Captains,We all know airports like Kai Tak and Tegucigulpa have some of the hardest approaches for pilots of all skill levels. However, what about airports in the US? What are some of the hardest US airports with published approaches to follow? I'm looking for a challenge but I cannot seem to put my finger on one. Again, it must be published by the FAA and have the capacity for a loaded 737-800.Thanks,Morgan Wiley

How about the River Visual to rwy19 at KDCA? Gives you a fun time. Make sure you don't intrude the P-56 area

Well, the LDA 19 into PAJN (Juneau, Alaska) is challenging and so are surrounding airpots like PAKT and PASI. In Hawaii, PHLI Lihue has a shortish runway, about 6,500 feet (ASA operates fully-loaded flights to the mainland off the even shorter 03) which is fun and the terrain gets pretty close if uou go for runway 35, but there is an ILS. Otherwise the river visual into DCA and smaller airports like KEGE which American flies 757 too are all I can think of at the moment.

San Diego RWY 27 is a simple approach but a bit difficult just before touchdown. Default Scenery does not portray the airport very well, however.

Expressway visual runway 31 into KLGA. Ben

KMDW has short runways as well. Approaches that may challenge are ILS 31C circle 22L and the ILS4R circle 13C.

KPSP, palm springs. I believe Alaska flys in there with 737s. It's one of the airports with the curved RNP approaches and has high terrain close by. Been meaning to try the NGX there but have never got around to it.

Well, the LDA 19 into PAJN (Juneau, Alaska) is challenging and so are surrounding airpots like PAKT and PASI. In Hawaii, PHLI Lihue has a shortish runway, about 6,500 feet (ASA operates fully-loaded flights to the mainland off the even shorter 03) which is fun and the terrain gets pretty close if uou go for runway 35, but there is an ILS. Otherwise the river visual into DCA and smaller airports like KEGE which American flies 757 too are all I can think of at the moment.

Juneau has the LDA to 8, which is pretty fun on the missed. The RNPs to Juneau are fun, to. I did 4 of them in the past week. Alaska also has the RNP to Red Dog mine which is pretty curvy.

Expressway visual runway 31 into KLGA. Ben

I always wonder why this one gets excluded while the visual to 13L/R into JFK always makes the list. I've flown the expressway visual into LGA numerous times, and it can be very tricky, espicially with gusting winds. There's no vertical guidance until you're rolling out around 300 ft above field elevation, and it's a tight turn from a downwind. It's got some great scenery too! Nothing like buzzing Citi Field!

Juneau has the LDA to 8, which is pretty fun on the missed. The RNPs to Juneau are fun, to. I did 4 of them in the past week. Alaska also has the RNP to Red Dog mine which is pretty curvy.

Haha whoops I was thinking about DCA when I wrote that I still have yet to dry Red Dog, the runway is 6,000 feet long which should make it fun :)

KJAC in the winter because it is usually slick. PANC RWY07L can be tough at night in the winter when slick and after spending 8 hours on R220. It is not unusual to land firm in the TDZ and still not be slowing when passing RWY32. Bill

Gents-My two personal favorites are both in my least favorite city: Expressway Visual to 31 at KLGA. Click here for the approach plateThis one isn't "difficult" to fly, per se, but it is a challenge to fly WELL. For some reason I always seemed to get this approach when the ceiling was right at the limits, and there was a low pressure system over mid-state PA so the winds were pushing strongly from the south.... The end result was that you really had to be on your game rolling out on final.Another one that I particularly loved was the VOR 13L at KJFK: Click here for the approach plateThis one takes you to a much longer runway, but again it is hard to fly the approach WELL. There are multiple step downs that you have to manage, while also configuring for landing and managing speed. There aren't any navaids to use to help you with alignment, and the ground references are hard to pick out until you've done the approach a few times and know where to look.We used to fly this in J32s.... When I first started flying this in J41s, I found that all the automation goofed me up. More than one FO would hold his breath in fear as I cleared out the F/D and the A/P and flew the thing "green needles" because that was how it made sense to me... (Had one guy actually asked me if we were "allowed to." AHAHAHAAH)There used to be a departure procedure out of KJFK that had you making a right turn IMMEDIATELY after departing from 31R. The turn was defined as "turn before crossing" some radial off LGA (Which is very nearby, so you had to act almost as fast as you left the ground) and it had both an altitude, a DME and a speed constrained that needed to be managed all at once or you would bump into KLGA's approaches... I used to LOVE that departure for its complexity- because if you had mastered your airplane you could nail the numbers perfectly.I looked for it but it appears that it has been removed from the collection.... I'll see if I have it in my old jepp binders at home and create a scan for you guys to see. If you are looking for some challenging FMS fun: Try any of the southbound departures off KJFK 13L... you really had to know your stuff to set the box up correctly to give you valuable information to keep you out of trouble without setting up something bogus to trap yourself....And although I poke fun of NYC, I must say (For legal reasons) that the The Lovely Dr. Randazzo is from there- and even though I am a born and bred Bostonian (Go Sox!) I think that NYC controllers are the best on the planet- period...One of these days I should post some of the funny interactions I've had with them... The sort of moments that you file away in your mind- and you replay them when you need a good laugh.

KMSO RWY 29 in minimums. As with other approaches posted here, the approach is not particularly difficult but is unique due to terrain near the airport. Another good one mentioned by SMITI07 is KPSP RWY 31L.Pete

I echo the setiments on JFK's VOR 13L/R. Aspen is a nice steep approach...but high altitude and relatively short runway (for the altitude). Would have to look at the performance charts to see if a 737 with SFP would be safe to get in an out. HNL has a whole slew of fun procedures with DME arc's, offset localizers and so forth. Many of the surrounding Hawaii airports also have some similarly fun procedures.It's not in the USA, but hardest approach I've done so far is the LOWI VOR/DME approach circle to land RWY 8...it's a very tight turn in a 737 at the end of a valley. Madeira is also a nice approach, but a slower and more gradual turn.Eric Szczesniak

How About KASE (Aspen Colorado) KJAC (Jackson Hole Wyoming) and PAJN (Juneau Alaska)