Just to clarify “bad weather circuit” assumes you land after just departed from the same airport, I doubt an arrival through IMC would count?
I doubt an arrival through IMC would count?
“Arrival through IMC” implies an IAP was flown, and then you have the Circling Minima which is on the Jepp plates.
Balliol wrote:
the downwind leg of a low level circuit is not an ‘approach to land’
when does the “approach to land” start then? Final only? Turn to base?
Couldn’t one argue that as soon as you start your descent to land (which could be the start of an instruments procedure), you are in an approach to land?
Wouldn’t a downwind from a circle to land count as an approach to land? I’d find it really surprising if it wasn’t so.
Why is anyone doing this (except for training) in VMC?
If you need to be at 200’, surely, by any definition, it’s IFR?
You may not “need” to be at 200ft AGL. The conditions might be CAVOK.
I just wonder what is the lowest legal height at which you can fly around an airport. Let’s say you are doing it to inspect the signals square. Yeah, I know that’s a joke; I have never been to a place which still had that.
Surely there is an EASA regulation covering this?
A level segment isn’t an approach to land
The low level circuit is taught in the event of lowered cloud base and a requirement to complete a safe circuit to land. Some airfields may also have a non radio / radio failure join procedure at a lower level which requires a join and circuit at lower level.
Doing circuits at 200/300’ is just showboating IMHO with no training value. If any of my FIs did it they would be out of the door on landing.
Peter it’s 500 AGL and/or 500 MSD
Ibra wrote:
Including when airport is at 400ft AMSL, you mean AGL
No I meant AMSL, the airport in question is at ELEV 3ft.
Balliol wrote:
A level segment isn’t an approach to land
What about the level segment of a “step down” (non CDFA approach)? It might be well below 500 ft.
I don’t have european plates available at this time, but what about Circle to land procedures that have OCA < 500 ft? Would one be constrained to remain above 500?
Isn’t the operative word, when necessary, even on final 200ft probably is not necessary 6mils from the piano keys… Same goes for circling approach, though it is worded differently.
Peter it’s 500 AGL and/or 500 MSD
Balliol, is there a derivation of this rule in SERA or something like that?
We have these flight regimes:
In between the above you have what may be a grey area where you are intending to land (well, one must presume so; I am not talking about doing a low pass over some airport down the road just for a laugh) and where the 500ft may not apply.
I am after general European rules (not just an interpretation of the UK ANO) and I think that must be in SERA, although it could be legislated locally too, perhaps?
* actually a “circling approach” is technically also where the runway is offset by something like 20 degrees or more from the final approach track, IIRC
** the UK wording is actually “in accordance with normal aviation practice” or some such
