Am I the only one that didn't get that NOTAM?

[Guest]

Am I the only one that didn\'t get that NOTAM?

So I just unsatted my 53.

Thanks in part to my ignorance and NOS for not freaking updating their plates in the last year.

Apparently the backcourse for 17R has been amended so that MANZA is now where the approach begins. If you look at the NOS plates for the approach you can start the decent down to 2400 when within 10 miles of MANZA, but of course thats wrong and I found out the hard way. I would have been fine if I had just requested lower. I geuss thats what I get for deciding to not spend that 100 bucks for the Jepp plates.

I geuss the NOTAM has been out for like a year, so FSS just quit giving it out in the briefings, and for some unknown reason NOS has not updated yet.

In any event I am a little fried that my stage instructor didn't even give me a heads-up to check the notams, because he told me we'd be doing this approach in the pre-briefing. But in the end it's ultimately my fault for not getting the proper info, I just needed to rant a little bit because other than that the flight was going great, probably the best I've flown in a month or two, so to fail it on this was a little degrading.

 

[Brutusjj]

Re: Am I the only one that didn\'t get that NOTAM?

Is the flying graded pass/fail or how do you get a actual grade in the flying portion. Or is it totally different?

 

[roundout]

Re: Am I the only one that didn\'t get that NOTAM?

ouch. i wonder why NOS doesn't update their stuff regularly? probably because it's grand forks. if you get a full print weather briefing from FSS or if you get a print from DUATS, it mentions the FDC notam for the amendment you're referring to. it deletes the procedure turn, changes the DME or RADAR req'd to something else and does a third thing also. i tried to get on DUATS to see what the notam said but i can't access DUATS for whatever reason, so i can't check it out.

can you get hold of the notam and post what it says in this thread? i'm curious to take a better look at it now.

 

[Guest]

Re: Am I the only one that didn\'t get that NOTAM?

Here it is, just a little blip on the DUATS briefing. Would have been hard to catch anyway.

!FDC 4/0217 GFK FI/T GRAND FORKS INTL, GRAND FORKS, ND.
LOC BC RWY 17R, AMDT 12D...
PROCEDURE TURN NA.
DELETE IAF FROM MANZA.
DELETE TERMINAL ROUTE FROM GRAND FORKS (GFK) VORTAC TO MANZA.
CHART PLANVIEW NOTE: RADAR REQUIRED.
CHANGE NOTE TO READ: RADAR AND DME OR ADF REQUIRED.

 

[Icelandair]

Re: Am I the only one that didn\'t get that NOTAM?

Where does it say you can't descent until after MANZA in there? It just says MANZA is not an initial approach fix. If it was, you could go from the VOR on the feeder route to MANZA at 3600, then cross MANZA outbound and descend to 2400 and do your procedure turn and come in. That is the portion of the approach that is deleted.

Since radar is required, they mean you have to get vectors. MANZA is also shown as a FAF. If youre being vectored inbound and are within 10 of the FAF i've been under the assumption that you can descend to 2400 to cross the FAF, since its a published portion. What did the stage pilot give as his reason?

 

[Guest]

Re: Am I the only one that didn\'t get that NOTAM?

I was cleared for the approach and according to my current NOS plate I was on a published portion of the approach. So I began my descent to 2400. When in fact I was not on a published portion of the approach according to the notam. Because per the notam the approach actually does not even begin untill you hit MANZA. So technically the only way I could have legally gone down to 2400 when I did was for ATC to issue me that altitude or if I would have asked for lower and gotten it.

I was wrong and should have checked. But the more and more people I talk to about this it just seems like it was a shady thing to fail me on. I have a feeling he was kind of setting me up for it. No heads-up in the pre-brief and the second I started my descent he asked if I had gotten the FDC notams before I left.