitude loss requirements or mandate circling due to steep descent gradients, requiring careful planning for descent rates, maintaining visual contact, and understanding old vs. new circling criteria and published patterns.

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You can fly a lot of IFR these days without encountering anything but GPS approaches with LPV minimums. In this challenge, you’ll fly departures and approaches at two airports where the procedures required are anything but standard. Better brief them well so the gotchas don’t getcha.

Use whatever airplane you like for this challenge, as long as it has a GPS. A WAAS GPS would be even better. Just be sure it’s something you can stay ahead of when things change in a hurry.