This is the second post in a series about preparing an IFR flight, which I will hopefully do this summer, when visiting friends in England. It will be a Bornemouth – Guernsey leg, and today I’ll give more details about the approach.

In many respects, the ILS approaches to Guernsey are typical, school-like ones. No exotic or special procedures, but many details that must be looked at. For each approach direction (09 – 27), there is an ILS, a VOR-DME and an NDB approach, which follow the same principles.

The approaches start overhead the VOR (or the NDB in case of NDB approach), and start with an outbound leg. Then comes a 45°/180° track reversal procedure to intercept the final approach track.

There is no mandatory holding, but for runway 27, the holding published over the VOR can be used for track reversal, as the turn to the outbound track when coming from the airway would be too steep. I don’t know how likely it is to get vectors to final approach, so I get ready for the full procedure, just in case…

The go-around is always the same as well: fly straight ahead to 2.5, 2.7 or 3.0 miles, depending on runway and approach type, then turn right back to the VOR / NDB and hold. There are also altitude conditions associated with the turn.

That’s for the big picture, now come all the details. At first, both ILS use the same frequency: 108.1. It’s always important to identify beacons using the morse call-sign, to make sure they’re not failed, or undergoing maintenance, but in that case, it’s even more imporant. If for any reason the wrong ILS is in service, this could lead to false indications.

Reading the notes on the approach plates can take time, and it’s better to do that before the flight. One mentions that aircraft unable to receive DME shall advise ATC, and will be given radar ranges at key points of the procedure. I don’t know the reason for that, may be it is because the approach is flown relatively low, at 2′000 feet over the sea, making DME reception less reliable.

The procedure starts at 2′000 feet over the VOR / NDB, and the outbound leg is 7.2 miles long, all at 2′000 feet, so there is no descent planning issue. If starting the approach directly from the airway, at an higher altitude, the standard descente rate of 300 feet / miles means one must not cross the VOR at altitudes above 4′000 feet.

The Decision Altitude (DA) when flying the ILS is at 503 feet AMSL, corresponding to the standard category I 200 feet AGL minimum. The glide slope is also a standard one, descending at 3°.

In case the DME is failed, times are published for the procedure turn, and the missed approach point is then the VOR itself, with obviously a much higher minimum.

Circlings are not forbidden, but there are some prescriptions regarding altitude and tracks. The probability of flying a circling seems very remote, as three different approach types (ILS, VOR, NDB) are available for each runway direction.

After all that preparation, I feel more comfortable with the approach. I will obviously brief the one we’ll fly before executing it, but without a careful pre-study, that would be hard. Any of your tips are also welcome.

If you liked this post, you can read the previous on in the series, about preparing the route from Bournemouth to Guernsey.