PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Can you actually do a Visual Approach with confidence?
Old 12th Jul 2013, 08:31
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Ka6crpe
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: New Zealand
Age: 71
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Would I accept a visual approach? Absolutely. Its what I do almost every flight and indeed the only times I haven't made a visual approach is while under training. Let me clarify: I am not a heavy pilot (well actually I AM heavy, but the aircraft I fly aren't). I fly gliders, hence my user name, and SEP only.

However my son is about to progress heavies after flying twin engine turbo props for a while, and I hope that he hasn't lost the skills that were passed on to him early in his career. If you are reading this forum B then I say Hi.

Before going off to aviation college he had already had a little stick and rudder time on a C172, and had progressed to single seat gliders. During his CPL training at aviation college he realised that there were issues that were not being adequately covered, and he came back to our local aero club for some one on one mountain flying and visual flight training. On one trip I even took him on a 3 hour mountain flight via a large diverison to a distant strip through deep valleys and gorges always staying lower than the ridge line, then returned to base via a direct route at just above mountain top height. Our landing at that distant strip was without benefit of any guides, and I didn't even give him an airfield chart. His approach was a straight in after crossing a saddle 18 Nm out, then approach over a lake before he could even see where the grass strip was.

This is the type of training that I hope he keeps with him his whole life as he moves up the chain and progesses to different aircraft. I would expect that if offered a visual approach that he would accept it, and that he would establish a stable approach early, and that he will also monitor both airspeed and altitude at all times.
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