LOC only approaches

Strangely enough I remember several years ago doing approaches to an airport with an "ILS or LOC/DME" but the glideslope was out of service. I requested the LOC. Was cleared for the "ILS, glideslope out of service". During a subsequent approach I asked about that wording. I was told that the approach I'm cleared for is the ILS regardless. If I fly it like a LOC (and in this case I had to), that was up to me. The approach, however, was the ILS in their eyes. Don't know if that was TRACON specific or if it was a controller specific thing. Just thought it was interesting.
 
Per the 7110.65 4-8-1 Approach Clearances

The name of the approach, as published, is used to identify the approach, even though a component of the approach aid, other than the localizer on an ILS or the azimuth on an MLS is inoperative
 
Landis said:
Strangely enough I remember several years ago doing approaches to an airport with an "ILS or LOC/DME" but the glideslope was out of service. I requested the LOC. Was cleared for the "ILS, glideslope out of service". During a subsequent approach I asked about that wording. I was told that the approach I'm cleared for is the ILS regardless. If I fly it like a LOC (and in this case I had to), that was up to me. The approach, however, was the ILS in their eyes. Don't know if that was TRACON specific or if it was a controller specific thing. Just thought it was interesting.
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Interesting. In that LOC/DME is in the name of the approach, along with ILS. If the approach was only ILS (no "or"), then I could see that verbiage they gave you if you were only flying the LOC portion, or if the GS was actually out of service. Minor point, but indeed interesting.
 
Nowadays, the procedure will be named "ILS or LOC RWY xx" but there was an interim period where not all procedures in the US had been renamed to conform to that standard yet (so you had ILS approaches with LOC minima named only "ILS RWY xx.") Not sure if it's completed nationwide yet, but my airspace doesn't have any approaches named only "ILS." So, for us, we'd just clear a pilot via the "LOC RWY xx" approach.
 
Thanks A80TRACON, that was basically what I was told over the radio but I never looked it up. And, like FM_Weasel says, my guess is that although it's now labeled "ILS or LOC/DME" it may have very well been officially designated just "ILS" at the time even though there were LOC minimums - that makes sense.
 
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