Gotchas in Paradise

Knowing Good and Evil was a problem in the original Paradise, but around the PDZ VOR, managing direction, altitude, and what’s next is your only hope of success.

Ryan Koch and Jeff Van West

Sunday, November 24, 2024 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The article details a challenging four-approach flight simulator exercise near Bracket Field (KPOC), requiring hand-flying in significant wind gradients and near-minimum visibility.
Each approach presents specific "gotchas," including deceptively steep descent rates, critical CDI management (GPS vs. VLOC), and complex missed approach procedures affected by inoperative navigation aids or NOTAMs.
Pilots must be vigilant for potential misidentification of parallel runways during low-visibility landings and understand local traffic pattern details from Chart Supplements, especially when terrain is a factor.
The exercise underscores the critical importance of meticulous pre-flight briefing, anticipating environmental conditions, and understanding every nuance of instrument procedures for safe and successful operations.

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This Sim Challenge will keep you busy with four complex approaches in close proximity. Choose any plane you want. Brief each procedure carefully as each contains both subtle and not-so-subtle traps and gotchas. Use an FAA-approved sim and you’ll be 4/6 of the way to resetting currency.

Position the plane at Bracket Field (KPOC). Set surface wind to 310 at 10 knots, and another layer at 4000 feet of 030 at 40. That’s a significant wind gradient that you’ll have to anticipate and manage as you fly these approaches. We recommend hand flying to make things even more, um, interesting.