If you are on an ILS flightplan in clear weather will ATC always clear you for a visual approach to your destination airport? What determines if you get a visual or ILS approach? Does it make any difference if you are landing at a stock airport or an addon airport with an ILS? It seems random. Thanks, Bob.

I suppose you mean IFR flightplan, right?

Not being a pilot, I think it depends on meteorological conditions, whether you get an ILS approach or a visual one. This means that pilots get visual approaches when visibility allows them, and ILS otherwise. Still pilots can dial in the ILS frequency and use the LOC and G/S indicator as a reference.

In FSX, however, ATC will always assign an ILS approach to you, if one is available for the active runway and you follow an IFR flightplan. And no, as far as I know, it doesn't make any difference if the airport is a default one, or an addon (except for some frequencies, which might have been updated, but the procedure is the same for both default and addon airports, just as it is in real life.)

But I'm sure, some real world pilots will jump in here and correct me if necessary.

 

Regards,

Flo

It could be a VMC - Visual Meteorological condition or IMC - Instrument meteorological condition. Hope I could help but I have forgotten quite a bit.

 

like VFR and IFR.

In real life it depends where you fly. Smaller airports - you'll get the visual if the weather is at least VFR (you can't be cleared for a visual unless the field is VFR... there's a little cache but we'll leave it at that for now). At large airports (example KLAX) they usually run ILS approaches even if the weather is VFR. The ILS's start off the STAR that big jets use to fly into the socal area.

 

Other airports like Minneapolis KMSP will run visual approaches (or simultaneous visual approaches for the parallel runways) as long as Wx is VFR. They will also switch to ILS approaches for sequencing (traffic congestion) EVEN if the Wx is good VFR at the airport.

 

These are just general rules... if the ceilings are OVC010 (means the clouds are 1000 ft agl) the field would be VFR, but instrument approaches would be in use. This is because the MVA (minimum vectoring altitude) for the controller isn't low enough to get the planes down to 1000 AGL so they can see the visual. For instance, where I work in Duluth we can advertise visuals (this is a local procedure) if the ceiling is at least 1900 AGL. If the ceiling is 1000 AGL (vfr mins) the pilot can still request and receive a visual approach clearance. But we would run ILS approaches if the metar said OVC010.

How good is default ATC at giving you the correct sort of approach? I took a 738 into Thunder Bay last week, and got cleared for a visual approach, even though conditions were overcast at 2000. He also cleared me for a 5300 foot runway. (I needed 5301, as it turned out). It was a 3rd party AFCAD -- not sure if that would play into the instructions I got or not.

(you can't be cleared for a visual unless the field is VFR... there's a little cache but we'll leave it at that for now)

 

You mean if the PIC requests an SVFR clearance?

Thanks to all who have answered my question. I really do appreciate all the info. Regards, Bob.

From memory (and it was a while ago and the rules have changed), it also depended on the category of airspace. London, for instance, was Class A, and flight within Class A was always, always, always under IFR, period.

Long ago, as VFR traffic, and irrespective of our IMC ratings, we used to request clearance to transit through the overhead of EGLC and EGKK (quite unthinkable today!), and we might have been granted a SVFR clearance with transponder code though the zone (it was to do with clearance from cloud and minimum visibility; the City zone was Class C, I seem to recall), or we might have had to go the long way around if not. We could have glided clear as there was the Thames, the parks, the fields, Redhill, or the reservoirs, plus the runways (!) if we got into trouble.

Generally, when under IFR, instrument approaches are the normal, be they precision or non-precision, and if the airspace and conditions allowed, a visual approach can be a useful timesaver, and a useful skill to practice in an airliner.

 

Just to put the record straight. A visual approach is an IFR approach, but it all depends on the wx conditions, traffic congestion and local ATC procedures whether or not you will get one.

Just to put the record straight. A visual approach is an IFR approach.

 

VMC or IMC -

 

Visual is an IFR ???

Visual is an IFR ???

 

Affirmative. You can request a visual approach if the conditions allow it. IFR has nothing to do with bad weather. IMC is another animal however ^_^

Yes, a visual approach is an IFR approach. I must be VMC conditions to conduct them, but facilities usually place higher restrictions on the WX conditions as stated above. For example, here at KLAS, visual approaches won't be used as often if the ceiling is below 7,000 ft AGL. This has to do with the MVA and how far the TRACON can bring aircraft down. This doesn't mean they don't happen, they just don't happen as frequently. Another good approach to fly when under IMC conditions is a contact approach, but it's not easy to do as most pilots aren't local to the airport they're flying in.

ok,

 

And JBZ you an ATC ? I mean in RL ?

 

I meant the same thing Visual Meteor and Instrument Meteor.

You mean if the PIC requests an SVFR clearance?

 

No, mainly I was thinking of a contact approach. You normally wouldn't have an IFR rated pilot cancel then request SVFR. Not saying it wouldn't happen just that while we see a lot of SVFR's in Duluth I've never seen someone do what I wrote above... SVFR is more or less for the scud runner VFR pilots who just want to land at smaller airports (or depart /transition).

 

BTW, I just noticed Bob's question was in reference to the FSX built in ATC system... which is a whole different animal lol...

 

I'm not even sure of the internal's ATC's weather requirements, but if someone asked at the FSDeveloper ADEX forums I bet they would know.

BTW, I just noticed Bob's question was in reference to the FSX built in ATC system... which is a whole different animal lol...

 

You can say that again :lol:

 

I have no clue as to what "logic" default FS ATC operates under. Never use it.