I'm going to be participating in tonights friday night flyin on VatsimI am going over my charts and I want to know, how can I tel what type of ILS approach my aircraft is certified for?Cat III, II, or ??, etcwhere do I find this informationfor example C208B, B1900C, B763, B727, etcand if I can't find this in the manuals then what?thanksbs

I'm going to be participating in tonights friday night flyin on VatsimI am going over my charts and I want to know, how can I tel what type of ILS approach my aircraft is certified for?Cat III, II, or ??, etcwhere do I find this informationfor example C208B, B1900C, B763, B727, etcand if I can't find this in the manuals then what?thanksbs

I got this off wiki to help explain, its not just equipment on board but also crew certifications.There are three categories of ILS which support similarly named categories of operation. Information below is based on ICAO - certain states may have filed differences.Category I (CAT I) - A precision instrument approach and landing with a decision height not lower than 200 feet (61 m) above touchdown zone elevation and with either a visibility not less than 800 meters (2,625 ft) or a runway visual range not less than 550 meters (1,804 ft).Category II (CAT II) - Category II operation: A precision instrument approach and landing with a decision height lower than 200 feet (61 m) above touchdown zone elevation but not lower than 100 feet (30 m), and a runway visual range not less than 300 meters (984 ft) for aircraft category A, B, C and not less than 350 meters (1,148 ft) for aircraft category D.Category III (CAT III) is further subdividedCategory III A - A precision instrument approach and landing with:a) a decision height lower than 100 feet (30 m) above touchdown zone elevation, or no decision height; and:( a runway visual range not less than 200 meters (656 ft).Category III B - A precision instrument approach and landing with:a) a decision height lower than 50 feet (15 m) above touchdown zone elevation, or no decision height; and:( a runway visual range less than 200 meters (656 ft) but not less than 75 meters (246 ft).Category III C - A precision instrument approach and landing with no decision height and no runway visual range limitations. A Category III C system is capable of using an aircraft's autopilot to land the aircraft and can also provide guidance along the runway surface.In each case a suitably equipped aircraft and appropriately qualified crew are required. For example, Cat IIIc requires a fail-operational system, along with a Landing Pilot (LP) who holds a Cat IIIc endorsement in their logbook, Cat I does not. A head-up display which allows the pilot to perform aircraft maneuvers rather than an automatic system is considered as fail-operational. Cat I relies only on altimeter indications for decision height, whereas Cat II and Cat III approaches use radar altimeter to determine decision height.[2]

Yeah, like the previous poster described, unless you want to imagine crew certifications, training, maintenance, quality and operations manuals along with FAA/CAA approvals for everything, just make it easy on yourself for online flying and useCAT I: small planes with ILS equipmentCAT II: medium planes with radar altimeter but no autoland (down to 100' RA)CAT IIIA/B/C: medium/heavy planes with autoland capability (down to 50' RA)and you'll be fine :(

Yeah, like the previous poster described, unless you want to imagine crew certifications, training, maintenance, quality and operations manuals along with FAA/CAA approvals for everything, just make it easy on yourself for online flying and useCAT I: small planes with ILS equipmentCAT II: medium planes with radar altimeter but no autoland (down to 100' RA)CAT IIIA/B/C: medium/heavy planes with autoland capability (down to 50' RA)and you'll be fine :(

On that list you should note that some military aircraft, such as the F-16 have CAT III capability.

I admit I like to take "As Real As It Gets" as far as I can, but there comes a time of simulation practicality vs real world reality.thanks, that really helps to break things down a lot.

FAA Part 91 rules requires flights conducted under this part to have a "Category II" manual approved. Appendix A gives a list of requirements including equipment:2. Required Instruments and EquipmentThe instruments and equipment listed in this section must be installed in each aircraft operated in a Category II operation. This section does not require duplication of instruments and equipment required by