Another 91.185 Question

[minitour]

So you use the highest of the MEA, Assigned or Expected altitude and your route as necessary and you arriave at your clearance limit (an airport in this instance). Say your clearance was "maintain 5,000...expect FL200 10 minutes...". When are you starting down from FL200? At the IAF? Before the IAF so you can initiate the approach using any appropriate feeder route and altitudes? If you start down at the IAF (which is how I read the reg to be...but I've been wrong before), do you just make up a hold and down ya go or...uh...what?

Just curious...

-mini

 

[flyinlow67]

Use the feeder routes and the associtated altitudes to reach the destination by the ETA in the flight plan.

 

[minitour]

So you're starting down from cruise to meet the feeder altitudes/routes on the plate?

-mini

 

[Kream926]

someone once told me that if your clearance limit if the IAF, that you can go aheas and shoot the approach w/o holding till your ETA. i couldnt find it in writing anywhere but i distinctivly remember hearing that. anyone else?

 

[nosehair]

Stay at your altitude until your ETA. Not counting your emergency authority under 91.3, you should stay at the highest of Assigned, Expected, or MEA until your ETA. ATC expects to have altitudes below you to get traffic in until your ETA which is when you should leave your Assigned, Expected, or MEA to begin the approach. If you had to hold at IAF and no holding pattern is depicted, you should hold on the final approach course with turns on the procedure turn side. Make sense?

 

[minitour]

absolutely

Thanks!

-mini