Fright Level

I've often wondered why some airports still have navaids that don't appear to be used in any published approach or enroute procedures. As an example, my local airfield, Fairoaks (EGTF) run an NDB (FOS) and DME (FRK) with no known procedures attached to them.

Why would anyone go to the cost of operating and maintaining these? They certainly come in handy as the airport sits inside the LHR control zone but I've never seen anything published as to their use.

Any ideas?

Spitoon

Quite possibly for the reason that you mention - because they come in handy for aircraft navigating in the vicinity.

More likely, there are some operators that have approved IFR procedures that are only available to their own aircraft. When I last looked at the rules, without ATC there can be no published, i.e. generally available, procedures.

I recall that there was a proposal published by the CAA to permit approaches under a Flight Information Service (today's sort of FIS, not necessarily the post March 09 sort!) but I don't know what happened to it.

Fright Level

More likely, there are some operators that have approved IFR procedures that are only available to their own aircraft

Thanks, that makes sense. And I always thought the stuff that popped out of the murk at 500 feet were all using unofficial homemade GPS approaches!