Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
squadros

Fun approaches

Recommended Posts

Great link! Thanks for posting. I am fascinated by the twin NDB approach into Castlegar, and after attempting it myself have some questions for anyone who can answer them... Is this approach supposed to be used with two ADF radios and two compasses/needles? The charts don't seem to specify that kind of requirement, but when I tried this approach with a single NDB the switch from the Castlegar to Brilliant NDB comes right before final, and it's a pain to switch frequencies at that point, especially since the ADF I used (and none I remember seeing on any FSX aircraft) have a standby frequency.

 

The main benefit I imagine of using two NDBs is to have an archaic sort of directional aid without a full on VOR. But since the VORs require line of sight, and Castlegar is buried between mountains, the reliance on two NDBs makes sense... But I just can't see it being all that helpful without the use of two ADF radios. Any old school pilots out there have some insight into this approach?       

Share this post


Link to post

I am no expert on twin NDB approaches but my understanding is you need two ADF boxes to do it correctly. Also the twin NDB approach was the approach "flown" when the Polish President's Tu-154 was making his approach at Smolensk in April 2010 and everyone perished but we know the pilots of that doomed flight weren't really equipped or trained to fly such an approach - in fact they did not even bother to use ADF radio at all on that fateful day.

Share this post


Link to post

Well, the title name of any approach is a clue to the minimum equipment required to conduct it. A GPS approach requires a GPS box. An ILS DME would require the additional DME box as opposed to just an ILS box for an ILS approach. An RNAV (RNP) requires RNP ability as opposed to just RNAV ability in an RNAV approach. This approach is called a 'NDB/NDB'. That's two 'NDB's in the name.

Share this post


Link to post

 Any of the IFR approaches into Castlegar are pretty nasty if the weather is down. Nastier than most actually. I do remember though a few times in less than nice weather, successfully getting into CYCG in a B737-200. That was some time ago, when flying was flying.


i7-13700KF, 32gb DDR4 3200,  RTX 4080, Win 11, MSFS

Share this post


Link to post

I am no expert on twin NDB approaches but my understanding is you need two ADF boxes to do it correctly. Also the twin NDB approach was the approach "flown" when the Polish President's Tu-154 was making his approach at Smolensk in April 2010 and everyone perished but we know the pilots of that doomed flight weren't really equipped or trained to fly such an approach - in fact they did not even bother to use ADF radio at all on that fateful day.

 

Thanks for the information. I'll read up on the Tu-154 crash.

Share this post


Link to post

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  
  • Tom Allensworth,
    Founder of AVSIM Online


  • Flight Simulation's Premier Resource!

    AVSIM is a free service to the flight simulation community. AVSIM is staffed completely by volunteers and all funds donated to AVSIM go directly back to supporting the community. Your donation here helps to pay our bandwidth costs, emergency funding, and other general costs that crop up from time to time. Thank you for your support!

    Click here for more information and to see all donations year to date.
×
×
  • Create New...