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.

lbencini-tibo

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

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Key Takeaways:

The article explores instrument approaches at Norwood Memorial Airport (KOWD), highlighting the "retro" LOC RWY 35 approach, which uses traditional navigation aids like the Outer Marker (OM) and Locator Outer Marker (LOM).
It details the historical context and operational specifics of these marker beacons and LOMs, noting their diminishing prevalence but continued importance for ground-based Minimum Safe Altitudes (MSAs) and the required equipment.
The piece contrasts the traditional LOC approach with the modern RNAV (GPS) RWY 35, emphasizing the GPS approach's advantages in precision and lower minimums, while also discussing chart complexities like the WHYBE fix and en-route altitude discrepancies.

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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.