Originally Posted by
aterpster
PANS-OPS and TERPS are not for pilots. The AIM covers the issue:
PANS-OPS volume 2 is not for pilots, but volume 1 is for everyone:
Volume I - Flight Procedures describes operational procedures recommended for the guidance of flight operations personnel and flight crew.
To return to the original question, I too can't find anything in vol. 1 that matches the FAA directive to use a higher category, nor can I find it in EASA documents. In fact, in the absence of that kind of instruction a strict reading could lead you to conclude it is prohibited, because 1) EASA Air OPS says to remain in your circling area
Such manoeuvres should be conducted to enable the aeroplane: (ii)to remain within the circling area and in such way that visual contact with the runwayof intended landing or runway environment is maintained at all times.
, 2) the circling area is determined by the aircraft approach category, 3) that category is assigned by the manufacturer or operator based on the approach speed Vat, and 4) the category definitions have minimum speeds so if your Vat is 138 knots you cannot choose to be CAT D.
Not that I would worry, the likelihood of breaking a PANS-OPS speed limit is considerably less than a TERPS one. As everyone here probably knows, TERPS assumes that the same 1.3 Vso threshold speed used to categorise the aircraft is also the manoeuvring airspeed, but PANS-OPS allows for a considerably higher speed while circling. So, a nominally CAT C aircraft that needs to circle above 140 knots during a TERPS approach must choose a higher category, but PANS-OPS CAT C is good to go up to 180 knots.