These crossing points on the arc are more helpful suggestions than hard rules. How you take the hint depends on both the approach in question and your relative velocity.
Lead Radial tip-offs
Despite the quips about aviator egos barely fitting inside the cockpits that carry them, pilots have a high tolerance for following directions.
Key Takeaways:
- DME arcs, while less common due to GPS, still require pilots to understand and correctly utilize lead radials (LRs) for intercepting final approach courses.
- Lead radials, often charted for intercepts greater than 90 degrees or due to flight check mandates, serve as reference points (typically two miles along the arc) to begin anticipating the turn to the inbound course.
- These lead radials are suggestions, not hard rules; the pilot's groundspeed and turn anticipation remain critical for smoothly intercepting the course, and crossing an LR does not automatically mean being "established inbound."
- Pilots must be vigilant as GPS navigators may initiate turns at charted LRs, and it is the pilot's responsibility to confirm establishment on the inbound course before descending to the next altitude segment.
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