I recently finished my MECIR and so have been thinking a lot about IFR procedures and ways to stay safe, particular for when I fly my first solo IFR flight, with the possibility of IMC.
Say you are conducting the runway 16 NDB approach into Kingary, QLD (YKRY) in a Cat B aircraft like a light twin (a baron or seneca etc). Link:
https://www.airservicesaustralia.com...RYNB01-121.pdf
The wind direction and other circuit traffic indicated a straight in, runway, approach is best and so you plan to descend to the straight in MDA of 2440 feet (assume no QNH available, though it doesn't impact on the question).
At 2440 feet and 5km from the airport, you become visual but for some reason (be it you're too high, another aircraft on final or on the runway) you can no longer land straight in and instead elect to circle around and fly a right hand pattern for runway 16 (due to the no circling area).
My question is:
should you then climb to the circling MDA of 2570 feet?
My thinking is, if this was during the day, you could remain at 2440 feet as long as you maintain visual contact with the runway etc. However, if it was at night, you cannot descend below MDA until at the normal point in the circuit for that height, and since you're now circling, you need to use the circling MDA.
Also, from a commercial point of view, if the cloud base was 2500 feet, so at the circling MDA you are not visual, a missed approach would be required wasting significant time in setting up for the approach again.
Hope all of that makes sense, and that someone can answer.
Cheers