SRAs
 

I'm about to do an SRA for the first time. Does anyone have any hints or tips they could pass on?

No readbacks of HDG on final.

Don't set up normal landing configuration; fly it clean just below cruising speed; the increased airflow over the control surfaces gives you more 'feel' when it comes to heading changes and if there's a crosswind, it'll have less effect on your 'holding' heading ie the heading you need to fly (on the instructions from the controller) to track the final approach track.

Loads.
Foremost just remember that it is a NON-precision approach.

For ATCOs providing an SRA:

Keep it simple. Once the aircraft is on or near FAT one should be able to keep heading changes to a minimum.

In the UK headings on 2nm SRAs are a certainly a readback item.

Having said that keep the RT to a minimum. It is not a PAR requiring continuous talking, repetition or theatricals. Give the crews a chance to coordinate with each other as well as listen to the SRA. Excessive transmissions can be distracting in the cockpit. No need to be fussy with headings. Five degree corrections should suffice and are easy to fly/ select on the heading bug.

Remember that the wind-drift angle will usually gradually reduce during the descent.

Know the CAP413 SRA phraseology. Chap 6 p21.

The suffix 'Degrees' is not necessary during an SRA:

For all transmissions, with the exception of those used for surveillance radar approaches or precision radar approaches, the word 'degrees' shall be appended to heading figures where the heading ends in zero, or in cases where confusion or ambiguity may result.

Get the aircraft stable on, or close to, the Final Approach Track early.
Far better to have a stable approach slightly displaced from FAT at termination range than an unstable approach chasing the FAT. The SRA is effectively a 'cloud-break' requiring realistic energy management at termination range to ensure success.

Very many thanks for all your input. I'll see how I get on tomorrow...........

How can one tell which airport is able to offer an SRA?

Looking at the Jeppesen plates, almost nobody in the UK publishes an SRA.

Presumably, only airports which publish a Radar radio frequency can offer an SRA.

Interestingly, I have noticed that EGKA publishes a VDF approach (not the same as an SRA, of course) in the AIP but Jeppesen do not re-publish that plate.

If you look in the definitive document (the UK AIP) rather than using un-regulated information from third party suppliers, you will see which airfields offer SRAs, plus any military airfields with radar will do them too.
Remember as I've said before Jeppesen charts are not regulated by any national aviation authority and you use them at your own risk.

Chevvron
 

That sort of advice is shocking, inept and utter rubbish.

How is not configuring your aircraft a good thing whilst probably in cloud, with what could be a high workload and maybe down to minima.

What ever happened to 1/2 mile SRAs? (rather better than a "cloudbreak procedure")

Half milers are still available at Scatsta. Bit of a trek though....

Many withdrawn because other types of instrument approaches have been installed such as ILS/VOR/NDB/DME. Shame really I rather enjoyed flying them.

We used to fly Chipmunks at the East Midland School of Flying in the 1970s. Very often on return we'd fly an SRA to half mile. Controllers were keen to give them and I believe they had to do a certain number to maintain recency.

Also the half milers were a lot better than the "break cloud" 2 milers!

I think it depends on the aircraft, most light types that cruise around 100-120 you can come in at 90 with perhaps just flaps one and accept the float which is likely going to be down a rather long runway. Or if one becomes visual early add more flaps and slow some more. Most of the time its not advantageous to land on the numbers on a 1.5km+ runway anyway since all it means is that one has to taxi longer to the first exit.

Anything that cruises faster will obvious need slowing down more, if your in a SR22 your not going to want to come in c.150kts obviously...

You need a radar with rather specific characteristics to be approved to do ½ mile termination SRAs. Such radars are becoming hard to maintain and they are not suitable for other tasks. Replacements are typically less specialised equipment, capable of being used for more general radar services, but not accurate enough for doing ½ mile SRAs.

They are all published in the NATS IAIP and printable from that resource.

Down south Southampton and Newquay are two that come to mind that are usually happy to oblige and at which I have flown an SRA within the last year.

Why would you fly an SRA any differently from a precision approach or configure the aircraft any differently? Why would you want to change the configuration during the approach? Just asking to cause yourself problems. Do what you like with the flaps when you are visual.

With an ILS, it can be argued that one should be at the glideslope intercept at the gear limiting speed. For me this is 130kt. Then one drops the gear, 1 stage of flap, and slows down while tracking the GS/LOC down.

That is the best way for slotting in with fast traffic behind, and I think every plane can do that.

What can be a challenge, or impossible, is finding oneself at the GS intercept doing say Vlo+40kt :) You will never be able to lose 40kt going down clean-config at 3 degrees.

The same principles apply to NP approaches, but possibly worse as the "glideslope" can be steeper than an ILS.

What ever happened to 1/2 mile SRAs?
 

1/2 mile SRA's.
That makes me think of Stan.
No better person to be talking to !
:ok:

If that is the Stan at Leeds(?) then indeed, he guided me through a few....

Gloucester still does 1/2 mile SRA's.

Done the one at Scatsta a few times when I was based in Shetland. Fun, in a 'do something uncommon for a change' sort of thing.

I understand that later this year (sept I think) all non precision approaches including SRAs are to be carried out following a nominal glidepath and the minima will be recalculated to reflect this.