What is circle to land procedure?
Circle-to-land approaches are a misnomer. They can be rectangles, squares or trapezoids. The common denominator is that they all require the pilot on an instrument approach to do some serious maneuvering after clearing the clouds, sometimes with that cloud cover just over-head.
Is there a way to circle to land straight-in?
Not all circling approaches are to a different runway, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can fly a straight-in approach to land. In fact, from WAKOR to the runway, you need to descend on a 7.75 degree glide path to make it down. That’s more than twice the normal glide path of 3 degrees for most approaches.
What is the difference between circling approach and circle to land?
Generally, when a pilot will Circle to Land on a runway other than the one for which he executed a published Instrument Approach Procedure (IAP), the maneuver is called a Circling Approach. A pilot must maintain these minimum altitudes until such time as he begins descent for landing.
When can you descend on a circling approach?
Any way you look at it, you cannot safely leave MDA on a circling approach unless you can see everything along your flight path between you and the intended runway.
Can you circle to land on an ILS?
Just like a VOR, RNAV, or LOC approach, you can circle to land from an ILS approach using glideslope as a navigation aid. Many ILS approaches contain circling minimums, and they’re a great way to get below the clouds in order to land on a more suitable runway.
When can I descend on a circling approach?
During a circling approach, the pilot should maintain visual contact with the runway of intended landing and fly no lower than the circling minimums until positioned to make a final descent for a landing. It is important to remember that circling minimums are only minimums.
How do you go missing on a circling approach?
Your primary focus should be flying the airplane. Power up, climb, turn towards the airport, reconfigure your airplane, and establish yourself on the missed approach course. Once all of that is done, call ATC and let them know you’ve gone missed.
When can I circle to land?
The Instrument Procedures Handbook explains the reasons for building circle to land only approaches: The final approach course alignment with the runway centerline exceeds 30°. The descent gradient is greater than 400 feet per nautical mile from the FAF to the threshold crossing height.
What are circle to land minimums based on?
aircraft
Circling Area Dimensions The protected airspace for a circle-to-land approach is defined by arcs of a specific radius based on the aircraft approach category defined in 14 CFR Part-97.
How do you go missed off of a circling approach?
The Aeronautical Information Manual tells us that if we are required to make a missed approach after starting the circle, we should always make an initial turn toward the landing runway and then to continue that turn until established on the missed approach course.
Do you have to land from a circling approach?
When you break out of the clouds on a circling approach, you’ve won half the battle. But the next thing you have to do is one of the most demanding maneuvers in instrument flying: land from a circling approach. Landing from a circling approach is tough for a few reasons.
How can I make my plane circle to land?
Make your circle-to-land as a series of level turns to align on final and then an essentially routine final to land. Practice incorporating tools like GPS distances, synthetic vision and terrain/obstacle warning as well. Even if you’ll “never” circle to land from an approach, it’ll help with those days you only “break out and enter the pattern.”
What makes an ILS approach a circling approach?
You’re on an ILS approach to runway 02 but the winds are out of the south at 15 knots. Only a fool would land with a 15-knot tailwind, so instead of landing on runway 02 you enter an extended left downwind and land on runway 18. That’s a circling approach!
How much obstacle clearance do you need for a circle to land approach?
Fortunately, things have changed for the better. On any circling approach, you’re guaranteed at least 300 feet of obstacle clearance within the protected area. And with approaches developed or revised after 2012, the protected area has been expanded. Here’s what the protected area looks like for new or revised approaches: