1.First of all, what altitude are you supposed to have overhead the IAF (SPK NDB)?
At the altitude published from the four feeder fixes, 11,000 (TRUCK), 9,000 (FMG), 10,500 (NICER), or PYRAM (10,500)
2.The next question would be ,what flap/gear configuration did they set at what point of the approach ?
Speaking for my company on the 727, we would arrive at SPARKS outbound at Flaps 2, and 180 to 200 knots.
3.Did you arrive fully configured above the IAF to make things easier with the timing ,so you can calculate the whole approach with a rather constant Groundspeed?
No, there wasn't andy timining until SPARKS inbound.
4.And how far would you fly outbound from IAF ?
About 45 seconds. Entering the procedure turn outbound Flaps 5, 180, reducing to 160.
No further than 10 miles thats clear,but would how do you time it?
In a way so that once you've completed the course reversal you can descent constantly with a 3degree path from 9000ft to 8200ft?
In other words so you end up at a distance of roughly 2.7 NM from the NDB?
Rolling out inbound to SPARKS, Flaps 15, 150. Over SPARKS, start descent reducing to Vref+ 10 knots. Landing flaps when visual and landing assured.
Seems hard to do all this while at the time configuring at the plane therefore changing the groundspeed again and the time calculation all the time.
These may be stupid questions to some, but I'd be thankful if someone could provide some insight if and how this was typically done back then without the help of GPS ,FMS or DME which seem to be omnipresent nowadays.
Thanks a lot in advance,best regards,
John
We seldom did NDB IAPs at the airports we went to. Most had ILS by the time I started in early 1964. Some folks flew to remote locations where they had to do this. Reno had ILS by the late 1950s. But, landing to the north was lousy, with a back course IAP.