ILS Tutorial

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Member for

20 years 7 months

Posts: 2,623

Thanks for the enlightenment aarenlainey :)

Member for

12 years 5 months

Posts: 172

Perhaps next you can do a guide to accurate NDB holds and arrivals? :)

No one does real life accurate hand flown NDB holds and arrivals.....:), 'about right' is as close as you'll get. Roll on the day when we get rid of the damn things.

Member for

20 years 7 months

Posts: 2,623

I think BlueRobin was being facetious. Your wish may come true soon. by 2015 most NDBs & VORs will be decommissioned and P-RNAV/RNP approaches will become the norm :)

Member for

12 years 5 months

Posts: 172

We'll still have ILS and PAR. Have you noticed that NDB's are disappearing slowly? I think VORs have a forecast shelf past 2015 (I've heard around 2020) as long as they can still find the bits. I can't think of a single person I know who'll be regretting the demise of NDB. I have my renewal in March 2014, too much to ask for them to be gone by then I suppose.

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20 years 7 months

Posts: 2,623

Yes we'll still have ILS, but I would hazzard a guess that this will not be at every airfield in the UK. Apparently alot of the Scottish VORs are due to be decommissioned (DCS TLA TRN etc). You only have to look at what is happening with the ILS' in this country, as they break down they are not being replaced. My home airfield Exeter Rwy 08 is a casing point.

P-RNAV/RNP approaches will become the norm sooner than we think, the issue is, the airlines are preparing for it (I've just done the training in the sim) but GA is not. This will force the GA industry in this country to spend an awful lot of money upgrading their fleets, or replacing them. It is going to be a messy transition for them that's for sure.

I actually like doing NDB approaches at work, it's a break from the norm and keeps the skills fresh, but I'm a sadist like that, non precision approaches, coupled with wind & turbulence is right up my street :D

Good luck with the renewal when it comes around.

Member for

12 years 5 months

Posts: 172

Ah but what are you doing your NDB approaches in? Is it a pro bit of kit or a 172 with a non rotating card...;)

I fly from a mil airfield, be interesting to see what they intend doing regarding ILS, PAR etc. I can't see the mil getting rid of alternatives, GPS etc is too easily jammed/offset. You're right about a major upheaval for GA, the only way around it is for smaller stand alone GPS units to be certified for approaches. Which will no doubt multiply their price by a factor of ten. Not many people fly without at least a stand alone GPS these days (I use an Aware 5+), not particularly because the UK is difficult to nav around, but there's just too much airspace to bust.

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20 years 7 months

Posts: 2,623

hmm, a Dash 8 Q400? :D But it does suffer from the worst ADF Dip I have ever encountered, and we're doing about 160kts groundspeed on average, and if you leave the autopilot in it's classed as cheating, and it is also cheating if you use the ND and FMS overlay, so in effect it's just a big C182 :D

That's right, I'm not sure about hand held devices though, it's going to have to be a fixed GPS with the correct RNP capabilities. I am not sure hand helds can give this type of accuracy, especially when conducting an RNP approach. I would imagine they'd give reasonable & suitable P-RNAV performance, I guess time will tell.

Member for

11 years 8 months

Posts: 2

Really nice post its very use full thanks

Hey Dean, nice article you posted back in 2006 there! Cheers mate!

I think in the first post the OP states that you should be at Vref at 1 mile on the approach. Although steep approaches are often specified and required by operating procedures to be flown at Vref from the specified decent point - usually requiring full flap and airbrake (where fitted) too, it would very uncomfortable and expensive on fuel burn.

Vref is usually achieved at 50ft on an approach. Prior to that on an approach, once the aircraft is fully configured, it is flown at an additive speed determined my the manufacturer, and which then adjusted for wind gust, and/or for some aircraft, wind speed to. Typically, still air might approach might be flown at Vref +10, to Vref +20 depending on type.

If you really want to know I would suggest finding a copy of the Flight Operating Manual or Flight Crew Operating Manual (FCOM). Now, did someone say NDB approaches...

Member for

3 years 7 months

Posts: 3

Hugh, really pleased you have it sorted, that's a relief. On with the flying now

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3 years 8 months

Posts: 381

[No one does real life accurate hand flown NDB holds and arrivals.....:), ]

Utter tosh. You wouldn’t have survived long in the highland and islands of Scotland during the 1970s,1980s with that attitude.