GPS Approaches

Greg Bockelman

Greg Bockelman

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Greg Bockelman
Given that they have been around awhile, I find it somewhat amusing that I have never done a GPS approach. I have never had access to an airplane that was capable of doing them.

Having said that, I need to educate myself. I will be using a Garmin 300XL and eventually a G1000, but I can work out the procedures of the specific boxes on my own, I think.

What I am after is reference material on generic procedures for doing GPS approaches. What equipment is required, sequence of events, RAIM, that sort of thing. Instrument Flying Handbook? Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge? Others? Anyone have suggestions for a Readers Digest condensed version of what is required?

I rode around in the backseat of an Archer yesterday watching a couple of GPS approaches. It looks like there really isn't too much to it, but I have never been trained and want to broaden my knowledge base.
 
For whatever reason I recently received a CD in the mail from the AOPA Air Safety Foundation with two interactive courses "GPS for IFR operations" and "GPS for VFR operations". I would be happy to send it to you (or anyone else if you don't want it) if you PM me.
 
I seem to remember that the Jep inst/comm book has some good stuff on these. A couple of hoops to step through but when you fly them they are easier and more exact than VOR approaches.
 
Everskyward said:
For whatever reason I recently received a CD in the mail from the AOPA Air Safety Foundation with two interactive courses "GPS for IFR operations" and "GPS for VFR operations". I would be happy to send it to you (or anyone else if you don't want it) if you PM me.
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Mari,

Thanks for the idea. Those courses are online at http://flash.aopa.org/asf/gps_ifr/swf/flash.cfm? so I won't need the discs.

Cool.
 
I'm not sure what to point to for a condensed version, but the latest "Instrument Flying Handbook", the 2007 version, has a fair bit of material on GPS. You can also go to the very latest AIM, and start at 1-1-19, and continue through to 1-2-3.

Ultimately, though, the "hard part" is in learning the buttonology of a particular unit, and that can only come from the manual for that unit. I don't know if the 300 has a simulator, but the 430 has a great one, and this can be a great help.
-harry
 
Greg Bockelman said:
What I am after is reference material on generic procedures for doing GPS approaches. What equipment is required, sequence of events, RAIM, that sort of thing. Instrument Flying Handbook? Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge? Others? Anyone have suggestions for a Readers Digest condensed version of what is required?
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Greg,
In addition to hm's AIM reference's, also read AIM 5-4-5 and 5-4-7.

gary
 
There is no simulator for the 300XL, and it's not the easiest box in the world to use. The CD's mentioned above are an excellent starting place for general GPS theory and use, but the manual for your box is essential once you've got the theory down. Also, I'd strongly suggest getting with an instructor familiar with the 300XL for a flight or two -- it will save you hours of head-scratching.
 
Ron Levy said:
There is no simulator for the 300XL, and it's not the easiest box in the world to use.
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Oh Joy. :(

Also, I'd strongly suggest getting with an instructor familiar with the 300XL for a flight or two -- it will save you hours of head-scratching.
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Kind of hard to do in my part of the world. From what I can tell, the two instructors that have time in the airplane aren't that familiar with this unit. I think it will probably be pretty much OJT. That's OK, I guess. I think a session with the airplane on the ramp with external power is in order.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
I think a session with the airplane on the ramp with external power is in order.
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And get a copy of the GPS manual, or at LEAST the flight supplement, and study that. You might need to photocopy the one in the plane.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
Kind of hard to do in my part of the world. From what I can tell, the two instructors that have time in the airplane aren't that familiar with this unit.
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No need for them to be familiar with the plane, just the 300XL. You can still be PIC while they teach you the box.
 
Greg,

Ditto the suggestion to start with AIM 1-1-19 and go from there. Also, I haven't seen anyone mention one thing that's peculiar to GPS approaches and that's the many different kinds of minima (Older "GPS RWY xx" approaches will have circling and possibly S-xx while newer "RNAV (GPS) RWY xx" may have circling, LNAV, LNAV/VNAV, and LPV). When can you use each, is the question.
 
Ron Levy said:
No need for them to be familiar with the plane, just the 300XL. You can still be PIC while they teach you the box.
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My point was that as far as I know, there are no instructors in the area that know that particular unit.

Here's the deal. I want to finish a fixed wing IFR rating for an individual and I (we) need to learn how to operate the unit. I watched a couple of approaches using this unit and it does not appear to be too difficult. Since there are only a couple of instructors in the area that have even SEEN this particular unit, we are in the position of having to teach ourselves how to use this unit. I do not see this as an insurmountable problem.

My purpose for starting the thread was to get information on what procedures are used for actually performing GPS approaches. I believe that has been accomplished with this thread.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
My purpose for starting the thread was to get information on what procedures are used for actually performing GPS approaches. I believe that has been accomplished with this thread.
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Some things I do.

1. I fly IFR with a current database
2. Check GPS NOTAMS as part of your briefing and see if anything will affect your flight. If so be ready with a second approach
3. Once up in the air and getting close to the landing time start getting things set up. Request a particular approach from ATC and load it in the GPS
4. Try to get direct to a non-procedure turn waypoint or get vectors to final, just makes life easier, check RAIM
5. Brief the approach and check RAIM
6. Be ready for the GPS to loose coverage and you then have to go to a vectored missed unless there is a VOR over lay that matches up with the GPS missed.
7 Shoot the approach but be ready to go back to 6
8. land

I have had the GPS once, and only once, loose RAIM even though it predicted RAIM would be good. I was at 2500MSL on the GPS13 into KSMD and 1.8NM from the FAF. The ceiling was reported at about 2100 so I know I would break out soon after FAF. But with the loose of position info I could not descend. I had just been changed over the the CTAF when it happened. I continued my altitude and heading trying to reset everything. After about 5 seconds I went back to the approach freq and told them I lost the GPS and needed a vector for missed and then to come around for the VOR13 approach. The told me I could descend to 2100 and see if I broke out. That actually worked and I could finish the approach visually. But it taught me a lesson about GPS approaches and complacency. Be ready for that box to go out and then you will be lost if you do not have a plan.
 
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Greg Bockelman said:
Given that they have been around awhile, I find it somewhat amusing that I have never done a GPS approach. I have never had access to an airplane that was capable of doing them.

Having said that, I need to educate myself. I will be using a Garmin 300XL and eventually a G1000, but I can work out the procedures of the specific boxes on my own, I think.

What I am after is reference material on generic procedures for doing GPS approaches. What equipment is required, sequence of events, RAIM, that sort of thing. Instrument Flying Handbook? Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge? Others? Anyone have suggestions for a Readers Digest condensed version of what is required?

I rode around in the backseat of an Archer yesterday watching a couple of GPS approaches. It looks like there really isn't too much to it, but I have never been trained and want to broaden my knowledge base.
Click to expand...

I strongly recommend John Eckalbar's "Instrument Flying Update" for non-navigator-specific information on GPS flying. He goes way beyond the basics and covers the design of the various RNAV (GPS) approaches/departures/arrivals and the gotchas they can contain, plus a detailed explanation of the GPS and WAAS systems.
 
One thing really floors me about this. In your day job, Greg, you fly one of the most sophisticated airplanes in the world. Yet you can't do a simple GPS approach that so many GA IFR planes do on a daily basis.

Is this a Boeing thing, a United thing, a training thing, or?
 
Greg, Will you have exclusive access to the GNC-300XL? If so, you could pull it out of the airplane and play with it at home... they make a 120V adapter for running it in simulator mode. That, or in the airplane with it connected to ground power, would be very useful to practice all the things you'll read about in the great posts / links above.
 
Greg, do you have any 430 time? The button logic is the SAME. I had a GNC-300 (Which Garmin pulled as it kept frying) but the button-ology is the same.

W/o WAAS, you'll just be flying "T" shaped approaches and overlays. Remember that the Pie shaped areas are Terrain clear descent zones, and the waypoints at the top of the "T" are "flyby" waypoints.

Don't lose a lot of sleep. Read the manual, fly a few in VFR. The 300 series is just not complicated enough to warrant a lot of angst.
 
Lance F said:
One thing really floors me about this. In your day job, Greg, you fly one of the most sophisticated airplanes in the world. Yet you can't do a simple GPS approach that so many GA IFR planes do on a daily basis.

Is this a Boeing thing, a United thing, a training thing, or?
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You have to understand, Lance, that the Boeings have a Flight Management System, or FMS. That system uses GPS, VOR/DME, DME/DME among others to derive it's position. So we really don't have the same interface with the GPS that a GA pilot has with the various units out there. We get to the same place by a different path, so to say.
 
bbchien said:
Greg, do you have any 430 time?
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Nope. This is my first exposure to GA GPS.

Don't lose a lot of sleep. Read the manual, fly a few in VFR. The 300 series is just not complicated enough to warrant a lot of angst.
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That is basically what I am doing. I am reading the manual and I need to just get in the plane some day and push buttons and twist knobs. Practice practice practice.
 
You know, this might be one of those instances where MSFS or X-Plane make a lot of sense! MSFS has at least a 430, and you can get an idea where you are in relation to objects on the ground.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
Nope. This is my first exposure to GA GPS.



That is basically what I am doing. I am reading the manual and I need to just get in the plane some day and push buttons and twist knobs. Practice practice practice.
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Well, practicing with the Garmin 430 simulator will get you 90% of the way with the GNC-300. And you'll be well-versed then in both the 430 and 530, the most popular/common units in GA aircraft. Once you learn that most GPS units present data in chapters/pages, and know how to load/modify flight plans/approaches, you'll be able to use it to navigate without too much difficulty.

430/530 Sim: http://www8.garmin.com/include/SimulatorPopup.html
 
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