Favorite approaches

Cessnaflyer

Cessnaflyer

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
What are some of your favorite approaches you have done?

My favorite would have to be a tie between the VOR into Molakai or the VOR into Kapalua for the beauty and the bit of difficulty at the end.

Molokai:

Kapalua:


For shear terror in the clouds with severe turbulence down a valley then coming into a soggy gravel runway would be the RNAV to Bob Quinn Lake airport.

Sorry don't have a video for that one.
 
For some reason I always liked the Sound Visual 34 to HPN, nothing special about it, just kinda neat I think.

The VOR or GPS-A to SMO is cool, brings you right about level with the Hollywood Sign.
 
I'm assuming we are talking approaches during visual conditions here, personally I can't think of any actual instrument procedure that I love doing. If I actually did love one it is probably because of the location at the end of the procedure.

I haven't had the chance to land in the islands, but off the top of my head here are a few I like:

I always enjoy the approach to runway 27 in San Diego. (LOC 27)

Seattle on the rare clear day is always a pleasure too. What is it, the bay visual? The one that flies up the sound and turns over Elliot Bay is fun to do. Though this winter SEA did not play nice. Multiple CAT II approaches and I even landed during a snow storm. . . .weird. :)

Victoria, BC is amazing on a VFR day period. From SFO we come in visually over Olympic National Park, then over the water into Canada. Good stuff!!

West Yellowstone, MT (WYS) and Jackson Hole, WY (Though an extra 2000 feet of runway would be appreciated.) are beautiful approaches.
 
Oh yeah, the ILS or visual into Kalispell, MT on any clear summer day, but especially in the evening. You come in over huge, blue, Flat head lake, surrounded by tall mountains. Some of the most breath taking mountain terrain around the USA is in that area. The valley itself is gorgeous and green too.
 
The Harbor Visual into Portland (ME) is really nice, especially in the Fall with the leaves changed. The Sound Visual into HPN is kind of nice too.

Obviously the DCA 19/15 approaches (and the Runway 4 departure if you can get it).

Going into LGA it was always a toss up between the Expressway Visual or going up the Hudson and then back south for landing 22.

Out here I like the LDA/DME 26L (sidestep 26R) as well as landing 8 in Hilo... or landing 3 in LIH.
 
Expressway or river visual into LGA. But the visual into 16R at VNY is always awesome. It means I have a job that has me home based.
 
DME Arc ILS, to mins, at night, in mountains...Hmm, that sounds a lot like Mexico.
 
As @LeeD said...Bay Visual into the 16's at SeaTac on a clear, summer's evening with the sun sinking into the Pacific Ocean behind the Olympic Mountains as you leave 10,000ft just past Tacoma and over Vashon Island...getting cleared for the visual approach, turning off the autopilot/automation to do "pilot stuff"...making the right hand turn through Elliott Bay towards downtown Seattle alight in that evening glow...then seeing Mt. Rainier a mix of pink and purple hues on the glaciers as you line up on the runway...Greasing it onto 16C or 16R to end a trip. That, my friends, is about as good as it gets in Part 121.
Coming into SEA from the NW on a North Flow day (above 10,000ft)...but imagine turning through Elliott Bay and seeing that view.
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The visual into Aspen, when we're coming in from somewhere south (like Houston). We basically do a really long descending downwind starting from Alamosa and up the San Luis Valley, past the Collegiate Peaks, and up through the Sawatch Range. It is by far the most scenic and beautiful flying I've ever done, and to be able to do this low level at a 121 carrier is really an incredible and rare experience. World class 14,000 ft peaks are just 2,000 ft below us, and it really is stunning every time I do it.
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