At least, that’s the way I think
about it. I’ve never seen guidance or
an FAA position on this, but I can tell
you in practice we used to do this all
the time where approaches required
equipment for a missed we didn’t have
installed. We requested alternate
missed approach instructions from
ATC and got on with business. No
one complained or gave us a number
to call on landing.
I’m not saying that’s an approved procedure, but it does
point out how understanding all those notes on the chart is
essential to your strategy for lying an instrument approach.PREPARING FOR YOUR Y OR Z
here’s an interesting practicality of this having two
approaches co-charted when it comes to loading the
approaches from a GPS database. Note on the ILS Z or
LOC Z Rwy 23 at KRBW that there’s a stepdown insidethe FAF at ZILTA. Identifying ZILTA
lets you descend from 680 MSL to the
minimum of 480 MSL.
It used to be you’d only see the ILS
approach in the GPS database. hat
approach might—or might not—con-
tain a stepdown ix like ZILTA. If it
didn’t, you’d have to do the math that
ZILTA was 1.7 miles from the threshold
of Runway 23.
It turns out that if you buy your data from Jeppesen, you
still do this math. If you buy your North American data
from Garmin, however, there are two approaches in the
GPS database, one for the ILS without ZILTA in the light
plan, and one for the localizer approach with ZILTA in the
light plan. It’s not a big deal, but it’s worth knowing if you’re
loading approaches or choosing your database vendor.
Or you could just invest in that vintage DME on eBay to
brag that you can ly an airplane—or ind a Starbucks—
without no stinkin’ GPS. PPIFR for VFR Pilots: Loading Approaches At Night
There’s many a VFR pilot who flies an
IFR-equipped aircraft. If this describes your
aviation situation, then a valuable skill for
your longevity is loading an instrument
approach for a VFR arrival at night.
Remember that an approach that names
a runway has straight-in minimums and
a final approach course aligned within 30
degrees of the runway. Usually, it’s aligned
perfectly with the runway. Select and load
the approach, usually using a PROC button
on most modern GPS units, and then
activate vectors-to-final. This provides a
magenta line in the night to help you orient
to that runway until you see the lights.
Extended runways on a tablet do the same
for you, but it’s easier to have it up on the
GPS or MFD when you’re tired and ready to
call it a day.
GPS direct to an airport also works, but
remember that’s to the airport center, not
a specific runway. If that’s all you have,
then take the extra step to go GPS direct,
but on a specific course. Usually this is
an oft-overlooked option in the direct-to
options. Make the course the same as the
landing runway, so 230 for Runway 23.
This provides the same magenta pointer
and distance to at least roughly the landing
runway to guide you home.You don't have to be an IFR-rated pilot to y an approach in VFR conditions.
Especially when you're ying at night and especially around high terrain, it can
be a life saver to load the approach and follow the guidance you get from an IFR
navigator, even if it's not technically an IFR approach you're ying.❯ ❯ “We used to do this all
the time where approaches
required equipment for a
missed approach we didn't
have installed. Nobody ever
complained or gave us a
number to call on landing.”36 AUGUST 2018 ÇPlane&Pilot