Not familiar with the DCA approach but the giant land masses do raise the stakes in a way the parameters of a Jep Chart do not.I'm not gonna cast aspersions on anyone or anything. Looks like fine piloting.
Aside from the giant land masses on either side, is the maneuvering that different than flying the River Visual (is that what it's called?) into DCA to the south?
Well, I thought it was cool. Then again, I must be soft after all my autothrottling and CMD centering. I think it'd be challenging in anything with some heft behind it, but what do I know?
A heavy can still maneuver, it just requires a bit more forethought and finesse than something small. Doesn't make this approach much more difficult than something like the LDA 26 in Honolulu, outside of the terrain. That was always fun in the tanker.
Make the vis 3SM with a 1000' ceiling and now it's fun!
hahaha, ya there's a lot of special approaches up there. The alaska airlines approach plates are much thicker than anyone else's for the region. The RNP into Juneau makes a lot of people go... wtf?! The DP to.Alaska does their RNP 26 into JNU down to like 200 an 1/2. Even the LDA's X-Z to 8 requires a 30° turn on short final (1/2 mile) after avoiding the that's 3/4 mile off the end of the runway. Though talking to a few of the old 737-200 guys (no fancy RNP stuff) they still get misty eyed talking about flying 1000 miles out to Dutch to get one shot at the NDB approach and put it on 3800ft of runway all while flying through weather that they give names too in the rest of the world.
We have a special authorization RNAV that flight check just about refuses to fly.. they tried to shut it down as to dangerous. I guess a Lear on a catagory A-B only approach up a glacier fjord was an eye opener.
Alaska does their RNP 26 into JNU down to like 200 an 1/2. Even the LDA's X-Z to 8 requires a 30° turn on short final (1/2 mile) after avoiding the that's 3/4 mile off the end of the runway. Though talking to a few of the old 737-200 guys (no fancy RNP stuff) they still get misty eyed talking about flying 1000 miles out to Dutch to get one shot at the NDB approach and put it on 3800ft of runway all while flying through weather that they give names too in the rest of the world.
We have a special authorization RNAV that flight check just about refuses to fly.. they tried to shut it down as to dangerous. I guess a Lear on a catagory A-B only approach up a glacier fjord was an eye opener.
. I have heard stories of VFR/RNAV flights at 3000' in a 737 because it was the only way the flight was going to work.
I never said it couldn't, just that it'd be challenging compared to what we normally do.
What'd you fly in the Air Force?
KC-135, the mighty 707. What an amazing airplane.