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Old 23rd June 2005 | 10:33
  #25 (permalink)  
bookworm
 
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,648
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From: UK
You would have no idea whether you'd be within the protection area or not, by the time you reached the end of the outbound timing. There is every chance that the strong wind has been taken into account in the protection of the turn.
Not sure I follow that. Are you suggesting that there is less protection at the end of the outbound timing than after the completion of the inbound turn?

I really don't see the harm in modifying the outbound track to end up a mile off the nominal track when the protected area is, what, 6 miles? It's not a question of whether to be off track. You're going to be off-track somewhere on the approach, so it's a question of when.

Then just hope there's enough time to reach the MDA, at or before the MAPt. Slowing the speed a bit in such a situation might help to improve your chances of using the remaining time on final approach.
I think you're looking at it with blinkers, OzExpat. At the risk of sounding flippant, as long as the aircaft doesn't hit anything on the approach, you can say you've done your job as procedure designer. But there's more to it than that for the crew: "hope there's enough time to reach the MDA" is not really compatible with the modern view of the stable, constant angle approach planned long in advance. To get that right, the aircraft needs to be intercepting the final approach track as early as possible, not after an S-turn through the FAT.

Finally, I must admit to blinkers too. I'm normally flying a Cat B procedure, often charted with a smaller splay angle than the Cat C/D. That means I'm confident that there is more protection on the outside of the turn. If it's there, I want to use it to reduce the risk of an unstablised approach when inbound.
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