Practice Instrument Approach Non-Towered

455 Bravo Uniform

455 Bravo Uniform

Final Approach
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455 Bravo Uniform
Do I need to be talking to anyone other than on CTAF?

99% of my training was either at towered fields in VMC or in actual during which we were talking to approach before going to CTAF/Tower. I can’t remember if we ever did a practice approach in VMC to a non-towered field starting with an approach controller.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
Do I need to be talking to anyone other than on CTAF?
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Nope, CTAF is good enough and the approach can be flown under your own navigation with a safety pilot. Just be sure to announce your position(s) in such a way that the non-instrument rated pilot will understand.
 
I suggest talking to the appropriate approach facility - for safety and practice - but it is not required.
They will tell you “frequency change approved” at the appropriate point on the approach so you can announce on the CTAF.
If doing multiple approaches, you can contact them again after going missed.

But if you do the whole thing on your own, just talking to CTAF as appropriate, that is perfectly acceptable as well.
Make sure your safety pilot is doing his/her job :cool:
 
Thanks guys. I’ll actually be by myself, 100% visual, doing some autopilot procedural proficiency.
 
We have a GPS approach to runway 05 at our airport so I'm diligent about watching that area. But to be honest most of the time pilots flying that approach are on the radio (CTAF) and announcing their position and that they are going missed. I do appreciate that ...
 
When practicing IFR approaches at a non-controlled airport, do use position calls that others can understand. That is, inform CTAF that you are on a "5 mile final for runway 35" instead of the more arcane "Over TRINT, inbound for landing runway 35). No one who is not an instrument pilot will have any idea where "TRINT" is. (Or whatever your IAF or FAF fixes are.)
 
In doing practice approaches under VFR at an uncontrolled airport I always just talk on CTAF.
 
I think that answer depends on how busy the airport is. Some uncontrolled airports have a whole lot of traffic, especially those in metropolitan areas. Those tend to be served by radar approach controls, and it makes sense to use them. On the other hand, some uncontrolled airports are a hundred miles from anything else, and have essentially no traffic. The approach control is usually from a Center, and they probably can't see you low to the ground anyway, so it doesn't help very much.

So, you are not required to be in contact with an approach controller for a practice approach in VFR conditions, but there are times it is prudent to do it anyway.

Jon
 
RyanB said:
Nope, CTAF is good enough and the approach can be flown under your own navigation with a safety pilot. Just be sure to announce your position(s) in such a way that the non-instrument rated pilot will understand.
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Incorrect. For a better training/practice experience you should be on with ATC (be it center, approach, or whomever overlies the non-towered airport). Then you can do the full approach, or be vectored, or whatever you like and they will tell you to change to the CTAF and come back to freq x" on the miss.

It's much more accurate practice for what will happen when you really are going IMC to a non-towered field.

But the advice you received about how to do the callouts on CTAF is correct. Not all pilots flying VFR will know where any of the fixes on the approach plate are. But they all should know where 7mi south, straight in RWYxx is.
 
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No requirement, but as others have suggested, it depends what you want to practice.

Anecdotal: I have done IPCs and recurrent training with pilots who, when they practice, practice nontowered without ATC. I used to do the same when giving recurrent training and IPcs. Then I discovered how distracted and confused many of them got when communicating with ATC. Point is, 80%+ about IFR is about working in a system, and ATC communications is a huge part of the 80%+. It needs at least as much practice as those multiple memorized approaches.
 
JAX and to some extent Daytona approach have been not accepting practice approaches in VFR conditions lately (and FF). I think due to COVID staffing issues. Heard a lot of unables when monitoring. I'd suggest monitoring the relevant approach frequency when joining, just in case someone is getting vectored to the same initial fix. Switch to CTAF around 10 miles out and established. (IMHO)
 
midlifeflyer said:
No requirement, but as others have suggested, it depends what you want to practice.

Anecdotal: I have done IPCs and recurrent training with pilots who, when they practice, practice nontowered without ATC. I used to do the same when giving recurrent training and IPcs. Then I discovered how distracted and confused many of them got when communicating with ATC. Point is, 80%+ about IFR is about working in a system, and ATC communications is a huge part of the 80%+. It needs at least as much practice as those multiple memorized approaches.
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I'm sure I'm like Mark, and see a lot of people for "recurrent" IFR training that really probably shouldn't be flying IFR. They avoid talking to ATC on even VFR flights and when they go out and practice with their safety pilot friend, also avoid ATC. And not surprisingly get well behind the airplane when they do have to talk to ATC and deal with the normal irregularities that occur (vectors through final, blocked transmissions, etc.). So for them I do highly recommend training with ATC.

But in general, no I do not always use ATC for every flight when I'm providing instrument training - sometimes I expect I'll just be talking so much that it won't be practical!
 
I agree. You don't have to talk to anybody (technically, you don't have to talk to the overlying ATC when shooting approaches to towered fields either). But I typically use radar services even VFR. Getting VFR practice approaches or even switching to real IFR is trivial in most airspaces once you're already getting radar services. Never fail to ask for what you want. I was working out just how my autopilot captured the ILS. I asked to do the ILS but the tower said the airport was in operation in the opposite direction. I asked if I could just get a few passes at the glideslope intercept point and then I'd go missed quickly thereafter, and they were "Yeah, we can do that."
 
RussR said:
the normal irregularities that occur
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This was brought home to me last year during a club IFR checkout. Having been based at a busy Class D under Class B for 20 years, I used ATC all the time for practice approaches and I got to enjoy the relative freedom of not using them when we moved. So, we did the flight without ATC. I was satisfied but the wise student said he wanted to do one more flight, this one on a IFR flight plan because he didn't get to do that often. Sure enough, two "normal irregularities" plus a process he had not used before.
 
Good stuff guys.

My strategy is based on the constant search for a reason to go fly. So, I practice instrument approaches on those 800/2 days where the weather is yucky but stable and improving. A real IFR flight that terminates in a real IMC approach, stop & stretch, then do it again back home. Try to do so twice a month so I never have to worry about the "6 approaches in the previous 6 months" rule.
 
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