PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Circling Approach rules
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Old 2nd Aug 2016, 17:19
  #34 (permalink)  
RAT 5
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
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To be fair, guys, I have done 600' circling as per profile, at night, and it worked great. I've also done it at 1000' in/out cloud in the day. Both were legitimate profiles and we landed 'sans drama'. It does work when required. My real point is that if 2400m is the required vis for circling, and I would not like to include the approach lights in the assessment of keeping the 'runway in sight', then anything above 500' is marginal in that. You could scratch at 600' possibly. Given that the minimum circling is (an absolute 300' above and obstacle & 400' all ????????) it doesn't give much extra. Therefore 2400m & 800' don't match. Consider also that some airfields do not have omni-directional lighting and they are damn near invisible downwind. Good game.
I once flew under an XAA, pre-JAA, that increased our circling vis to 3600m. They calculated the parallel distance to make a rate 1 turn radius not finals and concluded it was greater than 2400m. This profile is such a simulator theoretical 'tick in the box'. Overtime I had to do one for check the Wx. was MDA +100' and 8km; never 3000m. It was not effective realistic training'. It was effective in flying a profile that worked, almost IFR/dead-reackoning, and delivered you onto finals, but it did not simulate a real ****ty night in the clag with terrain around.
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