by Saratoga » Sat Jul 31, 2004 4:36 pm
Well I can't help on the ILS heading. These are referred to as offset LDA (which is indicated in the airport's Map View information) and are featured at airports which are impracticle for straight-in ILS approaches. On some of these, if you are tracking the ILS you may notice that you will hit the ground before the ILS ends, that is normal as the ILS typically will go right past the end of the runway. One of the best and most challenging approaches I can think of is Aspen, Colorado, USA in bad weather. ATC has no control over this area (they like to run you into mountains, so climb fast and feel free to brake clearances) and it is often in bad weather. Just try flying the approach then try doing it in low visibility and you can see why flying these can be tricky. However, I guess it does beat flying the standard ILS into that mountain...
Pilot for a major US airline certified in the: EMB-120, CRJ, 727, 737, 757, 767, and A-320 and military, T-38, C-130, C-141, and C-5 along with misc. other small airplanes. Any questions, I'm here for you.