Blast from the Past

Approaches like the KOWD LOC RWY 35 were once common, but they’re almost retro today. Nonetheless, they still exist and we should know how to fly them.

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Thursday, January 16, 2025 at 05:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The LOC RWY 35 approach at Norwood Memorial Airport (KOWD) is considered "retro" due to its reliance on an Outer Marker (OM) and Locator Outer Marker (LOM), the latter of which remains critical for establishing ground-based Minimum Safe Altitudes (MSAs) despite the increasing use of GPS.
The article details the procedural aspects of both the traditional LOC 35 approach, including its specific equipment requirements (ADF, DME, or GPS) and fixes, and the more advantageous RNAV (GPS) RWY 35 approach, which offers lower decision altitudes, especially with WAAS capabilities.
It highlights various complexities in aviation charting and navigation, such as the ambiguous WHYBE fix and nuanced Minimum En Route Altitude (MEA) discrepancies on hybrid airways, underscoring the importance of understanding equipment-specific altitude requirements.

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Norwood Memorial Airport (KOWD) is a public airport in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, approximately 15 miles southwest of Boston Logan International Airport. The Boston Class B starts at 3000 feet MSL over Norwood.

From 1942 to 1945, Norwood served as a Naval Outlying Landing Field of Naval Air Station Squantum. (The NAS closed in 1953.) This historical significance as a training field for aspiring naval aviators with its two 4000-foot runways, is a testament to its rich past. A year after the end of the Second World War, the U.S. Department of War gave the airport to the town of Norwood, which renamed it Norwood Memorial Airport in memory of Norwood residents killed during WWII.

Blast from the Past

Approaches like the KOWD LOC RWY 35 were once common, but they’re almost retro today. Nonetheless, they still exist and we should know how to fly them.

Key Takeaways:

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