fosters

But it blows your theory. I just showed you an approach with a higher MDA than pattern...and that was just off the top of my head. I didn't feel like going thru 5000+ airports IAP's to find one that was over 1500' AGL.

This is exactly why people roasted you in that other thread you had about flying the merlin. You say something - someone points out that isn't correct - and yet you come back again. I've shown you how your theory isn't right yet you come back again.

If you want to get picky here is one with a MDA of 2100':
ASE LOC/DME-E

If you want to say that most normal approaches don't have those types of mins I would agree with you. Now, a lot of circling approaches you'll need to leave the MDA prior to turning final. How do I know? Let's say you are doing an approach with an MDA of 700'. You are in a category A airplane, meaning you must stay within 1.3 miles of the runway end. Well, using the 3:1 slope, even if you are busting at the seams of the 1.3 miles, you will be at 390' turning final. Therefore, you must leave the MDA early. If you are circling tightly, let's say at 3/4 mile, you'll be leaving it somewhere on the downwind, as you'd be turning final @ 225'!


Good! Glad we got that established. I agree with the premise - certainly it sounds logical to me. But I wouldn't ever hesitate to descend just because I wasn't within 30 degrees of the centerline. In fact, I'm not sure how I would know that for certain.

You call it a license, the FAA calls it a certificate, but in doing so you are trying to make it out like the commercial "license" is different than a CFI "rating" (both your words, not mine).

It's not, they are the same thing, the FAA calls them both certificates. Using a thesaurus, these words mean the same as "certificate".

"deed, diploma, docket, documentation, endorsement, guarantee, license, paper, pass, permit, receipt, record"

So, one could also interchange all of those words for the word "certificate". Notice license is in there. So yes, you could use the words interchangeably and people would know what you are talking about. The FAA uses the word "certificate" and the commercial is a certificate as is the CFI, according to the FAA. You are trying to differentiate between the two (commercial and CFI) when there is no difference. Follow the logic? That is my point. You have made yours - let's drop it OK?

dhc8fo

Oh lordy....another waste of internet space and about ten minutes of my time. Thanks Toilet Duck, AGAIN. Stay right seat in that Merlin and keep plugging away at those Garmin manuals.

Everyone has covered it far better than I have the patience to... PDT is not authorized RNAV or GPS approaches. None of you guys were there. You have no idea if you saw what you thought you saw, which I am willing to bet my left nut that you didn't since in all of my years I have NEVER flown with an unsafe pilot there, nor am I an unsafe pilot.

Here's an idea...why don't you put your family on a Mesa Dash 8 where the Captain has about 100 hours in the Dash and 1500 TT and the FO has about 250 TT. I am sure that would be much safer....but I digress...

ToiletDuck

Fosters agreed. Hit DRT i'll show you a night in mexico. dhc8fo it is scary. That's why I think it's important to report anything suspecious. It isn't hard to be innocent.

bintynogin

Toiletseat give it up.. You are dead wrong on everything man...

350pilot

After giving it some more thought, here is what I believe happened, The pilot was flying the vor approach even though he clearly stated that he was in the gps to rwy 3, he even named the fix he was crossing. Don't know if he was confused or didnt want the tower to know he was attempting the vor with the weather so low. thats explains why he was not lined up for the rwy when he broke out. you guys should quit saying that i have no way of knowing what his altitude was, i was watching him from the end of the runway. he was no where close to 800ft. this guy was way below mins, then he turns away from the airport making this circling maneuver going in and out of the clouds while he is doing it and makes some very steep turns trying to get back around to the runway. correct me if i am wrong but arent you supposed to go missed if you lose sight of the runway on a circling approach? he definitely lost sight if he was headed in the opposite direction of the airport.

dhc8fo

Doubt this....

Doubt this too since the ATIS whoever posted earlier shows the lowest vis as 4 SM.

Uh huh....

Sure....

OK, so I guess you are a superhero because otherwise, how could you see what they were seeing from their cockpit??

What time did you take off? There were three flights into HXD that day (my bad, five flights).

BoilerUP

No Citations arrived or departed Hilton Head on Tuesday according to Flightaware.

A Baron 429SD did depart HXD on Tuesday though at 1526 to Dekalb-Peachtree (PDK)...and a Piedmont Dash landed at HXD at 1509.

schoolio

Once again, I will state the following - PDT pilots do not carry GPS approach charts. PDT pilots are not authorized to shoot GPS approaches. Sounds like you're the one who is confused.

Visibility is the determining factor for the legality of beginning the approach. If the lowest vis was 4SM, and the min on the VOR is 1SM, he was totally legal to shoot the approach.

Did you see him go in and out of clouds? Or maybe there were just clouds between you and him that you saw, and it just appeared that he went into the clouds. Either way, none of that matters. What matters is that they maintained visual contact with the landing environment. Can you tell me if that was the case? No. Didn't think so. You weren't in the cockpit. You have no idea what they saw.

Like I stated earlier, just because the atis says the clouds are low doesn't mean that a pilot isn't going to pick up the airport and be able to maneuver to land.

bintynogin

He's right..

dhc8fo

Maybe he departed VFR...... (hahahaha)


Oh wait, from his past messages, he doesn't sit left seat in Citation V. He flies a Baron. Bet that was him...