Grummanaa5
3rd Jan 2017, 17:19
The next facility to be replaced in NATS VOR replacement/withdrawal program is Clacton (CLN), work will commence this month and will last for approximately three months for which time the facility will be unavailable.
Although not part of any Southend (SEN, EGMC) published instrument approach procedure I as many others often use CLN as a starting point for obtaining vectors to 23's ILS, I wonder if we are still allowed to refer to it as a fix even though it will not be physically available, any modern cockpit will have a certified GPS that will reference it by co-ordinates, and the co-located DME will have to be referenced by ground track distance and not by DME distance which will be an angular measurement. As an IR pilot flying a cat C aircraft often flying in the open FIR a STAR is not really appropriate for me which is why DET and CLN are better initial approach reporting points and is why I am interested in knowing what the status of CLN as a fix will be in the period whilst it is unserviceable?
Although not part of any Southend (SEN, EGMC) published instrument approach procedure I as many others often use CLN as a starting point for obtaining vectors to 23's ILS, I wonder if we are still allowed to refer to it as a fix even though it will not be physically available, any modern cockpit will have a certified GPS that will reference it by co-ordinates, and the co-located DME will have to be referenced by ground track distance and not by DME distance which will be an angular measurement. As an IR pilot flying a cat C aircraft often flying in the open FIR a STAR is not really appropriate for me which is why DET and CLN are better initial approach reporting points and is why I am interested in knowing what the status of CLN as a fix will be in the period whilst it is unserviceable?