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How Fast?

two and three rectangular bars symmetrically arranged in pairs about the runway centerline." (Runways with touchdown zone markings on both ends omit them when they'd be within 900 feet (270m) of the midpoint between the thresholds.)"

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Prop-driven aircraft should use two distinct speeds for an ILS approach: a faster speed from the FAF inbound to maintain energy for a missed approach and avoid traffic delays.
  • Once visual (VMC), smoothly reduce speed to approximately 1.3 Vso, as flying much faster can lead to control issues, runway excursions, and costly aircraft damage.
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The speed at which we want to fly an ILS in a prop-driven airplane results from several variables, and it will be two speeds: one to fly from the FAF inbound and another to use after transitioning to visual references. There’s no upside to coming down the ILS or LPV slowly, down around VY. It ties up traffic and leaves no reserve energy for a missed approach climb. It’s usually easy to scrub off that speed when it’s time.

Once you get into VMC, flying much faster than 1.3 Vso can mean bad things are likely to happen. Pilots lose directional control, jam the nosewheel onto the runway and generally do expensive things to the airplane. When it’s time, smoothly reduce power to idle and speed to the 1.3 VSO target, while either continuing to descend, or holding altitude. There’s a bunch of runway in front of us: The diagram at right highlights precision runway distance markings.

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