When you’re flying into an airport where there’s a lot of jet traffic, controllers often ask you to keep things going fast. They might say, “best forward speed,” “maintain 160 knots,” or something to that effect, but the desired outcome is the same regardless of who you are: They want you in your piston airplane to keep up with the kerosene burners … or at least not be a speed bump for them.
The controller’s need for your speed makes it tough to conduct what many instrument instructors teach, that the best (often, the “only”) strategy is to set up for a slow, stabilized numbers-based approach even before you get to the initial fix. I’ve had instructors in the Cirrus advise me to get it below 140 knots before the initial approach fix, a speed that’s often far too slow for the controllers’ liking.
