Midwest Flyer Magazine

not let students look at the chart once
inside the final approach fix (FAF). In
fact, I take the chart away from them.
Early on I asked a student what he
was looking to find on the chart, as
we pegged the glide-slope (GS) and
localizer (LOC) needles. He told me he
wanted to see if there was something he
might have missed on the chart. Some
charts are straightforward, and others
have notations that might cause you to
pick a different approach. So, there are
some memory items we must use if we
cannot look at the chart inside the FAF,
and it’s easy to do!
Let’s look at a precision approach
first (an approach with a glide-slope).
We are already established on the
approach, so course is known. Now,
how low can we go, memory item #1;
this is also the missed approach point
(MAP), item #2. The last memory item
(#3) is the missed approach procedure.
Every missed approach I have seen
begins with a climb (see fig 3), and that
can have three (3) options – straight
Figure 3
ahead, left turn or right turn. Both
Jeppesen and the government charts
have pictorial descriptions of the missed
approach that we call “briefing strips.”
Once the missed approach has begun
and all is under control, we can go back
to the chart and read it to find where
we are going to go. If the approach is
a non-precision item, #1 and #2 will
not be the same, so another item to
remember. To help us senior pilots with
failing memories, there is an altitude
bug that one can purchase from Sporty’s
Pilot Shop. This sticks to the altimeter
and is a great aid. Try this technique the
next time you fly and see if it keeps you
focused on the task when “hand flying
the airplane.”
Till the next issue, blue skies and
tailwinds!
EDITOR’S NOTE: Michael J. "Mick"
Kaufman is a Certified Instrument
Flight Instructor (CFII) and the program
manager of flight operations with
“Bonanza/Baron Pilot Training,”
operating out of Lone Rock (LNR)
and Eagle River (EGV), Wisconsin.
Kaufman was named "FAA's Safety
Team Representative of the Year for
Wisconsin" in 2008. Email questions to
captmick@me.com or call
817-988-0174.
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JUNE/JULY 2013 MIDWEST FLYER MAGAZINE 13