The response to the list of "New instrument approaches planned for California" last month was encouraging. It looks like pilots found it as useful as I hoped it would be. I made some updates to the software to update the list on a weekly basis. And now it's expanded from a statewide list to nationwide.
This is of interest to pilots who are instrument rated, training for their instrument rating, or planning to get that training. It tells what updates and additions that the FAA is planning for instrument flight procedures at various airports where we may want or need to fly to.
The big point of interest recently has been when there are new approaches which can be flown by Global Positioning System (GPS). And even more recently, the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) has been delivering on the technology's promise to let small aircraft have approach precision nearly or sometimes just as good at smaller airports as at large airports. It's opening up a lot more airports when there's weather.
Basically, for small airports, any GPS approach is usually good. But if you get an LPV (localilzer precision with vertical guidance) approach, that's the big score for a General Aviation airport. Pilots everywhere want to know, "when does my airport get one?" If it's in their schedule, then the answer is here.
Of course, the usual advice - don't use a GPS's precision as an excuse to fly into conditions that you wouldn't otherwise. But with appropriate practice, these technologies are worth all the excitement.
These lists are all public information. But the FAA doesn't make it easy to get. And it isn't easy to process all that information once you get it. No problem - now I've done all that for you. So enjoy it.
The big point of interest recently has been when there are new approaches which can be flown by Global Positioning System (GPS). And even more recently, the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) has been delivering on the technology's promise to let small aircraft have approach precision nearly or sometimes just as good at smaller airports as at large airports. It's opening up a lot more airports when there's weather.
Basically, for small airports, any GPS approach is usually good. But if you get an LPV (localilzer precision with vertical guidance) approach, that's the big score for a General Aviation airport. Pilots everywhere want to know, "when does my airport get one?" If it's in their schedule, then the answer is here.
Of course, the usual advice - don't use a GPS's precision as an excuse to fly into conditions that you wouldn't otherwise. But with appropriate practice, these technologies are worth all the excitement.
These lists are all public information. But the FAA doesn't make it easy to get. And it isn't easy to process all that information once you get it. No problem - now I've done all that for you. So enjoy it.
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