Is it possible to shoot an NDB approach using an IFR-certified GPS by making the NDB a waypoint in the GPS and flying the CDI for course guidance? After all, my GPS is a lot more accurate than an ADF.
Thank you,
Dan
Greetings Dan:
It may appear logical that you could so such a thing, because GPS is certainly more accurate than ADF, but the answer is no. You can't use GPS to fly an approach if that approach is not loaded and activated as part of the GPS's database. On reason for this is that there are no RAIM provisions when flying an NDB approach in this manner - in other words, flying the approach the way you described might allow you to do so during a time of insufficient satellite signal integrity. This is less likely to happen when the approach, as part of the GPS database, is loaded and activated.
Slips are OK - really
Dear Rod,
I live in Seattle and recently took a stage check with a young instructor who freaked out when I slipped the airplane (I was on final, about 100 feet above the ground). He told me I should never do this again - never on final!
Previously I've used slips of various degrees to about 30 to 50 feet above the ground. Am I doing something dangerous here?
Thanks,
Slippery
Greetings Slippery:
I think this CFI is trying to slip one past you. If you're not supposed to slip on final, where would you do it? During cruise flight? I think not. Forward slips are meant to help you lose altitude on final. It seems that your CFI hasn't been introduced to the value of slips, much less taught how to perform them. Forward slips come in mighty handy for those who know how to do them. Feel free to carry the slip all the way down to 30 to 50 feet above the ground if you have the skill to do so. Thereafter, transition to the sideslip if needed to handle any existing crosswind. Slips are not a good substitute for planning your approach correctly, though; if you're slipping on almost every approach, it's time to take a look and see why you're consistently winding up higher than you want to be.
NACO knows yellow
Dear Rod:
On a sectional chart, there are areas marked in yellow, which I have been told are areas of dense population. Another CFI tells me yellow indicates light patterns seen from above, at night. Who is right?
Regards,
Jim
Greetings Jim:
Assuming no one has eaten a hot dog with excess mustard over your sectional chart, the yellow areas on the chart represent outlines of "populated places." This is the definition from the National Aeronautical Charting Office's (NACO's) book on interpreting chart symbols, and NACO knows. Earlier versions of the same publication were published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
What time is the right time?
Dear Rod:
When I'm flying and call Flight Service to activate my VFR flight plans, how do I know what time to tell them as the opening time? Now, I don't mean Zulu time - I understand that pretty well - but I often notice that my watch differs by five minutes or more from the times I hear on my car radio or see displayed in workplaces, on bank time and temperature signs, or on The Weather Channel. Does the FAA use any kind of standard time, like the railroads used to when all timepieces were set to a standard clock?
Sincerely,
Patrick
Greetings Patrick:
When you depart and call the FSS to open your flight plan, the specialist will normally ask you for your departure time. This is the time listed as the official opening of your flight plan, unless you mention that you want to list a different departure time. If your watch isn't accurate, just tell the specialist the number of minutes it's been since you've departed. Now would be a good time to ask the specialist for a time check, too. Flight Service uses Zulu time as provided by an official time monitoring source. That's why you won't hear the specialist say, "Time check? Hold on, let me go outside and look at the sun."
A three-mile which?
Dear Rod:
The other day I was returning to my home airport, which lies within Class D airspace, and got instructions to "Report three-mile right base for 29R." My problem is, I don't understand what the controller was asking me to do. Was I supposed to fly a three-mile-long base leg for a one mile final and report when I turned final or was I supposed to enter a heading to base that would get me to a one-mile final and report when I was three miles from the end of the runway, or was it something else entirely?
Thank you,
Jan
Greetings Jan:
According to this clearance you should report when you are flying toward and perpendicular to the runway (i.e., a base-leg heading), at a point three miles from the extended runway centerline. This clearance doesn't require you to plan your base leg such that a turn onto final places the airplane any specific distance from the runway threshold. Nevertheless, it's wise to plan the base-leg turn so you are a half-mile to a mile from the runway threshold.
Dear Rod:
Recently, a friend with a commercial certificate and nearly 10,000 hours of flight time perished in a twin-engine airplane. I haven't flown since that accident and am experiencing a complete lack of confidence. I'm a student pilot and am afraid to get back in an airplane. Can you offer any words of advice? I sure would appreciate it.
Sincerely,
T.M.
Greetings T.M.
I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. No matter how many years I've been in aviation I'm always deeply disturbed whenever I hear of anyone being injured or killed in an airplane. You didn't say much about the accident, so let me generalize here. In your friend's case, he most likely perished not because he did something right, but because he (or someone else) did something wrong. No doubt you assume that your friend was a remarkably skilled pilot. Nevertheless, he most likely let down his guard at the wrong time. The point here is that when pilots let down their guard, they have no advantage over those who may be less skilled and experienced but who keep their guard up at the appropriate times.
If flying is important to you, then you must realize that you can (through training) keep your guard up when and where it's appropriate to do so. What happened to your friend most likely won't happen to you if you elect to remain cautious at the appropriate times. If it weren't for this bit of philosophy, I'd probably never set foot in an airplane again. In fact, I'd probably never go outside again, electing instead to stay home wrapped in a mattress. It's an undeniable fact that we can control our safety aloft by being cautious at the appropriate times. If you don't know when it's appropriate to raise your guard, you will with further flight training.
Correction
In my response to Ray in the May 2003 issue of AOPA Flight Training about whether a missed approach should be started at decision height or above decision height, I didn't read Ray's question clearly. When I wrote, "You are correct," I should have written, "You are not correct." My apologies.
Assuming that you're flying the full ILS approach, if the required visual references aren't available before passing DH, a missed approach should be executed when reaching DH. You are not required to begin the missed approach so as to avoid descending even a tiny bit below DH.
It's expected (and planned for by those who design approaches) that an airplane might descend a little below DH during the missed in this instance. However, the decision about whether or not to descend below DH should always be made by the time you arrive at this altitude.
Rod Machado is a flight instructor, author, educator, and speaker. A pilot for 32 years and a CFI for 28, he has flown more than 8,000 hours and owns a Beech A36 Bonanza. Visit his Web site.
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