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Stabilized approach? How would you do this

OK, so you are arriving at a very busy airport and ATC asks for minimum 160 (KIAS) on the ILS.
Your plane is a single engine piston, very slippery when clean and very draggy with gear down, with low gear and flap speeds: 140 for VLO and 120 for the first notch of flaps
How would you manage the approach in order to:
1. Keep speed up for as long as possible
2. Perform the config changes including engine adjustments upon extending gear and the usual final checks
3. Not bust the glideslope

I am genuinely looking for advice – this is about 1/4 of my landings and I wonder if there’s a miracle recipe I missed… My recipe works, but it is high workload and I wonder if someone has a more elegant idea.

LSGG, LFEY, Switzerland

Doesn’t the EA400 slip quite well?

mh
Aufwind GmbH
EKPB, Germany

Fly 160 till shortly before threshold then high drag, slow down and touch at normal speed.

always learning
LO__, Austria

You can drop a little below the slope to 4 miles (or wherever the speed is required) then pull up through the slope to lose speed.

This does not have to be dramatic, and is remarkably effective.

I speak as one whose job for many years was to fly light aircraft based at Gatwick.

EGKB Biggin Hill

One option is “unable to comply”. Separation is ATC’s job and they know how to do it. Why are they asking for 160kt minimum? 160kt is pretty fast, when you consider a typical Vref of a 747 is c. 140kt! If the 747 pilot flew the GS at 160kt, he would be fired; it would not be a stabilised approach.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

One option is “unable to comply”. Separation is ATC’s job and they know how to do it. Why are they asking for 160kt minimum? 160kt is pretty fast, when you consider a typical Vref of a 747 is c. 140kt! If the 747 pilot flew the GS at 160kt, he would be fired; it would not be a stabilised approach.

Vref is the speed you have over the threshold, not what you have for all of the final approach. It is a common local requirement at large airports to keep 160 KIAS until the outer marker or similar distance. That would be about 1300 feet which is above the gate for a stabilised approach.

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

I have no source, but don’t speed restrictions apply only until 4 mile final?

I typically fly 7-5-3NM. That is first flap, gear, second flap.

If rushed, I can keep 230 until 5NM and start reconfiguring then, but before that happens I’m typically asked for max 180, as the big planes slow down earlier.

LPFR, Poland

4 mile final is about halfway down the glideslope, which is a lot further back than the threshold…

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

loco wrote:

I typically fly 7-5-3NM. That is first flap, gear, second flap.

If rushed, I can keep 230 until 5NM and start reconfiguring then, but before that happens I’m typically asked for max 180, as the big planes slow down earlier.

There is a big difference between turboprop and SEP though in terms of how well they slow down. I also think it depends a lot on the ILS you are flying, as an example I had to do the ILS 18 in Chambery LFLB on Friday coming back from Stapleford (broken 2000ft – overcast through a layer from 7800 to 3000 as I flew it) to clear customs. Was asked to maintain max possible approach speed while established by GVA approach. My usual approach speed is 80KTS, flying it at 120KTS while trying to stay on the GS – it was a struggle to slow down (completely had to cut power about 4NM out – which I don’t like to do for my engine) … because of how steep the GS is…

LFHN - Bellegarde - Vouvray France

Most larger airports require 180 till 6 miles…nobody gets fired for that. Using high drag gear/flaps and at 7 miles reduce the speed works…

always learning
LO__, Austria
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