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Thread: enroute to approach sequence

  1. #1

    enroute to approach sequence

    On cross country flights I am typically going gps direct to the airport and flying IFR. My equipment is a 4500, an AFS autopilot, and a Garmin 430W providing the inputs. Typically I will be using GPS for the enroute phase of flight and then following ATC vectors to either a RNAV or ILS approach.
    I am having difficulty in making these transitions with both the autopilot and the 4500 and I would like to have a checklist to follow in order to have the equipment set up properly. I would appreciate any suggestions regarding the steps to go from enroute LNAV to vectors, to final. I know it should be easy but there is a lot going on when you get close to the destination and I need to have something in a checklist form. I am flying an EVO rocket with enroute speeds of 210 knots, transition speeds of 160, approach speeds of 130. As a new IFR pilot I could use some help, it seems quite busy!

  2. #2
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    Tom,
    You first need to master the 430W. Know how to load and activate the approach.
    Then you need to set up the 4500 knobs to make things easier. I use the left knob for lateral navigation(HDG/ Course). Remember when flying an ILS you have to set the course. (It is not automatic and I have asked Rob for this feature)and set up the right knob for vertical navigation(altitude/ Minumums/vertical speed). Make sure you are using the AP in EFIS mode.
    Have the EFIS AP settings on the bottom of the screen for lateral and vertical mode and use the settings you need. i.e. if flying with the heading bug make sure lat nav is set to heading. For vertical navigation make sure you have the correct altitude and minimum altitude set in and your desired VS.
    You still need to remember to set the proper power settings.
    It is a lot of button pushing and it is easy to mess up. It took me about 15 hrs of flying before i felt comfortable enough to go out in actual IFR conditions.
    You have a fast airplane and you will need to stay ahead of it.
    Hope this was some help. The AP does a much better job on a precision GPS approach than flying a ILS.

    Regards,
    Alan

  3. #3
    Alan, thank you for your reply. Based on what I have been doing, your comments and what I have found in the manual I have a proposed check list below. Please make any suggestions and check to see if I have the correct order of events. It always seems that I miss one item and then the whole thing falls apart, thus the checklist. I went for a ride in a Cirrus the other day and when you activate the procedure (by pushing an APP button on the panel) the inbound ILS course is set for you automatically. This would be a very nice feature to happen when we ARM the AP.

    Checklist for enroute gps LNAV/VNAV to vectors to ILS
    Autopilot in EFFIS mode
    Current ATTIS, set barometer
    Load runway procedure, vectors to ILS final on 430
    Load chart in ipad, set minimums on EFFIS
    Set EFFIS VS 500fpm
    Expect final control altitude assignment for approach to be msa, below glide path
    Right knob HDG, left knob ALT
    Push/hold left knob to sync HDG bug with current heading
    Set AP on effis to L-HDG/V-NAV
    Before final vector, within 30 degrees of final
    Activate final approach on 430
    Change CDI from GPS to VLOC
    Note correct ILS frequency is active
    With left EFFIS knob set inbound ILS course
    Left knob back to HDG
    With right knob set L-ARM, V-ARM
    Heading bug must be within +/- 40 deg of the Inbound Approach Course
    Altitude bug must be below the glide-slope intercept altitude.
    LOC CDI must be within 80% and you must be below the GS for the VER mode to change to NAV.
    Last edited by Tom Martin; 09-09-2012 at 03:22 AM.

  4. #4
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    Tom,
    My instructor told me not to use the vectors to final but instead load the whole approach. Fly on heading bug on AP while being vectored and then activate approach on the flight plan menu at the appropriate fix. If use vectors to final you might not see other wave-points than the FAF
    Alan

  5. #5
    I hope that Rob or someone on staff will jump into the discussion at this point as to me that adds another level of complexity. At the point of being vectored to final are you not just following the localizer directly inbound? When you load the program vectored to final there should be none of the other waypoints in the system other then the FAF. If you did load the whole approach into the system in the first place then you do have to tell the 430 where you are. Alan, please note that I am dealing with a Canadian vs US system and there may be different procedures. If this is the case I need to know the difference.

  6. #6
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    tom,
    here we sometimes get vectored to the final approach but get altitude restrictions until passing a certain fix but you
    don't see that if you activated vectors to final.
    alan

  7. #7
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    tom,
    this explains it better than i do.
    http://www.cirruspilots.org/blogs/.....inal-nope.aspx

    Alan

  8. #8
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    ACTIVATE VECTORS TO FINAL? NOPE.
    "Activate Vectors-To-Final?"

    Written by Erin Oliver


    You are nearing your destination on an IFR flight, and have just left the airway on an ATC vector to the final approach course. You now want to activate the approach procedure that you had previously loaded in to your Garmin GPS flight plan. You're on a vector, right? Shouldn't you just push the PROC key and select "Activate Vectors-To-Final?"



    I am not a fan of the "Vectors-To-Final" method of activating the instrument approach in the Garmin GPS. Here's why:



    Let's use the ILS runway 24 approach at Palomar, California (KCRQ) (see below), as an example. You are coming from Oceanside VOR, and ATC says "Fly heading 060, radar vectors to final". You synch up the HDG bug, push HDG on the autopilot, twist the bug to 060 degrees, and then you push the PROC key and activate "Vectors-To-Final" in the GPS.






    At this point, the only approach waypoints that your GPS Flight Plan (FPL) will load are your Final Approach Fix (FA) at DEASY, and the Missed Approach Point (MA). You see NONE of the other waypoints that appear on your paper approach chart! (Compare this with what you will see in the Flight Plan when you load the instrument approach using any Initial Approach fix (IA), such as the nearby HOMLY instersection. Now, you will get to see ALL the approach waypoints that are on the paper chart for that transition).



    So here's the potential trap: With "Vectors-To-Final" activated, and only your FA and MA showing on the Garmin, ATC now tells you, "Turn right, heading 210, cross ESCON at or above 3500 cleared for the ILS". ESCON is not the FA, and so doesn't appear in your flight plan! You now have to scramble to figure out what your position is, relative to ESCON, so you don't bust your crossing restriction. Or maybe ATC asks you to say your distance from ESCON. Same thing - it is not in your flight plan, because when you selected "Activate Vectors-To-Final", only the FA and the MA were loaded as appraoch waypoints.



    To avoid this trap, here's the way I like to set up my Garmin GPS when ATC begins vectoring me to the final approach course:



    I always initially LOAD (not activate) my approaches with a transition from an Initial Approach fix (IA)-- preferrably the one nearest my actual position (Homly intersection, in this example). It doesn't matter that we won't actually fly to the IA, we just want the FPL to show us all the same waypoints that we see on our paper chart, or for those of us with WAAS, on the e-chart. When ATC begins to vector us for the approach, I put the autopilot in HDG mode, and turn to the assigned heading. Then I push the FPL key, get my cursor and highlight the FA (in this example, DEASY), push MENU and choose "ACTIVATE LEG?". This will keep the GPS up with the approach while PRESERVING ALL THE FIXES ON THE APPROACH. Much, much better for situational awareness, and the autopilot can still inercept final and track it in GPSS mode, no matter how far out on final you happen to capture the course. (Remember to switch the Garmin to VLOC mode and the autopilot to APR while tracking inbound on the ILS localizer.)



    In summary: For best situational awareness, load your instrument approaches into the Garmin using an Initial Approach Fix (IA), and when you get your first radar vector for final, highlight the FA, and choose "Activate Leg", not "Activate Vectors-to-Final"







    Erin Oliver

    Regional Manager, Los Angeles CA

    www.theflightacademy.com

  9. #9
    Alan It took me quite a while to find the article that you posted above for me! There is a lot of interesting reading on the cirrus blog and so the time was well spent. The article that you have printed above, thank you, makes a very good case for what you are suggesting. I am going to try this and see how it works. It also reminded me that I had NOT included switching the 430 from gps to VLOC on my checklist and I have amended the list in a previous post.
    Last edited by Tom Martin; 09-09-2012 at 03:23 AM.

  10. #10
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    tom,
    hope that helped. when loading the ils approach the freq goes in standby so you have to remember to flip it to the active. the gps is supposed to switch to vloc outside the faf but i usually switch it earlier. where i messed up is not setting the course in(my other plane did it automatically)
    the other time you can get messed up is in a missed approach. you need to take the obs out of suspend to get navigation .
    alan

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