Charted Visuals

Recently, as is customary when I give an instrument proficiency check (IPC), before the flight I review en route and approach charts with the pilot. While randomly going through the Florida approach book, we saw the North Bay Visual RWY 18L charted visual flight procedure (CVFP) at the St Pete-Clearwater airport (KPIE) and a couple questions came up.

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Monday, January 08, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Charted Visual Flight Procedures (CVFPs) are formalized visual flight paths, primarily for turbojet aircraft at busy airports, designed to enhance safety, efficiency, and address noise abatement, but they are not instrument approaches and lack published missed approach segments.
CVFPs rely heavily on visual landmarks and sometimes navaids for guidance, with weather minimums based on minimum vectoring altitudes, and their use can be restricted by factors like aircraft type, visibility, and time of day.
Modern avionics, such as Garmin GTN navigators, provide non-charted "visual procedures" offering supplemental lateral and vertical guidance to runways; however, these are not FAA-approved and do not guarantee obstacle clearance.
The article advocates for charting more visual procedures for general aviation at busy airports to enhance safety and improve air traffic flow by providing clear, structured guidance in visual conditions.

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What is a CVFP?

Can a pilot in a Cessna 172 fly a CVFP? Yes, but approaching KPIE from the north, the Cessna will most probably be in TAMPA Class B airspace (depending on the altitude) and hopefully will have a VFR clearance through the Class B. Chances are that vectors will be given to stay west of KTPA, possibly outside the Class B. This might be a great excuse for the proverbial $300 hamburger. Of course, if you’re entering Tampa Class B you need to talk with Tampa Approach—it is a busy airspace.