define "contact approach"
- Thread starter TangoSix
- Start date
cmill
Cold Ass Honky
you basically use it in lieu of an instrument approach. Ie: its less than vfr, but dont feel like doing the whole approach, or want to get closer to the airport and try to make it in. You can ask for the contact approach fly over the field and if you find it great, if not go back around and shoot the approach.
drunkenbeagle
Gang Member
Visual approach requires VFR minimums (1000' 3 miles), a contact approach has the same minimums as a special VFR - (1 mile clear of clouds).
I can't think of any situation where you would ever want to request one.
Schinpop
Well-Known Member
How about when there is a wall of fog 500 feet from the runway? Or, when half of the runway is in the fog, but the other half isn't?
TangoSix
Well-Known Member
so you fly a standard pattern to the runway?
and half truth. Theres been times on the last leg of a 7 hour flight day all i wanted to do was land. Get-home-itis? very much. still safe? Very much.
cmill
Cold Ass Honky
More likely than not you're going to be going direct to the field, once you have "contact" with the field, fly the pattern, or straight in, etc. Theres gonna be a control tower, so you'll just take the shortest distance to the runway. WX could be deteriorating after all.
JulietBravo
On Call, On Demand
Cargo ops in my area use it all the time. The airport is nestled between 2 interstates. So when they are coming in and they don't want to shoot the whole approach and they feel comfortable doing it, they'll request a contact approach and either A: follow the airplane in front of them to the airport, or B: follow a landmark (i.e. the interstate) to the airport.
Orange Anchor
New Member
1 mile and clear of clouds. We used to do it all the time in the 727 and 737 before it was removed from our ops specs. Still occasionally do it in the Citation II. Good tool to have.
nosehair
Well-Known Member
So...did you get some 'situational awareness' here, after reading some situations where a 'contact' approach might be very convenient?
Come and fly in SoCal after the fog has turned into haze. It's usually only 2500ft thick, usually has 2 miles of vis, and inorder to get back you either have to request an approach (takes you about 10 miles away from practice area, then you fly the approach, so about 20 mins.) or you do a contct approach, and follow San Fernando road untill just inside of three mile hill. Then you see the runway, and call field in sight (about 4 mins). And most of the time (about 50-60%) the approach at this particular airport doesn't even get you into the merky fish bowl.
Edit: A contact approach can only be done if there is resonable certanty that you you will be able to see the field, no wx mins as far as I know (other than being able to navigate visually).
subpilot
Squawking 7600
As posted earlier, contact approach requires 1sm and clear of clouds. Same as special VFR.
jrh
Well-Known Member
I believe during a visual approach the field must be in sight and remain in sight throughout the entire approach.
With a contact approach, the pilot only needs to see landmarks (such as a freeway, for instance) that will lead him to the airport. A pilot could see a hole in the clouds when 10 miles out, get cleared for a contact approach, dive through the hole, then legally "scud run" in to the field.
This is why a pilot should be very familiar with the area and be very certain they can make it in before requesting a contact approach. It wouldn't be fun to be at 600 feet AGL, following a freeway in, then end up back in the clouds. There's no missed approach for a contact approach other than hitting the power and climbing.
With a contact approach, the pilot only needs to see landmarks (such as a freeway, for instance) that will lead him to the airport. A pilot could see a hole in the clouds when 10 miles out, get cleared for a contact approach, dive through the hole, then legally "scud run" in to the field.
This is why a pilot should be very familiar with the area and be very certain they can make it in before requesting a contact approach. It wouldn't be fun to be at 600 feet AGL, following a freeway in, then end up back in the clouds. There's no missed approach for a contact approach other than hitting the power and climbing.
Modified it for clarity.
ppragman
FLIPY FLAPS!
That's why you shouldn't lose situational awareness. Flying at 500'AGL in 2miles of vis isn't that tough, it's maintaining terrain obstruction clearance that makes it tough. You have to (must must must must must) know the terrain. If you don't, you might hit something. Our Cherokees have Chelton EFIS with Synthetic vision, it helps a lot to making sure that we avoid terrain, but you still have to know how high the trees are, and what the prevailing patterns of weather trend towards. Not knowing these things means that if you go in, you run the risk of crashing. We are strictly VFR, however there are days where we depart under a special, and fly in 1000'AGL and 1 mile, or 500'AGL and 2 miles all the way to our destimation. We get there, unload, and do it all over again in reverse. It's essentially a contact approach, that being said, you have to maintain SA.
One big aid to SA is either being intimately familiar with the details of the area, or having a good GPS like a garmin 296, which has all of the local data in it. The handheld becomes a supporting instrument as you fight your way into land. If you lose the field, cram, climb and backtrack back to VFR.
///AMG
Well-Known Member
You wouldn't do it to a field that you weren't familiar with, and you need to have some sort of good visual checkpoints (highways, rivers, etc) that will guide you towards picking up the runway/airport environment. I always understood it to be more of a helo thing, but I guess I was wrong about that 
drunkenbeagle
Gang Member
No visibility minimums for rotorcraft, good eye... Also, the airport needs to have a published IAP, and you must still be IFR
You wouldn't do it to a field that you weren't familiar with, and you need to have some sort of good visual checkpoints (highways, rivers, etc) that will guide you towards picking up the runway/airport environment. I always understood it to be more of a helo thing, but I guess I was wrong about that
I've seen it more common in helos than in airplanes. But a good few planes still do them. Many guys either don't know they exist, aren't comfortable with them, or their ops specs/ ops manuals don't allow them.