Course Reversals

The good news about this plan was the VOR/DME procedure we wanted to fly into Winter Haven used LAL as an initial approach fix. The middling news was we were doing this at 2700 feet msl, 700 feet above the minimum crossing altitude at LAL, to stay above KLALs Class D, which tops out at 2600. So Id need to carefully pull the plug after crossing LAL to ensure I could get down to the MDA before getting too close to the airport. But the hold at LAL coming off the miss at VDF had us going the opposite direction, and we were trying to do this on our own, using published procedures.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 12:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Pilots must be proficient in various published instrument approach course reversal procedures, including procedure turns, holds-in-lieu, teardrop patterns, and DME arcs.
While Air Traffic Control (ATC) typically provides vectors in real-world IFR, pilots are expected to independently understand and execute these reversals, particularly during training or in scenarios without ATC vectors.
Each course reversal type has specific charting, entry, execution, and altitude considerations that pilots must carefully adhere to for safe and compliant instrument flying.

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There I was, bouncing along on the miss from Vandenberg, err, Tampa (Fla.) Executive, KVDF. My instructor and I were flying the published miss after a practice ILS to KVDF’s Runway 23, which was to a hold over the Lakeland (LAL) Vortac. We wanted to enter the published hold, then do the VOR/DME A into KGIF, Winter Haven, Fla.’s, Gilbert Field. Those approach procedures are reproduced below, with enlarged excerpts.

The good news about this plan was the VOR/DME procedure we wanted to fly into Winter Haven used LAL as an initial approach fix. The middling news was we were doing this at 2700 feet msl, 700 feet above the minimum crossing altitude at LAL, to stay above KLAL’s Class D, which tops out at 2600. So I’d need to carefully pull the plug after crossing LAL to ensure I could get down to the MDA before getting too close to the airport. But the hold at LAL coming off the miss at VDF had us going the opposite direction, and we were trying to do this on our own, using published procedures.