LFMA - STAR but no IAP?

It will be interesting to know what altitude you get assigned on the end of that STAR? MSA is 2700ft and MVA is 2000ft

Maybe some left over from an old IAP that was decommissioned as the runway is no longer an instrument runway?Marseille can vector at 2000ft amsl in their min Radar altitudes

The runway has 800m takeoff minima as 1/ not instrument minima (these have 400m/550m on day takeoff in France with ATC) and 2/ has published departure (otherwise I expect minima to be 1500m)

All the STAR routes end at 3000‘ at the NDB on the field, so overhead. Circuit altitude is 1500‘, and AD is in D airspace CTR up to 2500‘ with overlaying TMAs (C&D) up to over 10000‘. So one would expect to arrive overhead at 3000‘ in VMC, and likely get a handover to TWR for visual cct joining instructions.

The STAR shows a hold at the NDB at 3000‘, so if not in VMC one would need to hold and then divert.

So one would expect to arrive overhead at 3000‘ in VMC, and likely get a handover to TWR for visual cct joining instructions.The STAR shows a hold at the NDB at 3000‘, so if not in VMC one would need to hold and then divert.

That indeed used to be the case according to old French law (RCA as of 1992) under IFR you need to be VMC at 3000ft amsl or go-missed if you are not on published instrument approach, things have changed a bit in new French law (RCA as of 2019), all you need now is VMC in circuit to land on non-instrument runways (1500m and clear of clouds when you are in visual circuit)

On landing, all ATC units have changed their procedures regarding “confirmez VMC à 3000ft QNH” (maintain VMC at 3kft), now SIV/ATC will clear you IFR to overhead with “descente à votre convenance” (descend at own discretion)

What is tricky here is the Class Delta element, someone who flies there should know how it works?

Ibra wrote:

What is tricky here is the Class Delta element, someone who flies there should know how it works?

Good question. Sky Explorer (sky-explorer.fr) is a training facility based at the airfield and offer training including SE/ME IR.

All flying down to the ground needs to have a clearance. I wonder if tower has radar and does vectoring. Pretty low for that. Provence most certainly does, and they have control down to 2500’. Descend at own discretion is an altitude clearance but what about direction? If nothing else, I would at least request confirmation that heading is also at own discretion. But in less than VMC, that would be sort of an invitation to “roll your own” approach from overhead at 3000’ down to circuit altitude. Probably a circle down NE of the NDB would be safest, like a reverse of the ODP. But in Class D? Once handed over to tower at 2500’, a clearance to join downwind, base, final or whatever should be expected, and for that they would need to know where one is, either visually or via radar.

I doubt tower ATC are “IFR rated”? they are unlikely to have radar and unlikely to vector to the visual circuit? but maybe they clear one IFR takeoff & IFR landing to & from overhead, the approach ATC however, can vector to final or direct to ALM at 2200ft (see Marseille MVA chart)

In France, without being on published procedure in Delta CTR you will need to operate IFR in Delta under VMC, hence, you will need 5km visibility and 1000ft distance from clouds, with CTR top being at 2500ft that means you need 3500ft ceiling in ATIS (4000ft ceiling to be Delta VMC on those ODP or STAR by 3000ft on that NDB )

That would be way more restrictive than operations clear of clouds with ground in sight under ATC IFR visual approach (800m visibility & ground contact but you need a straight-in ILS/LPV to fly visual approach in CTR), or ATC Delta SVFR (1500m-3000m visibility & ground contact ), or say Golf airspace under 3kft where PIC can fly IFR with 1500m visibility and clear of clouds (the state required minima for French aerodromes in Golf without procedures)

I will check with one of the pilots who operate IFR there to opine on aerodrome minima and how they handle IFR arrivals? more import, how they handle going-missed under IFR while in circuit or in final, that is where the action sits, the rest is boring

I don’t think you can fly QGH & QDM on VDF under IFR these days?

I asked Evreux and Avord for radar approaches SRA/PAR, it’s not available (no one will dare asking Villacoublay for a a talk-down approach near Paris )

I think it’s just a way to file IFR FPL to Aix instead of Y, and finish visual everytime. I have a friend that lands a CJ4 their and they always to visual or backup to Provence.
Even if training ADF approaches is good for personnal proficiency, anyway you always play with the GPS overlay ,all the more than (for jets and fast airplane) it’s the AP that does it.
Otherwise there is not a lot of IFR traffic in Aix, and even local IFR schools don’t go to Aix, they do Provence, Avignon or Valence for the mighty corkscrew NDB (that finishes with a back track descent…)

I think it’s just a way to file IFR FPL to Aix instead of Y

But since 2016, you can file I-FPL with DCT =30nm to BASULM site in France (also operate IFR if you are brave enough for it ), or this was in the days where max DCT = 0nm to overhead outside STAR was coded in CFMU?

There are not that many aerodromes in France with max DCT constraints in CFMU now, maybe 6 in the whole country that reject I-FPL and require Y-FPL as they are “VFR arrival only” (e.g. Courcheval, St-Cyr…) and mayb 4 that reject Y-FPL and require I-FPL as they are “IFR arrival only” (e.g. Cannes, Toussus…)