ATC keeps surprising!

[Mr. Bones]

yesterday is was flying from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City Intl. it was an IFR flight. when they gave me vectors to land at KLSC, i went through the other possible approach prodecures. i found there was one called ILS rwy34 FFU transition. when i asked that approach, ATC told me the following: "...ILS runway 34L approach via FFU transistion sidestep runway 35".

when i contacted the tower, they told me to land at runway 35 and not rwy 34L.

can anyone explain me what this appraoch mean?

thanks!  ;)

[beefhole]

Not sure what FFU is, but if you request an approach to a runway you must also request that runway for LANDING.  If you do not, you'll be vectored in for that runways approach and then told to "sidestep" to your landing runway.  For example:  You are told to land at runway 25L, you want 25R.  If you just ask for the 25R approach, that does not become your landing runway, you just get vectors for that runway.  You must also request 25R for landing.  I'm not really sure how real pilots "sidestep" or if this is even used, but that's what will happen.

[Nexus]

The FFU transition is one of many entries into the STAR.
A STAR can have many different transitions, depending on which direction you are coming from

But to the sidestep question. The sidestep is a nonprecision approach, meaning that landing minimums are based on nonprecision criterias, so you will have a higher minimums than the ILS minimums for RWY 34L.
You are expected to commence the side step as soon you have the runway(s) in sight

[wji]

seems the questions been answered here already but for anyone wanting to check matters themselves go to tHe FAA glossary online:

SIDESTEP MANEUVER- A visual maneuver accomplished by a pilot at the completion of an instrument approach to permit a straight-in landing on a parallel runway not more than 1,200 feet to either side of the runway to which the instrument approach was conducted.

reference cited:  FAA GLOSSARY

p.s. sidestep is a common procedure and like others, IS included in FS9 ATC requests

[Mr. Bones]

thanks guys!  ;)