I bet you have a portable second magneto in your bag too :-))
QuoteNo problem, not even to fly an ILS without approach plate, all important information can be relayed by ATC over the radio.
This has always intrigued me. In flight, weather turns crap, unexpectedly!!!!!!!!, no plates, and my GPS has gone on the blink.
Call goes something like, can I have vectors to the ILS please. Sorted, so to speak. Ah, I am unfamiliar with using ILS. How’s about an SRA then. No problem comes the reply. Turn left onto 090 etc. etc. and descend to 3..
Ah, I am unfamiliar with using ILS. How’s about an SRA then. No problem comes the reply. Turn left onto 090 etc. etc. and descend to 3..
Only military airfields do SRA. However, ATC can give you all important information for the ILS. Frequencies, steps, DA, missed approach. Together with radar vectoring, that safe and not difficult. There is not that much important information on an approach plate.
This reminds me of a story from a few years ago. I overheard on FIS a crew that left for a 2 week tour to France and at the border realized they forgot their bag with the approach plates. They asked FIS for help but they did not have French plates. I had them all on my tablet and told them to switch to 123.45 MHz and then spent around 20 minutes explaining approach plates while they were busy sketching on their kneeboards. That was fun.
I think “SRA” is a completely unknown term outside the UK.
Also it won’t get you anywhere near as close to the runway as an ILS can – unless it is an all out fuel emergency and you are just going to descend until you see “something” below (yes, some crazy pilots do that routinely).
As regards IFR usage of a “VFR” tablet product, this varies a lot. Personally I run a VFR chart for awareness/identification of interesting ground features, and as a backup for a total electrical failure. It would be nice to have an airway presentation on it and some tablet products offer that too.
I suggested to Skydemon, years ago, exactly how the IFR functionality should be presented – a Flitestar-like plain text airway route entry box into which you can paste a validated Eurocontrol route. And then have a facility to automatically print off enroute strip charts, showing all the intersections etc. This would save the pilot having to pay £500/year for Flitestar Europe! I believe they have recently implemented something like this, or a part of it. I was also the person who introduced them to Travis Holland of EuroFPL who they now use for flight plan filing. So a belief that there is an anti SD bias here is a misinterpretation originating in other places where any criticism of the product resulted in the poster being beaten around the head… unfortunately I can think of other GA products where that happens also!
It is true that with EuroGA being a European forum, certain geographically specific issues have been raised which would not have been raised on a site which is ~99% UK-only, but if I was selling the product I would welcome that, because the UK is only (of the order of) 1/5 to 1/10 of the European market.
Although an SRA from a good controller might (tongue in cheek) get you closer than an NDB approach… I have done a few as well as a ‘no compass no gyro’ approach which was fun since the controller for that one hadn’t done one for a long time. Certainly worth trying an SRA if you get the chance, controllers like them if there is not too much else going on as they can log it too. One I did at Cardiff was videoed and I sent a copy to the controller as he was moving to Birmingham and thought it might be his last!
Don’t rely on vectors for an ILS either. Seen this tried in Southern Europe to get out of the do do… Response from the controller was to confirm the QNH, runway and to report downwind with airfield in sight… Gee thanks.
Only military airfields do SRA.
Not in the UK, Achima. Most civilian, NATS controlled airports will gladly do them if you ask. I think, might be wrong, but the civilian controllers must do a certain amount each year to remain current?
Correct with regards to controller currency, so if you ask at a good time it is easy to get them since so few people do. In the UK I think you can only at PAR with the military.
We used to have a couple of SRA approaches in Sweden, but I don’t think there are any around today. There are a couple of PARs, though.
I think “SRA” is a completely unknown term outside the UK.
Runway 16 at the old Nagoya Airport RJNN used to have SRA only!
Why is it not suitable?
Of course, if you do all your navigation IFR-style – including identifying visual reporting points etc by GPS reference only, then they are perfectly suitable. In fact, in that case the SD maps are overdone since they do show some ground features and most of them even in approximately the right location.
But I was referring to VFR flying.
