Chart Wise: Borrego Valley RNAV (GPS) Rwy 26

Southern California airport offers desert views on approach.

Jason Blair

Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at 08:48 AM ET

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Edited By: tccjeremy

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Key Takeaways:

The GPS approach to Borrego Valley Airport's Runway 26 is complex due to rising terrain on three sides, necessitating strict adherence to the published course.
It is an older LNAV MDA nonprecision approach, requiring pilots to manage sequential stepdown descents and execute multiple course changes, including a turn at the Final Approach Fix, without a glideslope.
Specific procedural considerations include mandatory left traffic for circling to Runway 8 (not authorized south) and a unique "U-turn" missed approach procedure back to a holding pattern east of the airport.

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A trip to the nearby Salton Sea, a hike in Slot Canyon, or a rare chance to visit the desert wildflower displays, if you time it right, might take you to this airport in Borrego Springs, California, with one singular GPS approach to Runway 26.

This Article First Appeared in FLYING Magazine

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