How should I approach the SAT's?

How to fly a VORDME and circle-to-land approach in a B744?

• I've been flying ILS approach using the B744 for most airports in both Autoland and manual mode. And also VORDME approach sometimes. Glideslope is pretty straight forward. But for VORDME, the question is after FAF am I suppose to fly to MDA asap and thereafter descend to the TDZ when I meet the RVR. Or do I need to use VNAV to descend to MDA (like a glideslope descend) then to the TDZ? Most plates I saw drew a straight line from the FAF to the RWY like a glideslope and seemed to ask pilot to do a gradual descend. Another question is some plates I saw permits the circle-to-land approach but only show that on a table with the required MDA but does not show the approach path. Is there a standard procedure of turns and descend that all pilots follow. Or does it depend on individual airport requirements? Is it a gradual descend I could use VNAV to help, or is it a MDA asap then MDA and VFR until final leg? Final question, should I have Vref and 3 greens set before or after FAF (B744)?

• Answer:

  In general terms, either Vnav or VS would be acceptable...you're the pilot and the one flying the airtplane so it's your decision how to best cope with your situation. Typically, most airlines do NOT authorize normal circle-to-land procedures, but instead are authorized to conduct a similar procedure that requires minimums of VFR or 1000' above the required ceiling in order to initiate the approach. The easiest way to do a straight in approach would be to select VS and descend on a predetermined vertical speed down to the MDA. 1000 fpm is typical, but some approaches require more. Approximately .2 DME before your FAF, select VS and roll it down to 1000. If you have your altitude preselect properly bugged the aircraft will level off at the MDA. A couple rules that might help: Groundspeed x 5 is required vertical speed, so dont go any lower than this number. also, figure out a VDP so you know when to leave the MDA if you have a visual on the runway, and its usually easier to hand fly the portion of the approach below the MDA as automation is usually slower to respond to inputs than your hands are. When actually flying a circling approach, you are required to maintain no lower than the MDA from the FAF until in a position from where a normal descent to landing can be made. At my airline, we typically call this somewhere downwind, past abeam. From there, a normal descent to landing can be made just as if you are flying a standard VFR traffic pattern. Just about every airline I know of has similar OpSpecs, where you will never do a circle to land approach down to minimums. A 747 will require a very large radius to turn and get established, meaning tht you must have the required visibility for circling criteria verfore initiating the approach. The idea behind this is that there should never, EVER be any doubt that you are going to make it in to land on a circling approach. A circling approach in IMC would be illegal after all, and if at any time you go IMC after leaving the MDA you are required to initiate the missed approach. As for your 3 greens question, every airline develops a standard approach profile that would call for the ger to be down and locked and the aircraft to be in a landing configuration before descending below the FAF. At my company we base this off of the glideslope on a precision approach and off of DME distance from the FAF on a non-precision approach. Typically this must be done by a certain point. As the gear takes a while to actually get down and lock, we actually say that we must be configured by 1000' AFE, but every item on the checklist must be accomplished before the FAF. typically its all done well in advance though, so it never really comes up.