Questions Galore

[LR25]

Landing clearance

When you near the begining of the appraoch you note the time to see if you are right around the ETA, if not you are suppost to hold until that time, maybe over the outer marker if it has a locator.

At that time you begin the approach inbound, you break out and land.

Remember, ATC is "expecting" you to do this. They are going to have everybody out of your way when it comes down to the piont that you are going to land.

One way to know what you are suppost to do when the time comes is to memorize a little acronym.

"AVEF"....................91.185

A= Assighned....Last assigned clearance.
V= Vectored......If being vectored, by direct route to the fix/airway.
E= Expected.....If not assighned a route, then do what ATC has told you would be expected.
F= Filed............And lastly, what you filed in your flight plan.

For some reason for years now I have remembered "AVEF"

Also below this in 91.185 there are some for altitude as well.

"AME"

A= Assighned.....Atl. last assighned.
M= Minumum......Min. alt. for that route.
E= Expected.......What ATC said will be expected.

Some people hate the acronyms, but others like them.

Hopefully it helps.

LR25

 

[MartinFierro]

Remember that the altitude for lost comm scenario is the HIGHEST of the last assigned, expected, or minimum. I learned the acronym MEA, to make it easy (Minimum IFR altitude, Expected, Assigned).

 

[MartinFierro]

Usually your clearance limit is the airport your filed for. You DO NOT hold until ETA. You are not at your clearance limit until your wheels touch the pavement. Do you really think you would hold over some busy airport waiting for your ETA? They want you down on the ground ASAP!

It is not about wanting you on the ground. True, you should land ASAP if in VMC. Absent that, it is about what ATC EXPECTS you to do, thereby making it safer for everyone around you.

True, when you pick up your clearance the limit is usually the destination airport. However, to do an approach absent communications, you must do a full approach (vectoring impossible). Thus, you must start the approach from an IAF. How many approaches have the airport as an IAF???? Few, if any. But let's assume it is an IAF for our approach. The regs clearly state "when the clearance limit is a fix from which an approach begins, commence descent or descent and approach as close as possible to the expect-further-clearance time if one has been received, or if one has not been received, as close as possible to the ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL as calculated from the filed or amended (with ATC) estimated time en route." (emphasis mine).

Furthermore, the regs state "if the clearance limit is not a fix from which an approach begins, leave the clearance limit at the EFC time if one has been received, or if none has been received, upon arrival over the clearance limit, and proceed to a fix from which an approach begins and commence descent or descent and approach as close as possible to the ETA..."

So in the case that the airport was indeed an IAF and if it were not, you would still have to hold at an IAF until your ETA.

Think of it this way, perhaps there are other things going on at the airport which need to be taken care of. ATC knows you're NORDO, and they expect you at a certain time. They may need that time to clear out the traffic, expecially if you are going into a congested airport. Getting you on the ground is an imperative, but it is safest when ATC can anticipate what you will do.