5 Tips on Mastering ILS Approaches
Posted by Jeffrey on September 30th, 2009
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Outside of a nice smooth landing, executing a successful ILS is probably the second most rewarding part of flying. When I get behind on an approach, I feel like I haven’t done as good of a job as I could. If I’m not on glideslope and the course deviation indicator (CDI) is not centered and it seems like my airspeed is all over the place, I know I’m better than that and it usually means that I failed to prepare adequately both in my briefing and mental preparation.
But when it all comes together, then what a thrill! Throw in a little weather like snow and some turbulence plus some bad or complicated instructions from air traffic control (ATC) and it makes a solid ILS approach and a safe landing all the sweeter.
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So lets talk about some of the steps you need to take to have that successful ILS approach.
1 - Get Weather and Brief the Approach Early
In the CRJ or any jet for that matter, things happen pretty fast. I start preparing for the approach about 30 minutes out. I get weather, calculate my landing weight, call in-range with my specials, tell the passengers about the weather and say good-bye, and most important, get my mind wrapped around the arrival, approach and landing phases. With the weather in hand, I know if I’m going to need the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) for de-icing or air conditioning, what approach to expect, discuss my exit from the runway, brief the expected taxi route to the gate, and my plans for a missed approach or go-around, if necessary. During the last 30 minutes, I start to talk less, put on my seat belt (which reminds me to watch for crossing and speed restrictions), and honor the sterile cockpit when below 18,000 feet.
2 – Configure the Airplane and Start Slowing
About 20 miles out, I start thinking about slowing down. Until now I was probably going about 250 knots but the current flap extension speed on the CRJ200 is 200 knots and it takes several miles to slow a clean jet down. The last thing I want to do when I’m in weather is some assertive maneuver to get the airplane slowed. Configuring early is the key. There are times though when ATC wants you fast, so you need to have a plan in your head of the steps you are going to take once you are allowed to slow and when you know you must slow.
3 – Check and Double Step-Down Altitudes and Decision Altitude
Recently after a hard day of maintenance problems and 100° F weather in Phoenix, we launched for LAX. About half-way down the ILS, my first officer and I noticed that we had were doing the ILS 25R approach and not the ILS 25L. We quickly corrected our error but if we hadn’t noticed that we had the incorrect approach programmed and landed on the wrong runway things could have gone a lot worse. This was yet another wake-up check to again remind myself to always check, double check, and confirm with my first officer that I have both the proper SID, route, and STAR loaded into the FMS. Then recheck it…again.
4 – Be Configured BEFORE the Final Approach Fix
Going into busy airports like Chicago O’Hare, LAX, and San Francisco really require you to be on top of your flying game. Many times ATC has asked us to keep 180 knots to the marker or the Final Approach Fix (FAF). In the CRJ-200, 180 knots is the flap 30° max flap extension speed (your CRJ airplane may be different) so this makes it impossible to be fully configure by the FAF. In these instances, I know my limitations and the capabilites of the CRJ-200. I know that once I hit the FAF, I can call for gear down, flaps 30, flaps 45 and know that I will be at my final approach speed before my final callouts to the decision altitude (DA). But with this said, if I can, I would much rather be configured before the FAF. This gives me a lot more time to adjust and prepare for anything unusual. So suffice it to say, if you can be configured by the FAF do, but if you can’t then have a plan and be thinking ahead.
5. – Decision Altitude: Land or Go Missed
Finally, between the FAF and your decision altitude (DA), you are coming to your final decision. In my airplane, we make 100 foot callouts starting at 500 feet about the DA. If I am flying, the first officer is looking out the window and I am making the callouts while looking at my altitude tape. When I hit the DA, there are one of three things are going to happen:
1) If I see the approach lighting system for that runway, I can continue down another 100 feet, but if I don’t have the runway environment at 100 feet, I go missed-approach. If I do have the runway environment, I just pull the thrust levers back…slowly…and land. You don’t have to make any drastic changes because the airplane is already configured for landing.
2) If I arrive at DA and I don’t see anything, neither the approach light system nor the runway environment, I go missed-approach.
3) If I arrive at the DA and the airport environment is in sight, again, no drastic changes, just land the airplane.
Either way, you should only have these three things on your mind once you reach the DA: land or go-missed. You should be totally prepared to do either of them. I see a lot of pilots “freeze-up” when they have to go missed. I always talk myself through a missed approach in my head at some point in the approach so that it is not a surprise when I do it.
So landings and approaches, two things that practically define the “success” or “disappointment” of a flight. But, with diligence and a little preparation, you can successfully accomplish both every time.
To Your Flying Success…
Jeffrey
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P.S.S. And if you are looking for more information on the CRJ-200, you can download “The CRJ200 Quicknotes Study Guide” write now by clicking here.
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