Originally Posted by
sonicbum
You can't fly a straight in approach (in terms of offset and grandient) for runway XX and then circle for that same runway, it does not make any sense.
In my opinion, it DOES make sense! Look again at the VOR 27 app in LGIR. At straight in minima of 1100 ft a plane on a 3.3° descent path would still be more than 5000 m from the runway. Let's assume a visibility of 3500 m. In most companies the pilot would need to make a go around at that point if he intended to make a straight in landing, because he wouldn't be visual with the runway. At the circling minima of 1140 feet at 1.5 DME he would have the runway in sight. So, if a pilot planned to maintain 1140 ft to 1.5 DME and planned to fly a (right hand pattern over the sea) circling approach like in the drawing
posted by oggers, there would be nothing illegal about that. (Unless you keep insisting that a temporary visual obstruction from the airframe itself, would oblige the pilote to execute a missed approach.
) (And ... I do believe that a competent, well prepared crew and familiar with LGIR can do it in a perfectly safe way if planned and briefed adequately! But... remember we're not discussing the wisdom of such a manoeuvre, but only the legality of it.)
If it's not forbidden, it's not illegal!
