What's your favourite ADF approach?

[pithblot]

What's your favourite ADF approach?

Fair chance it will be gone/finished, never to be used again, very soon. The Nav Rationalisation Project will see the plug pulled on 179 NDBs, VORs and DMEs on May 26, 2016.

A favourite of mine is the Alice Springs NDB-A, which will be no more when the Temple Bar NDB is turned off. Looks like the AS NDB-B will remain as part of the Backup Navigation Network though.

The AS NDB-A is a tricky little approach. I only ever flew it for practice and IR Renewals, there was always a better option when the weather dictated a real approach. The fun starts descending to Temple Bar and a reversal gets you onto finals. With a station ahead and a station behind it's got a wobbly bearing in between, because of the effect of the Mac Ranges (or maybe Pine Gap... spooky stuff). Final course is conveniently not aligned with the runway and stepped somewhat to the left. Fly over the 'station ahead' and the fun continues; start the watch, descend to the minima.... MAP is defined by a time, depending on your ground speed. Missed approach is straight forward,
but circling can be interesting.

The AS NDB-A is an interesting approach that did more to hone my IF than help me land in poor weather. It will be gone soon, won't appear on DAPs or in Jepps next month and will be consigned to the history books in much the same way as VLF OMEGA, pressure pattern flying and Celestial Nav. Will someone please post a screen shot of the procedure here for posterity?

Anyone else got an approach worth mentioning that will be gone soon?
Handing over.

[Pakehaboy]

Dutch Harbour, NDB-A,.Alaska...we could either do that or by Apollo Loran(cheating)The winds going into Dutch Harbour would test your math skills,embarrassed to say I screwed the pooch on several occasions ,but got bloody good at my MAP procedures....

[Toruk Macto]

Even though it was never on any charts , Welshpool

[Steve Zissou]

What's your favourite ADF approach?

That's like asking 'what's your favourite strain of herpes?' :rolleyes::ugh:

[Unregistered User]

Steve Zissou,

We all know yours.....Taupo! :ok:

[Two_dogs]

I tend to do ADF approaches in OBS mode on GPS. *
Displayed is, BRG/TRK/DIS/ETI/CDI etc. What more could you ask for.
It's a bit smarter than a pointing stick.

Have even have had a sly nod from CASA about doing them this way. :D

*Purely as an aid to situational awareness. :\

[fujii]

NDB approach, not ADF approach.

[Two_dogs]

Not when done on GPS :p

[travnz]

NDB/DME A circling RWY17 at Taupo, NZ

[Capt Fathom]

The one you break visual from and can actually manage to land!:}

[Arm out the window]

The rare one when you get through it unmolested with sneaky engine failures, systems breakdowns, loss of the aid, AI toppling, all accompanied by the dreaded word 'practice!'

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

Paraparaumu, NZ!

Dr

[Stationair8]

The Runway 17 YMEN NDB/ Twin Locator.

Depending on which aeroplane in the fleet you were flying, did you break visual to the left or right of the aerodrome.

[gassed budgie]

What's your favourite ADF approach?

Used to be the old NDB approach at Bendigo before they relocated the NDB from out the back of Eaglehawk to where it is now at the aerodrome.

[Old Akro]

The one that has a landing I can walk away from at the end???

Actually, after the rationalisation project (in Australia) the ADF will be more useful than VOR's. There will be very few VOR's outside the "J curve". And the ones in the J curve are mainly primary airports, where GA aircraft don't go very often.

Outside the "J curve" there will be lots of useful NDB's.

NDB procedure skills are worth maintaining. Its a pity that AsA are not retaining any of the commonly used training aids (at least in the Melbourne basin).

[The name is Porter]

How could one have a 'favourite' NDB approach?

[Captain Nomad]

Maybe that depends on whether you are a testing officer or a candidate Porter...!

[pithblot]

AOTW
The rare one when you get through it unmolested with sneaky engine failures, systems breakdowns, loss of the aid, AI toppling, all accompanied by the dreaded word 'practice!'
Yes, all of those things, but just turning the audio off is pretty good too!


Porter
'Favourite' was just sloppy writing on my part. What NDB approach do you find memorable that will soon be consigned to the history books?

I think the AS NDB-A is the Ursula Andress or Raquel Welch of approaches:
In its prime, it's very interesting to look at and probably quite satisfying to nail.

[The name is Porter]

The only NDB I ever nailed was when the ATO suggested I fly an overlay :D prior to that I'd hire an aircraft with the ADF on the extreme left of the cockpit & rely on parralax ;)

[Old Akro]

Flying an NDB approach well is very satisfying. And I think pithblot is looking for the tricky ones, but I always like the YMMB NDB using the ML VOR. Its simple & elegant and gets you down quickly and easily when returning from the North.

[The Wawa Zone]

Favorite ? Would have to be the YSBK Twin Locator approach in through 2RN, then a right hand circle.

http://cdn.pprune.org/images/smilies/thumbs.gif

[Desert Duck]

Slightly off topic - always had fun with "DME homing" on renewals many moons ago.

[kellykelpie]

Mount Magnet - long visual sector

[Old Akro]

How could one have a 'favourite' NDB approach?

Porter, your aeroplane just has too many knobs and no needles.

[pithblot]

Desert Duck
Fun on IFR renewals...."DME homing".....and the "DME Descent" that often followed!

Bracketing closer to the topic though :ok:: http://www.pprune.org/tech-log/369004-ndbs.html

pithblot

[The name is Porter]

Akro, one of the knobs is actually the pilot flying the aircraft :}

[Sandy Reith]

Memories, the EN 17 twin locator, was that Bolinda? ...to the NDB, could put you at the minima with legal visibility but the runway not in sight. My IF instructor pointed out this anomaly. My instructor was L.I. who worked for J. C. out of MB in the 70s for those who haven't succumbed to 'old timers' disease.
Just spotted Stationair8's recollection of the same one, doubt it was used much the ILS being handy.
Home port Phillip Island was designed after I pestered them for some years. Never used it once in anger, being a time wasting cloud break procedure. A new world for me was a weather radar, fortuitously already fitted to one chariot aquired along the way. It regularly painted a beautiful picture of the Westernport islands, Bay, Peninsula and north coast of Tassie.

[KeepItRolling]

Arcadia - Meadow - EN.

Was also offset from he RWY centreline too.

Only did once for real in a Seneca and that was enough. Dad did it for real in a B727-100 one dark and stormy and said that it was one of the few times he was concerned there wasn't enough runway.