A historic Day—the UK's first GPS approach

James Carrie writes:

Dear Sue

Today is a historic day for aviation in the UK, and I thought you might like to pass on the reason why to your readers.

I like francoflyers.org very much and have just moved to Compton Abbas from Thruxton where I found evidence of your work in the archives.

On 20^th November 2008, the first approved GPS approach procedure goes live in the UK.

Suitably qualified pilots, in suitably equipped aeroplanes, may now use GPS as a non-precision approach aid into Shoreham Airport (EGKA).

A suitably qualified pilot will hold an IR or, in the UK, an IMC rating.

The GPS equipment must be installed in the aircraft and will direct an HSI in the pilot’s primary field of view.

A hand held GPS, or a GPS mounted on a yoke introduced by the pilot, is not valid.

The GPS box must meet a standard called TSOC129A, and the equipment will have been installed to FAA or JAR/EASA standard AMC20.

Qualifying aircraft will have a supplement in their Aircraft Flight Manual.

The details concerning GPS non-precision approaches are published in CAP 773 and pilots intending to perform GPS approaches would be well advised to read CAA Safety Sense leaflet 25.

The approach charts for Shoreham are available on the NATS web site to download.

Introducing GPS approaches brings the UK one step closer to the European norm.

However, there is one important difference between the way GPS approaches are implemented in the UK and in the rest of Europe.

In the UK, only the distance to go to the runway is shown in the database. In Europe, the distance to go to the next step down point is given. 

Gloucester, Exeter and Blackpool are likely to have GPS approaches approved in the near future.

I am a Flight Instructor at Compton Abbas and expect to be unrestricted for instrument lessons very soon.

I have attached the URLs of the reference documents for pilots to brief themselves.

Instruction, if required, must be sought from a suitably qualified instructor.

Online Resources:

       CAP 773

        Safety Sense Leaflet 25 

        Shoreham (EGKA) Charts     

 

Comments

[susan Virr]

Hi James

Many thanks for this excellent piece of information.
At last we are moving forward to a new era of IFR approaches.I am sure that all my readers will appreciate this article.
Keep up the good work.
If you see any of the people concerned with the school at Thruxton, please send them my kind regards.
I flew into Compton Abbas in July, for lunch with a student, during one of my flight experience trips to and from France.Next time I shall look you up.

[Les King]

Indeed, a historic and long-overdue step forward in navigation technique.

Perhaps we can even look-forward to the day when the so-called 'navigation computer' is consigned to the museum where it belongs.

Electronic calculators and proper computers do the job much better than this inaccurate mechanical device and even the 'purists' can achieve a better result by drawing the 'triangle of velocities' diagram on the map.

Arguments about batteries running-out are largely irrelevant given that very few private pilots attempt to recalculate their heading, true airspeed, etc, by using these devices in flight—'rules of thumb' or small 'trial and error' adjustments to counteract observed drift are the normal methods of adjusting the flight path.

As for adjusting airspeed for temperature, pressure altitude, r's in the month and the heading for deviation, variation, star sign, etc, neither the average pilot, the met information, the aircraft instruments or the device are accurate enough for these calculations to be meaningful within the normal GA flight envelope.