Having departed from Pompano Beach, Florida, we’re going to Greensboro, North Carolina, to visit family. The winds at Greensboro’s Piedmont-Triad International (KGSO) are northerly and the ATIS says we should expect the ILS 5R approach. All else being equal, we prefer GPS and LPV to localizer and glideslope. We ask for the RNAV approach to the same runway and the friendly KGSO controllers are happy to accommodate. Cruising along at an assigned altitude of 6000 feet MSL we hear, “Two five miles from COSIS. Direct COSIS. Cleared RNAV Five Right approach.” When may (should) we descend and to what altitude?
Two interrelated principles give us the answer. First, hearing “cleared for the approach,” permits us to descend from our last assigned altitude as soon as we are on a published route (unless we are assigned an altitude to maintain). Second, nothing but the words “cleared for the approach” allows us to descend on our own initiative from our last assigned altitude. These are simple statements that can easily be misunderstood, leading to possible trouble.
