Jan_Olieslagers wrote:
@Rwy20: isn’t that a very subtle and theoretical difference? How could anyone ever prove the PIC was in sight with one but not with the other? What could be the relevance?
Jan, as Viper said, The rules of “IFR” exist for your safety and that of your crew. They are not flexible and nor am I. :) An IFR circling approach in actual low IMC conditions is one of the most dangerous things you can do. The risk of losing sign of the runway environment is a big deal. You could be in low visibility, flying “visually” and not on a prescribed approach. Not a great place to be.
It is an FAA requirement in FAR 91.175. You must keep an identifiable part of the airport environment in sight other than temporarily when banking. No idea what the EASA rules are.
JasonC wrote:
It is an FAA requirement in FAR 91.175. You must keep an identifiable part of the airport environment in sight…
Which means that on your FAA license you can not fly a circling approach into Innsbruck at minimum conditions.
Wouldn’t LOWI be classified as a visual segment, and not a circle to land as defined? Don’t think any Part 121 carriers fly into LOWI but there may be visual segment approaches in the USA which are similar?
Yes there can be fly visual segments in IAPs under FAA rules but these aren’t circling approaches so 91.175 doesn’t apply re keeping airport in sight. They are equivalent to circling with prescribed tracks.
The circle to land used to be part of the IR exam, but seems to not be a focus in Europe these days?
The US still like a nice circle to land, asymmetric.
The circle to land used to be part of the IR exam, but seems to not be a focus in Europe these days?
I remember it was in the theoretical exam questions (because of the MAP especially) and I did ONE during flying training which my instructor found sufficient, so we were done. For the practical test there must be one precision, one non-precision approach, no mandatory circling. In Germany not so many Airports have published circling minima anyway.
@Flyer59: You are welcome.
In Germany not so many Airports have published circling minima anyways.
I would rather say most do have circling minima.
I would rather say most do have circling minima.
Maybe I did my training in the wrong area: EDDL, EDDG, EDLW, EDDK, EDLN, EDLV have no corcling minima, only EDLP. Of my home training airports: EDDV, EDVK, EDDW, EDDH have no circling minima, only EDBC and my home airport EDVE. Might be a bad regional choice, but only 3 of 13 is not so many. ;-)
Can you draw a different view around Frankfurt?
Circle to land in the US is transitioning to use larger circling areas similar to ICAO, but with so many approaches it will take years before all are updated. There are approaches that only have circle to land minimums. Straight in is not permitted if the turn from the final approach course to the extended runway is more than 30 degrees or the descent path exceeds a specified value. We also have approaches that are noted Fly visual to runway. On such approaches, the specified visual conditions must exist in order to continue past the DA, but the runway does not need to be in sight. The flightpath and altitude from the DA to the runway is based solely on the pilot remaining in visual conditions and clear of clouds. Altitude and path are the choice of the pilot. Rules are different for towered airports than non-towered airports. With non towered airports, all turns must be in the direction of the pattern. With a towered airport, unless restricted by ATC (example circle left or circle north of runway 9), the path is the choice of the pilot and one can fly cross all runways. As JasonC mentioned, one must keep an identifiable portion of the airport in sight except when turning. If you are familiar with the airport, it definitely helps, as a known landmark on the airport is easier to keep in sight, especially when you are only 350 above the rocks. I also use a two 45 degree turns to join the downwind and time the interval between the two to space out from the runway, rather than using visual cues. Depending on the category of aircraft or speed that one flies the maneuver, the first turn should not commence until inside the circling area and obstacle protection is only provided inside the circling area. Circling has some good uses for approaches into unfamiliar non towered airports with unlit approach lights to the runways in the booneys as one buys time to identify the airport is really an airport and can get a lay of the land before descending from the safety of the MDA. Spotting tree lined runways in low visibility that don’t have approach lights can be quite a chore and having more time to evaluate what you are looking at is very helpful.
