Chart Wise: Bar Harbor, Maine, ILS or LOC Rwy 22

Whether a pilot is headed to Bar Harbor, Maine (KBHB), for a stroll down its Main Street for some shopping in boutiques and galleries, or the airport is the access point for outdoor recreation such as hiking, kayaking, or camping, the weather may be such that the pilot needs the ILS or localizer Runway 22 to land.

This Article First Appeared in FLYING Magazine

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A) AWOS for Weather

The airport is not towered, but it does have weather reporting on the airport on 118.35 from the AWOS-3PT system. This automated local weather can help a pilot determine if they are going to be likely to break out above minimums.

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B) No Tower, But CLNC DEL

Because the airport is nontowered, pilots can use the CLNC DEL (Clearance Delivery) frequency on 119.9 to talk with ATC controllers on the ground to receive a clearance for a departure, close a flight plan, or cancel IFR after they have landed if they were not able to cancel earlier with Bangor Approach Control.

C) Holding Altitude Restrictions at BECRA

If a pilot needs to hold at the BECRA IAF, either to get established onto the approach or if waiting for other traffic to clear before receiving a clearance for the approach from ATC, they should expect to hold at a very limited altitude option of 3,000-4,000 feet msl. This is identified by the fact that there is a hard, bold line above and below the 3,000 and 4,000 altitudes listed for the hold.

D) DME Required

DME (or a suitable IFR-capable GPS substitute) is required for this approach. Also, the note in the upper left corner of the approach plate (DME REQUIRED) is an indication that there is at least some part of the approach that needs DME function to be able to fly the entire procedure. In this instance, DME is required to identify the final approach fix at 7.1 DME from the I-BHB ILS, also noted as the CDLAC waypoint.

E) Time Available for That Missed

While a DME point of 1.0 may be used if the pilot is not using the DA, such as if they are flying the approach as a localizer or if the glideslope is not in service, the pilot can fly a timed approach to the missed approach point using the time in the lower right corner associated with their approach speed. In this case, the pilot would use the MDA from the higher S-LOC 22 minimums or use circling minimums.

This column first appeared in the October Issue 963 of the FLYING print edition.