Standard Charting and Non-Standard Approaches

I dont know where the KEGE localizer resides, or how wide it is, but the chart shows it brings you aligned with Runway 25. The approach starts high and requires several step-downs, so youll need DME off the localizer, or IFR GPS equivalent. (As an aside, you cant substitute even WAAS GPS for lateral guidance on this approach. You must fly the localizer needle by regulation.) This LDA is unusual in that it has a glideslope like an ILS, which optionally gives you an extra 300 feet of descent-but requires an extra half-mile of visibility. More on that in a moment.

jwanwest

Wednesday, August 10, 2016 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

What is it about Colorado ski towns and their bizarre approaches? Oh yeah—the mountains. A great example is the LDA/DME Runway 25 into Eagle, Colorado (KEGE). Like many mountain approaches, the TERPS wizards did the bestsTA they could given the uncompromising nature of steep granite walls. The result is more bridge between enroute IFR and a marginal VFR arrival than an approach right to the pavement.

It’s the visual part that gets messy.