Final Leg Distance Requirement - 500m Before Airfield Boundry or RWY Threshold

[TimmyB]

G'day all,

Can someone please clarify what the horizontal distance requirement is for the final leg. All my BAK textbooks (currently doing GFPT theory) say 500m or more from aerodrome boundary, however after talking to my gliding instructor on the weekend he mentioned something that it has now changed to 500m from the RWY Threshold. Can anyone please confirm, and with a reference - as I don't own the CARs/CAOs.

Cheers

Tim

[VH-ABC]

Latest version of CAR 166, Rules of the Air,

g).before landing, descend in a straight line starting at least 500
metres from the threshold of the landing runway and at a distance
common to the ordinary course of navigation for the aircraft type;

I havent owned CAR's or CAO's in a loooooong time mate, All this stuff is available, including AIP's, for free, from CASA website and Airservices Australia website.

[TimmyB]

Thanks for that mate, I'll have a look around the CASA and ASAus websites tonight and grab a print out of that page.

Cheers

[Icarus2001]

http://www.casa.gov.au/download/act_regs/1988.pdf

[john_tullamarine]

... ah .. takes me back many years ago to when we were much younger and much naughtier (ie much sillier) ... glider towing at Camden (dim memory now) ... the aim of the game led to some aiming at the threshold on base for a split A and flare ... and the occasional ring left on the fence ..

(Occasional towing at RAAF RIC was never a problem as the RAAFies didn't seem to mind at all ... although the Callair was not much fun hauling around at low level in the landing configuration .. as I recall the ailerons were then only useful for waggling .. they had scant effect on roll rate.)

More than once Miro V (I don't think I ever saw his name written down so I probably have the spelling wrong) would pontificate from the tower and haul us reprobates up for a suitable grilling and toasting .... he would read us the riot act about distances from the aerodrome and (with his DCA hat on) would never agree to our suggestion that the distance could be bent 90 degrees to incorporate base ... just as well he spent most of his spare time with the gliding fraternity ...

ah .. the fragile joys of youthful ignorance and overconfidence ..

[TLAW]

At least that's more consistent. I always thought it was strange - the distance between threshold and aerodrome boundary varies from aerodrome to aerodrome - and who judges their approach path from the aerodrome boundary, anyway?

[djpil]

Aaaaah, JT, now the truth about your past comes out. I, of course, adhered strictly to the rules having graduated through JL's testing times. Caused some embarrassment when I first went to the States - people thought I was crazy but I quickly learnt to turn the Pitts on to base when the wingtip was over the numbers. Took me a while to unlearn it when I returned to Oz.

[john_tullamarine]

.. reminds me of a cuppla circuits at EN in RC's 685 some years ago .. don't think I managed to go outside the aerodrome boundary at all .. Ralph got a good view from the RHS ... the magic of a decent T/W value ... confused ATC somewhat, though, as I recall ... fortunately there were no 172s doing State wide circuits and bumps with which to contend ... hadn't had as much fun in years ..

Guess you'll recall my embarrassing efforts in your Tourer back in the early days with Aub when I took a little while to get used to its not being a Callair/Pawnee ..

[Scurvy.D.Dog]

.. ah Miro .. legend
.
.. he was pissed about the extra paperwork that day the Boo augered in
.
.. was O'dea and Duke around then? .. both gentlemen
.
.. trying to find all you lot for the practice NDB's was always ... well ... .. exciting