Are We Established?

When the approach controller issues a clearance, “maintain 3,000 feet until established,” what does it mean to be established?

The specific meaning of this phrase is a bit more involved than a short definition, and it is critically relevant in avoiding Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) accidents.

Maintain the last altitude assigned by ATC until the aircraft is established on a published segment of a transition route, or approach procedure segment, or other published route, for which a lower altitude is published on the chart.

AIM 5-4-6 (e)(1)

In the first example of how this works, assume an airplane is vectored to the ILS 23L at KIND on a heading between the CLANG and LLARY waypoints.

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GPS Flight Planning – WAAS Going On?

Symbol for Alternate Minimums Not AuthorizedIt’s time to review the rules for planning an IFR flight with GPS navigation.  Maybe the airplane has an old receiver without WAAS capability.  Or maybe the rules have changed too many times to remember the current limitations.  Where to find the answers?

Destination Alternates – Without WAAS

I’m starting with destination rules, because most flight plans begin with that basic question:  Where to go and how to get there?

2013 – If you were aware of these rules a couple years ago, you knew to look them up in Published NOTAM No. GEN13000.  That notice expired in 2014.

2014 – AIM 1-1-18(g)(1) superseded the obscure notice, making the alternate airport rules somewhat easier to find.

2015 – The published 2015 FAR/AIM is already obsolete because the rules changed again on 8 January 2015.  Now, one must look for AIM 1-1-18(b)(5)(c).

I found four basic rules for flying GPS without WAAS:

  1. Pilots “may file based on a GPS-based IAP at either the destination or the alternate airport, but not at both locations.”
  2. Pilots may plan for LNAV or CIRCLING minimums only, unless equipped for baro-VNAV.
  3. A preflight RAIM prediction for the destination or the alternate airport is required.
  4. Language left over from AIM 1-2-3(d) and Notice N 8900.218 indicate the non-GPS approach at the other location is required to “be flown without reliance on GPS.”

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Missed Approach Points in Jeppesen Charts

Legend for the missed approach point symbol.
Jeppesen Chart Symbols

The M.A.P. Study Guide is a list of notes I first developed during instrument-flight-instructor training because I needed a concise explanation of various approach profiles.  Now that I’m considering airline jobs, I’ve decided to adapt my study guide to the chart format used by Jeppesen, which is also used by many airlines.  I find the missed approach procedures slightly more intuitive in the Jeppesen format, but it also presents more information that can become overwhelming at first.

PDF Icon Study Guide Download – Jepp Format (1.2 MB)

You might also want the FAA charts format of the study guide.

Introduction

Reading a missed approach procedure is a critical step toward briefing and flying a complete instrument approach to an airport.  The missed approach point is the position where the pilot must immediately climb away from the airport if the landing criteria of FAR 91.175(c) are not met.  There are two challenges involved in reading the missed approach point:

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Missed Approach Point Study Guide

Legend for the missed approach point symbol.
FAA Chart Symbols

The M.A.P. Study Guide is a list of notes I first developed during instrument-flight-instructor training because I needed a concise explanation of various approach profiles.  Now that I am instructing instrument students, it seems this guide is the best tool for teaching missed approach identification with FAA charts.  The Missed Approach Point and Missed Approach Track symbols on each chart profile can mean different things depending on the type of procedure.

PDF Icon Study Guide Download – FAA format (2.8 MB)

You might also want the Jeppesen charts format of the study guide.

Introduction

Reading a missed approach procedure is a critical step toward briefing and flying a complete instrument approach to an airport.  The missed approach point is the position where the pilot must immediately climb away from the airport if the landing criteria of FAR 91.175(c) are not met.  There are two challenges involved in reading the missed approach point:

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New Circling Procedures in Michigan

New approach minimums format.Starting with the current chart cycle from August 22, the radius of protected airspace for new circling approach procedures has increased.

This change will mainly affect airplanes in approach categories B through D.

While the procedures are flown in the same way, the requirements for a larger protected airspace may result in higher altitudes being flown.

For example, if your destination is the Traverse City (KTVC) GPS RWY 36 approach, the category C minimum descent altitude (MDA) has increased from 1,280 ft to 1,500 ft.  The category D MDA changed from 1,300 ft to 1,720 ft, and so on.  The good news is that this approach was also revised to include an LPV decision altitude of 898 ft.

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