If you remember which side of a localizer is “blue” and which is “yellow,” you’re either a historian or a true pelican. You also have an edge when it comes to certain oddball approaches.
Our feathered friends
Some approaches achieve a certain celebrity status by nature of their difficulty or mind-bending design. Such is the famous (some say infamous) LOC/DME-E into Aspen, Colo. It leverages two different localizers to give you at least a remote chance of slipping down between the mountains and seeing the runway, or slipping back up between the mountains to tell the tale if you dont.
Key Takeaways:
- The LOC/DME-E approach into Aspen, Colorado, is uniquely challenging, employing a *second localizer* for its missed approach due to severe terrain constraints.
- A critical aspect of this missed approach is that, despite being a backcourse flown outbound, the second localizer exhibits *normal sensing*, meaning the "blue" side remains on the pilot's right.
- For HSI users flying this missed approach, it's crucial to set the HSI to the *inbound course* (e.g., 300) to ensure correct sensing and avoid confusion, highlighting the enduring value of traditional navigation understanding even with modern GPS.
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