Finish The Job

Elaine Kauh

Monday, January 23, 2023 at 03:23 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The pilot faces a challenging night arrival at Lexington (KLEX) with marginal VFR conditions, a major runway (4/22) closure, and a requirement to use a non-precision LOC 22 approach (due to glideslope outage and no GPS) followed by a circle-to-land on Runway 27, all while navigating numerous NOTAMs.
The filed alternate airport, Frankfort (KFFT), is found to be unsuitable due to "Alternate NA" for its localizer approach (due to lack of IFR GPS) and similar weather concerns, prompting the pilot to plan a personal backup to Louisville (KSDF) instead, ensuring adequate fuel reserves.
Despite considering multiple approach options, ATC vectors the pilot for the LOC 22 due to traffic. The pilot successfully executes this non-precision approach, utilizing tools like an EFB to cross-check the RNAV 27 final approach course, leading to a stable landing.

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The second leg of your Tennessee-to-Kentucky journey (see January IFR) is going more smoothly than the first, but there are yet some tough decisions to make before parking for the night at Lexington, Kentucky. There’s the matter of working around a busy airport with a runway closure in marginal VFR weather. Oh, and it’ll be dark when you arrive, adding more complexity to this single-engine solo trip.

Lots of NOTAMs