#Ils vs localizer how to#
#Ils vs localizer manuals#
#Ils vs localizer full#

An autopilot coupled to the ILS must be used. (FAR 91.193 allows the FAA to make some exceptions for CAT II ops, so a single pilot flying a Category A airplane can get CAT II approval for nonrevenue operations.) 1200 RVRĬAT II approaches can go down to 1200 RVR.

#Ils vs localizer full#

You need two fully trained and certificated pilots, you need two full sets of flight instruments and you need two independent ILS receivers. CAT IIĪ good way to think about Category II approaches is that, in general, you need two of everything. Radio altimeters can be used as a back-up for situational awareness, but the actual minimums are based on a barometric altitude. On a CAT I approach, the missed approach point is normally based on a decision height that is, in turn, based on a barometric altitude. (But if those who fly for a living and take checkrides every six months can’t do it, should you really be there?) Unlike airline and air taxi operators who have to have the weather at or above legal minimums before they can begin the approach, you can legally go down for a look in even the most rotten conditions. Also, remember that the CAT I approach is the lowest approach you can fly without at least one operating RVR unit dedicated to your landing runway. It can be hand flown, meaning no autopilot is required and it can be done with the onboard equipment found on most General Aviation instrument qualified aircraft.Įven though a lot of people talk about ILS minimums using a ceiling and say things like “two hundred feet and a half mile,” you smugly remember that ILS minima are predicated on visibility, more specifically RVR (runway visual range).Īs a general rule, figure that you can fly a CAT I if the RVR is at or above twenty four hundred. Minimums can be higher for this approach, but not lower. A CAT I approach is your basic, run of the mill, “two hundred and a half” ILS approach. This cat is the one you are most familiar with and it may be the only one you are qualified to fly.

#Ils vs localizer how to#

The FARs for this CAT question are designed to tell you what kind of flight crew you need to fly the approach, the kind of airborne equipment you need and what things and equipment you need on the ground in order to do one.Īir Traffic Control also has a rule book telling the controllers how to handle these different kinds of approaches and low visibility operations.Įven though you may not ever wish to jump through the hoops to get CAT II certification for your airplane and yourself (it can be done), it is still handy to know what CAT II and CAT III approaches are and what is going on when those approaches are taking place.įor example, do you remember those ILS hold short lines you sometimes find at airports near the end of the runway? ILS critical areas become even more critical during CAT II and CAT III approaches and some airports even have specific and different hold short lines when these approaches are being done. These four things determine if you can fly the CAT II or CAT III approach, where you can fly it and in what sort of aircraft/equipment. Now that we’ve split the question of CATs into two parts lets split it into four more.

#Ils vs localizer manuals#

Specialized Training RequiredĪny ILS category other than CAT I requires specialized crew initial and recurrent training as well as special operating manuals and rules for the owner operator of the aircraft being used. It is easy to get caught up in the minutia of what makes a Cat I different from a Cat II and so on, but there is only one really basic thing you need to remember about them: The category of ILS approach refers to how low a visibility you can legally fly your airplane down to during the approach.

The Category I, or “CAT I” is usually the only kind of instrument landing system approach minima you can fly down to as a single pilot operator in the IFR world. Most instrument pilots are lucky and only have to deal with one category of ILS approach during their lives. At the risk of getting the metaphorical “hook” for expressing the thought, we are about to engage in herding CATs.