When ATC tells you to do a sidestep approach, is this just a random thing, or is there some basis for ATC doing this?RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

It happens to me when for instance if Im assigned say RWY 33L approach and i request RWY 33R from the controller. I havent had it happen any other time but I guess if there is traffic on the runway for one reason or another it could happen also.

Yep, if you decline a clearance and select another approach, ATC will often give the approach you want but won't change the runway. So it often takes two declines to change both runway and approach.Cheers,Noel.

IN real live, I've gotten a bunch of these into KDABILS 7l Sidestep 7R generally due to the fact that there was a DC-9 or MD80 hot on my heels with a fairly high ceiling so we could step over early on the approach.DAB is the home of ERAU and swarms of flight training. mix in commercial service (was a lot more in 1990 than now) and it could get interesting. But it was fun.

The clue that you may get a side-step is that tower will ask you to report when you have a visual on the field. At least that's been my experience. Usually, as someone else here said, it's faster a/c in trail that will triggar this- or perhaps tower wants to get an instrument departure out ahead of you and it makes better sense to land on the parallel.A side-step usually implies that the other runway doesn't have an instrument procedure, or not one that is useful for you to use. However, with the advent of GPS/RNAV approaches being rapidly populated (at least here in the US), now most runways have an approach if you have the gear on board to use it.Bruce.

>Yep, if you decline a clearance and select another approach,>ATC will often give the approach you want but won't change the>runway. So it often takes two declines to change both runway>and approach.>>Cheers,>>Noel.Ah yes that is what must have happened. They initially assigned me 3L, but I wanted ILS 3R approach...I forgot to decline the runway too I suppose...RhettAMD 3700+ (@2585 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2gb Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8 (1T), WD 150 gig 10000rpm Raptor, WD 250gig 7200rpm SATA2, Seagate 120gb 5400 rpm external HD, CoolerMaster Praetorian

I get them all the time in real life. My busy home airport has two close parallel runways-one with an ils. So if you are ifr you will be using 9R. However-the shorter 9L is usually used by the small Ga aircraft and 9R by the business jets/commercial aircraft. So often I will start (especially in ifr conditions) the ils 9R-once breaking out and getting a visual they will sidestep me to 9L so they can free up 9R for those faster and more congested traffic. You will find a lot of airports with runways set up like this- Knoxville, Boise come to mind where I've had this happen too. Also-my hangar is right next to 9L-so often I will ask for the sidestep -with two engines burning 28 gallons/hr. every thing you can do to get you there faster helps. :-)http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

LOL.. I just happened to comment on this in the previous thread.. I wish it would give the optionto actually run the approach you request, ratherthan having to do the sidestep.. Sometimes, I want the ILS, and they won't let meuse it... I'm in jets most the time..So I oftenprefer the longer runway with ILS vs a short stripwith no ILS. But many of the flight plans I run for the lear set me up for the dinky "VFR" runways.MK